Grey's Anatomy: Meth in the Neighborhood
Last night's Grey's Anatomy certainly hit close to home for me. And I know I'm not alone - unfortunately.
Stick around, so I can tell you what really "shocked" me.
Methamphetamine, or meth, has wrecked many a life and certainly came close to doing that for two of my family members. Had you asked me 10 years ago if something like that could happen to someone I love, I, like many of you, would have said, "No way!"
Was I wrong. At the time, I had heard little about meth. But things have certainly changed.
And I don't see any sign that this terrible problem is getting any better. Recent reports show the number of young adults experimenting with meth is even higher than we thought.
Today, it seems like it's everywhere. Grey's is kind of late tackling this issue, but definitely better late than never because everyone needs to be aware of what a huge problem meth in America truly is.
The show started off with a man, a woman, and their baby boy being emergently rushed into the ER after an explosion in their home. That's the first sign. There have been several such explosions in my hometown Atlanta from people "cooking meth" in their home.
The mother is severely injured but the father and the baby seem OK at first. But then the astute Dr. Karev gets suspicious when he smells something on the baby. He orders a "tox screen" - short for toxicology screen. And then it starts - the baby has meth in his blood from passively absorbing it from around the home.
Then, Dr. Karev does something not so smart - but I can't say I blame him. He gets in the father's face and it all comes out. The father belts him and Karev falls flat on his face. The father takes the baby and runs.
The father and the baby turn up shortly thereafter, and the truly sad part was we soon find out that the baby had a stroke from the meth.
The 60-year old neighbor of the couple, who was also in the blast, has a possibly even sadder story. He considered the couple to be his family because he had no one else. Not only was he shocked that they were making and selling meth, but he realized he had lost the only family he knew.
This scenario is all too real. And none of us should fool ourselves into thinking it couldn't happen to someone we know and love.
While my family members were not physically harmed from their years of meth use, they are still dealing with the repercussions that stemmed from that. It's enough to ruin a life - possibly forever.
So, now onto the shocking incident I referred to. You know, when the doc screams "Clear!" and then delivers an electric shock with the paddles to hopefully restart someone's heart.
In last night's episode, a guy who was buying meth from the couple, and was also injured in the explosion, suffered sudden cardiac death. This occurs when the heart stops beating, usually caused by a heart rhythm problem called ventricular fibrillation.
Like a good doctor, George grabbed the paddles and shocked the guy. Then miraculously the guy wakes up. I've performed and witnessed many of these episodes and not once did the person wake up like that. Their brain and body are stunned from lack of oxygen and if the shock is successful it takes time for the person to come around.
The same thing happened in last week's episode. Well, kind of the same thing. Izzie wrestled a deer back from the brink of death with the paddles and the deer popped right up on all fours. I let it pass since it was a deer but I felt compelled to address it this week.
There are some things that are tough for a doctor to just let go.
Related Topics:
Technorati Tags: Grey's Anatomy, ABC, meth, addiction, cardiac arrest, heart attack
Stick around, so I can tell you what really "shocked" me.
Methamphetamine, or meth, has wrecked many a life and certainly came close to doing that for two of my family members. Had you asked me 10 years ago if something like that could happen to someone I love, I, like many of you, would have said, "No way!"
Was I wrong. At the time, I had heard little about meth. But things have certainly changed.
And I don't see any sign that this terrible problem is getting any better. Recent reports show the number of young adults experimenting with meth is even higher than we thought.
Today, it seems like it's everywhere. Grey's is kind of late tackling this issue, but definitely better late than never because everyone needs to be aware of what a huge problem meth in America truly is.
The show started off with a man, a woman, and their baby boy being emergently rushed into the ER after an explosion in their home. That's the first sign. There have been several such explosions in my hometown Atlanta from people "cooking meth" in their home.
The mother is severely injured but the father and the baby seem OK at first. But then the astute Dr. Karev gets suspicious when he smells something on the baby. He orders a "tox screen" - short for toxicology screen. And then it starts - the baby has meth in his blood from passively absorbing it from around the home.
Then, Dr. Karev does something not so smart - but I can't say I blame him. He gets in the father's face and it all comes out. The father belts him and Karev falls flat on his face. The father takes the baby and runs.
The father and the baby turn up shortly thereafter, and the truly sad part was we soon find out that the baby had a stroke from the meth.
The 60-year old neighbor of the couple, who was also in the blast, has a possibly even sadder story. He considered the couple to be his family because he had no one else. Not only was he shocked that they were making and selling meth, but he realized he had lost the only family he knew.
This scenario is all too real. And none of us should fool ourselves into thinking it couldn't happen to someone we know and love.
While my family members were not physically harmed from their years of meth use, they are still dealing with the repercussions that stemmed from that. It's enough to ruin a life - possibly forever.
So, now onto the shocking incident I referred to. You know, when the doc screams "Clear!" and then delivers an electric shock with the paddles to hopefully restart someone's heart.
In last night's episode, a guy who was buying meth from the couple, and was also injured in the explosion, suffered sudden cardiac death. This occurs when the heart stops beating, usually caused by a heart rhythm problem called ventricular fibrillation.
Like a good doctor, George grabbed the paddles and shocked the guy. Then miraculously the guy wakes up. I've performed and witnessed many of these episodes and not once did the person wake up like that. Their brain and body are stunned from lack of oxygen and if the shock is successful it takes time for the person to come around.
The same thing happened in last week's episode. Well, kind of the same thing. Izzie wrestled a deer back from the brink of death with the paddles and the deer popped right up on all fours. I let it pass since it was a deer but I felt compelled to address it this week.
There are some things that are tough for a doctor to just let go.
Related Topics:
Technorati Tags: Grey's Anatomy, ABC, meth, addiction, cardiac arrest, heart attack
Labels: grey's anatomy, meth, methamphetamine
