She Refused to Let Me Treat the Wound
I was working on a general surgery unit as a new nurse. An elderly diabetic patient ran over her second toe with the bedside table and her nail was ripped off. She was incredibly mean and didn’t want anyone touching her. She also refused care from the physician.
There was really nothing we could do other than a gentle cleansing with antibiotic ointment and sterile dressings, which she eventually relented to. All of her objections would eventually lead to the worst-case scenario. When she came back to the hospital, she needed to have her leg amputated.
The doctor told her she likely would have been fine if she didn’t refuse treatment. After her amputation, she again refused care. Reportedly, she still sabotaged her own healing several times by introducing new infections to her wounds. I saw her obituary in the newspaper a few weeks later. dairyqueenlatifah