Buried Acorns and other nuts

We had the usual stuff for a friday night, the regular drunks (one with a BAL about 450, which isnt that high for an ER), a female in Inpatient psych didn't want to take her meds because she is allergic to everything (not), and the male in ED psych who was masturbating and exposing himself to female staff at every opportunity. Police brought a crazy female in from the shelter, complete with luggage and a large bag of dirty laundry, who threatened to punch someone if she wasn't admitted overnight, so she could go to jail and get a bed for the night (its cold out there, might be frost). We had to escort another ED psych to CT scan ("Do you think they'll find anything?" "no, probably not") in a search for answers. We had to stand by outside the gyn room as one of the nurses explained to the mother and boyfriend that she was going to do a sexual assault kit on the one year old because the baby has anal tearing. She was afraid the boyfriend, who had been with the child, might flip when he found out she was going to call DCF. We had the intoxicated transgendered bicyclist with a head lac, who got blood all over the wall phone handset in the room as she made phone calls.

At one point in the night we actually had no one in the ED waiting room, but only for about 5 minutes, as it quickly started reloading. It always does...

Just before we started, day shift had a combative out of control 9 year old. He was given benadryl. It didnt put him down but whatever his issue was must have got out of his system, as we had no problems from him.

We got called for an eloping patient. An area town ambulance brought in an ETOH male in his late 20's with numerous facial contusions including a shiner on one eye. He got beat up by his brother. He decided to walk out to the ambulance bay to have a cigarette. The charge nurse, a lttle thing, told him if he lit up, she would have him arrested. He came back. His brother came in later, boarded and collared, so I'm not sure who won the fight. The brother was also ETOH and cleared himself off the board and just walked out and left. The Emergency dept was so busy no one noticed. Charge had enough sense to separate the brothers at different ends of the department, so they wouldnt be easily able to continue their physical bonding session.

We got dispatched to the north lawn of the hospital, by Administarative offices, for a person down. We found a highly intoxicated male who couldnt stand, half in the roadway. This as very dangerous as it was just before 7 PM shift change, when the departing day shift has their NASCAR moments, as they all race out of the lot at high rates of speed. We got him a ride to the ED. Of course the second floor administration crowd was watching out their windows enjoying the show.

Last night, one of the area PDs brought in a prisoner who had swallowed an unknown quantity of crack. They bring them in to make sure they dont code and to recover the evidence...Someone who used to be an addict winced when he heard about it and said what a waste of good crack....

One of our dirtbags came in last night though triage. He is fond of Yukon Jack and crack. He was here last week. The police brought him in. They arrested him for family violence after he threatened his girfriend. They released him and turned him over to us as he was "jacked" (ETOH). He was very obnoxious. Our rule is once you are cleared medically you can leave even though you are ETOH, if a sober adult picked you up. He calls the girlfriend for a ride. She comes to pick him up. He starts in on her about having him arrested and starts a domestic right in the hallway. I separate them. I dont want her getting pissed off and leaving him with us. She took him. Apparently she got a restraining order against him after that.

Last night he got "jacked and cracked" again and went to her apartment and violated the order. He must have realized he was going to get pinched, so he decides to come down the hospital. He signs himself in saying he is hearing voices. I think he figured he could beat the pinch this way. But he cant control himself, he threatens the nurse. Two cops come down. We have a conference. The doc is willing to clear him so he can go to jail. The LT wouldnt take him because he made suicidal comments. So we got stuck with him. But there is going to be a warrant with his name on it.

Also, the night before, two brothers got in a bar beef. Apparently one stabbed the other. The stabbee went out side and cranked off 1 or 3 rounds, depending on who's version. He then drove off and jumped on the highway. Cop stopped him on the highway. He was bleeding. Said he tossed the handgun out the window as he was headed up the ramp. Cops couldnt find the gun. One of the cops told me last night they came back in the morning and found it, before some neighborhood kid did.

Returned to work after a few beautiful days off in upstate central NY. Its a whole different habitat than the one I work in. When I left to start the vacation, some mope had crashed his ride and snapped a pole on one of the side streets and took off, leaving the hospital without incoming or outgoing phone service. This affected everything, even the med radios.

While I was gone nothing unusual occurred. Busy ER. a skel was upset because his girlfriend was miscarrying and staff wasnt responsive enough for him, so he started threatening people. A family tried to attack staff on one of the floor after their beloved coded. A car was broken into in the employee lot and another one was stolen. Just the usual weekend stuff.

Little League opening day had to be cancelled at a nearby field. The dads showed up early to get the fields ready and found a homicide victim with a GSW to the head not too far from home plate. So instead of a ballfield it became a crime scene.

Last night just before midnight, 3 cruisers came racing into the Emergency Dept, following an ambulance. The Lt advised me they had just brought in a psych patient, a 4 year old. The kid was having the mother of all tantrums. I looked in on him as they held him down. He has a mullett and a pierced ear. Nice start to life. The nurse tranked him and he eventually quieted down. Someone said he is adopted and has a history of behavior problems. We also have a a 5 year old psych in the room next to his, and a 7 year old across the hall.

Earlier, the mid shift had a walk in GSW, 9mm, just grazed, nothing serious..