Honest Hospital Confessions That Were Completely Heartbreaking

Hospitals take an emotional toll not only on the patients who are visiting them, but also for the healthcare professionals who work there day in and day out.

Not only do they have to help heal the ill, they also hear a lot of stories from their patients, which sometimes include dying confessions and regrets that will make your heart sink.

Time Wasted

Nearly all the patients I’ve had in ICU didn’t really have to ability to speak by the time they were my patient.

I did have one lady who was going out relatively slowly, and I do remember her saying to me that she regretted how boring her life was and how she wasted it doing nothing but being a housewife. But there was a huge twist.

She said this all in front of her adult kids while they sat there, mortified and hurt.

Story credit: Reddit / rawrr_monster

My Condolences

This was a weird one for me and actually apropos for my current life. I still think about her. This happened maybe six or seven years ago. She was an older female in her 70s with a history of breast cancer. At that point, she was in the ICU for sepsis, I believe.

I talked to her and she mentioned she was widowed. I gave my condolences and stated “That’s hard, I’m sorry about your loss. I imagine you miss him.” Her response shocked me.

To my surprise, she told me, “No, actually I don’t. I was relieved when he went. I was never happy with him. I didn’t leave him because that’s not what we did back in the day. So here I wasted many years with a man who didn’t treat me well, and now I have cancer.” Oof. Life lesson folks.

Story credit: Reddit /Like_The_Spice

Pet the Squirrel

I’m an EMT. Most patients that I see in my ambulance are too sick to talk in these cases, but one sticks with me. He was a male in his mid-40s, and he called us for chest pain. Turns out, he was in the middle of a massive heart attack.

The saddest part of all of it was that the patient had medical training, so he knew that it wasn’t good.

We were screaming to the hospital, just speeding down the road, and he looked me right in the eyes and goes, “I should have eaten that freaking cake.” When I asked what he meant, he told me, “Screw what others think. If it makes you happy do it, eat the cake, pet a squirrel, take a nap.

Screw anyone else, it doesn’t matter.” He crashed shortly after we got to the ER and didn’t come back.

Now at least if I want to do something purely for the fun of it and my wife asks why I want to, all I have to say is, “I want to pet the squirrel.”

Story credit: Reddit /mouthymedic

She Saved My Life

I remember this 40-year-old patient who I had was perishing from breast cancer that spread throughout her body. She was diagnosed with breast cancer 10 years earlier and had a mastectomy.

The doctor recommended for her to have a bilateral mastectomy with reconstruction due to the high risk of recurrence of cancer.

She said that she wanted to keep her breast (a real breast rather than an implant) in case she remarries so she will be somewhat “whole.”

She very much regretted not getting the bilateral mastectomy. If she did, she would not have gotten cancer in her remaining breast and be facing mortality at such a young age. Also, the patient never ended up marrying after all. Then, a week later, I was diagnosed with breast cancer.

I instantly told the doctor that I want a bilateral mastectomy with reconstruction.

I also had an aggressive form of cancer. My doctor kept pushing a lumpectomy, which I probably wouldn’t have gotten before I heard how much she regretted her decision. I feel that she actually saved my life sharing and opening up with her biggest regret of all time.

I was 48 years old at the time of my diagnosis and have been cancer-free for 10 years now.

I think of that lady often. She was a mother of five. She was a true blessing to me. She was my last patient on my last shift prior to getting my results and starting chemo. If it wasn’t for her, I know I would not be here.

Story credit: Reddit /Lanna33