Patient’s Family Member Sobs As She Gets Kicked Out Because Of Her Little Kid, House Supervisor Goes Ballistic

"My charge nurse and other nurses were backing me up"

Maryjane

• Published in Interesting
• January 16, 2024

Normally, a patient will be taken to a private recovery room or area right after surgery. The patient might be allowed to see their family member in the recovery section, one visitor at a time but that's normally after they are conscious.

Although, that is for the surgeon to decide as exceptions can be made. However, the recovery units are not open to children under the age of twelve and this is for the patient and their own safety.

Furthermore, you might not be able to give your kids the kind of monitoring they frequently need because you're focused on the patient in the hospital. As a result, many medical practitioners will advise you to leave kids under the age of 12 with a responsible adult when you visit your loved one in the hospital.

In some cases, they may grant requests for children to visit patients. We see such a case in today's story, as the hospital has some pretty strict rules about having children under the age of 12 in a particular unit.

The OP was attending to a patient who was a fresh open heart surgery patient, freshly extubated. The daughter of the patient just hadn’t been able to find a babysitter and had begged their higher management to let her five-year-old daughter in with her.

While updating the mom on the patient, her daughter was running all over the room and opening multiple drawers. This was a health risk, and the OP just had to say something that made the woman sob.

The headline

The story proper

A cracked ribs

House supervisor comes by

OP has offered the following explanation for why they think they might be the AH:

I think I would be judged on removing a visiting family member who wasn’t able to find a baby sitter or friend/family member to stay with her five year old child.

I think it might make me the asshole because of the manner in which I removed her, knowing she had recently started in anti-anxiety meds to deal with the stress of her being in the hospital.

The house supervisor, who originally approved the child to be in the room, came by to tell me I was out of line and unprofessional for removing a visitor which was not within my power to do so. It is within my right and children under 12 are not allowed in under current policy, but I feel while my actions were justified, I still feel like an asshole for kicking out a stressed mom and her too curious kiddo.

The comments roll in...

Calling the code bell

The facility's ethics line

An out-of-control kid

Who gets sued?

This is absolutely insane

Support from friends, family, and other loved ones is not only very appreciated but also crucial for many patients, as it provides the encouragement required to raise spirits and accelerate healing. All the mom had to do was sit down and hold the her kid tight.

It wouldn't be fun but then she could have gotten the update. The OP was declared not the AH.

Maryjane