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30 People Share The Wildest Things They’ve Witnessed While Waiting To Be Treated By The ER
It’s no surprise that anything can happen in a hospital waiting room, as people flow in with all sorts of injuries. And while arguably few things amaze the medical staff—with some exceptions, of course—people waiting for their turn to be examined might be taken aback by certain sights.
Members of the ‘Ask Reddit’ community recently discussed such sights after one user asked them about it. The redditor wanted to know what things they’ve seen in a hospital waiting room, and fellow netizens covered nearly any and every scenario there is. Scroll down to find their answers on the list below, but be aware that some descriptions can get pretty visual.
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#1
I held a woman’s hand as she delivered a baby right after walking into the ER. I was there with my son who was 8 at the time. And that’s how my son learned where babies come from. He told me afterwards that he always thought they came out of the belly button lol. Mom and baby were totally fine. It was pretty amazing.
Nadine Bamberger 1 year ago
That mom will never forget that act of kindness, glad she didn't have to feel all alone in a very scary situation.
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#2
I work as a nurse in the emergency, I’ve seen some crazy things. But on a lighter note, while security was busy doing two separate take downs an old guy dressed up like Santa unzipped his backpack and started handing out beers to everyone in the waiting room
#3
moose. my dad got wheeled back to get xrays so i went to the vending machines to get me and my brother drinks, and when i turned around it was just. staring at the poor nurse behind the desk. somebody called security but the three guys who turned up had no idea what the hell to do, nobody else in the lobby knew what to do, and eventually it just left on it’s own
#4
I was doing an IT job in a hospital when I saw a dude who’d put the front tyre of his motorcycle into a pot hole and gone over the handlebars. He’d hit the ground hands first and both of his arms had compound fractures with bones sticking out. He was doing that scream, inhale, scream again thing. It was super intense. The ER doctor pumped intramuscular ketamine into both arms and he calmed RIGHT down. They put a loop of rope around his wrist, and one person held his shoulder and the other person pulled the rope to get his bones back on the inside. The dude looked at his bones going back into his skin super calmly and said in a spacey tone “wow! That’s really interesting.”
This was maybe 2001. I still remember it vividly.
#5
I took my (young adult) son to ER because he was having a repeated issue with heart palpitations. It wasn't that serious, but his doctor wanted him to get a scan if it happened again. We were walking to the door of the ER and saw a minivan pull up with the people around it helping a woman into the hospital. She was sobbing, so we slowed down so she and her family could get in first. It became obvious that she was in labor, and when they got in the door, she let out a heart curding scream, paused, and then a lump fell down her pants. A bunch of workers ran out, got the baby out of her pants...there was just complete silence for a few seconds. Then the baby cried and the whole waiting room erupted in applause! It was amazing
Tobias Reaper 1 year ago
the moment you use the line everybody clapped it immediately sounds fake even if it actually happend
#6
A doctor going from patient to patient asking them health questions, symptoms and so on. She did this for an hour until there was a code white announcement. 2 orderly's and a 2 security guards surrounded her and hauled her off. She was not a doctor after all..
ADHORTATOR 1 year ago
a doctor with enought time to talk to a patient for an hour - very suspicious
#7
A panicked guy sitting with his girlfriend, holding a ziplock bag with the tip of one of his fingers inside.
Her: “What are you going to do?”
Him: “Well I’m NOT going to be a chef.”
#8
I watched a robot filing cabinet press the elevator button and guide itself to a different area of the hospital.
#9
This just happened a couple of weeks ago. I was in the ER waiting room and there seem to be a lot of commotion over an elderly Asian woman who was sitting there with a large suitcase. Apparently her family just dropped her off there and she had no where to go. She was not ill and did not need medical attention. They abandoned her.They just left her like an unwanted puppy at the shelter. One of the saddest things I’ve seen.
#10
I was sitting in the ER waiting room and this young couple comes in. The man pushing his girlfriend in a wheel chair. She’s barely conscious, slumped over and pale. As the boyfriend is checking her in, she wakes ups and Exorcist-style projectile vomits onto the floor. Nurses rush her back. The boyfriend then sits down and not a minute passes before out of nowhere he does the same! Everyone waiting slapped masks on real quick once that happened.
#11
When I was roughly 11 years old, my parents and I ended up in the emergency room of one of the larger hospitals in the city due to a family emergency. This was my first experience in a city emergency room and it was much more chaotic than the country ERs (obviously).
However, mom and dad needed to speak with the medical professionals without a precocious 11-year-old listening, so my dad instructed me to sit in the waiting/triage area and he vaguely gestured behind me.
I sat down in the red triage area, trying to stay in view of the hallway so my parents could find me, and then looked up to observe my surroundings.
Across from me was a 30-something man, his swollen face is bloodied as well as his clothing and his entire head is bandaged – wrapped tightly around his forehead to the back, and over and under his chin. A rather large butcher knife is protruding from the left side of his head, with the handle pointed straight to the ceiling and the blade edge facing away from me. The knife is firmly wrapped to the side of his head, and I’m guessing, keeping his ear in place. I can also see fresh blood slowly wicking through the bandages.
The man is sitting with his legs crossed and is casually reading a magazine. The knife wobbled slightly as he turned his face from page to page and he seemed particularly unconcerned there is a knife stuck in his head. I don’t recall much thought processes regarding this situation, other than a flood of questions that I was holding back.
Dad came around the corner to collect me and followed my fascinated stare, jumped slightly at the sight of the stabbed man and hauled me out of there pretty quick.
Thus, my first introduction to a city ER in a sketchy part of town.
#12
Once upon a time i was waiting on news of a friend who'd been in an accident.
I saw a guy (about early twenties) come in with him mom because he'd fallen off of his roof and dislocated his shoulder. After about an hour of waiting his mom just says "f**k it! this is taking too long!" and legit began to google how to reset a shoulder.
After about 5 mins of research, she took off her belt, folded it up and told him to bite down on it. She then proceeded to violently shove her son's shoulder back into the socket while he naturally screamed in agony.
Security and nurses rush over to see what the commotion is and more or less need to pull her off of him. Security sits her down and the nurses take the poor kid and get him treated.
#13
When I was a kid, waiting in casualty with my mum because I got in some scrape. The guy say opposite us had a real life broadsword stuck in his foot. He’d been working in some old stately home and a suit of armour toppled over and the sword impaled his foot. It was all bandaged up and not obviously bleeding. So he was just sat there, cool as, waiting for his turn, holding this massive sword lodged in his foot.
TotallyNOTAFox 1 year ago
Who ever pulls the sword out of his feet shall become the king of the hospital
#14
I was in Alice Springs hospital years ago with my baby daughter and we were sitting next to an indigenous lady who I thought was holding a spear. When I remarked in the lovely dot dot artwork on it she proudly showed me how it was actually through her ankle, in one side and out the other.
#15
I’ll never forget it. I went to the ER with a kidney stone and there was an old couple sitting across from me probably in their 60’s or 70’s. The lady was bickering to the man complaining about how long they’ve been there. The only thing is that this woman was completely purple. Like all of her face and head was this dark purple. She didn’t appear to be in any pain but my f**k was she ever purple.
#16
Fell off my bike and fractured both bones in my wrist, while at camp. While in the waiting room a boy and girl both in Wendy’s outfits, boy holding a very bloody towel around his hand and her holding a bag full of ice and something bloody. I kid you not his line was, “so after they reattach my finger, do you wanna grab a bite to eat?” Then a bunch of cops come in escorting a man in full prison jumpsuit with the arm and leg cuffs bleeding profusely from his head. Quite the crazy experience!
Josh Dorsett 1 year ago
As you do. It's baffling how cruel Hospitality workers are treated and the conditions they work in. I've worked in hospitality and I'm never going back. I make it a policy to be extra kind, easy and patient with hospitality and retail workers.
#17
When I was in my early 20's I had a nasty staph infection I caught at work. Eventually I ended up having surgery because I was *this* close to losing part of my ankle tendon due to several pockets being right on it and the doctor basically rushing me into surgery unexpectedly. Before all of this though, the Air Force in its infinite wisdom decided they couldn't treat me on base and would just send me to the ER downtown however many times it would take to have them give me antibiotics to clear it up. Why, I don't know, but tax dollars at work right?
Anyway one day I'm in there waiting to be seen when this older farmer looking guy walks right up to the front desk holding a small yeti style cup. This was before Yeti became big but that's what it looked like.
"Hey Ron" said the nurse
"Hey Pearl" said the farmer
"Brought your lunch today?" asked the nurse
"Nope, it's just my fingers" replied the farmer as he then held up his other hand that he had previously tucked away in his coat, wrapped in bloody rags. "Damn machine got me again"
And that's when I realized that 1) There are some really tough dudes out there who can lose multiple fingers and drive themselves to the hospital in the same calm manner they would have going through the McDonalds drive thru and 2) Whatever machines he was operating, I would like to never be closer than 100' to them in my life.
#18
Like 20 years ago waiting in the ER I see a guy dressed up as a full Monkey being wheeled on a stretcher past a large doorway and then 3 other monkeys following him. They were performers from the Live Lion King Show at Animal Kingdom.
#19
Girl trying to get admitted to the mental health unit, turns out her boyfriend was a patient. She didn't get admitted, she wasn't happy about it but she left. Next thing we know there's a car doing donuts just outside of the ER entrance, she was throwing things out the window and screaming "am I crazy enough now?" She ends up driving around to the other side of the hospital and driving right through some sliding glass doors. She's lucky she didn't [unalive] someone, another 10 feet and she would have crashed over a railing and into the cafeteria below, where staff was napping on a couch. Definitely got carted away, but not to where she wanted to go.
Jaime de Lancey 1 year ago
Really hate this "UNALIVE" word. are we too precious to say it as it is?
#20
My moms favorite ER story (she spent a lot of time there with my dad as he fought drug and alcohol addiction on top of health issues) is when they were in an ER that was kind of an open concept, with just curtains for visual privacy. A couple beds in, there was a woman just moaning and screaming in pain. When the doctors went to see her and tell her what was wrong, the woman was moaning so loudly they had to yell “YOU ARE LITERALLY FULL OF POOP!” loud enough for the whole department to hear. The woman promptly quieted down.
#21
I was like??? 13? I think? I forget why I was in the ER but I remember not feeling good at all. My hometown is a small rural Ohio town, great hospital but long wait times in the ER. So I had been there for about an hour and a half. My mom went to the bathroom and right after she left a lady was wheeled in in a wheelchair. Rather obese woman with a very thick leg (looking back now I know it was Lymphedema) and I remember her leg looked like it was leaking fluid? The person who wheeled her in went to window to start the check in process and the woman was grumbling about her leg itching. She bent over in the wheelchair, reached down, and her leg split. Liquid and what looked like fat busted out of her thigh and she screamed. And like she had every right to that s**t looked like it was agonizing. Immediately some nurses came out and whipped her into the back. When my mom came back asking what had happened I didn't even tell her just, "I think we might be waiting a bit longer mom." I guess it's very rare, but apparently if you're not taking care of your lymphedema properly it can happen.
Amanda Rose 1 year ago
I also have lymphedema. The leaking lymph fluid was part of what got me hospitalized in the first place. Mine came about due to complications from my gallbladder removal surgery (infection and whatnot). It's a condition that can get really serious really quickly.
#22
I was in the ER waiting room for a possible broken hand when I was in high school. There were a group of frat guys from the local college that were drunk off their a**es trying to get their buddy seen for a really bad cut in the meat between his thumb and index fingers. I was in the waiting room for at least half an hour before I got seen and the whole time I was there the guy with the cut was squeezing the sides of his cut to make it open and close like a mouth and he did a whole comedy routine for his buddies in the waiting room like it was a ventriloquists dummy. Really gross but f*****g hilarious.
#23
From my last visit it is a three way tie. I was in said waiting room for 12 hours. I saw a lot but these stick out.
First the lady who kept intentionally sticking her finger down her throat to throw up. Over and over you'd hear her retch. Finally after a couple hours, she exhausted herself but then laid down in the puke. She had to be picked up and put in a wheelchair as she refused to get up and move.
Second was the really huge guy coming in for a blood clot per his loud phone conversation. Fell asleep mid eating and had sleep apnea. The best was his tweaker girlfriend would try to wake him up by giving him a handjob. When that was unsuccessful, she went through his wallet.
Third was the obvious frequent flyer homeless man who created a small nest in a corner and went to sleep. After about 2 hours, security came over to wake him up by his name and tell him it's time to go. He promptly stood up, farted very loudly and left a huge mess as he left.
#24
I see this one kid, a teenager of maybe 17, come in with his parents. He’s looking pretty bad, with a black eye and a split lip and suffering at least some degree of concussion. He refuses to tell his parents what happened, just saying “I can explain later” or “I don’t want to talk about it”.
A few minutes later a guy a little older, maybe 18 or 19, comes in limping heavily and having to be supported by his friend as he enters. Looks around for a seat, sees the first guy, and yells “That’s the m**********r right there!”
His friend sprints at the younger kid, gets tackled by security and zip-tied, it takes nearly every security guard on the floor keeping them separated because apparently already being in the ER wasn’t enough they wanted to go another round.
#25
my appendix burst, and this was during covid so all the beds were full. I ended up in the waiting room with an IV drip and was gown’d up waiting for surgery. A guy comes in, absolutely smacked out of his mind and immediately starts pissing on the chairs. A nurse tells him to stop and he horks a loogie in her face. He then turns to me and starts speedbagging my IV like Rocky lol Security rushed in, scooped me up and tackled the guy. Ngl I’ve always wanted to punch an IV bag I was jealous
#26
Old man decided to take his pants off in the lobby before heading to the bathroom. Ended up spraying s**t in a path on his way there. From what I understand, he was just there with a family member; not even needing to be seen.
#27
Watched a guy fake passing out so he didn’t have to wait, since there were a lot of people waiting. A*****e winked at me as he was wheeled back on a gurney.
Kat 1 year ago
Did an internship in an ER once... There was a guy who faked an overdose of something and being unconscious. Very obvious awake, but refused to open his eyes or say what he took (some ibuprofen). The ER doc had enough of him taking up too much time and resources , took a handful of gauzes and pressed them over his nose and mouth. The guy was miraculously cured in just a few seconds and was transferred to psychiatry for assessment
#28
I took an employee with kidney stones to the ER one time. While sitting in the waiting room, a guy came in with chest pains. He was taken back for immediate treatment. And then came the rest of his crew. He had been at a potluck picnic when it happened. And they brought the whole dang thing to the hospital. Like 40 people with casserole dishes and meat trays and such. Only disappointing thing was they didn’t invite me to eat.
#29
All at the same time: family come pouring in following a stretcher being rushed through, all screaming and yelling that someone shot their baby, a grandmother (guess) holding a toddler horizontally so she could pee into an open trash can, and a dog tied to an ashtray outside snapping and wailing every time the door opened, spilling ashes everywhere. I was just there for 4 stitches in my head. I just took them out myself at a bar rather than go back there. It was Woodhull Hospital in Brooklyn in 2002. Good times…
#30
I once saw a guy cut himself with a piece of broken glass to be seen sooner by the nurses during triage.
What do you think ?
talliloo 1 year ago
not a medical issue but it happened at a military hospital e.r. and it was one of the best things i witnessed while being on base. my son was very ill (turned out to be pneumonia) & like all e.r. practices, there is triage. but for non life threatening it was first come, first served. lots of people waiting a very long time. a woman comes in, checks in & sits. after about 15-20 minutes she marches up to the desk & starts making a scene: "why am i not next? i shouldn't have to wait! I am captain so & so's wife & should be seen first" the room went dead silent. then this really young woman w/a baby in her arms walks up to her and tells her "just shut the hell up. you make your 'living' same as the rest of us - you sleep with a sailor." after a moment everyone there started laughing. she eventually stomped out.
Sophie Knight 1 year ago
About 15 years ago: I've got a dialysis graft in my thigh, muscle around it gets infection which starts attacking the artery. Put a dressing over it and went to ER. Dr took the dressing off, top layer of skin comes off, artery busts, blood shoots out and hits the ceiling. All I remember after that is lying flat on a trolley with a nurse kneeling over me pressing on the wound, us being run down the corridor to the operating room. My other main memory of it was the lights on the ceiling flashing past as we were sped down the hallway like in a film.
Korrie Broos 1 year ago
2009 in the Czech republic. a summer heat wave and the Gypseys goes for a swim in a local pond. Their Prince dives into the pond and nearly drowns. He gets taken to the local hospital and into ICU. The gypsy clan takes over the parking lot and lawns, camping to be near their Prince. Some even sleeps in the hospital on the floor and in the ICU room. The prince did die eventually, The funeral was another major gypsy gathering.
Powerful Katrinka 1 year ago
Don't know why you got downvoted. It's a really interesting story.
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talliloo 1 year ago
not a medical issue but it happened at a military hospital e.r. and it was one of the best things i witnessed while being on base. my son was very ill (turned out to be pneumonia) & like all e.r. practices, there is triage. but for non life threatening it was first come, first served. lots of people waiting a very long time. a woman comes in, checks in & sits. after about 15-20 minutes she marches up to the desk & starts making a scene: "why am i not next? i shouldn't have to wait! I am captain so & so's wife & should be seen first" the room went dead silent. then this really young woman w/a baby in her arms walks up to her and tells her "just shut the hell up. you make your 'living' same as the rest of us - you sleep with a sailor." after a moment everyone there started laughing. she eventually stomped out.
Sophie Knight 1 year ago
About 15 years ago: I've got a dialysis graft in my thigh, muscle around it gets infection which starts attacking the artery. Put a dressing over it and went to ER. Dr took the dressing off, top layer of skin comes off, artery busts, blood shoots out and hits the ceiling. All I remember after that is lying flat on a trolley with a nurse kneeling over me pressing on the wound, us being run down the corridor to the operating room. My other main memory of it was the lights on the ceiling flashing past as we were sped down the hallway like in a film.
Korrie Broos 1 year ago
2009 in the Czech republic. a summer heat wave and the Gypseys goes for a swim in a local pond. Their Prince dives into the pond and nearly drowns. He gets taken to the local hospital and into ICU. The gypsy clan takes over the parking lot and lawns, camping to be near their Prince. Some even sleeps in the hospital on the floor and in the ICU room. The prince did die eventually, The funeral was another major gypsy gathering.
Powerful Katrinka 1 year ago
Don't know why you got downvoted. It's a really interesting story.
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