This is part 2 of 4 on the letter I wrote to my last patient after the assault as a Registered Nurse on a Neurology-Head Injury Rehabilitation Unit in Northeast Ohio October 30, 1991. In part 1 of 4 I included the table of contents for this letter. This letter was retyped March, 2008 but otherwise has never had revisions. It gives good insight into what was happening inside the healthcare system, and how I perceived the individual who assaulted myself and other healthcare professionals.
In addition to this patient, his 13 year-old friend climbed out a window on the 5th floor on the rehabilitation unit falling to his death. He was found lying dead outside the cafeteria on the pavement. When police arrived they stayed in the cafeteria until the documentation on the unit was complete, according to KM. How legal is this?
I find after reading this that I thought I already gave up so much of my life and that was nearly 2 decades ago. Good thing I never had a crystal ball to look into and see my future…thank God for the power of prayer.
This is just heartbreaking to read about. The administrators who allowed that to contine were criminal. I’m so sorry this happened to you.
Oh, Edie, that is just criminal. I am so sorry. Just terribly sorry. I do know what it is like to have no energy and no life. It’s so hard to explain to people why you look fine and yet you will be wiped out for the rest of the day for having gone to Walgreens. One thing that is for sure is you still have your intellect and you are using it for good, educating others with your fantastic blog. Keep up the great work!
Reading you blogs has given me a much better understanding of TBI. Thank you for sharing your life with us! Keep up your great work! I look forward to reading your next post!
Thanks for visiting and understanding. Hope we can educate healthcare and families this way. At least this is a small start.
Working in the hospital/healthcare enviorment I have seen and experienced so many of the situations you described. Management and Administrators turning their heads and ignoring the problems they are aware of until it eventually escilates into a violent, abusive, or death. Then it is the staff member or staff of a department that is blamed. I deal with drug seeking, violent, psych, SI and HI patients daily. I have been cursed at, spit on, hit with hand, fist and telephone, urine and feces thrown at me, almost run over by a escaping patient, Too many laws that protect the patients and heaven forbid we try to protect ourselves!
Nurses put themselves in harms way all the time. Imagine how threatening that is to patients as well. The ER is definitely the worse with violence…you never know what to expect, but everywhere violence is supposed to be accepted and expected. No so…nurses and patients should always expect a safe environment. As for nurses, there should be protocols to deal with and implement safety issues before happening. That might be too costly for institutions. The cost we pay…is a lifetime of injury for both nurse and families.