Inject A Little Compassion
(My roommate and I are both autistic and have extreme fear of needles. I pass out, but my roommate, unless he has something to hold on to, starts kicking and screaming. One day, he has to go on for surgery and I’m driving him.)
Nurse: “[Roommate].”
Me: “I’ll be there when you wake up. Do you have your stuffy?”
(My roommate shows me a toy, and starts to follow the nurse to the room.)
Nurse: *sees the toy* “What the–? Sir! You are 25! I don’t think you need that!”
Roommate: “But! Ok, fine… Can [Roommate] come with me?”
Nurse: “I don’t have time for this! You can do this! Now come on! We’re losing light!”
(She pries the toy out of his hand and gives it to me. I’m a little nervous, as I know he can be wild when terrified. I start reading my book, and sure enough, I hear a ‘Code White’ which means aggressive patient. After a second, the same nurse comes running out.)
Nurse: “[My Name]! [My Name]!”
(I get up and run inside. My roommate has five nurses pinning him down, and he’s kicking and screaming.)
Nurse: “Control him! He kicked half of us!”
(I go over and start to soothe him. Once he’s calm, I give him his toy and stay by his side while they give him the needle. As they wheel him off, the nurse turns to me.)
Nurse: “What is wrong with that guy? The second he saw the needle he freaked out.”
Me: “He has an extreme fear of needles! It’s in his chart!”
Nurse: “I thought he was just being a wimp!”
(My friend’s surgery went very well and he made a full recovery. However, the nurses we’re quite inattentive and rude to us while we were there. When I had to have surgery on my ovary a month later, we went to another hospital, where they let him in with me for when I passed out.)
This story is part of our Autism roundup!
Question of the Week
Have you ever served a bad customer who got what they deserved?
