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“Cut In Half”: ER Staff Who Saw Things And Were Traumatized Shared What Happened
Interview With Expert
Being in the hospital can be a scary experience for many of us. For doctors, nurses, and other medical workers, though, the ER is a place they face intense situations almost 24/7. Along the way, they also witness moments that are shocking, bizarre, and sometimes hard to believe.
So when someone on TikTok asked, “What is the absolute worst thing you’ve seen in the ER?” medical workers didn’t hold back. The responses ranged from unbelievable accidents to cases that left even seasoned professionals stunned. Disclaimer: some of these stories are pretty wild and may be unsettling for some readers.
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#1
I did a clinical and had a woman come in a couple weeks after her wedding with multiple contusions, broken ribs and a face so swollen she wouldn’t have been identified if she wasn’t brought in by a family member. Turns out the husband honestly believed that once she became his wife she become his actually property and servant and beat her for not agreeing to take up all the household chores.
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#2
Been in radiology since 2004. I hope nothing tops the early COVID pandemic. Scary times. And seeing the lungs of all the patients and thinking you could be next. Not having enough ventilators. Not having enough PPE. It was awful.
TheReader19 1 week ago
I remember working for the NHS during covid. We were hold we'd be fired if we went to the press and let the know we weren't given any ppe.
#3
school aged child had a seizure at school, principal was with them until guardians could arrive and when the kid fully woke up he begged the nurse to let him go because his parents couldn't know he was still possessed. loud bawling sobs.
Upstaged75 1 week ago
So the parents weren't treating the kid for epilepsy because they thought he was possessed?
Medical workers in emergency rooms sometimes deal with situations that could have been avoided with a little more caution. From everyday accidents to risky habits, ER doctors see it all. To better understand the kinds of mistakes that often land people in the hospital, we spoke with Dr. Alka Pradhan, a general physician with over 31 years of experience in Goregaon, Mumbai.
She shared some practical advice on things people should avoid if they want to stay far away from the emergency room. Dr. Pradhan begins by saying, “People are often not careful enough in their day-to-day lives. There are many things we casually do, assuming they are harmless. But sometimes those small decisions can lead to serious injuries or health emergencies.”
#4
11yr old girl brought by paramedics to ER with CPR in progress for asthmatic attack. She didn't make it. The mom's scream was worse than any other mom's scream because she just lost 7yr son the week before in a car crash. Devastating.
#5
The ER physician realizing that the young man he was trying to save in a motorcycle accident with no helmet was his son
#6
Having to draw blood on two Jane doe’s [who passed] in a car accident and unzipping the body bag to see two of my family members in them. One was a child.
Dr. Pradhan starts with a growing concern, especially among younger people. “Riding e-bikes or e-scooters without a helmet is something I see far too often,” she explains. Many riders assume these vehicles are slow or easy to control, so they feel protective gear isn’t necessary. But accidents can happen in seconds, even at low speeds. A simple fall can lead to head injuries, fractures, or long-term complications. Wearing a helmet may seem like a small inconvenience, but it can significantly reduce the risk of severe injury.
#7
seeing a gunman come in trying to finish the job, and watching all the people in the ER scramble to get behind anything that might block the bullets that were flying, grabbing every child and adult they could on the way to get them to safety too. I wasn't there when it happened, but we watched the security footage the next morning. I'll never forget seeing nurses and the chaplain shielding children they didn't know with their own bodies, without a moment's hesitation.
#8
An old lady who wasn’t allowed to be with her husband while he died. This was during covid. I still remember her cries and pleading. They were married for over 50 years.
LinkTheHylian 1 week ago
Nothing worse than a broken heart as the one you love is torn away from you and you can't be with them.
#9
Uber driver drove herself to the ER after being shot 8x by her passenger. Ran into triage screaming “I’m dying, don’t let me die, I have a baby at home” and then collapsed. She was right, she died. And we couldn’t bring her back.
She also highlights the importance of being cautious around animals. “I know people love animals, and that’s wonderful,” Dr. Pradhan says. “But children especially need to understand that stray animals are not vaccinated.” Many people end up in the ER with injuries from dog or cat bites. What makes these incidents risky is the bacteria present in an animal’s mouth. When a bite breaks the skin, bacteria can enter the wound and potentially cause serious infections. Immediate cleaning and medical attention are often necessary in such cases.
#10
We caught a trafficker with a kid under 15. He was arrested. They poor girl was emotionally nonexistent. She genuinely didn't care that she was free. No emotion. Haunts my dreams. She was so broken.
#11
A feeble elderly person left alone with the family’s big dogs for weeks. Dogs proceeded to eat the limbs of the elderly person for days until they were found. Person lost most of their limbs and was no longer verbal due to the trauma. Some things are worse than death.
#12
25 years in ER. Stay off motorcycles. Do NOT pour gasoline on a fire. Wear a seat belt, keep your feet on the floor, and keep all limbs inside the windows. None of these caused the worst thing I've seen, which I still won't talk about, but still good advice.
SkyyCaramba (he/him) 1 week ago (edited)
One of the teens who taught my dad how to swim died after falling off the back of a motorcycle and getting run over by a semi truck. Needless to say, I am not going to ride a motorcycle ever
Another surprisingly common issue involves injuries to the eyes. Dr. Pradhan advises people to be careful when blowing up balloons with their mouths or while using certain tools. “If a balloon bursts suddenly, small fragments can fly toward the eyes,” she explains. Even tiny pieces can cause irritation or injury if they get lodged in the eye. According to research, an estimated 188,000 people visit emergency rooms every year with a foreign object stuck in their eye. Protective eyewear and simple precautions can prevent many of these accidents.
#14
8 month pregnant women shot by her husband. They brought her in dead, ER docs sliced her open like ive never seen before and pulled the baby out. We revived the baby but he died a few hours later. It was a horrifying scene.
#15
Young patient in his 40s with a severed artery from a chiropractor cervical adjustment. His WIFE was the ER doc that had to pronounce his death 🥺 I was in nursing school. NEVER ALLOW A CERVICAL ADJUSTMENT!!!
Choking is another situation that should never be taken lightly. Dr. Pradhan stresses that if someone feels they are choking, they must take it seriously immediately. “People often try to be brave or walk away to deal with it privately, which can be dangerous,” she says. Choking blocks the airway and can quickly become life-threatening if not addressed right away. Recognizing the signs and seeking immediate help can make a critical difference.
#16
My homeless patient said his foot went numb. We took off his boot and his foot came with the boot.
#17
Babies [passed] accidentally by unsafe sleep practices. “I didn’t think it would happen to us” on repeat every single time.
Upstaged75 1 week ago
DON'T co-sleep with your baby! There are some people who are fanatic about it, but it's incredibly unsafe. Just get a bedside bassinet if you want to have your baby that close.
#18
Woman who was shot in a road rage after she accidentally cut a car off. Her 2 babies age 5 and 3 were in the car. She was pregnant with her 3rd. She was about 22. We distracted her girls while they called TOD.
Burns are also more serious than many people realize. Dr. Pradhan notes that burns from steam, hot oil, or even boiling water are common in the kitchen. “People sometimes ignore burns if they seem small, but even minor burns can become painful or infected,” she explains. Immediate cooling of the burn with clean water and proper care can help prevent further damage. If the burn is severe or causes blistering, medical attention should be sought quickly.
#19
Woman run over by a drunk driver who drove up into the grass while she was standing at a playground.. she was fully eviscerated, basically split in half, still with a faint pulse for the first few mins she was in the ED, and her 7 yr old twin boys saw the whole thing.. I think of their faces every day
#20
3 children deceased from a house fire. The oldest child was found with her arms over the top of the smaller babies trying to cover them. They were all put in the same body bag, bodies had fused together. Still have flashbacks of that
#21
Woman impaled by tree thru the abdomen after crashing. Tree went thru her and out the back of the car seat. EMS brought her still strapped into the seat of her car. That seat sat in our department for almost a month before someone finally did away with it.
UpupaEpops 1 week ago (edited)
My mum told me that when I was a baby, while travelling behind a truck carrying timber, the cargo wasn't properly secured and when the truck had to break hard, one of the logs fell and went straight through our car. Miraculously, everyone survived with just a scrape. One of the other passengers was a nurse and apparently she just plopped me on the hood, gave me a full check and shook glass shards from my nappy. To this day, my mum will let trucks carrying lumber pass. She refuses to drive directly behind them.
Dr. Pradhan also warns against a habit that is quite common in many households. “People should never take another person’s prescription medication,” she says. In India and many other places, it’s common for people to share medicines for minor issues like headaches, coughs, or fever. However, medications are prescribed based on an individual’s specific health condition, dosage needs, and medical history. Taking someone else’s medicine can cause side effects or dangerous reactions.
#22
Not a nurse but EMS. Hearing the screams of a family burning alive inside a fire of 7 after a man set his own house on fire in order to unalive his mother, wife, himself and their kids. He survived. I have never really spoken of it. I still hear the babies in my sleep.
TheReader19 1 week ago
Why can't some people just k**l themselves and leave their families out of it? I know this is a simplistic thing to say; but I'm just so stressed every time hearing about people murdering their kids. It's frightening to think that your family is the most dangerous institution you can be in.
#23
A patient drove himself to the hospital from his farm. Said I fell out of the tractor and “I’m pretty sure my head isn’t attached” it wasn’t. He was internally decapitated. He has like 2 inches of space between the base of his skull and his next vertebrae. We were scared to sneeze near him in case he flinched
#24
A 7 month old came in with young mom and dad. Her neck was scrunched down and she just kept crying like she was in pain. Told the ER doc “idc about the radiation you need to scan that baby from waist up and I’m calling CPS right now”. C3 cervical spine fracture, T2 thoracic spine fracture, and 2 broken ribs. Father later admitted he was trying to unalive her.
Dr. Pradhan concludes by reminding people that prevention is always better than treatment. “Most of the emergencies I see could have been avoided with simple precautions,” she says. Being mindful of everyday risks, taking safety measures seriously, and seeking help when something feels wrong can go a long way in protecting your health. A little awareness and caution in daily life can help keep unnecessary trips to the emergency room at bay.
#25
Not even gruesome but we had a STEMI who was pretty young. I believe 38. He coded 6 times. Every time he came back he was VERY aware he was going to die. He asked for us to let his brother in the room. In between coding him he told his brother how to take care of his wife and kids he was leaving behind. He made his brother promise never to abandon them. Once they were done talking he coded again and died. I will never think of that man or his family without crying.
TheReader19 1 week ago (edited)
So I'm going to get down voted for for this; but here goes..... That's a lot of pressure to but on someone else, even your own brother. This may limit the brother on how he gets to live and enjoy his own life. Can he travel, we're does he live, will he even get to marry and have his own family because he feels obliged to look after his deceased brothers wife and kids.
#26
In the ER during nursing school, they wheeled in twin 3mo old babies in cardiac arrest from carbon monoxide poisoning, we had to help with compressions, neither of the babies made it and the mother and father collapsed to the floor screaming at the top of their lungs it was the most horrifying sound, our clinical instructor let us go home early
#27
someone who was ejected from a car and landed on a stop sign, and was cut in half by the stop sign
Stories shared by medical professionals about emergency room cases can be quite heartbreaking. Behind every incident is a person, a family, and often a situation that could have been prevented with a little more awareness. While accidents can happen to anyone, being mindful of everyday risks and taking simple precautions can make a big difference. Listening to the experiences of doctors and medical workers reminds us how important it is to prioritize safety, look after our health, and take small steps to protect ourselves and the people around us.
#28
A little girl came in screaming at the top of her lungs, very raspy, sounded like stridor at first, around 6yr, gasping for air. You hear the code, a nurse doing cpr covered in blood. Little girls dad stabbed her multiple times because of his schizophrenic episode.
#29
My mom was a ER RN and she said there was a mom that put boiling water on her toddler, but the worst part was that the toddler was crying and asking for his mom in the ER
#30
Pregnant woman who had her carotid slit by her best friends boyfriend bc she was trying to protect the best friend. I listened to her babies heart rate thru the entire surgery and while she was intubated in the ICU. Kept telling her to hold on. Always wondered if she made it and how she was.
Huddo's sister 1 week ago
That's one thing I think healthcare could do better, for those that work for it. There is usually little info given back to them after a handover. I'm not surprised these cases stay with them without that. The radiologist I had the other day specifically asked me if she could call me in a couple of weeks to see how things have gone with something she found on an ultrasound because usually they get nothing and she had never seen one live before. I was definitely happy to agree to that, because I'm sure it will help her with future patients too.
#31
not ER, but I got my CNA whenever I was 16 in high school and during our clinicals, we came across a man who had been neglected by his family for so long that he had a bed sore in his back that was so deep you could see his spine…
Barbara Hill 1 week ago
They were probably keeping him home for his disability/social security check to spend on themselves. Scum bags.
#32
a little girl crying for her dad, after she was found in the woods cold and rainy, he left her there.
#33
1st person on the scene of a mass casualty incident. one woman's face got scraped off and she was awake still and it was horrific its been 25 years it was like a horror movie I still see her staring up at me as I braced her neck
#34
Attempt [to take his life] with hunting pew pew. Awake, alert, just no face (jaw, nose, eyes, tongue, etc). He answered with thumbs up or down. He was my age. This was a year after my uncle did the same and passed. Seeing it was traumatizing
Upstaged75 1 week ago
Cue the whining about the censor..... hunting rifle. BP didn't censor it - it was already like that.
#35
Motorcycle accidents always top…..but the worst was the repetitive pack mules that were kids. They would have their abdomen cut open, the substances placed inside in a baggy and a rough sew up of the opening. Then have them cross the border and meet the correspondent who would then cut the substance out and leave the kids bleeding out. Or the baggies would rupture inside the cavity and cause some serious damage that resulted in expiration. I usually was the one on these cases due to my fluency in Spanish and that kids always opened up easily to me. It’s what ultimately made me have to leave nursing……I wasn’t able to separate myself from the situations.
#36
A woman's fingers got caught and were mangled in heavy machinery at a meat packing plant. While in the ED, I held a sheet in front of her face, while also stroking her hair, so she wouldn't look at her hand, as staff worked on her
#37
Massive GI bleed. Transfused 40 u blood to that man that night aand he was maxed out on 4 pressors. He walked out 3 days later but I was terrified I was going to lose him all night
#38
We had a kid come in that had wrecked his motorcycle on a gravel road at a high rate of speed. His airway was full of gravel, as were many places on his body. He wasn’t wearing many clothes as it was summer. No helmet either. He barely survived. It was horrific hearing him scream through the gravel in his throat. I can still hear that one.
#39
Not ED but head and neck oncology - tumor eroding through skin. Exposed jaw bone, tendons, muscles. I think about my former patients all the time.
Tyranamar Suess 1 week ago
We once had an HIV positive male in the psych ER with a massive neck tumor. While he was in our room he must've scratched it or something. It started pumping arterial blood out in little spurts. Thankfully we were right next to the medical ER. And I learned that day that this is why we don't wear open toed shoes. Even though all we're doing is psych.
#40
A Glasgow Smile while working in rural Louisiana.
#41
Hundreds of maggots in private areas… I’ll never get over it.
#42
An elderly woman came in and had fallen 3 days prior. She landed in a sitting position with her legs under her but couldn't get up. She was like that for 3 days. She heard a neighbor outside and was able to yell. She was so thankful to have been found and at the hospital. Her blood was pooled in her legs, dehydrated, but she was in good spirits. She passed the next day
#43
woman escaped her burning trailer but went back in to save her dogs. sustained 95% TBSA burns. when we transferred her to the life flight stretcher her scalp came off, her hands had degloved, and her calf was emulsified
#44
A LUCAS machine doing its thing. very horrifying to see in person.
Upstaged75 1 week ago
The picture shows what it is - an automatic CPR machine. Brutal, but so is all CPR. And this way you don't have to keep switching out people when they get tired.
#45
We had a 14yr old girl, frequent flyer for mental health. We had seen her more than usual in the preceding 2 weeks and she was adamant the voices were getting dark. they'd do a 72 hour old and send her home. Then she came in under police guard because the voices told her to [hurt] her Mum and dog, and she did. Her brother sat with her all night trying to calm her. My heart just absolutely shattered. I walked away from ED not long after.
Pheebs 1 week ago
Sounds a bit like paranoid schizophrenia, maybe? Not an expert - had a friend whose daughter went through the same at about the same age. Was starting to have issues, then came out one day and told her dad the voices wanted her to off her sibling. Haven’t heard from him in years, but I know they’d been struggling to get her regulated a bit. I hope they’re doing well.
#46
Someone with a stab wound in his stomach screaming for help and a nurse saying he needed to be quiet and wait his turn. And this is just one of the stories. Ohio healthcare is a joke.
#47
Losing 6 patients in an hour. Fatal car crash. 4 were children. Youngest was a newborn.
#48
my mom was a ER nurse in Wyoming and she told me she had to work on a little girl that was in a bouncy house and the wind blew the bouncy house into the ferris wheel gears and she was basically cut in half
Huddo's sister 1 week ago (edited)
There were six children k****d in a jumping castle accident when it became untethered and flew away in Australia in 2021. I remember at the 4 year anniversary, the first responders talking about still being traumatised by the scene.
#49
We were laughing with a patient because we thought he had jello/pudding all over him. Turns out it was his friend's brain (they were in a car crash)
#50
I had to do CPR on a mother as they did a crash C-section in the trauma room to save the baby…then we had to run a code on the baby
#51
Airplane crash victim, paramedics had to bring them in bc they had a faint pulse. Nothing could ever prepare me for that sight.
liam newton-harding 1 week ago
The wreck of the abandoned plane (Super DC-3 C-117), Sólheimasandur, Iceland (this landmark has been used in a number of movies).
#52
Guy working out in his home gym had a barbell fall on his face and his wife drove him to the er when he uncovered his face both eyes were popping out of his face. He was flown to a level 1 and lost both his eyes
#53
Not the ER but urgent care and mostly wounds. Chainsaw to the thigh, arterial bleed from an industrial fan blade, unresponsive 6m old with obvious hydrocephalus that had never been worked up, my heel met a rock while jet skiing at 60 mph
#54
My uncle is a firefighter he was called to a motorcycle accident, and was told to find the helmet, when he picked up the helmet the man’s head was still inside it, his body was 20 foot away from the helmet…
Pheebs 1 week ago
I live some place with multiple yearly motorcycle events. This is unfortunately something people in the towing, police, and car repair industry have seen multiple times. Buddy of mine had to tow a truck that had the motorcyclist’s helmet and head still stuck in the grill. (No I don’t know why they didn’t remove it first). He also picked up a car that they later found the passenger’s foot in. Got cut off under the dash, and they didn’t realize it was still there due to the mangled mess.
#55
Not ER but EMS. Young boy who tried to commit with a crossbow. Bolt went through his skull. We had to cut the end of the arrow in order to intubate and work on him. He survived but I can still hear his mother's screams and picture everything.
Barbara Hill 1 week ago
So much pressure put on kids these days. They don't get to be a child, a teenager like we did. Do kids stuff , teenage stuff. Its study, study so they will get into the top schools. Or the families are abusers, some who hide it. Making the children afraid to reach out.
#56
Just getting off my shift and had grandparents rushing in to the ER covered in blood holding there grandson who's foot was run over by a lawnmower
Barbara Hill 1 week ago
Why kids shouldn't be on a riding mower with or without an adult. and not outside when the lawn is being mowed.
#57
The bottom of someones foot being degloved basically from driving barefoot and then slamming on the brakes. I could see every tendon in the bottom of their foot as i walked by their room. Ive never driven barefoot again
Lukas (he/him, it/its) 1 week ago
I apologize, as I haven't been behind the wheel yet- could someone please explain to me how this would happen?
What do you think ?
S M 1 week ago
Well, that was a tough read. How bout some tea and crumpets, and a little internet break.
Drop Bear from Hell 1 week ago (edited)
Not in an ER but I was working in a prison where one of the inmates wrapped himself in a foam mattress and set it alight. It was dimpled (like a carton of eggs) so it burned through layers and melted into 90% of his body. The smell was horrific as were his screams. He survived although he was (understandably) never the same. His wife had told him she was leaving him that afternoon apparently hence the decision to end it all. The sight, sounds and smell are burned into my memory - even though it was 40+ years ago.
DC 1 week ago
I've seen very little of the above. Two, three severely injured people. And I've seen a dude being cut open to perform heart surgery in Uni. The latter was a calm and fascinating experience I'd advise nearly everybody to do if they ever get to, the accidents ... several fingers being cut off by hydraulic oil on a tractor, comes to mind. That dude usually was a bright red tomato of a man, the whiteness in his face struck me more than the severed fingers.
S M 1 week ago
Well, that was a tough read. How bout some tea and crumpets, and a little internet break.
Drop Bear from Hell 1 week ago (edited)
Not in an ER but I was working in a prison where one of the inmates wrapped himself in a foam mattress and set it alight. It was dimpled (like a carton of eggs) so it burned through layers and melted into 90% of his body. The smell was horrific as were his screams. He survived although he was (understandably) never the same. His wife had told him she was leaving him that afternoon apparently hence the decision to end it all. The sight, sounds and smell are burned into my memory - even though it was 40+ years ago.
DC 1 week ago
I've seen very little of the above. Two, three severely injured people. And I've seen a dude being cut open to perform heart surgery in Uni. The latter was a calm and fascinating experience I'd advise nearly everybody to do if they ever get to, the accidents ... several fingers being cut off by hydraulic oil on a tractor, comes to mind. That dude usually was a bright red tomato of a man, the whiteness in his face struck me more than the severed fingers.
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