Funny Patients

I have the privilege of working with our elderly population. I love to get them talking about things that are special to them, trying to get their mind on something other than the fact that they are in a hospital. So many times they say and do the funniest things. Here are a couple recent examples...

* I was talking with Mr. A about the fact that he still had a farmer's tan. I asked what he liked to do outside and he began talking about his garden and his dog. Both of which I can totally relate to! We continued working on exercises and I was explaining why we do one of them a particular way which led to a discussion of cake. He was telling me that he used to own a bakery and that he had taken lots of decorating classes and had a pretty successful little business for a while. He then told me about some the customers he had, including some men who would request what he described as "pornographic" cakes. He was not trying to be rude or inappropriate, he was simply telling me about what he used to do. He started laughing and said that when he took pictures of cakes he didn't take pictures of those cakes because he didn't really advertise that kind of thing. All I could do was laugh. I did not ask any more questions!

* One of my very favorite things to do is to allow people who have not been able to talk for a while because of a trach/vent placement to allow them and their families the chance to hear their voice for the first time. I had done this with Mr. M and his wife had stepped out of the room. When she came back in, I asked him what he wanted to tell her, thinking it would be something sweet since he actually talked in a couple months. His first response to her was "Did you get them out?" I then learned he was referring to his sister and her husband who had been visiting and apparently they do not stop talking.

* We had a patient once tell us the following story... She had been picked up from the hospital by the ambulance who had been directed to take her to a local nursing home. Somehow she convinced the drivers that they should take her to her house, that she would be fine. They listend to her. They actually drove her to her house and took her inside and left her there. Alone. Three days later her family found her there and took her back to the hospital. By the time she got to us she was doing much better and was telling us that she did not remember any of it. She has no idea how she convinced the drivers to taker her home, nor how she functioned for 3 days. Alone.


* Please note that for privacy reasons a patient's name/gender/diagnosis/treatment described does not refer actual patient.