I work in an LTC and I had a little guy last year that actually changed my name. He called me Kevin, I have no idea why. I would say to him "Sir, my name is LJ" and he would respond with "Okay Kevin", Well it didn't take long for his dementia to work into yelling out Kevin at all hours day or night. Even when sent to the local hospital, he would call out. When I called to check on him, I would tell the charge nurse " I'm Kevin" and she would say" Oh hey!!" and help her understand what was going on with him. Well he called me Kevin for so long and I would respond to his room often enough the rest of my Residents on the hall started calling me Kevin. Last Spring my little guy passed away, yeah I do miss him, and when someone asks my name I proudly say Kevin, with the explaination of course.

I remembered when I use to work in a convalescent home. A dementia patient name Mar's, use to follow me around the floors and into my patients rooms in his wheelchair saying aaah baby, and he was also a exit seeking patient also. It is two funny incidents on this person. I'm going to tell you only one. Like I mentioned, Mar's always seems to want to exit the building. He would enter fire exits, and set off the fire alarms, and ect. So oneday, he tricked some of the visitors on the residential side of the floor, and got in the elevator with the visitors. So the CNA that was taking care of him, asked anyone have we seen him. I said yes, He was at the back doors, trying to open up the residential side doors. So to make a long story short, Mar's had left the Retirement Center altogther, he was found trying to go down the hill with his wheelchair, there were 2 sides. One hill ended in a busy intersection, and the other had another convalescent home at the corner. Mar's was on the side that had the convalescent home at the corner. Thank God he was on that side. Hadn't he been on the other side, Lord know's what would of happened.

I once had a patient that would scream everytime I drew his blood because I was draining the life out of him.

I have alot of stories, even though I've only been Nursing for a year. The dementia patients are so funny! Only this week I had two lovely ladies in beds side by side who were pleasantly confused. Both called each other by names of friends they percieved each other to be. One would call out "Ivy" to one, and the other called her bedside neighbor "Helen".... even tho I'd introduced them several times by correct names. After a while even I got caught up and would have to say "No this tablet is for Ivy" when one would hear her neighbors med round and ask for medication... it was easier than going thru the whole , No, her name is XXXX ..... these ladies entertained me all week and I came home with many stories about them, ie: batering for food, telling me off about an impending injection when it wasn't for them but their neighbor. One lady overheard her neighbor expressing anxiety about an impending surgery, so called out very loudly, "Don't fret Ivy - I've just had the same operation and I'm fine!" so says she who is in hospital for an infected hand... he he, funnily enough it did comfort her neighbor.

Another one was down in the Alzheimers unit. One lady had to go to the bathroom. Her friend went with her but they went into the nurses lounge instead. The pt voided in the small waste basket and there weren' t any napkins in there the feces was spread all over the wall and counter top. My co worker walked in the lounge looking for them and found the one pt stark naked and the other pt with feces all over her hands. Pt # 1 had pt# 2 wiping the #2 off her behind with her bare hand! Thank God I wasn' t there that day :)

Classic!

I will let bpark tell you about one of our favorite nursing home patients. We worked in a nursing home and a psych hospital so we have many crazy patient stories.

I work in a short term rehab/LTC and we received this patient with acute mental status changes. He was very confused, i thought this is more than just acute mental changes. Well, early in the shift, I come from a room and a couple of other patients were sitting in the hallway, when they seen me they started yelling at me "they need your help in that room over there". I'm thinking ohh great what now. As i walk into the room i notice that we have like 10 people in there crowded around the window. And as I look at the window I see the patient hanging outside of it. Now, this is on the 3rd floor. He was just smiling away! I guess he thought he could fly or something! It took 6 people to pull him back in the window!! What a great way to start the night!!