Little Old Women Are Funny

Today, I went in to intern today in the ER. I don't know when I first noticed her, but there was a little old woman, maybe about 80, all by herself in Isolation Room #2. At first I wasn't sure whether they gave her that room because she was old, or if they were using for what it's intended, crazy people.

Later on, I heard one of the nurses remind the PA that the woman was still in there waiting to been seen. I had seen her sleeping just before and figured there was no huge rush to see her.

In the last 15 minutes of my 3 hours we finally got around to seeing her. When we walked in we were first greeted by the patient's daughter. The PA started asking the patient where she was from and what was the matter, to which she snapped, "You know where I'm from and why I'm here." The daughter was a little taken aback and then whispered to us, not all that discreetly, that her mother has some dementia. The patient was not deaf, nor dumb, and quickly said, "I'm not what she says I am." I liked her already cause she didn't take shit.

We went along with the history and learned that she was visiting us because she had slipped out of her wheelchair somehow. It was a very non-descriptive story. The patient kept insisting that it was a very gentle fall and that she had no pain, thanks to her "big fanny." Everyone chuckled and the PA said, yeah I have a big fanny too. She then gave him a look over and said, "That's not all you've got," while staring right at his gut. The daughter was completely horrified at what her mother had just said, but the patient fought saying she had the right to say whatever she wanted because she had been there for 5 hours. (And no, I don't think she was at all exaggerating) The PA just chuckled and said that was fine. I think I was the only person in the room that she liked. At one point she had asked for a tissue, which I went searching around the ER for, and when I came back she was very thankful, something she did not at all feel towards the people who were keeping her where she was.


Ugh. I hope I never get to the point where I can't make my own decisions. It's completely degrading, especially when you are capable of making your own choices.