"Oh My Goodness...I Hope It's not Rigor Mortis!!!"

I’ve always heard it said that nurses make the worst patients…but sometimes they can make the sweetest and funniest patients.  Point in case…

I had a patient who was in for a fractured femur.  She had it repaired with surgery and was in the hospital for awhile waiting for it to heal.  During the many nights of caring for this patient, I got to know her very well.  I learned that she was a retired nurse, who missed all the action. 

One night as I was in her room, helping her turn and move in the bed, I noticed she was really stiff.  I mentioned this to her and suggested that she move around to help unstiffen her body.  She replied.  “Oh my goodness, I hope it’s not rigor mortis!”.  I wasn’t expecting the joke, so it caught me a little off guard, but it ended up giving me a good laugh, and I learned that nurses can be entertaining patients.