[All41]

While working a neurosurgical rotation this young intern was given the difficult task of notifying the family of the passing of their father. Fortunately, the family was prepared for the eminent outcome early on in the hospital admission due to the severe head injury sustained (or so he was told).
It was about 2:30am when the sleepy intern entered the family waiting room. He asked for the "Brown" family and immediately this woman came running over. Having never met the family, he proceeded to tell the wife that her husband has passed on. She screamed and fainted. He was bewildered at this response because he was told that the family was expecting the father not to make it. He helped her back to her feet and to the phone booth to call her daugher in California. Then he approached the son and began to discuss the father's decline and death and to ask the family if they wanted an autopsy. In conversation, the intern mentioned his surprise at "Mrs. Brown's" response to her husband's death and was immediately stopped by the son. The intern was told that they were the "Ryan" family and their father was in CCU with a mild heart attack. The intern ran to the phone booth to stop the woman from telling her daughter. Again, she screamed and passed out. The intern was really confused and upset that he had spoken to the wrong family. He helped the son collect his mother and get her something to drink. He eventually found the correct family and finished his duty. As he was dragging himself up the stairs to the call room, he passed one of his buddies. Briefly, a conversation was exchanged. The friend was clearly in agony and when asked what had happened, the second intern said that they had just lost a patient to a massive coronary and he had to go tell the family. When finding out which family, the first intern, so dead tired and could barely carry on said, "make sure she is sitting down and forget the post" and walked on. The next day, the interns met again and the second one said "what in the hell did you do to her!" The first intern just said "you didn't have her sitting down did you?".
Moral of the story is obvious here. (This happened in the 1960's)

[Judyd]

I can not believe this. It kept me laughing for quite sometime. I am still snickering while I'm typing this.LOL