Being dr evil

[brightlywoven]

I am the evil woman who makes children cry.

Yesterday, I made a 13 year old boy refuse the operation he really really wanted because....

....It meant having a needle.

I must admit my sympathy was delayed. Then he started sobbing, and my heart broke. How nasty am I? I forgot that 13 year olds are terrified of people like me (even though I tell the little ones they can call me Dr Biscuit because my real name is too long!)

I have a patient (4 years old), who has had so many needles, drips and other generally nasty things happen to him that he gasps in terror when a doctor enters the room. I have to hold my hands up and say 'no needles'. And then when I have to do things, he sobs throughout, and cries piteously to his mother 'It will hurt' and 'when will it be over?' and 'mummy she's hurting me'. His mum keeps reassuring us that this is his way of coping with the unknown, and he's not that distressed, but it's hard to believe when he's screaming.

(In between screaming, he's super cute. After I gave him a 'rectal washout' today (no wonder he screamed!), although he needed a needle too, he turned to me and said 'I need a rest before my needle'. )

Comments

[wellinghall.livejournal.com]

I'm 41, and I'm terrified of people like you! ;-) (ie, I am needle-phobic. Subcutaneous and intramuscular injections I can handle okay, but IVs and blood tests just make me go to pieces).

[dr-biscuit.livejournal.com]

And having steeled myself to be able to push needles through skin without flinching myself, I find this hard to cope with! having said that, I can't watch myself be cannulated or have blood taken without great squeamishness. (I tried once, in teaching medical students, by letting one put an IV in my hand. Bad idea. The bruise lasted weeks!)

But what I hate most is trying a failing, in circumstances where you have no choice but to try and try and try again. Oh it's awful!!! For everyone. I'm not sure if the guilt is worse than the pain, but ususally I'd offer to swap if I could!

[foreverdirt.livejournal.com]

'I need a rest before my needle'

*lower lip trembles* I almost made it through your post without making an "awwh!" sound. That's like a victory, right?

[dr-biscuit.livejournal.com]

Totally.

Victory today was telling this same boy he was allowed to have lunch. We'd been starving him since Tuesday. For this, I got a high five. I haven't told him yet he might get home this weekend.....I'm hoping for a hug :)

[wellinghall.livejournal.com]

Lunch after several days' enforced starvation is, indeed, very good!