Incident Report #1

I filled out my first incident report the other Friday for my first hip patient. In tears nonetheless, I filled it out as best I could. Here's what took place:

My patient, who has had screws implanted into his hip, was pulling his pants up in standing while holding his front wheel walker with one hand. He is currently toe-touch weightbearing status. Well I was right beside him providing contact gaurd assistance because he told me he felt sleepier than usual. His pants must have caught on his foot or something because he spontaneously let go of his walker to use both hands to pull his pants up. He lost balance (did not fall though thank goodness) and leaned into his right leg. I held onto him and pushed him upright. I asked him if he was ok and all he said was, "I felt it snap". I about passed out. He was able to walk back to his bed with his walker and lay down. I sat on the edge of his bed and just stared over him. He kept saying, "I'm ok. I'm alright. Don't worry." He said he felt just fine, he just felt a snap. Shit shit shit shit shit. So I left to talk to physical therapy and nursing. They said they'd monitor it but they weren't too concerned since he wasn't in pain and could walk back to his bed.

I saw a couple more patients after him and then visited him on my lunch break. I walked in to find him ambulating to the bathroom with his walker. So of course I thought, he must be fine. I asked him and he said, "I'm in a lot of pain". He said it was a sharp pain. An 8/10 pain level. Shit shit shit shit shit. I then went to our rehab director, who is also our OT mentor. She gave me my first incident report to fill out, just in case a complication occurred, and told me she'd follow-up with nursing to make sure they get an x-ray done. I went back to the gym and filled it out in tears, with Andriana and Dani, my two ex-classmates/co-workers, comforting me (these are the times when I am so thankful that I work with my friends). I prayed for him to be ok. The PTA who works with him told me there was nothing I could do to prevent it from happening and that if I wasn't there to catch him, he would've fallen to the ground. The director told me, it happens. It's just the population that we work with.

I went to see my next patient once I got myself together, 30 minutes later than planned. As I walked down the hall, the x-ray tech was leaving his room. Towards the end of the session, Andriana knocked on the door to tell me that the x-ray results were in and that everything was normal. She purposefully searched for me to tell me that so I wouldn't continue my treatment session worrying. What a great friend. It was a huge weight lifted off of me. I went back to see him after my session to tell him I was so glad he was ok. He said, "Yeah I was getting worried because the pain was getting so bad I almost cried". "You're gonna make ME cry!" I told him all teary-eyed. He said, "You didn't do anything wrong. It's not your fault". I told him, "I know, but you're my patient and I don't want you to be in pain". "Me neither". We both laughed.

I'm assuming he just pulled a muscle or something. But where did the SNAP come from?! Who knows. His nurse saw me leave his room and asked me, probably knowing I already had an emotional breakdown earlier, "Did you hear his hip is alright?". Ah this is definitely something I never want to experience ever again.