Respiratory Therapy 101: Just Keep Breathing

Not too long ago I told you the tale of a rather intriguing and ironic tattoo that I saw at work. Recently another tat has trumped the previous one.

The patient is a man who was walking down the highway at night after snorting cocaine. He was walking in the dark on the side of a busy freeway when he was struck from behind by a fast-moving large truck. His left arm was almost severed, he suffered from a flail chest (the “sucking chest wound”) and he was mangled beyond recognition. Sometime during the collision his skull was shattered in a couple of places.

The patient looked like a rough sort of guy. His muscles were toned, his body was covered in tattoos and (deliberately) pierced in many places with metal objects. His tattoo-to-tooth ratio prior to the accident would have been good; after the accident not so much, but he’ll be able to chew if he ever wakes up.

In order to get him to the OR it became necessary to shave his head. I was present during the head-shaving, and much to my surprise as the nurse shaved his head a new tattoo became visible.

Wrapped around the back of his skull, opposite the portion of his skull that was struck by the truck, was the word CRUSHPROOF.

The irony is delicious.