The police brought in a 27 year old female for "psychotic behavior." They were called b/c the patient....we will call her "Ms. C"..... was running in the streets of her neighborhood barefoot holding her 6 month old baby and yelling jibberish. They said it took 4 officers to restrain her. Ms. C's brother claimed she was a drug addict and an unfit mother. At some point, she was diagnosed as bipolar.
When she arrived the the ER, she was pretty calm in her 4 point restraints. Of course she denied drugs or running in the street. Ms. C said her brother was trying to break in her house to take her kids away to give them to the Easter bunny. And oh yeah....she was claiming to be 7 months pregnant. She had a flat belly, so I wasn't too concerned.
But the pregnancy test was positive! Her HCG quant showed her to be about 6 weeks pregnant. She was also positive for PCP and cocaine....big surprise. We transferred her to psych and OB was going to see her over there.
I followed up on her the next day. The psych social worker found out that this 27 year old had EIGHT other kids. 4 of them were with their grandfather. He did not know where the other kids were. He said they were usually with random friends or family. CPS was called...thank god.
The patient was released....I wish to jail. Mandatory sterilization anyone??
-ER Doc
16 comments:
That is just so sad. The children with her father...? You make it sound as if it were her fault....what if it was incest? You didn't mention the ages of the children.
One can only imagine the horror she was brought up in...only to have it passed on....perhaps.
Just so very sad all around.
The kids were with her dad b/c he had a house to leave them in. Not incest. It was her fault...and drugs
And these are the people we are spending our good earned money on.
Don't sterilize them, that's extra cost to us. Send them to mandatory labor camp. Made them work or starve. If they do starve, oh well, then they become fertilizers and serve a good purpose finally. Organic food is getting expensive. This could be the solution.
Glad to hear I'm not the only one that would 100% back mandatory sterilization for people such as this pt.
I am helping to raise a child from a woman (and man really, drug abuse, no diagnosed mental illness) like this but she supposidly is schizophrenic. As much as I love this little boy in my life and can't imagine life without him.... without a doubt he shouldnt have been born. He was the second for the mom and we assume first for the man. I totally agree about sterilization, either that or part of parol is birth control methods (IUD, Depo Shot, etc) to prevent more pregnancy until (if) they get their life sorted out. I dare the people against to this spend some time in the lives that these kids go through while with their parents.
Like tracy, I thought you meant her father was the biological father of four of her children.
Yes, my jaw fell to the ground. Gotta say it's a relief to know he's just the babysitter. Still a sad tale.
Just out of curiosity, is there anyway for a family member to recommend and approve sterilization for a different family member. Could the brother or father say she is not of sound mind and then approve the procedure?
This woman is obviously mentally ill--on top of being a drug addict and who knows what else. I don't deny that she should face punishment, but suggesting sterilization is a bit too close to eugenics.
Oh, here's an idea: How about finding the fathers of her children and sterilizing them instead! I'm sure you'll have no trouble with that.
By the way, you seem burned out and unsympathetic, doctor(s). Perhaps it's time for a change of career?
Rosa, Rosa, Rosa.....
Since you do not work in health care or in social services. let us clue you in on a little secret. We are not burned out. We are PISSED OFF at a system that gives whack-jobs the "right" to reproduce, leaving the state or the rest of the world to deal with their damaged and betrayed children. In a better world, a panel of three MD's would be able to sterilize a patient like this, just as they can perform an inovoluntary psyche admit hold. She goes home three days later, still batshit crazee but unable to scar and abandon anymore helpless children.
Pattie, TN
re:"She goes home three days later, still batshit crazee"
You know why? There is no cure for crazy.
Crazy is not a brain chemical imbalance, there is no blood test or DNA test for M.I.
Stupid people make bad choices.
Thats called freedom.
The kids should be taken away if/when the parents are found too stupid to care for them.
The pills psychiatrists give the mentally ill do not know right from wrong, the pills do not know how to balance a budget, the pills do not know how to make a balanced meal, the pills do not know when the proper time to sleep is, and the pills do not know not to use illegal drugs.
The legal psychiatric pills only give the illusion of a treatment.
Now guys...mandatory sterilization was a joke....kind of. How many times have you said "man, that person shouldn't be allowed to reproduce." There is no mandatory sterilization in this country and there never will be, so it is a pointless argument
No not burnt out at all. As doctors you have to be empathetic....you cant always be sympathetic or you wont make it. Most people who come to the ER don't have a good story. there's only so much. A quote from the "house of god" (famous book bout hospital life) is "the patient is the one with the disease." Meaning basically you have to separate yourself.
Rosa,
Last weekend I worked two 12 hour shifts. I saw 6 people die. From the brain bleed I talked about, to a family being killed by a drunk driver....it's not roses and sunshine. If you So the point of this blog is to vent, make fun of shit, and share the crazy stuff we see.
-ER Doc
-ER Doc
Hopefully she'll need a C-section due to non-reassuring fetal heart tones. During that c-section there will be some uterine artery bleeding requiring extensive use of the bovie and or ligation of the artery. During such a procedure damage to the fallopian tubes may in fact occur rendering the woman sterile.
Not that I've ever seen this happen in almost this exact situation before or anything.
As a foster parent, I am totally sympathetic to your frustration.
While I am also sympathetic to the illnesses that these parents have, I do not see how that still gives them the RIGHT to inflict a new level of horror on their children.
Right now, I have four kids (the first was born when Mom was 13yo) that are just the latest in a looong family history of neglect and mental illness.
Is there an easy answer....no. But walk a mile in the shoes of those of us left to pick up the pieces before you throw stones.
I rather like the idea of sterilization.
What a sad case. As a midwife, I've seen cases where I shake my head and think, "Damn. And that idiot's gonna reproduce and screw up some child(ren)." At those moments, the idea of forced sterilization does enter my mind for a few fleeting seconds. I think that's the sentiment ER doc was trying to make here. But I can certainly see the point of Rosa's post, too. Why is it tht when many of us think of forced sterilization, we're thinking of doing it to women and not men? Or am I completely off the mark here? I'm just sayin.
I don't know too many drug addicts who willingly take PCP. The pushers use it to enhance their product I bet. As a hypothetical patient I would like the lab test results from the doctor indicating I had been consuming PCP, in case I/the patient doesn't know. With this information of PCP, I/the patient might be more hesitant in consuming illegal drugs.
We shouldn't sterilize these types or else we will reduce our future supply of politicians and pundits.
We had forced sterilization in the United States in the past. It isn't here now and its probably not coming back. Sorry that racists and others ruined it for you...
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