Y&R Discussion Group

Topic: Too funny not to share.....

This is just too funny not to share....

Okay soooo.....I'm laying in the hospital, in Intensive Care, in Critical Condition, waiting to hear if they're going to med-o-vac me down to Univ of Penn Hosp for surgery.  Okay you got the picture.

Ring-a-lling, Ring-a-ling my phone rings in the room beside my bed.  There's the Respiratory doctor standing over me with his stethoscope (? spelling) on my chest checking my breathing.

I worm my arm around his stethoscope and pick up the receiver of the phone, "Oh Hello Scott" (it's my boss).

Does he ask me how I'm doing? NOPE

Is he calling to show concern? NOPE - Guess again...lol.

Why do you think he's calling me?  I'm already starting to laugh even though it wasn't funny back when it was happening.

Hel tells me that I need to call in a claim to file for the FMLA and STD (Family Medical Leave Act and Short Term Disability). 

Then says to me, "It's all about Job Security Donna."

I should have said, "Oh really Scott, if I die, will it be all about Job Security then?" LOL 

I wasn't laughing when this was happening and neither was the Respiratory doctor, but looking back now, it's a funny story because here's why........

I got this doctor checking my breathing, I got my boss on the phone telling me it's all about Job Security, I got my mother trying to find a pen and paper so I could write the toll free number down to call to file a claim and then I got the house doctor yelling at me to GET OFF THE PHONE...YOU ARE IN CRITICAL CONDITION, what don't you understand about that?

I take the toll free number from my boss, thank him, and hang up the phone.  All of a sudden the Respiratory doctor, still checking my breathing, gets finished, and yells out loud to the other doctors in the room, "CAN YOU BELIEVE HER BOSS JUST CALLED HER AND TOLD HER IT'S ALL ABOUT JOB SECURITY?"

He began to become very angry very quickly.  Then the same doctor says out loud, "I SMELL A LAW-SUIT, how stupid is your boss?  It's illegal to call someone in intensive care, in critical condition and tell them to file a claim, is he stupid or what?  He was MAD.

Then after I got out of the hospital, my company's HR person calls me at home and says, "I wish these doctors wouldn't say things like that, they're not lawyers."  I was like, "ahh liz, it doesn't take a lawyer to figure out you don't call someone who's been told, you may not make it, and tell them to file a claim, etc.,

Here's my question for you folks:  Would you have gotten upset if your boss called you in ICU, in critical condition (when I say critical condition, I mean my liver was bleeding and they were giving me blood transfusions to fill me with blood since I was losing so much of it, but I was co-here-ant enough to talk and listen with my ears (my tongue and ears were working fine).

Would you have gotten upset and would you have told your boss, "I can't do this right now, I'm practically bleeding to death." or would you have done what I did, get a piece of paper from someone and write the number down AND call the claim center?  Even the claim person said, "your boss should have called this in if you're in ICU."

I'm just curious to know what your reaction would have been to your boss.....

Replies: (list all replies)

That's exactly what I thought. I remember saying to myself, who could this be calling me in ICU? Santa? LOL No it wasn't Santa..it was MY BOSS!!!

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Posted by: Bonk5
Date posted: Sun Nov 8 2:46:13 2009
Message:
I am sorry you went thru all that, I hope you are getting better.

I am trying to understand why you had a phone in your room, how the boss got thru, and why did you answer it if the Dr. was testing your lungs??

No, its not funny and if they try in any way to get rid of you and your job, you better file a claim and start a lawsuit!!

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Bonk5 - I was in the new wing. They just built this part of the hospital and I guess they figured it was a good idea to put phones in ICU. My father had one in the emergency room which I thought was ridiculous. I answered the phone because I didn't want people to think I wasn't there or got discharged. I can laugh at it now, but I wasn't laughing when it happened.

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Posted by: carmen
Date posted: Sun Nov 8 1:01:28 2009
Message:

i guess i'm still trying to get past 2 things:

1) how the hell did he get connected to the ICU....thought all phone calls were at the main nurses' station in ICU

2) why in the world would you reach around and answer it in the middle of being checked? ESPECIALLY in the health situation you were in.

 

other that that i am just glad you found the humor in it. you must be feeling better. i'm just glad you are ok.

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lol -- I had the questions you had. I've never heard of phones in ICU!

carmen, I answered these questions in Bonk5 post above. I was caught so off guard that someone was ringing my phone. I didn't want them to think I got discharged AND the doctor let me answer it.

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Posted by: auggie
Date posted: Sat Nov 7 21:59:03 2009
Message:

Last year I was not feeling well.  I went to the doctor and had a blood test.  The next day another doctor phoned me and told me (I am not sure if I am using the correct terms) my blood level was 64 and the average was 120 to 130.  He wanted me to go the hospital right away to get a blood transfusion. I was so tired that I didn't want to and asked the doctor if there was anything else I could do and he told me to start taking two iron pills a day with orange juice, but if I passed out I would have to go to the hospital. 

My point is I was so tired and drained that I know I wasn't thinking straight and that was probably the reason you answered the phone and did what he asked.

 

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auggie, sorry you weren't feeling well. How could you get to the emergency room while feeling that lousy? I guess by ambulence. Like I said above, I was caught so off guard that someone was ringing my phone in ICU that I answered it. The doctor was standing right there and didnt' say don't answer that, so I answered it...lol.

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Posted by: Roxie
Date posted: Sat Nov 7 0:12:38 2009
Message:
I probably would have hung up on him! But thank goodness there IS a FMLA these days. In 1992 I had taken a personal leave to care for my daughter having a bone marrow transplant. She was very sick and hospitalized after we returned home and I had to call my company to extend my leave. The personnel director asked me if she was dying! I was shocked! I told her that I was really hoping and praying that she would live. She told me that I had a week to return to work or I would be terminated because 6 months was the limit for a leave of absence. I had worked there 16 years and was fired 2 weeks before my daughter died. The FMLA was instated a year or so after that and much needed! Employers can be so heartless and cold! But maybe in your case your boss was really worried about your job security and didn't realize how sick you were? I hope that's the case.

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That is unconscionable! I am so sorry for your loss and the way you were treated. Now my blood is really boiling. - Zoe

Roxie, I have tears rolling down my face right now. I CAN'T believe what I'm reading. You were fired two weeks before your daughter died? I'm soooooo sooooo sorry to hear this. Did they reinstate you? My goodness, how cruel are employers? I'm just so sorry this happened to you. Someday the person who fired you will need a leave of absence and I hope their boss doesn't grant it to them. Sheesh, people need to have compassion on other human beings. I'm really sorry this happened to you Roxie (((huggsss)))))).

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Posted by: pjones
Date posted: Fri Nov 6 20:55:53 2009
Message:
My first thought would be give the phone to my mom. When I was in ICU i did not have a phone by my bed. Glad to see you back on the board Donna! Missed your thought inspiring posts. pjones

Replies: (list all replies)

Thanks pjones, I missed all of you. My mother was on the other side of the room. My bed was right next to the night stand that had the phone on it. I'm glad I'm back too. I've missed everyone and missed my daily routine in life.

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Posted by: CleoJ
Date posted: Fri Nov 6 20:01:14 2009
Message:
Frankly Donna, I wouldn't have answered the phone. Also, did your boss truly understand how sick you were? But I'm glad you can look at the humor in the situation now.

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But like I said, If I didn't answer the phone, he may have thought I was discharged. EVERYONE at my company knew I was in ICU. My Human Resource director said he probably didn't know, I said I doubt that.

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Posted by: DebS
Date posted: Fri Nov 6 19:57:57 2009
Message:

I've dealt w/ employees being admitted to hospitals on an emergency basis and I would never have thought to call them in the way that your boss did (btw - it's not illegal - just in very poor taste).

I waited until things were stabilized then contacted them via mail. But almost always a family member calls my department inquiring about FMLA/STD, so that I don't have to make the call myself.

It is about job security (FMLA is) and STD gets the employee paid while they are out - so it's important that the employee apply for these as soon as possible. But to call an employee and talk about these things when they are in critical condition, is beyond tasteless.

And while the doctor was factually incorrect when telling you that it was illegal for your boss to call you - I don't think your HR person was right to comment on that. I would have just not said anything at all.

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DebS, I understand all you've said, but I was bleeding to death in my liver and I wasn't thinking, Oh I have to call my boss or have a friend call him, I was thinking more like am I going to live or die? But I see your points and understand them.

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Posted by: OLDTIMER
Date posted: Fri Nov 6 18:53:57 2009
Message:

Okay... where did my post go?  I hate it when you answer a post and it disappears... where does it go, Norfolk???  I'll try again...

Well yeah, I'd be upset.  How incredibly insensitive but how wonderful that you lived to laugh about it!

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Believe me, I wasn't laughing back then....I am now though..lol

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Posted by: ingyandbert
Date posted: Fri Nov 6 17:00:11 2009
Message:

I'm sure I wouldn't have answered the phone but, for the sake of argument, had I answered it I would have wanted to throw the phone against the wall once I heard why he was calling! 

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He did apologize to me once I got back to work, but that was 6 weeks after he called me in ICU.

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Posted by: Glitter
Date posted: Fri Nov 6 15:21:47 2009
Message:

This would be extremely funny if it wasn't so sad.. jeeze. You're BOSS calling you in ICU? No wonder your doctor was p****d! You're boss is an IDIOT!! who in they're right mind would make a call like  this?

Is he afraid if you did die..that the company would be sued by your remaining relatives? How crude and insensitive on his part. I really will be glad when the new health bill is FINALLY PASSED and they stop jerking critically ill patients arround like puppets. My husband has this mantra.."It's all about the money." Everyone's trying to cover their collective A$$'s.

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My boss did end up apologizing to me the day before I came back to work which was on Wednesday, Nov 4th. He said he was only looking out for my best interest. Yeah, right, I believe him like I believe in Santa Clause...LOL.

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Posted by: faysie
Date posted: Fri Nov 6 14:07:43 2009
Message:
I probably wouldn't have answered the phone. Or I'd have had somebody else in the room with me answer the phone - your mother, for example. She could have just taken down the message. No need to bother you. This is probably why there aren't always phones in hospital rooms of critically ill patients. 

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faysie, I always knew you were level-headed and would have a great answer! Why didn't I think of that? Probably because the phone was right next to me --- my mother was on the other side of the room. But what a GREAT answer! Thank you.

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