Feels Like a Monday...........
Got a bit confused this morning till the coffee kicked in. Changing my work schedule and adding Monday on to my regular weekend shifts through me off somewhat.
Hopefully I'm fully oriented now that the caffeine is working it's magic.
The annual, Post Holiday Die Off has started so we had a busy time of it in the ER the last few days.
It's strange but it happens every year & I'm not sure how to describe it without sounding like an asshole.
Folks with terminal illnesses set a goal to, "Make it to Christmas" and through sheer willpower do just that. And when they make that goal, they start dying, maybe not immediately, but at a pretty rapid pace.
I have no idea how the human mind and will can do that, but it surely happens. The human mind is a pretty amazing thing.
One of the sad things about this season is the elderly or chronically ill folks who end up in the ER, maybe not dying - quite yet - but way sicker than they should be because they put off seeking the care they need so as to not screw up Christmas for themselves or the family.
I can see how someone would do this. Who wants to get sick on Christmas? The family is all there and maybe you don't get to see 'em much, etc.
The holiday diet contributes to this too. People with strict diet regimens fall off the wagon and eat to much of the things that effect their illnesses.
It's a combination of this and a lot more than this I'm sure, but it leads to seeing a shitload of really sick folks in the ER.
Like I said, if I had a chronic heart condition, lung disease, kidney failure, diabetes or as is more often then not, a combination of all of these things, I wouldn't want to break up the party by asking someone to take me to the ER either so I understand.
I think it's a cumulative thing and people try to ride it out thinking, "It'll be ok". So things which could be treated a bit easier get way out of hand and don't always end well.
Fortunately, we can get most of them back on track, even if it takes a bit more than it would have if they'd come and seen us earlier.
That's the good news.
I'm not gonna go into the holiday suicide rate, other than to say, the success rate seems to be a lot higher this time of year.
There you go, some foggy headed, random thoughts and ER observations.
I gotta go get more coffee and get my day together.
Gratuitous Picture for a Tuesday-
