Anxious, scared, disbelieving. Despairing and broken. I don’t really know what words to use; all of them. You can see the physical transformation as the parents enter the room, energy drained. They are supporting each other, each stopping the other from collapsing.
For our patient’s family, this is not happening, this is surreal, this is just a terrible nightmare. This is not meant to happen to their little girl . . . or anyone’s.
This extract from I don’t remember anything at all by Dr Joe-Anthony Rotella (@ToxRocks) appears in EMERGENCY: Real Stories from Australia’s ED Doctors, available now from Penguin Books Australia.
Dr Joe-Anthony Rotella
Dr. Joe Rotella is an Emergency Medicine Registrar in the final year of his advanced training. He has a broad array of interests relating to Emergency Medicine including but not limited to medical leadership, communication and education. He is an active member of the Australasian College of Emergency Medicine and is looking positively towards the future.
Real ED Stories 