Ebola outbreak - general thread #4

[Lyra500]

No, I didn't know he had a fever of 103! That's pretty darn high. His family doesn't have a reason to claim racism or that he didn't get ZMapp or a blood transfusion- there was no ZMapp and he wasn't a match. I've yet to see any words of gratitude for what they were given.

Whichtafalls posted this in the last thread about Louise making a statement in response to someone who was saying much the same as this:

Your statement is false. Louise has thanked the community numerous times over the past week. <snipped>.


I want to thank the Dallas Community, the church and the Liberian community; and, in particular, County Judge Jenkins; Mayor Rawlings; my pastor, George Mason; Saymendy Lloyd; Stanley Gay; and Alben Bush for all the love and support they have shown me and my family during this ordeal. Without their help, I can’t imagine how we could have endured.
http://thescoopblog.dallasnews.com/2014/10/dallas-church-plans-vigil-for-ebola-victims-family.html/

She has just been bereaved.

 

[LinasK]

Yea that's what they were asking about.. If they're still OK now that would be a good sign.

Actually, an Ebola expert I heard on CNN said that if a person came down with symptoms closer to the 21 days, they would have a very high concentration of the virus, it builds up. So they're not out of the woods yet.

 

[WideOpen]

BREAKING: Plane quarantined at McCarran Airport in Las Vegas due to possible Ebola exposure

God, this just never ends. All my near future travel plans will be on the ground. I like the idea of having all the necessary equipment and buying it early before prices go up. I also use my own medicinals, so for one should make the plunge and buy a machine to make colloidal silver.

Seriously last weekend I was at an outdoor motorcycle party. I'm single, I met a nice looking guy, we were sharing some absynthe and he became ill. He had drank way too much through the day, I was 90% sober prior. Anyways, done deal...I just couldn't continue without thinking... of ebola. It changes life.

JMO

 

[WideOpen]

Who? Duncan's "family?"

Yes, I would like an update on the family.

 

[Sophieandme]

Check out these photos...so sad and scary.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...dly-virus-woman-paris-suspected-infected.html

 

[Lyra500]

I wouldn't have seen that poster's response. Has Louise thanked the hospital at all for the medical care he received??? Thanking the community at large is not the same.

I seem to recall that the following mods have all asked that we stop the finding fault with and having digs at Mr Duncan's family: Tricia, Bessie, Harmony2.

That seems like a very reasonable request.

 

[Herding Cats]

I remember during triage training (triage also handled discharge instructions at the time) in my hospital's pediatric ER.

I grabbed the next file and briefly looked at d/c orders. Meds, likely dx, follow up stuff. I grabbed my roll cart w/ BP monitor and thermometer attached. Our instructions were to get a final BP on the child, give the instructions, and send them on their way.
I went to my patient and in one glance saw she was worse than when she'd arrived. I grabbed the thermometer and got a new temp...Over 103. I decided that she needed to be reevaluated, grabbed her attending Dr and made sure she was seen. She ended up being admitted w/ flu and pneumonia. She was fine in the end...but I wonder what would have happened had I not seen how she was shivering and had "that look" which made me NOT discharge as instructed but got her looked at again.

And this was at a huge and always swamped ER.

I suppose the reason I'm posting this is that sometimes an rn has to stick their neck out and work outside of their job...In this case my job was to send her home w Meds and instructions...but I had her reevaluated instead.

I wish that had been done in Duncans case...

Best
HC

 

[LaborDayRN]

I remember during triage training (triage also handled discharge instructions at the time) in my hospital's pediatric ER.

I grabbed the next file and briefly looked at d/c orders. Meds, likely dx, follow up stuff. I grabbed my roll cart w/ BP monitor and thermometer attached. Our instructions were to get a final BP on the child, give the instructions, and send them on their way.
I went to my patient and in one glance saw she was worse than when she'd arrived. I grabbed the thermometer and got a new temp...Over 103. I decided that she needed to be reevaluated, grabbed her attending Dr and made sure she was seen. She ended up being admitted w/ flu and pneumonia. She was fine in the end...but I wonder what would have happened had I not seen how she was shivering and had "that look" which made me NOT discharge as instructed but got her looked at again.

And this was at a huge and always swamped ER.

I suppose the reason I'm posting this is that sometimes an rn has to stick their neck out and work outside of their job...In this case my job was to send her home w Meds and instructions...but I had her reevaluated instead.

I wish that had been done in Duncans case...


Best
HC

You absolutely did the right thing. It's always important to remember that an RN's job is to be the patient advocate. We are not only responsible to follow orders but to speak up on behalf of our patient when the orders are not in their best interest. In fact, we are legally obligated to do so.

 

[SweetT]

WHY are people continually putting the word "family" in scare quotes??!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I think it was only one person I thought those were quotation marks. I assumed they just didn't want to type out mom brother sister nephew fiance and just used the word family?

 

[jjenny]

Experiments on human test subjects without permision is highly unethical, whether they live in Africa or anywhere else.

If they are dying from Ebola, don't you think they will give permission to take whatever experimental drug is being tested?

 

[okiedokietoo]

Good for the child that you were there.
Thing is, if the family gets ebola it has nothing to do with the hospital, unless it is possible to pin point exactly day and hour they were infected. He was ill at home and contagious before going to the hospital the first time. The school children were exposed because quarantine order not obeyed.

 

[LaborDayRN]

If they are dying from Ebola, don't you think they will give permission to take whatever experimental drug is being tested?

I was replying to a quote that inferred Duncan's family members thought they were, or actually were experimented on. I interpreted this to mean without permission. Obviously if it was with permission, there would be no reason to complain about it. Sorry if I wasn't very clear.

 

[WideOpen]

New Minnesota Ebola fear: Labs may balk at testing blood

Twin Cities doctors and nurses say they can safely handle an Ebola patient, but state health officials are hearing a different story from hospital labs.

Many local hospitals are telling the state Health Department their in-house clinical laboratories do not want to perform some routine blood tests on patients identified as possible Ebola cases.

http://www.mprnews.org/story/2014/10/10/ebola-blood-tests-minnesota-hospitals

JMO

 

[Yoda]

Ebola survivor Nancy Writebol offered to give blood to Ebola patient Thomas Duncan, but their blood types didn't match, according to Nancy's son Jeremy Writebol.

http://www.myfoxcarolinas.com/story...nancy-writebol-offered-blood-to-thomas-duncan

 

[nomoresorrow]

What does it really matter how the media refers to those who are/were in Mr. Duncan's closest circle? For that matter, the definition of family being only blood-related or related by marriage may be some people's interpretation, however for many, including yourself, my circle of "family" is made up of mostly non-blood-related members. But, again, I just don't understand why it is an issue how Mr. Duncan's circle is described...

 

[jjenny]

http://www.myfoxcarolinas.com/story...nancy-writebol-offered-blood-to-thomas-duncan

Is Nancy even eligible to donate? She had malaria in the past.

 

[Yoda]

Brantly also says he spoke with a doctor caring for Duncan and was willing to donate blood, but their blood types didn't match. Duncan died Wednesday.

http://magicvalley.com/news/nationa...cle_74dd75aa-8188-5628-a0a7-fca1207db7ec.html

 

[CARIIS]

[h=1]Medical Bills Are the Biggest Cause of US Bankruptcies: Study[/h]
http://www.cnbc.com/id/100840148#.

Most have insurance

I don't think other people do get it free (or not usually and possibly not everyone). Whenever I have been on holiday to the US I have had it impressed upon me that I needed to go for beefed up travel insurance so that it would cover the astronomical healthcare costs should anything go wrong.

We also regularly get stories of people who have ended up in a real financial pickle because they got ill in the US and did not have insurance.

 

[WideOpen]

British doctors and soldiers will not be guaranteed return to UK if they contract Ebola

A total of 750 British troops are being sent to Sierra Leone to tackle the Ebola outbreak, along with hundreds of NHS volunteers who responded to an appeal from the Chief Medical Officer, Prof Dame Sally Davies.
However, both the Department of Health and the Ministry of Defence admitted yesterday that medical and military personnel would not be guaranteed repatriation if they developed Ebola while working on the relief effort.
Instead, they could be treated in field hospitals in Sierra Leone and would only be flown home on a &#8220;case by case&#8221; basis, the departments said.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...teed-return-to-UK-if-they-contract-Ebola.html

JMO

 

[SStarr33]

Did you guys know there is still an ebola patient at Emory?

http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/06/health/american-ebola-patients/

As another American patient with Ebola arrives in the United States, here is a look at the American patients who have been diagnosed with this deadly virus.

Ashoka Mukpo arrived at the Nebraska Medical Center on Monday, where he will be treated in the same biocontainment unit that helped Dr. Rick Sacra. Three other Americans, Dr. Kent Brantly, Nancy Writebol and an unnamed patient, have been treated at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta. The sixth known American patient was a man named Patrick Sawyer who died in Nigeria.