When we go through traumatic events, our brain can shut out feelings and thoughts as a way to protect us from emotional or physical damage. This can make people go numb in stressful situations, so our bodies have time to figure out the best course of survival.
Healthcare workers are frequently exposed to traumatic experiences, so when they were asked what event made them go permanently numb, they shared many devastating stories. Scroll down to find them below, and don’t forget to share similar ones if you have any.
#21
Being a nurse in ICU. Caring for a 25 yo woman who got H1N1 and was on life support for over a month. Pressors, vent, the whole 9. Family was never there but wouldn’t take her off life support. I took her sock off and her toes fell off into my hand. She was rotting. Had to call ethics committee.
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#22
Doing CPR on two babies who where siblings.. while the shooter was alive and a few rooms down.. he lived. They didn’t.
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#23
My favorite patient; I work in memory care and she knew EVERYTHING about me. I layed in bed with her during her final days. She told me she’ll always be rooting and watching over me. She told me to stay on earth for as long as I can.
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#24
The scream of a father finding out his 3yo son was ran over and didn’t make it…
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#25
Doing post mortem care on a young mom while her toddler was asleep in the cot set up beside the bed.
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#27
i work in a pharmacy and watching elders have to leave a medication they need because it’s $2k+ makes me feel the lump in my throat everytime.
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#28
I sat with a patient who told me “I don’t know if my baby is my dad's or step dad's.”
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#29
I had a patient that wasn’t doing great after a stroke but he said he was saving up his strength to watch his granddaughters wedding on zoom… he had so much energy and then an hour before the wedding he died and I sobbed so hard.
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#30
Seeing a man in his 80s being dropped off (old folks home) and his daughter saying she'd pick him up later for his grandbaby's soccer game. He sat by a windows waiting everyday. They never even came to get his belongings when he passed.
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#31
My patient asked me for a pen and paper to make his wife a Valentine’s day card. He made the card and then coded that night.
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#32
The screams of a mom who came in expecting to deliver a healthy baby and found out it was stillborn.
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#33
Trying to draw blood an 8 month old neglected baby that weighed the same as my baby at 2 months. (11lbs, he couldn’t even hold up his head).
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#34
Holding the hand of a 16y.o being put to sleep for surgery to take out his voice box(cancer) and his last words being “please make sure I wake up.”
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#35
Compressions on a man who was vomiting his own stool who told me right before he coded to tell his family to sell his clothes for rent money that month.
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