Blood Sprayer, Bed Surprise And The Wrong Leg

Checking on a patient with blood infusing, I found a blood bath in progress. The patient was holding the blood tubing and spraying blood around like a little garden hose. You'll have to use your imagination; I didn't take a picture.

Because she also pulled out her IV line, I had to put a new one in. This wasn't easy to do with the patient having 90 something year old tissue-paper veins. Missing once, I got it in with the second try, but the one vein I had missed blew up. She was also on blood thinners, so the bloody mess just got messier. Afterwards, I got to wash her, change her diaper, linens and clean up splattered blood on the floor.

The next patient was lying in a pool of urine. She was not confused and knew exactly what she was lying in, but chose to say nothing. I suppose she was embarrassed and was hoping that no one would notice.

I got the aide to help roll her to change the sheets. As she was rolled on her side, the aide gasped and jumped back. She thought that she saw a snake. It was the woman's three foot long grey braid coiled up underneath her. Good thing it wasn't a snake, otherwise we both would have been soaked in pee as well.

Patients who have had knee replacements get CPM (continuous passive motion) machines that slowly bend the knee back and forth. One of our patients had the CPM machine on for awhile when we noticed that it was on the wrong leg.

I guess in the future we need to remind the technicians that the the CPM machines go on the leg with the dressings, staples and drain. I suppose that nothing can be taken for granted.