Trash Can Make You Nauseous
HOSPITAL, IGNORING & INATTENTIVE, JERK, LAZY/UNHELPFUL, NURSES, PENNSYLVANIA, USA | HEALTHY | MAY 7, 2018
(I have the stomach flu, and have spent the night throwing up, with diarrhea. Dehydrated and in pain, I go to the emergency room. I’m trying to do something to distract myself from the pain, so I turn on the TV in the room. The channel buttons don’t work, so it’s stuck on a staged reality show that features a lot of yelling and fighting. The nurse comes in while it’s on commercial.)
Nurse: “Okay, you are so dehydrated the doctor wants you on IV fluids for a while before we run more tests. Oh, what are you watching? Oh, this show is so trashy; I can’t believe it. Who would watch a trashy show like this. Do you like this?”
Me: “It’s what was on.”
Nurse: “Oh, wow. I can’t believe how trashy this is.”
(She stops and turns to watch the TV, ignoring me. It isn’t until the next commercial break that she finally turns and puts the IV in my arm, then leaves without attaching the saline. I start dry-heaving again, and she comes back in to give me a bucket to throw up in.)
Nurse: “Didn’t I attach the saline? I must have been distracted by that trashy TV show you like. What are they doing now?”
(She watches until the end of the episode, while I deal with waves of nausea, then finally comes back with the saline drip.)
Nurse: “Oh, my God, it’s another episode! Are they running a marathon? Who watches this trash?”
(She fiddles with the saline drip for a while, while watching the TV, and then stands and watches until the next commercial break. As soon as she leaves, I turn off the TV. She comes back in a moment later with another nurse.)
Nurse
#2 : “Why didn’t you start the anti-nausea medicine?”
Nurse: “I only just got the IV on her.”
(I was finally medicated, and as it kicked in, I drifted off into sleep. I was woken up by the TV being turned back on, and the nurse standing there watching it. She caught me watching and shook her head, muttering about the trashy show.)