Not a Drug Seeker
A middle-aged gentleman presented with a complaint of "cracked ribs." He had slipped in the bathroom the day before and just wanted to get checked out. The interesting part was that he drove 8 or 10 hours just to come to my ER. Hmmmmm....suspicious.
He didn't have any bruising, but he was a bit tender to the touch where he said he hit the counter. His X-rays did show a nondisplaced rib fracture without complications.
So we discussed the standard discharge instructions and precautions for chest wall injuries, and I offered him some pain medication, which he declined. "So why did you drive all the way here?" I asked him.
He said that he had just bought a new convertible and was excited about breaking it in.
"It's perfect weather for top-down driving," I agreed. "I've got a ragtop myself. But I'm sure you passed many ERs on the way here. Why us?"
He said that he had been a patient here several years ago and that he just liked our hospital. And he drove the whole trip with the top up. He declined to take any prescriptions, claiming that Motrin would be all he would need. He was planning to drive all the way back home the same day.
He was one of the nicest patients I have ever treated. But I really think he was from another planet.
He didn't have any bruising, but he was a bit tender to the touch where he said he hit the counter. His X-rays did show a nondisplaced rib fracture without complications.
So we discussed the standard discharge instructions and precautions for chest wall injuries, and I offered him some pain medication, which he declined. "So why did you drive all the way here?" I asked him.
He said that he had just bought a new convertible and was excited about breaking it in.
"It's perfect weather for top-down driving," I agreed. "I've got a ragtop myself. But I'm sure you passed many ERs on the way here. Why us?"
He said that he had been a patient here several years ago and that he just liked our hospital. And he drove the whole trip with the top up. He declined to take any prescriptions, claiming that Motrin would be all he would need. He was planning to drive all the way back home the same day.
He was one of the nicest patients I have ever treated. But I really think he was from another planet.
posted by scalpel at 2:04 AM
7 Comments:
You know, I think for some people, Motrin is The Sh*t. I lurve me some Motrin. It works very, very well for me and bonus! no nasty narcotic hallucinations.
Not that I would've driven eight hours to see you. That's a bit out of my range, but then I don't have a nice convertible.
M
You know, I think for some people, Motrin is The Sh*t. I lurve me some Motrin. It works very, very well for me and bonus! no nasty narcotic hallucinations.
Not that I would've driven eight hours to see you. That's a bit out of my range, but then I don't have a nice convertible.
M
I presume you checked him for head injuries considering his, hmm, unusual behavior? ;)
better that than finding out he had stopped in at all those ER's on the way and gotten Lortab's. That happens fairly often where I am.
Stop being so modest, Scalpel. Your patient knows a classy doctor when he meets one, and he just wanted to partake of your medical expertise once again. OK, maybe driving for hours to go to the hospital was a little over the top, but I can see a guy doing something like that if he needed an excuse to get out of the house so he could play with his new car:-)
Zoom zoom!
What he failed to tell you was that he not only drove 8 hours to see you, he also fell in his bathroom on purpose so he would have an excuse to visit your ER.
But remember, the high fowler's position was what the nice advice nurse told him to do, so he figured the driver's seat was where he needed to be. He had also just loaded his ipod with witty podcasts which distracted him from the 1/10 pain.
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