It is hard to say what type of illness is the hardest to take care of sometime. Some patients just take their illness in stride and other make the most of it. These patients are those who are scared or just want attention and pity from others.

One day we had a patient with COPD... Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

These patients are on a lot of meds and oxygen... O2 to live thru the day.

This one lady started screaming and saying that she could not breathe. I put her O2 on and called or rather paged her doctor. I went back to her room to reassure that I put in for the doctor to call me. She seemed to be breathing better. I got back to the nurse's station to wait on the call from the doctor. She started screaming again. She never turns her call light on. I went back to her room. She wanted more O2, I told her she was at the maxium for her disease and to wait for the doctor. I them got a page over the intercom that the doctor was on line.

He asked me her vital signs, which I told him and what liter her O2 was on. Again I told him. I told him that she was over anxious and very easily excitable. He gave me an order for a mild sedative that would not interfere with her respirations.

Then here comes that blood curling scream of hers again. He said is that her? I said yes. He told me to go and tell her about the new med he ordered and that if she could yell that loud that her lungs were in good shape for her type of illness. If she were real respiratory distress she could not yell above a whisper.

I went to her room and told her about the new med to help calm her down and to help with the breathing. She said did he say anything else. I said yes (I never lie to my patients) but it was something that she might not want to hear. She said go ahead and tell her. So I did.

She looked like she had been slapped in the face. Then she said "I guess I made a fool of myself, didn't I"? I said no. She said that she did not hold it against me for what the doctor said. She said something that completely knocked me to my knees." I did not know that I could yell loud enough to be heard 4 blocks where his office is."

I could not tell her that he heard her over the phone. I turned and walked out and had a good laugh.