By 6. LICKY STICKY
I had a patient who would lick his hearing aids to “lubricate” them before sticking them in his ears!
—Amy Martin
7. WET ONES
A dying patient was lying in bed while his family continually wiped his face with a cool, wet cloth. Unfortunately, the family was getting the washcloth cool and wet with the TOILET water! When I brought it to their attention—like it wasn’t obvious—they told me it was the coldest water available! I have other gross delights, but that one was insane.
—Valarie Vivino
8. CRUNCH ‘N MUNCH
A little old lady in the early stages of dementia asked me to peel the hard-boiled egg she’d been sent on her breakfast tray. I did, then put the shell to the side and stepped out of the room to get her morning pills. When I came back, the egg laid on her tray untouched while she happily munched on the shell!
—Megan Burrow Britton
9. L&DELIMBERY
An L&D patient put her legs behind her head to push…it definitely was a WTF moment!
—Annette O’Neal-Boucher
10. DOCUMENT THIS
A patient removed the showerhead, inserted the shower hose into his rectum and turned the water on full blast. He stated he needed an enema…documentation on that was fun.
—Jodie Burciaga
11. POSITIVELY TONG TIED
I had a little old lady who brought salad tongs in her purse to use to hold toilet paper and wipe her bottom. She even offered them to me to use when I had to help her!
—Christina Brakefield Brickey
12. ALL ABOARD
I work in LTC and have two women in their 90s with dementia. Every night, you can hear them saying to each other that they will never take the current cruise again ’cause we haven’t stopped yet. I would love to be confused and think I’m on a cruise the whole time, LMAO.
—Debbie Pestana-Camara
What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever seen a patient do or say?!
