Monday, May 15, 2006

Restraints.

Staff demonstrate for - and on - Dr. Maria. I've had this training, too. It's remarkably easy to take me down. A team of five staff can flip me like a flapjack. The leather cuffs go on, they're locked, and I'm down. (I don't try to resist!) Here's Maria:
"And so it began—and it happened much more quickly than I had anticipated (although time may simply pass faster when one is actively struggling against five other human beings). I kicked, I floundered, I wriggled, I did my best to wrest myself from their grips. Before I knew it, however, one person each had a hold of each arm and leg. Their hands were placed outside of each of my knee and elbow joints, restricting my excess flailing.

And then they picked me up off of the floor. Which sucked, because then there was nothing upon which I could brace myself. I continued to kick and jerk about—and started getting all sweaty and gross in the process."

3 Comments:

Blogger Fat Doctor said...

I once told my brother-in-law, just finishing his college football days, that I was too big to be tackled by a man. He waited a day or so then took me down to prove a lesson. I walked more carefullly in parking lots after this eye opening experience.

11:40 AM  
Blogger Medicoglia, RN said...

It wasn't so easy to take me down. I'm not a petite little thing, but I'm not huge either. I think it is great that you guys axperience this, but I also think the added adrenilin that is coursing through the one needing (debatable) to be "taken down" makes it a little different for the patient. I had bruises, not just soreness. Also, are nurses etc trained as to exactly WHEN it might really be necessary? I am sure they are, but in my case, had any questions been asked or observations been made, it would have been clear that backing off and allowing the flashback (triggered by something in the ER) to run it's course would have been all that was necessary. The "take down" and 5 point restraints actually made things worse and triggered further flashbacks. Oh well, tis was many, many years ago...maybe (hopefully) things are different now.

1:55 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thanks for a great post. I don't know how I found it, but it's so important so important and a big interest of mine.

1:36 PM  

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