The old "no atheists in foxholes" thingo turns out to be right.
Last night I left work after seeing a patient who, though sick, I declared stable.
This morning, he wasn't on the ward.
He had crashed around midnight, bleeding from an unknown source. His blood pressure dropped. His heart rate skyrocketed. He had to be taken to emergency, intubated and topped up with 4 units of blood. Then they did an emergency gastroscopy. He had perforated an ulcer.
Seriously, at 6pm, I had pronounced him well.
My registrar (the aforementioned SpiderReg) said, "Look..." (and you know nothing good ever starts with "Look"). "You were probably right. But, if this sort of thing comes up again, do the following..." and listed the appropriate management of a suspected bleed.
Which I've learned before. Which I KNOW. Which I have employed hundreds of times on hundreds of patients before this, but decided not to do this time...
My complacency has been flayed off me.
I'm going to start paying more attention at work.
PS: He lived. He is not dead. And it is for that, and my soul, that I offered fervent thanks to Jesus. Christopher Hitchens can suck it.
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