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30 People Share The Wildest Things They’ve Witnessed While Waiting To Be Treated By The ER
It’s no surprise that anything can happen in a hospital waiting room, as people flow in with all sorts of injuries. And while arguably few things amaze the medical staff—with some exceptions, of course—people waiting for their turn to be examined might be taken aback by certain sights.
Members of the ‘Ask Reddit’ community recently discussed such sights after one user asked them about it. The redditor wanted to know what things they’ve seen in a hospital waiting room, and fellow netizens covered nearly any and every scenario there is. Scroll down to find their answers on the list below, but be aware that some descriptions can get pretty visual.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
I held a woman’s hand as she delivered a baby right after walking into the ER. I was there with my son who was 8 at the time. And that’s how my son learned where babies come from. He told me afterwards that he always thought they came out of the belly button lol. Mom and baby were totally fine. It was pretty amazing.
Nadine Bamberger 2 years ago
That mom will never forget that act of kindness, glad she didn't have to feel all alone in a very scary situation.
Mr. Nurse Man 2 years ago
I’ve delivered maybe 8-10 kids in the ER in my career so far. Always amazes me and gets me emotional. 🥲
SuperChicken 2 years ago
That little boy is braver than I; I'm too squeamish. I wouldn't be surprised, if this incident becomes an inspiration for him to become a doctor, one day.
H.J. carlson 2 years ago
😱😫 Yuck 🤮 A waiting room in the ER's bad enough without seeing that too!!
Rachel 2 years ago
And where else is a woman in precipitous labor supposed to go? At least she made it to the hospital!
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The Mediterranean Fruit 2 years ago
Um, just saying….why on earth did the medical staff do nothing for this woman? Why didn’t they get her into a bathroom or something so she could at least have some privacy?!!!!!!
Catlady6000 2 years ago
The baby comes when it comes. There's not always time. When it crowns can determine where you have it.
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RELATED:
#2
I work as a nurse in the emergency, I’ve seen some crazy things. But on a lighter note, while security was busy doing two separate take downs an old guy dressed up like Santa unzipped his backpack and started handing out beers to everyone in the waiting room
Mr. Nurse Man 2 years ago
I’ve seen people dressed as Santa several times in the ER that dropped off gifts for kids who were there.
#3
moose. my dad got wheeled back to get xrays so i went to the vending machines to get me and my brother drinks, and when i turned around it was just. staring at the poor nurse behind the desk. somebody called security but the three guys who turned up had no idea what the hell to do, nobody else in the lobby knew what to do, and eventually it just left on it’s own
BarkingSquirell 2 years ago (edited)
There is nothing to do. A moose has to moose. Unless one has seen a moose in real life, one cannot fathom just how large they are. Drivers who hit moose generally do not survive. - Canadian
Mr. Nurse Man 2 years ago
Yikes. Trying to interact with the moose might’ve caused more injuries. Glad it didn’t hurt anyone or itself.
Crybabyartist 2 years ago
I once met a moose on a mostly deserted sand (not gravel, just really sand) road. I stopped my car and had probably the closest thing to a panic attack without moving and barely breathing possible. This animals antlers would have reached from one bumper to the other on my car, and it could easily have stepped over my car. I put it in reverse and slowly started to back up, and after a side glance at me it ambled off into the pine trees. In those few seconds of encounter I had already imagined being flipped and stomped to death in my car.
#4
I was doing an IT job in a hospital when I saw a dude who’d put the front tyre of his motorcycle into a pot hole and gone over the handlebars. He’d hit the ground hands first and both of his arms had compound fractures with bones sticking out. He was doing that scream, inhale, scream again thing. It was super intense. The ER doctor pumped intramuscular ketamine into both arms and he calmed RIGHT down. They put a loop of rope around his wrist, and one person held his shoulder and the other person pulled the rope to get his bones back on the inside. The dude looked at his bones going back into his skin super calmly and said in a spacey tone “wow! That’s really interesting.” This was maybe 2001. I still remember it vividly.
Kirsten Kerkhof 2 years ago
I had that kind of pain killers when my large intestine was necrotizing. I was able to watch the endoscopy and found it absolutely hilarious. I was stoned out of my mind - which was probably a good thing.
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Rebecca Restrepo 2 years ago
I broke my leg where the foot twisted completely around. She I got to the hospital, I’m screaming, they told me they would give me a shot and reset my leg. I can barely listen to them. Then I felt the pinch of the needle, second SECONDS later I’m like “wow I feel okay” and I looked up to watch the, while my foot back into the normal position and I barfed. Though I didn’t feel it lol
Matt 2 years ago
They used ketamine to take me to space when they set my dislocated elbow it's a helluva drug
Susan Teter 2 years ago
Me too! The ER doc looked at me and said "your not gonna want to be awake for this." She was also my PCP. I said wanna bet? Was absolutely amazed the way she re-located it. I took pics with my phone.
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GoGoPDX 2 years ago
This never happened. There is no where that would ever do a rope around the arms to put the bones back in. They would drug the s**t out of him, that part is true, and the keep him stable until he could go into surgery with Ortho.
Fussy1 2 years ago
I was in the room, albeit very close to passing out when three doctors used a bed sheet, some type of medical tubing (iv line?) and a rolled up towel to set my son's humerus before the orthopedic surgeon was able operate two days later to put in all the necessary hardware.
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Jill Bussey 2 years ago
Ketamine is fantastic; unless you're one of the people who react badly. Hallucinations are the least of your worries.
smugdruggler 2 years ago
Yeah I've read that it can make you believe that you're dead. It would be an interesting experience, even if not pleasant at the time.
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Gypsy Lee 2 years ago
That’s what my daughter needed, but we didn’t have good insurance so it was two male nurses pulling her arm back into place while her father & I held her shoulders. No pain meds - they did give her some crappy ones the doc had in some closet from a pharmaceutical rep after, but it was more like “strong” Tylenol. She also needed surgery, but because we couldn’t pay the astronomical cost out of pocket (somewhere just shy of $100k) it was “sucks to be you, good luck with that”. It’s never healed right. - Merica. ( It wasn’t “life threatening”, thus there was zero help for her. She just gets to live with it). I’m glad this person received better care!
#5
I took my (young adult) son to ER because he was having a repeated issue with heart palpitations. It wasn't that serious, but his doctor wanted him to get a scan if it happened again. We were walking to the door of the ER and saw a minivan pull up with the people around it helping a woman into the hospital. She was sobbing, so we slowed down so she and her family could get in first. It became obvious that she was in labor, and when they got in the door, she let out a heart curding scream, paused, and then a lump fell down her pants. A bunch of workers ran out, got the baby out of her pants...there was just complete silence for a few seconds. Then the baby cried and the whole waiting room erupted in applause! It was amazing
Tobias Reaper 2 years ago
the moment you use the line everybody clapped it immediately sounds fake even if it actually happend
The Original Bruno 2 years ago
Nah, Tobias. This gets a pass. Just like WW2 documentaries get a pass on Godwin's law.
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Kylie 2 years ago
If she was that close to delivering they were were probably baggy sweat pants. BTDT.
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Littlemiss 2 years ago
My ex workmate gave birth in her bathroom like that. Dropped her pants to go toilet and the baby landed in them. Her labor came fast, went from initial pain to birth in four hours.
Dr Robert Neville 2 years ago
New Year's Day some time in the 90's, sat in the ER and mother comes in with her 6 month-ish baby. Gives them details and sits down. About 15 minutes later I realise I can hear this baby breathing, I'm sat around 15 feet away, this baby was not well, the mother's already been up a couple of times to chase but "there are other people in front of you", the woman next to her now goes to the front desk and starts berating them about this baby. Nope. Other people are now joining in, the entire waiting room is now shouting at reception about this baby. They relent. No idea what happened but what the hell? A 6 month old should be making that much noise breathing and if a jobsworth medical receptionist can't tell something's wrong then they're not fit for purpose.
Nikki Gross 1 year ago
I have 13 siblings, one was born in the waiting room, one in the hallway and one in the elevator and all 3 were at an Army hospital. Sometimes crazy s**t happens!
MacintoshID 2 years ago
Heard a similar story from my ex who ran an ER. No pants on the women, just a very large/long tshirt and the ER doc had to run and catch the baby or it would have hit the floor. The mother had no idea what was going on and felt nothing the entire time.
Sara Wilson 2 years ago
And I'm sure the hospital still charged her the full amount of a delivery!
#6
A doctor going from patient to patient asking them health questions, symptoms and so on. She did this for an hour until there was a code white announcement. 2 orderly's and a 2 security guards surrounded her and hauled her off. She was not a doctor after all..
ADHORTATOR 2 years ago
a doctor with enought time to talk to a patient for an hour - very suspicious
Bored something 2 years ago
She talked toultiple patients over the hour. Not just one.
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Appalachian Panda 2 years ago
FYI, in some hospitals, Code White means a security response is required due to someone being combative or a danger to others. I suspect that's the case here.
LinkTheHylian 2 years ago
Was she another patient? A journalist sneaking info from celebs in rehab? Or a Halloween prankster?
two-sided llama 2 years ago
"hello how long is your penis its for a medical inspection" "uhhhh" "what would you say you would do with that penis with me use description" "what" "ohhh thats bad let me take to my bedroom for a full inspection"
#7
A panicked guy sitting with his girlfriend, holding a ziplock bag with the tip of one of his fingers inside.
Her: “What are you going to do?”
Him: “Well I’m NOT going to be a chef.”
Greg Sheldon 2 years ago
Witnessed almost the same thing. Guy walks in holding a rag around his hand and says he's cut his fingers off. Takes the rag off to show the nurse, who makes a "OMG thats nasty" face and tells them he has his fingers in his pocket. Poor guy, I hope they managed to reattach them
#8
I watched a robot filing cabinet press the elevator button and guide itself to a different area of the hospital.
Crybabyartist 2 years ago
HA HAAA when I was in the hospital.. out on a run to find some snacks i came across one of these... and played chicken with it!! HA HAA it went left i went right... it went right i went left. I hate to admit it though in the end if I have memories that arent too clouded with hospital heroin, it just came straight at me and I moved.. I lost to a robot. further proof of their eventual takeover.
Margrete Sonnenberg 2 years ago
I think i saw one those before, though it got stuck on wheelchair and gave up.
#9
This just happened a couple of weeks ago. I was in the ER waiting room and there seem to be a lot of commotion over an elderly Asian woman who was sitting there with a large suitcase. Apparently her family just dropped her off there and she had no where to go. She was not ill and did not need medical attention. They abandoned her.They just left her like an unwanted puppy at the shelter. One of the saddest things I’ve seen.
Nadine Bamberger 2 years ago
It is, I'd like to know the circumstances that led to this, maybe it was a desperate decision to at least leave her someplace safe, you never know what people go through. I hope she's okay now.
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Bouche and Audi and Shyla, Oh My! 2 years ago
When I was released, that's what the probation office told my mom to do with me. Drop me off at a hospital and hope they admitted me.
Lisia Smith 2 years ago
Before you judge the family, please know that with most people it would be an absolute last resort to abandon a family member. I know of a friend who had to "abandon" her elderly mom in a hospital because she could not take care of her anymore. Her mom had Alzheimer's and the daughter could not pay for care. To get her mom on social services she had to abandon her at the hospital. It was heartbreaking. Our provisions for the elderly are horrific here in the states.
Back in St. Olaf 2 years ago
At the Grady ER in Atlanta, there was a woman living in the handicap stall in one of the bathrooms. She had little potted plants and everything in there. I said something to one of the nurses and she just shrugged and said something like, "Oh yeah, that's just Gladys." Maybe somebody dropped her off there too.
Sophroniel 2 years ago
why was she in a country where she didn't know the language? perhaps she shouldn't have left her home country.... people bring their aging relations to western countries and assume they'll be looked after but it doesn't work that way...
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Sophroniel 2 years ago
why was she in a country where she didn't know the language? perhaps she shouldn't have left her home country.... people bring their aging relations to western countries and assume they'll be looked after but it doesn't work that way...
Load More Replies... Mr. Nurse Man 2 years ago
One of the safest places to be dropped off, I guess. But that’s still very sad.
#10
I was sitting in the ER waiting room and this young couple comes in. The man pushing his girlfriend in a wheel chair. She’s barely conscious, slumped over and pale. As the boyfriend is checking her in, she wakes ups and Exorcist-style projectile vomits onto the floor. Nurses rush her back. The boyfriend then sits down and not a minute passes before out of nowhere he does the same! Everyone waiting slapped masks on real quick once that happened.
WonderWoman 2 years ago
I will never go into a hospital or dr office without a mask ever again.
Josh Dorsett 2 years ago
Here's hoping it wasn't Cholera Lassa Virus Yellow Fever Cryptosporidosis Etc etc
LinkTheHylian 2 years ago
I wonder if this was the same couple who thought they were dead after eating pot brownies.
#11
When I was roughly 11 years old, my parents and I ended up in the emergency room of one of the larger hospitals in the city due to a family emergency. This was my first experience in a city emergency room and it was much more chaotic than the country ERs (obviously). However, mom and dad needed to speak with the medical professionals without a precocious 11-year-old listening, so my dad instructed me to sit in the waiting/triage area and he vaguely gestured behind me. I sat down in the red triage area, trying to stay in view of the hallway so my parents could find me, and then looked up to observe my surroundings. Across from me was a 30-something man, his swollen face is bloodied as well as his clothing and his entire head is bandaged – wrapped tightly around his forehead to the back, and over and under his chin. A rather large butcher knife is protruding from the left side of his head, with the handle pointed straight to the ceiling and the blade edge facing away from me. The knife is firmly wrapped to the side of his head, and I’m guessing, keeping his ear in place. I can also see fresh blood slowly wicking through the bandages. The man is sitting with his legs crossed and is casually reading a magazine. The knife wobbled slightly as he turned his face from page to page and he seemed particularly unconcerned there is a knife stuck in his head. I don’t recall much thought processes regarding this situation, other than a flood of questions that I was holding back. Dad came around the corner to collect me and followed my fascinated stare, jumped slightly at the sight of the stabbed man and hauled me out of there pretty quick. Thus, my first introduction to a city ER in a sketchy part of town.
#12
Once upon a time i was waiting on news of a friend who'd been in an accident.
I saw a guy (about early twenties) come in with him mom because he'd fallen off of his roof and dislocated his shoulder. After about an hour of waiting his mom just says "f**k it! this is taking too long!" and legit began to google how to reset a shoulder.
After about 5 mins of research, she took off her belt, folded it up and told him to bite down on it. She then proceeded to violently shove her son's shoulder back into the socket while he naturally screamed in agony.
Security and nurses rush over to see what the commotion is and more or less need to pull her off of him. Security sits her down and the nurses take the poor kid and get him treated.
Say No to Downvoting 2 years ago
As someone who waited for 5 hours in an emergency room for the 5 minute procedure needed to relocate MY dislocated shoulder, I don’t blame her one bit. Although, I don’t know what kind of information she found. My quick google found some really effective methods wouldn’t have necessitated biting on a belt.
HTakeover 2 years ago
Same. By the time they touched it, I was so swollen they had to call in a specialist and put me under. If that hadn't worked, they would've had to operate. After that ridiculous situation I figured it out myself. Have reset it a few times since; no pain, no waiting... pop & done.
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Isa 2 years ago
I live in the Netherlands, and over here they only will take any interest on you in the hospital, if you are dead or near by..they are true believers that you are stronger than you know and the body has power to take care of himself and paracetamol its the miracle medication for everything...once I was at the ER at my hospital area, full of pain on my stomach, an so high pain that the only thing I can say, it looked like a knife was being twisted inside of me...I was screaming like crazy...several times a nurse come to ask me to not scream because it was disturbing the other patients...I told her that if I had 10 mouths I would scream by all of them...finally they decided to see me and have found that I was bleeding from my stomach and I was taken immediately to another hospital...
jdtimid123 2 years ago
Don't they say not to do that cause it can cause more tissue damage if you don't do it right? That's what we were taught growing up anyway.
Luna (all pronouns) 2 years ago
I dislocated my elbow so much as a kid I could just pop it back into socket. Normal for me, weird for people around me.
FaceTime Audio 2 years ago
I’ve dislocated my elbow at least once fully, probably another time fully but I got it back right as my mom pulled into the hospital parking lot (circa age 3, crying and not moving my elbow), and partially who knows how many times (very loose joints). Not that challenging to do on myself, although most of the time it’s only out of place a bit and not all the way.
Load More Replies... Mr. Nurse Man 2 years ago
I reset joints all the time. Fun stuff when they try to do it themselves.
Crybabyartist 2 years ago
Well just by the common laws of physics, it's going to want to go back into the correct position
Load More Replies... WIERD QUEEN RAYSUN<3 2 years ago
i already know how to re locate a shoulder. ive done it to my self
BookFanatic 2 years ago
Our HS football coach got so tired of the kids dislocating different fingers that he'd just pop them back into place himself. School authorities were less than thrilled.
#13
When I was a kid, waiting in casualty with my mum because I got in some scrape. The guy say opposite us had a real life broadsword stuck in his foot. He’d been working in some old stately home and a suit of armour toppled over and the sword impaled his foot. It was all bandaged up and not obviously bleeding. So he was just sat there, cool as, waiting for his turn, holding this massive sword lodged in his foot.
TotallyNOTAFox 2 years ago
Who ever pulls the sword out of his feet shall become the king of the hospital
Rinso the Red 2 years ago
As weird as it sounds, they were right not to remove the sword before getting to hospital.
Sans Serif 2 years ago
If impaled, leave it in -- sword, arrow, knife or whatever! It is actually reducing blood loss better than if it were removed...
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#14
I was in Alice Springs hospital years ago with my baby daughter and we were sitting next to an indigenous lady who I thought was holding a spear. When I remarked in the lovely dot dot artwork on it she proudly showed me how it was actually through her ankle, in one side and out the other.
JuniorCJ82 2 years ago
Were you expecting a BP "author" to know the difference between a Native American and an Aborigine (or bother doing 2.5 seconds of research to find out)?
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Larry Decandia 2 years ago
Middle of nowhere Australia. Miss it evey day. Also, crazy stuff happens at that almost every weekend.
Performingyak 2 years ago (edited)
When I was a teacher, my first placement was in Lightning Ridge. The first week there the announcement came in the morning meeting that 2 girls would not be at school due to the shotgun going off through the wall of their camp. Minor injuries but was still a "welcome to the outback" moment .
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Dorian Gabriel 2 years ago
What do you mean? This woman is Australian aboriginal.
Load More Replies... Megan 2 years ago
People in the comments could stand to do a millisecond of research before losing their minds... According to the photographer, this IS an Australian Aborigine. If that information ended up being incorrect, it wouldn't even be the author of this post's fault.
Dorian Gabriel 2 years ago
Thank you! The photographer has a whole series where he worked with Aboriginal Australians. It can be found very easily on Google. This is a truly gorgeous photo of a beautiful Aboriginal woman.
Load More Replies... Dorian Gabriel 2 years ago
I'm not sure why people are saying this woman isn't an Aboriginal Australian. She is. The photo was taken by Steve Evans and is on Wikimedia Commons, where the photographer has identified her as an indigenous Australian. Her face paint and jewellery, as well as complexion, are very typical of indigenous Australians.
#15
I’ll never forget it. I went to the ER with a kidney stone and there was an old couple sitting across from me probably in their 60’s or 70’s. The lady was bickering to the man complaining about how long they’ve been there. The only thing is that this woman was completely purple. Like all of her face and head was this dark purple. She didn’t appear to be in any pain but my f**k was she ever purple.
Zedrapazia 2 years ago
Lead positioning, called cerulism. In addition to the blue discoloration of the skin and mucous membranes, symptoms of cerulism include headaches, fatigue, loss of appetite and weight loss. In severe cases, cerulism can cause irreversible damage to the nerves and brain.
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Fussy1 2 years ago
Whenever my grandma who had Parkinson's decided she couldn't wait for one of us to help her colour her hair, she'd show up at our house with ombre purple hair, purple streaks on her face, forehead, neck, ears, clothes. Her hands were the worst bc she "can't get those damn gloves on!" Ironically her name was Violet and her favourite colour was purple. Lol Damn I miss that ol' gal!!
ILoveMySon 2 years ago
What an interesting and determined Grandma. I am sorry for your loss.
Load More Replies... Robin Roper 2 years ago
"Old couple" in their 60's or 70's? My father will soon turn 97. 60's & 70's is not old.
Kraneia The Dancing Dryad 2 years ago
Purple or blue? Sometimes if you take colloidal silver, and take too much, your skin turns a silverish blue. It doesn't turn back...
Crybabyartist 2 years ago
Silver overdose Colloidal silver some old people are betting their money on in supplements to make them younger again... I so wish I could stave off aging... but God help me to realize i can't
#16
Fell off my bike and fractured both bones in my wrist, while at camp. While in the waiting room a boy and girl both in Wendy’s outfits, boy holding a very bloody towel around his hand and her holding a bag full of ice and something bloody. I kid you not his line was, “so after they reattach my finger, do you wanna grab a bite to eat?” Then a bunch of cops come in escorting a man in full prison jumpsuit with the arm and leg cuffs bleeding profusely from his head. Quite the crazy experience!
Josh Dorsett 2 years ago
As you do. It's baffling how cruel Hospitality workers are treated and the conditions they work in. I've worked in hospitality and I'm never going back. I make it a policy to be extra kind, easy and patient with hospitality and retail workers.
Alex Scheffer 2 years ago
Just needed to point out that a hospitality worker is an entertainer, serves food or works at a hotel. A hospital worker is a hospital worker. Should be extra kind to retail, hospitality AND hospital workers.
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Cassidy Moore 2 years ago
If you lose an appendage, do not put it directly on ice as the tissue can still get frostbite. Instead wrap the severed appendage in a cloth of some kind and then put in ice.
Adam Zad 2 years ago
He took the opportunity to shoot his shot! Good for him! Did she say, "Yes"?
Fussy1 2 years ago
Seriously! I'm more interested in knowing if buddy is retelling the story at their wedding of how he cut his own finger off to get a date with her.
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Renee Prete 2 years ago
Ex-boyfriend lost 2 fingertips at Wendy's years ago. He was using the meat machine that makes the patties. Not a good day
#17
When I was in my early 20's I had a nasty staph infection I caught at work. Eventually I ended up having surgery because I was *this* close to losing part of my ankle tendon due to several pockets being right on it and the doctor basically rushing me into surgery unexpectedly. Before all of this though, the Air Force in its infinite wisdom decided they couldn't treat me on base and would just send me to the ER downtown however many times it would take to have them give me antibiotics to clear it up. Why, I don't know, but tax dollars at work right? Anyway one day I'm in there waiting to be seen when this older farmer looking guy walks right up to the front desk holding a small yeti style cup. This was before Yeti became big but that's what it looked like. "Hey Ron" said the nurse "Hey Pearl" said the farmer "Brought your lunch today?" asked the nurse "Nope, it's just my fingers" replied the farmer as he then held up his other hand that he had previously tucked away in his coat, wrapped in bloody rags. "Damn machine got me again" And that's when I realized that 1) There are some really tough dudes out there who can lose multiple fingers and drive themselves to the hospital in the same calm manner they would have going through the McDonalds drive thru and 2) Whatever machines he was operating, I would like to never be closer than 100' to them in my life.
The Mediterranean Fruit 2 years ago
Yeah my grandpa was a farmer and he only has 2 unharmed fingers on one of his hands
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Hiram's Friend 2 years ago
My first nursing job was in a rural ER. Guy came in with his fingers in his hat. They were too chewed up to reattach so we sent them to the"big" town pathologist and got back a one word report: "Fingers"
vintage_one 2 years ago (edited)
My 83 year old dad tripped coming into the house while carrying a bottle of wine and case of beer. The beer and wine survived. He ended up driving himself to the emergency room and getting 6 staples in his head.
#18
Like 20 years ago waiting in the ER I see a guy dressed up as a full Monkey being wheeled on a stretcher past a large doorway and then 3 other monkeys following him. They were performers from the Live Lion King Show at Animal Kingdom.
Dr Robert Neville 2 years ago
Sounds like he had great friends. Prime mates one might say. I'll get my coat.
Trinity Han 2 years ago
Sun Wu Kong is everywhere, first the Singaporean textbooks and now this
#19
Girl trying to get admitted to the mental health unit, turns out her boyfriend was a patient. She didn't get admitted, she wasn't happy about it but she left. Next thing we know there's a car doing donuts just outside of the ER entrance, she was throwing things out the window and screaming "am I crazy enough now?" She ends up driving around to the other side of the hospital and driving right through some sliding glass doors. She's lucky she didn't [unalive] someone, another 10 feet and she would have crashed over a railing and into the cafeteria below, where staff was napping on a couch. Definitely got carted away, but not to where she wanted to go.
Jaime de Lancey 2 years ago
Really hate this "UNALIVE" word. are we too precious to say it as it is?
The Redhead 2 years ago
I assume she got admitted to jail. Incredibly stupid, there's no guarantee she'd be sent to the same psych hospital, you get sent where there's an available bed. Also even in the event she was sent to the same psych hospital it doesn't mean she'll be sent to the same ward as him.
Awesome At Being Autistic 2 years ago
I was in a mental hospital when I was in my early teens. 2 of the girls that were in there were solely there because their boyfriends were in there.
Historyharlot93 2 years ago
I wonder if the boyfriend felt safer there because his girlfriend sounds psycho, but not in a mentally ill way. I’ve been hospitalized too, and saw a lot of people who were there because a SO literally drove them to a breakdown.
#20
My moms favorite ER story (she spent a lot of time there with my dad as he fought drug and alcohol addiction on top of health issues) is when they were in an ER that was kind of an open concept, with just curtains for visual privacy. A couple beds in, there was a woman just moaning and screaming in pain. When the doctors went to see her and tell her what was wrong, the woman was moaning so loudly they had to yell “YOU ARE LITERALLY FULL OF POOP!” loud enough for the whole department to hear. The woman promptly quieted down.
nini 2 years ago
Nope. You either give laxatives, an enema or, if nothing else helps, it's gotta be removed manually...
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#21
I was like??? 13? I think? I forget why I was in the ER but I remember not feeling good at all. My hometown is a small rural Ohio town, great hospital but long wait times in the ER. So I had been there for about an hour and a half. My mom went to the bathroom and right after she left a lady was wheeled in in a wheelchair. Rather obese woman with a very thick leg (looking back now I know it was Lymphedema) and I remember her leg looked like it was leaking fluid? The person who wheeled her in went to window to start the check in process and the woman was grumbling about her leg itching. She bent over in the wheelchair, reached down, and her leg split. Liquid and what looked like fat busted out of her thigh and she screamed. And like she had every right to that s**t looked like it was agonizing. Immediately some nurses came out and whipped her into the back. When my mom came back asking what had happened I didn't even tell her just, "I think we might be waiting a bit longer mom." I guess it's very rare, but apparently if you're not taking care of your lymphedema properly it can happen.
Amanda Rose 2 years ago
I also have lymphedema. The leaking lymph fluid was part of what got me hospitalized in the first place. Mine came about due to complications from my gallbladder removal surgery (infection and whatnot). It's a condition that can get really serious really quickly.
Bouche and Audi and Shyla, Oh My! 2 years ago
I have severe lymphoedema. Every time one of the cats scratches my lower legs, they ooze for weeks, sometimes longer.
Mr. Nurse Man 2 years ago (edited)
I’ve seen someone’s surgical site pop open (dehisce) but not someone’s body part that wasn’t previously opened. That would be startling to say the least.
Upstaged75 2 years ago (edited)
My mom ended up with that after she had her back reconstructed over 2 days with several surgeries. She had a few places on her legs where it actually did split and they became big weeping scabs. I was helping to take care of her afterwards and it was quite gross. (But also fascinating - I like icky stuff, LOL) It was a while before the biggest oozing scab healed and fell off. They looked awful and it was painful for her.
DarkViolet 2 years ago
About not taking care of your lymphedema properly: it's a little difficult to take care of it when you can barely afford the supplies because Medicare doesn't cover them. I've had to deal with it for eight years, and staying on top of the swelling (and the leaks) isn't cheap. You don't always have the luxury of elevating your legs above your heart, your shoes no longer fit, your skin become dry to the point of cracking, and for the phlebotomist, finding a vein is an adventure. And let's not talk about the cellulitis.
Dawnieangel76 2 years ago
In my early 20's, I used to get sick & injured a lot. I very clearly remember waiting patiently for stitches...I was wearing a DIY tourniquet & doing fine...when a guy comes in with a bloody towel around his hand, soaked, and his companion holding a gas station cup with ice that clearly was holding at least one finger. They called my name, and I shook my head, saying to take the guy first. I had a deep, but small cut on my thigh, being controlled well. I could wait.
MacintoshID 2 years ago
My parents oldest daughter has lymphedema. We all know she is in pain now, but she didn't take care of it when it first showed up even though she was under excellent care at the time. Due to her mental health issues and just plain being mean, she is now unable to do anything for herself and this has been going on for at least 15 years. If she had just done what this excellent doctor had told her to do, she would still be an active middle aged person and able to finish up her PhD and earned a nice living off her testing inventions. Her lymphedema was as bad as the OP's story patient's problems that day.
#22
I was in the ER waiting room for a possible broken hand when I was in high school. There were a group of frat guys from the local college that were drunk off their a**es trying to get their buddy seen for a really bad cut in the meat between his thumb and index fingers. I was in the waiting room for at least half an hour before I got seen and the whole time I was there the guy with the cut was squeezing the sides of his cut to make it open and close like a mouth and he did a whole comedy routine for his buddies in the waiting room like it was a ventriloquists dummy. Really gross but f*****g hilarious.
Heather Menard 2 years ago
I have done this with my finger recently to the doctor. It's either laugh or cry
emma malcolm 2 years ago
living with three brothers, i can tell you that this happened frequently
#23
From my last visit it is a three way tie. I was in said waiting room for 12 hours. I saw a lot but these stick out.
First the lady who kept intentionally sticking her finger down her throat to throw up. Over and over you'd hear her retch. Finally after a couple hours, she exhausted herself but then laid down in the puke. She had to be picked up and put in a wheelchair as she refused to get up and move.
Second was the really huge guy coming in for a blood clot per his loud phone conversation. Fell asleep mid eating and had sleep apnea. The best was his tweaker girlfriend would try to wake him up by giving him a handjob. When that was unsuccessful, she went through his wallet.
Third was the obvious frequent flyer homeless man who created a small nest in a corner and went to sleep. After about 2 hours, security came over to wake him up by his name and tell him it's time to go. He promptly stood up, farted very loudly and left a huge mess as he left.
Elia Skarda 2 years ago
The second paragraph made me laugh so hard I didn't make a sound. Pure chaos.
Holly McRell 2 years ago
Wow, file this in the "You can't make this up" category. Sorry you saw all of that!
Dread Pirate Roberts 2 years ago
LOL I wasn't expecting the fart. The way it's worded, sounds like it may have been a shart?
666_cthulhu 2 years ago (edited)
i don’t think that’s what they were implying. well, except for the homeless guy. sounds like he just needed a place to sleep
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#24
I see this one kid, a teenager of maybe 17, come in with his parents. He’s looking pretty bad, with a black eye and a split lip and suffering at least some degree of concussion. He refuses to tell his parents what happened, just saying “I can explain later” or “I don’t want to talk about it”. A few minutes later a guy a little older, maybe 18 or 19, comes in limping heavily and having to be supported by his friend as he enters. Looks around for a seat, sees the first guy, and yells “That’s the m**********r right there!” His friend sprints at the younger kid, gets tackled by security and zip-tied, it takes nearly every security guard on the floor keeping them separated because apparently already being in the ER wasn’t enough they wanted to go another round.
Tom De Paul 2 years ago
Sounds like a chapter from a Jack Reacher novel that was cut by the editor.
#25
my appendix burst, and this was during covid so all the beds were full. I ended up in the waiting room with an IV drip and was gown’d up waiting for surgery. A guy comes in, absolutely smacked out of his mind and immediately starts pissing on the chairs. A nurse tells him to stop and he horks a loogie in her face. He then turns to me and starts speedbagging my IV like Rocky lol Security rushed in, scooped me up and tackled the guy. Ngl I’ve always wanted to punch an IV bag I was jealous
lizzie_gurrrrl 2 years ago
Idk but the fact that I have no idea what that is makes it ten times funnier 😂
Load More Replies... Sophroniel 2 years ago
the fact that you were in the waiting room or made to wait for a BURST APPENDIX at ALL is terrifying
Ambry Petersen 2 years ago
I had my appendix rupture in the ER so I feel your pain. At least it sounds like you got some entertainment out of it.
#26
Old man decided to take his pants off in the lobby before heading to the bathroom. Ended up spraying s**t in a path on his way there. From what I understand, he was just there with a family member; not even needing to be seen.
LinkTheHylian 2 years ago
It's Labor Day and my grandpa just ate seven f****n' hotdogs, it's Labor Day and my grandpa just ate seven f****n' hotdogs...
#27
Watched a guy fake passing out so he didn’t have to wait, since there were a lot of people waiting. A*****e winked at me as he was wheeled back on a gurney.
Kat 2 years ago
Did an internship in an ER once... There was a guy who faked an overdose of something and being unconscious. Very obvious awake, but refused to open his eyes or say what he took (some ibuprofen). The ER doc had enough of him taking up too much time and resources , took a handful of gauzes and pressed them over his nose and mouth. The guy was miraculously cured in just a few seconds and was transferred to psychiatry for assessment
Jason Boyd 2 years ago
Hopefully they decided to amputate something of low importance to us all while they had him...
Hiram's Friend 2 years ago
If you hold the arm above the guy's face and let it fall, very few people will let it hit their face without being unconscious. Then there's pressing on the thumbnail with the barrel of a pen or the old standby nipple twist.
LinkTheHylian 2 years ago
Plot twist: Dude was wheeled out of the hospital and into a nearby arena hosting WWE SummerSlam, where he was promptly dumped in a Hell in a Cell match with Undertaker.
StarlightPanda! 2 years ago
What a jerk. Some other people waiting could have had actual life-threatening problems!
#28
I took an employee with kidney stones to the ER one time. While sitting in the waiting room, a guy came in with chest pains. He was taken back for immediate treatment. And then came the rest of his crew. He had been at a potluck picnic when it happened. And they brought the whole dang thing to the hospital. Like 40 people with casserole dishes and meat trays and such. Only disappointing thing was they didn’t invite me to eat.
Mr. Nurse Man 2 years ago
Yeah, chest pain trumps kidney stones. But they should have invited your for a snack lol.
#29
All at the same time: family come pouring in following a stretcher being rushed through, all screaming and yelling that someone shot their baby, a grandmother (guess) holding a toddler horizontally so she could pee into an open trash can, and a dog tied to an ashtray outside snapping and wailing every time the door opened, spilling ashes everywhere. I was just there for 4 stitches in my head. I just took them out myself at a bar rather than go back there. It was Woodhull Hospital in Brooklyn in 2002. Good times…
Kariali 2 years ago
Took me a few reads to realise that it was the toddler peeing, not the grandmother...
Tam Clark 2 years ago
It took your comment for me to realise it was the toddler not the grandmother 😬
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Nice Beast Ludo 2 years ago
I heard on the radio yesterday that someone was holding a toddler peeing on the side of the beltway and another car pulled over and started filming. Now the people filming potentially might be charged with child pornography.
Colin Matthews 2 years ago
I had an emergency appendectomy last year. Wound up waiting a while in a lot of pain hunched over. Just as I thought I was getting looked at an Arab guy staggers in being held up by 2-3 others one of them is holding up his right arm and where a hand would be is just a blood soaked towel. God knows how he lost his right hand , but even I realised he was next!!
BookFanatic 2 years ago
Not wildest, but definitely the most impressive response I've seen. I was at the ER of a small town hospital last year. As I'm waiting my turn, a loud chime starts going off from the speaker system. Then a recorded voice starts "STROKE ALERT! STROKE ALERT! RESPONSE TEAM TO ER!" There was a button at the intake desk that hospital staff could push if they suspected someone was having a stroke. A whole team came through the door, scooped up an older lady, and started doing whatever you do for a stroke victim as they were rushing her off. It was amazing.
#30
I once saw a guy cut himself with a piece of broken glass to be seen sooner by the nurses during triage.
Mr. Nurse Man 2 years ago
Please don’t do this. We nurses have a lot on our plate already (especially in the ER) and you causing extra problems and contaminating the area with your blood is just rude and dangerous to other people.
StarlightPanda! 2 years ago
Another selfish, pathetic, horrible person. There are other people who most likely needed help immediately.
FaceTime Audio 2 years ago
I understand the impulse, but trying to cut ahead of seriously ill patients when you’re not in immediately life-threatening danger is selfish. Healthcare professionals have it set up this way for a reason.
Sunny Day 2 years ago
I've learned that if you go to the ER and your pulse is over 200, or your blood pressure is 210/115, you don't have to wait at all.
StarlightPanda! 2 years ago
I've heard that sometimes they don't. Luckily over a month ago, when my husband went in with super high blood pressure and other symptoms, they took him immediately and found that he had bleeding in the brain. He's doing great now. But it still feels like it isn't real. He's everything to me..
Load More Replies... Ambry Petersen 2 years ago
They get you in pretty fast when you got a sick baby too, temp of 103 and ended up with an overnight hospital stay. Was not a fun night. Thankfully the medicine did the trick. (Was not covid RSV, or flu. They tested for all of those. Have no idea what the heck it was.)
Upstaged75 2 years ago
Don't do that unless you are actually having chest pains. It's a total a$$hole move.
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#31
not as a patient, but my job was in the emergency room. one day a man with an OPEN HEAD WOUND (his head was literally crushed) got up from the couch, wandered to the toilet, locked himself in there, and then started smoking, because the smell of cigarettes was throughout the entire department. there were blood trails on his way... me and my friend, realizing the f****d up situation, first tried to peacefully persuade him to leave, but it didn’t work. they called the security. there was a lot of screaming and stuff. I literally had to break down the door. when the door was broken down, we found him sitting on the toilet with a cigarette in his mouth. absolutely everything was in the blood and his feces
Debby Keir 2 years ago
Hospital toilet doors can easily be opened from the outside (with a special tool) for obvious safety reasons, so doubt they broke the door down.
What do you think ?
talliloo 2 years ago
not a medical issue but it happened at a military hospital e.r. and it was one of the best things i witnessed while being on base. my son was very ill (turned out to be pneumonia) & like all e.r. practices, there is triage. but for non life threatening it was first come, first served. lots of people waiting a very long time. a woman comes in, checks in & sits. after about 15-20 minutes she marches up to the desk & starts making a scene: "why am i not next? i shouldn't have to wait! I am captain so & so's wife & should be seen first" the room went dead silent. then this really young woman w/a baby in her arms walks up to her and tells her "just shut the hell up. you make your 'living' same as the rest of us - you sleep with a sailor." after a moment everyone there started laughing. she eventually stomped out.
Sophie Knight 2 years ago
About 15 years ago: I've got a dialysis graft in my thigh, muscle around it gets infection which starts attacking the artery. Put a dressing over it and went to ER. Dr took the dressing off, top layer of skin comes off, artery busts, blood shoots out and hits the ceiling. All I remember after that is lying flat on a trolley with a nurse kneeling over me pressing on the wound, us being run down the corridor to the operating room. My other main memory of it was the lights on the ceiling flashing past as we were sped down the hallway like in a film.
Korrie Broos 2 years ago
2009 in the Czech republic. a summer heat wave and the Gypseys goes for a swim in a local pond. Their Prince dives into the pond and nearly drowns. He gets taken to the local hospital and into ICU. The gypsy clan takes over the parking lot and lawns, camping to be near their Prince. Some even sleeps in the hospital on the floor and in the ICU room. The prince did die eventually, The funeral was another major gypsy gathering.
Powerful Katrinka 2 years ago
Don't know why you got downvoted. It's a really interesting story.
Load More Replies... Libstak 2 years ago (edited)
An ambulance arrives, nurses run out to meet it. As soon as the gurney is out a petite young nurse jumps on it, straddling the old male patient. She is compressing his chest with all her soul, entire body weight thrown into the effort, very calm but full on pounding his chest. The paramedics and another nurse push that gurney at full speed into the hospital. A car pulls up, 4 people get out, elderly lady is sobbing and shaking. Another nurse waves them through. It's quiet for a while, then suddenly an inhuman screaming wail followed by loud angry and screaming male voices, from the men who were with the lady. A few of us waiting also started crying. That nurse who did the compressions though, what a freaking star she was. I hope she knows she did all she could.
Sunny Day 2 years ago
My boss ended up in the ER one Saturday afternoon because "he thought the table saw had stopped completely". He said he was sitting there with a bloody kitchen towel wrapped around his slightly mangled fingertips, watching all these other victims of the Honey-Do lists come wandering through. They would look from their kitchen towel to his, their eyes would meet, and they'd do a chin lift in acknowledgement of their solidarity before finding a seat.
Robin DJW 2 years ago
I used to work in an ER and two cases linger strongest in my memory. One was a little kid with his tongue stuck in his trumpet. The other was a woman who had shot herself in her belly, saying to her cheating husband -"you can't choose between me and her - I'll help you choose." He was eaten up with guilt, but if I had been him, I'd have dropped her on a gurney and walked out, saying "You're an idiot. Thanks for making the choice easier."
Holly McRell 2 years ago
I bet the kid stopped playing the trumped after that!
Load More Replies...
Princess 2 years ago
A black bear cub walked into the ER through an automatic opening door at a hospital I use to work at in Alaska.
Holly McRell 2 years ago
My first time in the ER was when I was about 7. I tried dancing like Michael Jackson in my socks on the kitchen floor, slipping and cracking my head open on the counter. My Mom took me in and I was really scared. While we were waiting, there was a woman who worked in admitting on the phone who snorted when she laughed. That was funny enough but mid-laugh, she was reaching for something and the phone cord yanked the phone out of her hand and the phone hit the angry-looking woman in the admissions seat next to hers. She started laughing and snorting even louder, which got everyone laughing, including the man waiting next to us. He laughed so hard he smacked his head on the glass behind him and cut his head open too. It was a great way to fix my nervousness!
Dan St John 2 years ago
When I was 8, my family went to Disney in CA, We were at a motel with a pool and slide. I went down the slide with my arms over the side and at the end, was flipped into the pool when my left arm caught on something and tore it open. I was rushed to the ER and while the doctor was looking at my arm to see what needed to happen, another kid about my age was wheeled in. The doctor looked at me and then the other child. He went over to the other kid and then came back and said, you are going to have to wait until I can sew this child's hand back on. Next to the kid on a tray was his hand. I forgot all about my arm and watched in amazement as he reattached his hand. Apparently he had somehow gotten under a ride at Disney and it cut his hand off. When the doctor was done, he came and did my arm. 56 stitches and two tendons tied back together and off I went. It did ruin Disney land though.
talliloo 2 years ago
not a medical issue but it happened at a military hospital e.r. and it was one of the best things i witnessed while being on base. my son was very ill (turned out to be pneumonia) & like all e.r. practices, there is triage. but for non life threatening it was first come, first served. lots of people waiting a very long time. a woman comes in, checks in & sits. after about 15-20 minutes she marches up to the desk & starts making a scene: "why am i not next? i shouldn't have to wait! I am captain so & so's wife & should be seen first" the room went dead silent. then this really young woman w/a baby in her arms walks up to her and tells her "just shut the hell up. you make your 'living' same as the rest of us - you sleep with a sailor." after a moment everyone there started laughing. she eventually stomped out.
Sophie Knight 2 years ago
About 15 years ago: I've got a dialysis graft in my thigh, muscle around it gets infection which starts attacking the artery. Put a dressing over it and went to ER. Dr took the dressing off, top layer of skin comes off, artery busts, blood shoots out and hits the ceiling. All I remember after that is lying flat on a trolley with a nurse kneeling over me pressing on the wound, us being run down the corridor to the operating room. My other main memory of it was the lights on the ceiling flashing past as we were sped down the hallway like in a film.
Korrie Broos 2 years ago
2009 in the Czech republic. a summer heat wave and the Gypseys goes for a swim in a local pond. Their Prince dives into the pond and nearly drowns. He gets taken to the local hospital and into ICU. The gypsy clan takes over the parking lot and lawns, camping to be near their Prince. Some even sleeps in the hospital on the floor and in the ICU room. The prince did die eventually, The funeral was another major gypsy gathering.
Powerful Katrinka 2 years ago
Don't know why you got downvoted. It's a really interesting story.
Load More Replies... Libstak 2 years ago (edited)
An ambulance arrives, nurses run out to meet it. As soon as the gurney is out a petite young nurse jumps on it, straddling the old male patient. She is compressing his chest with all her soul, entire body weight thrown into the effort, very calm but full on pounding his chest. The paramedics and another nurse push that gurney at full speed into the hospital. A car pulls up, 4 people get out, elderly lady is sobbing and shaking. Another nurse waves them through. It's quiet for a while, then suddenly an inhuman screaming wail followed by loud angry and screaming male voices, from the men who were with the lady. A few of us waiting also started crying. That nurse who did the compressions though, what a freaking star she was. I hope she knows she did all she could.
Sunny Day 2 years ago
My boss ended up in the ER one Saturday afternoon because "he thought the table saw had stopped completely". He said he was sitting there with a bloody kitchen towel wrapped around his slightly mangled fingertips, watching all these other victims of the Honey-Do lists come wandering through. They would look from their kitchen towel to his, their eyes would meet, and they'd do a chin lift in acknowledgement of their solidarity before finding a seat.
Robin DJW 2 years ago
I used to work in an ER and two cases linger strongest in my memory. One was a little kid with his tongue stuck in his trumpet. The other was a woman who had shot herself in her belly, saying to her cheating husband -"you can't choose between me and her - I'll help you choose." He was eaten up with guilt, but if I had been him, I'd have dropped her on a gurney and walked out, saying "You're an idiot. Thanks for making the choice easier."
Holly McRell 2 years ago
I bet the kid stopped playing the trumped after that!
Load More Replies... Princess 2 years ago
A black bear cub walked into the ER through an automatic opening door at a hospital I use to work at in Alaska.
Holly McRell 2 years ago
My first time in the ER was when I was about 7. I tried dancing like Michael Jackson in my socks on the kitchen floor, slipping and cracking my head open on the counter. My Mom took me in and I was really scared. While we were waiting, there was a woman who worked in admitting on the phone who snorted when she laughed. That was funny enough but mid-laugh, she was reaching for something and the phone cord yanked the phone out of her hand and the phone hit the angry-looking woman in the admissions seat next to hers. She started laughing and snorting even louder, which got everyone laughing, including the man waiting next to us. He laughed so hard he smacked his head on the glass behind him and cut his head open too. It was a great way to fix my nervousness!
Dan St John 2 years ago
When I was 8, my family went to Disney in CA, We were at a motel with a pool and slide. I went down the slide with my arms over the side and at the end, was flipped into the pool when my left arm caught on something and tore it open. I was rushed to the ER and while the doctor was looking at my arm to see what needed to happen, another kid about my age was wheeled in. The doctor looked at me and then the other child. He went over to the other kid and then came back and said, you are going to have to wait until I can sew this child's hand back on. Next to the kid on a tray was his hand. I forgot all about my arm and watched in amazement as he reattached his hand. Apparently he had somehow gotten under a ride at Disney and it cut his hand off. When the doctor was done, he came and did my arm. 56 stitches and two tendons tied back together and off I went. It did ruin Disney land though.
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