I'm the sort of person who follows instructions to the T. For instance, when I had surgery a few years ago, I read and reread the post-surgery instructions and even called the nurses to ask follow-up questions. However, I know many people are not like me and might do the opposite of the doctor's orders. Members of the BuzzFeed and Reddit communities shared examples of when a patient ignored them and how they almost died because of it. Here is what they had to say.
1."A few days before I started my junior year in high school, I had to have a lumbar puncture done to measure my spinal fluid pressure because I kept getting these horrible headaches. Anyway, after a lumbar puncture, you are supposed to be lying down (I forget for how long) to give time for the puncture site to heal and only get up for things like going to the bathroom. If you don’t lay down enough, the hole will stay open, and your spinal fluid will leak out, and you will feel lightheaded. I know there were other side effects, but it was quite some time ago. So when I got home, I was laying on the couch, and I would ask my family to bring me things (food, water, etc.), and they were like, you’re fine. Don’t make it into a big deal. You can get up and get it."
2."Caregiver here. Eleven years. I always respect client autonomy. I always only share professional stories of what could happen so they know these are my experiences and by no means am I telling them what to do. Here are a few: I pleaded with the client to allow me to assist him in moving about after a month's stint in rehab. He refused, then he fell, trying to stand, and shat himself. It was everywhere. This was his first day home. 911 was called. Another client had a stroke and fell THREE TIMES! She was home after hospital and rehab for six months and refused her walker. She refused me holding her up and refused her cane (it was no longer recommended by P.T., me, and the office nurse). She got up to pee, and I followed. She yelled at me to leave her, and I quote, 'The f*ck alone.' She slammed the bathroom door in my face and then fell! 911 called. Thank GOD for those house cameras! She’s in a wheelchair now. I left after one month."
3."I had a patient who had vague abdominal symptoms, and I recommended a CT scan. He refused because he was afraid of radiation. He also refused a colonoscopy, so all we could do was an ultrasound, which found nothing because an abdominal ultrasound is a sh*tty examination anyway. A year later, he was admitted again, and this time, he couldn't refuse a CT — where we found colon cancer."
4."I used to go to my grandma's house after school to use her computer for homework. She lives one road over, so I would get off the bus and walk over with my dog. She was on oxygen, and I saw her smoking. I told my dad as I didn't know about the whole up-in-flames thing and just thought it was bad she was smoking still with her lung cancer. When I said she just kinked the house immediately, he was like, 'SHE DOES WHAT!' The kids had a group meeting to ream her ass because she was putting me, my dog, and grandpa at risk, and they told me I wasn't allowed to go over anymore and to tell them if I needed to go to the library, so I wouldn't accidentally perish in a house fire."
5."My boss is one of the ones that couldn't wait. He had hip replacement surgery and was on a bunch of painkillers. He decides he should be golfing because he 'feels great,' tears the muscle that they just attached off again, went back for surgery, back to bed rest, back on painkillers. Then he came into work and made everyone else unhappy."
6."About seven years ago, I had a bad fall when I was skiing and landed hard on my right shoulder. My roommate at the time was an EMT, and she said he could run some tests on me. He said that he knew I didn't have a torn rotator cuff or separated shoulder and probably just had a bad AC joint sprain. I had some pain for a week or so, but it subsided. Fast-forward three years, and I have noticed clicks and pops in my right shoulder. I went to the doctor, who told me that I had broken my collarbone and that if he or another doctor had seen me immediately after the injury, they would have recommended surgery to correct it, but he said it was remarkable how well the bone healed itself. I still hear the occasional click or pop, but otherwise, I am fine, I have no issues with range of motion or strength."
7."My stepfather continued to smoke while on oxygen for his emphysema. After my mother and I read him the riot act, he did at least smoke a good distance from the house."
8."My mom's sister had a hysterectomy and didn't follow what the doctor told her and, within a week, was unable to even lift a half gallon of milk. When my mom had one, she sent us (ages 12, 9, and infant) to her other sister's house (my dad would drop us off on the way to work and pick us up on the way home), so she only had to worry about herself and healed fine."
9."I'm not a medical professional, but I used to get allergy injections to build up my immune system because of the crazy amount of allergies I had. I would get these injections every week, and my family doctor and the allergist instructed me to wait in the waiting room 30 minutes after the injection in case I received a reaction. One day, I decided I didn't want to wait anymore (also because it had been a few months without a reaction) and left immediately after my appointment. I went into anaphylactic shock not even 10 minutes later. It was crazy because I didn't know what was happening at first or even know how to use an EpiPen."
10."My dad follows doctor's orders, but getting him to a medical professional is tough as he is stoic (and cheap) to the point of stupidity. He almost died when his appendix ruptured, and he had been feeling sick for a while, he went to work every day and finally left work during lunch to go to the doctor's office; they immediately admitted him to the hospital and rushed him to surgery."
"Once he was cutting down a tree with his chain saw and had a slip which cut his hand and fingers badly. Thank goodness my brother was there with him as dad wanted to finish the tree up first, after all he was already up the ladder! My brother made him stop at that instant and get medical attention. He would have lost some fingers and possibly his hand had he delayed. This man had a PhD in an engineering discipline but was stubborn about seeking medical attention. It was 90% about saving money, for real."
11."My patient was supposed to have starved for eight hours for her morning scheduled breast surgery. During the procedure, she regurgitated what can only be described as a full, partially digested English breakfast, with identifiable sausages, egg, beans, and possibly black pudding, up into her unprotected airway and attempted to inhale the lot. I managed to prevent the majority of it from going down, but she needed HDU care for a day or so for her lungs to recover from the stomach acid."
12."Not a doctor, but I have worked in the addictions field. Too many clients have died or will die because, despite the repeated warnings from their doctor that they have almost no liver function or that what they're drinking is giving them all sorts of brain damage, they continue to drink hard. But many of these guys feel they have nothing to live for but the bottle. It’s heartbreaking."
13."A friend of mine had a broken leg and got infected. His mum wouldn't force him to take the correct medication. How he kept his leg I have no idea; he had so many complications."
14.And lastly, "Not a medical professional, but my dad had a really serious cough that I told him he had to get checked out. He ignored me for weeks and coughed and coughed. Eventually, he coughed up blood, and I essentially forced him to go to the doctor. He was diagnosed with TB (I am vaccinated, luckily), and if he had left it any longer, he would have died."
Do you have a similar story to share? If so, share it with me in the comments below or in this anonymous form.
