Human bodies are complex and amazing, and often just plain weird. There are many extremely rare ways that things can go wrong (or surprisingly right).
Reddit user u/Piperjamas asked about these rarities:
"Doctors of Reddit, what is a 1 in a million chance thing about your patient you have witnessed?"
*Content warning: graphic medical descriptions*
10.
I'm a speech therapist/ speech language pathologist. I was a student when I saw a person who had fallen 30 feet through a disused factory roof. They had skull fractures, multiple strokes, multi organ trauma and multiple spinal fractures and had a tracheotomy.
I was there to assess speech and review eating and drinking. Reading their notes I imagined there would be serious issues.
They were able to eat and drink with only slight texture modifications. They could speak using a speaking valve and had no aphasia (problems with understanding or finding words) or dysarthria (unclear speech). They seemed slightly amused and bored of my assessment- took my notebook and pen and wrote "I can write too" in flawless handwriting and handed it back.
I finished placement not long afterwards but they were expected to make a full recovery!
9.
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Husband is a doctor and one night came how with a surreal look on his face. He had been seeing a patient for a bit and noticed that although in his mid 20s, had few signs he went through puberty. The patient didn't mind his state all too much but my husband believes that medicine should improve your life, not just keep it going. So, on a shot-in-the-dark hunch to simply improve a patient's life, my husband sent him for an MRI.
The patient had a previously benign and now malignant brain tumor suppressing the part of the brain that controls puberty. The shot-in-the-dark effort to see why the patient hadn't gone through puberty by late 20s led to a very early brain tumor detection.
He was still a resident, he couldn't believe how much a hunch made a difference one person's life.
8.
Not rare, actually the opposite, but something we don't see too often. I had a patient with early stage pregnancy and some minor bleeding. I did ultrasound and saw normal fetus but no heartbeat and told her that it was likely due to pregnancy just being at an early stage. I checked her ovaries and told her that I could print a picture of the fetus. I moved the scan back to the fetus and there was a clear heartbeat. During the minute or so that I was scanning the ovaries the heart started to beat.
7.
I'm a nurse, and this happened at the hospital I work at, in the car park.
A staff member got out his car and it started rolling, he reached in to pull the handbreak. From where I was sitting in my car I didn't notice anything other than the car move, and the guy jump back in his car. A few minutes later a lady walks by and starts screaming.
Turns out he had been pinned half inside his car by his car door, as his car had rolled towards the car next to him. He was unconscious, blue, not breathing.
A bunch of us tried breaking into the car next to him to move it, and eventually when there was about 20 of us we actually managed to push his car back enough for ppl to pull him out.
Luckily this happened at a hospital so the crash team had already been called. They did CPR. He lived.
6.
I was a paramedic and I came to a scene where I had a patient who was talking to me, but he had NO blood pressure, and no detectable pulse. I couldn't even hear his heartbeat with a high quality stethoscope.
They dumped a few bags of fluid in him in the ED before they were barely able to get a BP on him.
5.
ER nurse.
We give an antibiotic called Rocephin very frequently for patients diagnosed with a UTI. The only complication I've ever seen from it is vomiting if it's pushed too fast.
I had a patient transferred to me from our urgent care side who had walked in fairly healthy, but complaining of UTI symptoms. They had tested his urine, diagnosed him with a UTI, given Rocephin, and were planning on discharging him home with oral antibiotics. We still don't know completely what happened, but this is our best guess.
We think he had a gram negative infection that reacted to the Rocephin by "lysing". The bacteria essentially exploded and raced through his body putting him into almost instant septic shock. He had to be intubated and put on blood pressure medications to keep his BP high enough to perfuse his organs. His temp went from 98.6 to 104 in under an hour. A central line was placed because we kept running out of IVs to give medications. He was transferred to an ICU.
I have never before visited a patient of mine in the ICU, but because of his drastic decline, I had to see him and know how he was doing. I cleared it with the ICU charge and visited him 2 days later. He was extubated and walking almost on his own. One of the fastest declines and recoveries I've ever seen.
4.
Happened to a patient of my physio.
Guy comes in and swears he tore his ACL. Physio does a test, yup doesnt seem like there's an ACL there. Guy goes to an orthopedic surgeon. Surgeon checks it. Nope, no ACL. Sends him to get an MRI for surgery. MRI shows he **does** have an ACL. Its in tact. No need for surgery.
So guy starts rehab with physio. He still thinks his knee feels weak, like there's no ACL. Rehab goes on and it doesnt get better. Same issues persist. The guy has been conferring with the surgeon this entire time and they agree to do a surgery to scope out the ACL and see if something was missed. Once the surgeon's scope is in the knee, he pokes at the ACL. ACL is completely loose because the bone has avulsed off, but otherwise it goes back to the same place so it *looks* like its intact.
3.
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This is a true moment straight out of house md. it both illustrates how dumb luck can determine whether we live or die and how well trained and observant some professionals are. As a neurologist i was rotating with once was walking to the parking lot through the emergency department and one of the er docs stopped him and asked him to do a quick looksy on a lady he was about to discharge home (we called these drive-by consults).
This woman had some vague, non-specific complaints like headache and passing dizziness but nothing out of the ordinary and all tests in the er came back negative so she was waiting for discharge.
neurologist spends 5 minutes with her, comes back and says admit this woman and do a stat mri of her brain. he noticed an extremely subtle vertical nystagmus of her eyes. a nystagmus is basically a repetitive, uncontrolled movement of your eyes which can have dozens of causes. a horizontal nystagmus is what you'll see 99.9% of the time and it's usually benign in origin. vertical nystagmus, on the other hand, is a stroke in your cerebellum until proven otherwise.
They sent the woman to mri which showed infarcts in both sides of her cerebellum and she was in neurosurgery the next morning. if it weren't for that drive-by she would have been sent home and probably died overnight.
A few people have pointed out that if she had surgery the next day and could have died overnight why did she not pass away at the hospital? answer is that non-surgical treatment also began as soon as she was admitted.
2.
Not a doctor but an RN. I worked high-risk labor &delivery for 15 years and I've seen LOTS of odd stuff (Potter's syndrome, tetrology of fallot, anacephalus, yada, yada.) I had 3 mom's deliver babies that all had transposition of the great vessels, where the heart vessels grow 'backwards'. All within a 3 week period and all families lived within a 5-mile radius. Too uncanny. We had no research department, so I contacted the epidemiology program at our local medical university for the research opportunity. You might be lucky to see 1 in a lifetime, but 3 in 3 weeks is phenomenally weird.
1.
Was operating on a pregnant lady that came in having been shot in the belly. OB delivered the kid through our incision and the baby had a perfect line across his shoulder where the bullet had grazed him. He was totally fine and didn't need stitches. Mom lived too.
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When we're intoxicated, or even the slightest bit tipsy from having a little too much to drink, our immediate perspective on things is hazy.
But there's nothing like a bit of alarming news or a jarring incident to snap us out of the fog and focus on the moment.
Sometimes alcohol isn't always to blame for our impairment.
It can be a state of mind, like a perpetual numbness from being complacent in life, and all it takes is one shocking moment to rattle us back to our senses.
Curious to hear from strangers online about this type of scenario, Redditor Known_Challenge_7150 asked:
"What’s one thing that sobered you up real quick?"
These individuals were witness to shocking events that sobered them up right quick.
Bleeding Out
"Got out of a taxi and found a naked man profusely bleeding from his head crawling up the driveway in my condo. Called him an ambulance completely forgot I was absolutely wasted until 45 minutes later when I'd helped him translate and in to an amublance and stepped in my front door."
"Later a few days later learned he'd slipped in the tub and literally crawled out for help. Poor dude. He was fine but I genuinely thought he was going to die there."
– DongLaiCha
Tragic News
"At a bachelor party and we got a phone call that the groom’s father had suddenly passed."
– accountnameredacted
Bottom Of The Barrel
"I went to visit my parents back in July. I was homeless and deep into fentanyl addiction so I lost a lot of weight. My folks could see it. They knew something was up. Anyway, I spent the night and I was getting ready to leave in the morning and I looked at myself in the mirror for a good long time. I finally had enough and told them everything. They took me to detox, from there I went to rehab. Graduated in August and been living with them ever since then. I have 160 days clean and sober."
– Crotch-Monster
A reality check can be enough for some people to snap out of it.
Like Father, Like Son
"Was driving a drunk friend home, he had been on a bender again and was smart enough to call me for a lift rather than try and drive. As I helped in to his house his mother came down the stairs and said 'your as drunk as your father' and went back upstairs. I haven't seen him drunk since then, he still drinks but the thought of turning into his dad scared him out of hard drinking."
– psycospaz
Busted
"Flashing blue lights."
– FiddleOfGold
"This sobered me up just thinking about it."
– redmaple_syrup
Losing Sight
"Woke up to no sight in one eye. I had cataract surgery so just thought one of the lenses had slipped and it was an easy fix. Eye doc says nope, you had a stroke. I loved soy sauce, teriyaki sauce and salty food, which caused high blood pressure, which caused retina damage. Over six months was able to get most of my eyesight back with medication, and all back within a year. Trying to navigate life with one eye was very sobering. Started taking HBP much more seriously."
– MissHibernia
Quitting The Bottle
"Looked up someone I went to highschool with who was an awesome guy. Found out he had been dead for 3 years from alcoholism, at age 33. I made an overnight change. I hadn't started drinking that night yet, 10 months ago. Haven't touched it again since."
– omgtater
These disturbing moments were enough for Redditors to immediately come to their senses.
Unplanned House Guests
"Me and a buddy Woke up in someone’s living room, realized neither one of us knew the people, they were just nice and let 2 drunk guys sleep on their living room floor. We didn’t even say goodbye."
– Oneinsevenbillion75
Serious Health Warning
"Elevated liver enzymes."
"And the knowledge that this sh** was gonna kill me and I just couldn't orphan my family over it."
"So I opted for recovery, instead."
"Clean and sober since June 5, 2009."
– Far_Meal8674
The Joyride
"Grew up in a rural area. The little town hosted dances at the hockey arena, everyone (adults and kids) went and they overserved everyone, regardless of age. I was maybe 16 or 17 and was absolutely sh*tfaced, and jumped in the back of someone's truck with about 8 other people to go back to someone's cottage for after dance drinking. The driver (still don't know who it was) started racing one of his buddies and we whipped around small dirt roads, flying around blind corners on the wrong side of the road, going god knows how fast. It was basically a disaster waiting to happen. It was crazy scary and I was sober and thankful to be alive when we finally arrived."
– foxfood9116
The human psyche is a fascinating thing, isn't it?
How we can automatically focus on something urgent at a crucial time, even after getting buzzed from drinking too much alcohol.
But as we're in the thick of the holidays, it's a good reminder to drink responsibly and stay off the roads if you drive to your celebratory destination.
Cheers. Stay safe. And happy holidays.
We've all complained or vented about something in our lives which, in the grand scheme of things, wasn't exactly a problem, or is very easily solved.
Then there are those who complain about things that others almost hope will happen to them at some point in their lives.
These are known as "first world problems", as they are problems that pretty much only the world's one percent faces.
From having to fly business class instead of first class, or being served Roederer instead of Dom Pérignon, these complaints are often met with amusement, bewilderment, or even anger.
Redditor jennimackenzie was curious to hear the most absurd "first world problems" anyone ever complained about, leading them to ask:
"What’s the most ridiculous 'first world problem' you’ve seen people get worked up over?"
"Tale As Old As Time..."
"I once knew a mom who was legitimately devastated, to the point of tears/grief, because a doctor predicted her 8 year old daughter's final height to be around 5'2","
"Which wasn't tall enough to get cast as Belle at Disney World."
"That was the child's (and her mother's) only dream in life, apparently."
"Didn't appreciate my suggestion that she could be Minnie or Mickey."
"Lol!"
"Only a face character would do!"- TravelLovingMom
"Must Be Funny, In A Rich Man's World..."
"My boss from about a decade ago was this insanely rich dude who always went to the bank to get fresh and crisp currency."
"He'd call the bank in advance to make sure they had some on hand."
"I think he was a germaphobe."
"He had a trash can that he'd throw $1 and $5 bills in that he thought was 'dirty' and regularly just donated it vs spending it."
"I asked him why he did this and he said it was too much trouble and asked if I wanted it."
"I said f*ck yeah dumped it into my bag and when I got home it was close to $400 in singles and fives.
"Another time, he wanted to upgrade all the computers in his studio, so we went to a store and bought 10 PCs."
"They all had $150 mail in rebates and he wasn't bothered to go through the trouble of mailing them in."
"3 weeks later I received $1500 after spending a whole afternoon filling out all those goddamn forms."- azninvasion2000
Money Burn GIF by nog
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Who Wore It Better?
"When I was about 19 years old, I was at my boyfriends family BBQ."
"I was wearing this pretty floral sundress."
"His cousins girlfriend showed up in the same dress and she was SO mad that she went and changed."
"I will never understand being upset when someone is wearing the same thing as you.'
"Did you really think that your shirt you bought off the rack is going to be unique to you?"
"No."- mertsey627
Seeing Red! Or Blue In This Case...
"The blue of the balloons wasn't quite the same as the bridesmaid's sashes."
"Years ago my wife and I attended a wedding."
"It was very low key."
"The dinner was in the dining hall at the university where the couple met, cinder block walls and all."
"It was a Baptist wedding - no booze and very serious."
"The dark blue balloons attempting to liven up the hall were a slightly darker shade of blue than the sashes on the bridesmaid's dresses."
"The bride lost here sh*t and absolutely raved for nearly an hour."
"I can't remember how they finally managed to talk her down."- mechant_papa
south park wedding GIF
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See You In Court!
"Rich neighbors who end up in expensive court battles because they disagree about where a tree can be planted or whether the color of a fence fits in with the street’s 'amenity'."
'These disputes get really heated and rack up huge lawyers’ bills."
"The most pathetic part is after the judgement when they are arguing about who should pay the other party’s costs."
"Lots of affidavits filed citing the 'emotional distress' they had to endure, or painting themselves as brave warriors who were forced to take a stand to fight for 'justice'."
"Also lots of pompous litigants insisting that the judge refer to them by their 'Dr' title."
"An absolutely insane dumpster fire of entitled rich people problems."- ElectrocRaisin
It's Always People With Money Who Don't Want To Pay!
"I work in a public library."
"People will get so so mad if they have to be put on a wait list for a book."
"A popular book that just came out."
"Ok our services are not only free but so are the books."
"You’re welcome, a**holes."- Switchbladekitten
A Warm Butt Is A Happy Butt!
"My own."
"We have a bidet toilet seat (Fabulous! Everyone should have one!) and not only does it wash your bum and blow dry it, but the seat's heated!"
"It's shocking how much a heated toilet seat makes the whole process more agreeable."
"Except: We had a power outage and I went to use the toilet and the seat was cold!"
"Unacceptable!"
"This shall not stand!"
"I was really upset because it didn't feel good."
"Then I stopped and thought: This is the most first-world problem anyone's ever had."
"I was really pissed because my heiny was tepid."
"I got over it."- DeathGrover
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Holy Matrimony!
"Weddings are a gold mine for this question."
"People get so hyped up over their 'most important day of their life'."
"They'll destroy friendships, go into debt, and have crazy expectations."
"It's not always the couple who go crazy, either."
"Sometimes, it's the parents or another family member who feels entitled to control the wedding."
"It's just a party."
"Be considerate of guests, have plenty of food and drinks, and enjoy it."- magicrowantree
When Fast Food Isn't Fast Enough...
"Having to pull off to the side to wait for a drive-thru order to be brought out to you because your food isn't ready and there's a line building up behind you."- demanbmore
In Case You Don't Think Customer Service Employees Are Undervalued...
"I was working the return desk at a Target next to a military base so I have so many stories."
"One of my favorites was a lady who had her baby shower before revealing the gender and was livid that she had received floral newborn diapers when she’s having a boy."
"It was a huge box of super expensive, all organic diapers, that we didn’t carry and therefore could not return."
"I cannot accurately express her fury and disgust."
"How dare either suggest her boy could wear feminine diapers."
"I suggested she donate them if she didn’t want to use them and she instead threw away the entire box."
"When she left we pulled it out and threw it in our donate bin."
"There have also been multiple times where mom’s order massive toys and when we bring them out to the car they get furious that they aren’t wrapped."
"We don’t offer wrapping services."
"Here’s the thing, if you don’t want your kids to see the toys you got them for Christmas or their bit to day DON'T BRING THE CHILD WHEN YOU PICK IT UP."
'I’ve had multiple women scream and curse me out that I had ruined their kids Christmas by bringing the toys they ordered out to the car like they requested."- clever-mermaid-mae
Customer Service Waiting GIF by Juno Calypso
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Happiest Place On Earth!
"I used to work for Disney."
"That in itself should tell you everything."
"However for fun I'll give you two specific stories one form our tech department and one from my wife who worked bookings."
"I specifically worked for their call center to help with technical issues with magic band and the website."
"Suddenly got worse huh?"
"A right of passage call everyone has at least one story of is the 'Dome call'."
"Basically there is a subset of Disney Guest (TM) that believes if it rains at Walt Disney world there is someone that will push a button to encapsulate the whole of Disney property in a dome to keep out the rain."
"I'm not kidding."
"If this button is not pushed they call our tech department to angrily ask why."
"My wife worked booking."
"Pretty much everything including Bibbidi Bobbidi boutique and Pirate's league."
"These two things did roughly the same thing difference being price and theme."
"BBB was expensive did more and was focused on princesses, pirates league did a bit less and focused on mermaids and pirates."
"Lady called up my wife, and got pissed about BBB being booked up (It goes FAAAAST)."
"Karen: 'Im going to give the phone to my daughter and I want you to tell her how you are ruining her vacation by not letting her do BBB'."
"Wife proceeds to explain how pirate's league is so much cooler and how she can be a mermaid or pirate and basically gets the kid to start demanding to their parents about how they want to be a mermaid instead of a princess."- trollsong
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The horror!
Being booked into a junior suite at Disney World instead of an executive suite!
It's almost as bad as having no money for groceries, or no food to feed you children...
Said absolutely no one.