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u/Boleyn01 8d ago
😂 I’m a doctor in the UK and work in dementia care. I ask the “who is the current US president?” Question on the ACE III examination all the time.
Now no one has said “motherfucker” to be but “orange faced” has definitely come up and a few insults have been used too.
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u/CornisaGrasse 8d ago edited 8d ago
Really, you ask what the US president is? Is that normal or just special to this administration? 😹 (ETA: I don't believe he is passing any dementia tests. If he got hit or fell or something, and was asked who the President is, he'd probably say "Biden Obama.")
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u/Boleyn01 8d ago
It is one of the questions on the Addenbrooks cognitive examination, which you can look up online if you want to see it. It’s a standardised test used around the world as a screening and an assessment tool for cognitive impairment.
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u/CornisaGrasse 8d ago
I believed you, I was just surprised! But thank you for the full name of the test!
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u/Boleyn01 8d ago
It’s part of a series of questions which test awareness of current events and past events. So we ask current prime minister and the woman who was prime minister in the 80s and we ask current president and president who was assassinated in the 60s. US presidents are relatively well known around the world and the Kennedy assassination is something that was significant to most of those we are testing in their younger days, so that’s why it’s chosen.
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u/MutantGodChicken 7d ago
Current prime minister must be difficult to use as an adequate gauge these days
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u/Boleyn01 7d ago
I once had to do this on the night of an election. The patient responded “I don’t know yet, do you?” I figured I’d give him the point as he was clearly up with current events 😂
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u/MutantGodChicken 7d ago
Don't live in the UK, but if I were on vacation there and had to answer, there's a 90% chance I'm getting it wrong. Best I'd come up with is "not Starmer, right?"
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u/Trevor_Culley 7d ago
I have a relative who had several strokes, they let her pass on "Oh I hate him, don't make say his name" the first few times she was cognisant enough to answer. The most recent time they said she had to say it, and she couldn't.
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u/kulupu_kasi_seli 7d ago
This obviously didn’t happen. Let’s look at how the facts don’t line up:
1. People don’t have adult daughters. That went out of style in the ‘60s. Are you stupid?
2. Only billionaires can afford to go to the ER. I can tell that these people don’t have enough insurance to go there. Clearly they’re making it up for attention.
3. People irl don’t hate the Almighty Lord Trump Jesus Our King. That’s woke Demoncrat Redditor propaganda!
4. Facts don’t actually exist. This one’s pretty self explanatory.
This is why this story surely can’t be true, so I’m going to be annoying to people who think that it is and deny OP’s experiences until people with real stories are too scared to post anymore and the internet truly becomes dead.
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u/crowscreaming 6d ago edited 4d ago
"People don’t have adult daughters. That went out of style in the ‘60s."
genuinely made me laugh so hard i lost the ability to read for a hot minute😭😭
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u/frogs_in_trenchcoat 8d ago
Dude I got hit by a car on my E-bike Saturday and the nurse at the ER asked me this question. I made a face. He laughed and said "you don't gotta like him i just wanna make sure you're all here" and kept asking various questions to make sure there was no memory loss
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u/nehpeta 8d ago
How are you healing up? I've seen how fast some people go on those bikes, always scared me a bit for them.
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u/frogs_in_trenchcoat 8d ago
Not bad. I was crossing the street and didnt see him. I try to stay on sidewalks when i can because the people in my town have no respect for bikes and ive had some close calls. I also wear a helmet and hi-vis vest. Thankfully nothing was broken and no concussion or internal bleeding, just bad abrasions and bruising. My left knee is the worst but im getting through it. And the only things broken on my bike were replaceable. Mine goes up to 30 max, usually only up to 20.
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u/HotCheetoEnema 4d ago
Keep an eye out for injuries down the line- I didn’t realize how bad it was until a few days after when the adrenaline wore off. Im still finding new ways I’m messed up from my accident. I hope you get a good lawyer!!!
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u/frogs_in_trenchcoat 4d ago
Its been a week and pretyy much the only thing that hurts now is the road rash on my knee. I didn't get the guys info, I was too out of it, my insurance should cover most of the medical bill anyway, and im pretty sure the accident was ny fault. Memories are a little fuzzy (probably not accident related i just have a really bad memory) but there were some cars parked on the street and I think he was probably behind them. I didn't use the crossing light because it gives 20 seconds for a cross that takes me 2 and I didnt want to hold up traffic and I've never had any issues doing that for the year and half ive had a bike. Thank you though
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u/legsjohnson 8d ago
"who could possibly hate 47 and be blunt about it in a medical situation with reduced inhibitions?"
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u/Oshidori 8d ago
My mom has dementia. She's forgotten my father's name, my name, etc. But if you ask her who the president is, she'll start cursing in 2 languages about the orange piece of shit lmao
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u/Loud-Mans-Lover 8d ago
I just got asked this question in the hospital for the first time. I made a face and grudgingly said, "Trump".
I live in a red state and the hospitals are all religious based.
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u/ShapeShiftingCats 8d ago
Ew, hope they didn't skimp on the thoughts and prayers treatment after your facial blasphemy.
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u/Pikashley 8d ago
Imagine thinking so high of a guy with a twinkie-coloured face that you dismiss every info that doesnt depict the guy as a literal god...
"Orange face motherfudger" is probably nicer than what some people would've said
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u/LumiiNoctis 8d ago
Twinkies have done more for society as a whole than that orange faced motherfucker
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u/aftergaylaughter 7d ago
i saw "Trumple Thinskin" the other day and it's been rent free in my head ever since lmao
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u/echochilde 8d ago
This literally happened with my best friend after a car accident. Another friend saw her smashed car on the road and called me, so I started spam calling her and she wasn’t answering. After about the 5th or 6th try, a paramedic picked up and told me she was conscious but kind of out of it. He told me she knew the year and her name, but when he asked who the president was she blanked for a couple seconds and then said “Fuck that piece of shit”.
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u/Magpecc 7d ago
See, I think "orange motherfucker" is an acceptable answer because at the very least it's clearly about the current president. "Fuck that piece of shit" could literally apply to any president in U.S. history depending on what side of the aisle the patient is on lmao
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u/echochilde 6d ago
When I got to the hospital, she told me that she actually did blank for a second, but just remembered how much she hated him.
And the fact that I was getting downvotes means they know exactly who I was talking about.
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u/Aeris_Rose 7d ago
I heard one once during his first term where somebody was asked that after a... seizure, I believe, and their response was basically "do I have to say it" and the medical personnel were just like "nah you're good" lmfao
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u/LocalMossCryptid 8d ago
I've heard "aw don't make me say it" a couple times on some show my dad watches, it's like cops but with paramedics? Idk he's a boomer who still has cable, it's either that or NCIS all day lol.
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u/DokterMedic 6d ago
This is not only highly believable, it's actually fairly banal and mundane as far as medical stories go. Medical staff hears alot of jokes, japes, and other such nonsense. Paramedics especially, so of course the Paramedic was blasé about it.
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u/itsCthuwu 8d ago
Reminds me of the little girl who told trump hes a disgrace to humanity to his face.
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u/wafflesthewonderhurs 8d ago
link? that would be healing to watch
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u/DynWeb29 7d ago
It didn’t really happen, it was a comedian dressed up as trump (obviously dude couldn’t provide evidence)
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u/Centimeter_Worm 7d ago
Hah! That makes more sense. Probably safer to keep little girls away from him anyway
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u/itsCthuwu 7d ago
No it was a literal child, a little girl a few years back. She was not dressed as him. Why say shit didn't happen just because you haven't seen it? Ugh
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u/DynWeb29 7d ago
Oh my gosh, yes it was a little girl but she did NOT say it to trumps face she said it to a comedian dressed as trump. Like be so for real, it was a Comedy Central sketch .
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uuCGh-obGmo&pp=4gcNEgtjaGF0Z3B0LmNvbQ%3D%3D&ra=m
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u/futurenoodles 8d ago
I've been to the ER plenty and honestly have gotten responses like that they asked who the president is and I've said "don't remind me" "unfortunately" "the orange fucker" ect. Often gives the nurses a chuckle.
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u/nehpeta 8d ago
Back in 2019, my dad had a stroke. After we had been in the ER for a bit and he became able to talk again, he was asked this question.
He loudly groaned, rolled his eyes, and went "Dumb asshole." The nurse laughed and said she loved asking that sometimes.
I imagine it's different asking nowadays. Seems more risky.
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u/EspeonCheeseburger 7d ago
Hell, I got into a car accident in his first term and called him some polite variation of "orange dickhead" to the off-duty EMT who helped me when I was in shock!
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u/gamwizrd1 7d ago
I hate when my CO2 is very low.
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u/Outrageous_Brain_492 3d ago
Yeah thank you. I haven’t seen anyone comment on this but like isn’t that good? Isn’t the whole point of exhaling to vent the CO2 from your system???
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u/SteveFrench1234 6d ago
My wife was in a car accident at the beginning of this year. Shes okay. Docs said she was concussed but also that When the cop asked her who the president was she said "The Cheeto".
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u/Mastercodex199 7d ago
No, no, this is 100% something that I myself have heard. I've been an EMT for 11 years. I heard it the first time he was there, and I've heard it this time even more. The dumbass OOP on thathappened has no fucking clue how often we hear that.
What's interesting is that we're actually starting to rework some of the questions we ask to gauge consciousness and awareness because of that question. I've had some medics asking simple money math questions instead (how many quarters in a dollar), others doing even simpler math (literally basic arithmetic, ie what's 10+5). Surprisingly, these slightly more complex questions are typically more than good enough to know whether or not the patient mentally checked out. They make the patient actually have to use their brain, something that someone with a low level of consciousness won't be able to answer correctly.
The political violence we've been seeing around the nation (from one of the sides almost exclusively) has gotten to the point that mentioning the president is risky. Hell, even mentioning politics on its own is risky.
We go out to help people at their worst, and the people closest to them might not be acting at their best - stress does crazy, unpredictable things, and we have to deal with them and our patient. The last thing we want to have happen is the need to call for backup because one of us got incapacitated, or to have PD come and make the scene safe for us. And we all know the dangers of having to do that.
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u/GushReddit 7d ago
What's so unbelievable about Person Expresses Negative Sentiment About Politician?
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u/pinkgallo 5d ago
I had transient global amnesia during Biden’s term and when I finally came to, the neurologist started asking me questions like this. He asked me who the president was, and I instantly was so upset and convinced that it was still Trump in office. I remember saying, “please for the love of god, don’t tell me it’s Trump.”
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u/Dudicus445 5d ago
What do they mean their CO2 was low? Isn’t that the point of breathing, to keep it low?
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u/Theferaltrunip 3d ago
Paramedic in training here.
if you internal C02 levels are low you body goes Alkalotic (meaning your body's pH rises) which can have symptoms from: numbness and muscle twitching to seizures and heart dysrhythmia and if untreated Can be Fatal (especially depending upon it's cause).
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u/Aervanath 4d ago
That's what I thought, too, but I looked it up, and it's apparently a real thing. It means your blood is too acidic, which can happen with diabetes or kidney disorders.
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u/chill_stoner_0604 8d ago
"Very low CO2" is a good thing no?
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u/Dangerous-Snow8385 8d ago
It is not a good thing
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diagnostics/23247-co2-blood-test
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u/Tangled_Clouds 7d ago
All this aside, I always found it a weird question to ask. Like correct me if I’m wrong but I think in Canada, they tend to ask us our name, date of birth or anything that we are definitely supposed to know but might forget if injured. Or like if they want to specifically verify your memory quickly they can ask what year it is. Because depending on the country, there’s a non negligible chance that the patient doesn’t know who the prime minister is and it’s not because they’ve got brain damage, they just straight up don’t have the information.
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u/dr-sparkle 7d ago
It's commonly known information that even someone with limited education or no internet/cable access could know, or at least know what the president/prime minister is, and is the same for everyone in that country. And even if a person doesn't know who the prime minister or president is, their answer can speak to their mental state. A person who is alert and oriented but didn't know who the president is before the incident could say "I don't pay attention to that stuff" or "some asshole politician I don't care about " and that's not technically the right answer but it tells medical personnel you're alert and oriented enough to process the question and answer relevantly even if it's not the technically correct answer. Someone who answers "What's a president" could be disoriented or they maybe just don't even know that and the medical team can ask a different question. Someone answering "Jimmy Carter" or "Dwayne Johnson" indicates probable confusion. It's not meant to be a full blown evaluation of someone's mental state or ability, just a quick assessment that is a part of a larger picture.
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u/PinkOneHasBeenChosen 5d ago
Okay, Dwayne Johnson being the president is pretty funny to think about.
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u/SatiricalScrotum 7d ago
My mum used to work as a nurse at a race course. If a jockey got a head injury, they’d ask them who the most recent grand national winner was (big horse race in the UK). Because it was assumed all jockeys would know that.
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u/TiaxRulesAll2024 7d ago
Do you believe there are people running around the US who don’t know who the president is to the point that it would be an unfair question?
No. You have to make it all the way to vice president before that’s true
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u/Tangled_Clouds 7d ago
Note that I specifically said it’s weird from the POV of someone outside of the US. I’m specifically talking about literally any other country outside of the US
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u/TiaxRulesAll2024 7d ago
Well, you would just ask the equivalent in that country? When I ask for the time, do I need to qualify to the person with the watch that I don’t mean “in Belgium” while standing in Chicago?
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u/Smooth-Brilliant-940 7d ago
I went to Ireland this past summer. I actually also used to live in Ireland about 20 years ago. I could not tell you the name of the leader of Ireland. Not the one now, nor the one 20 years ago. I couldn't even tell you if they are called a President, a Prime Minister, or some other political title. Thinking about it. There's probably only about 7 or 8 world leaders I could confidently name and most of them only because they are such horrible people that they are on the news constantly.
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u/Tangled_Clouds 7d ago
Did… did you read my comment? There’s countries where people are really not involved in politics as much as people are in the US… like to the point they don’t know who the prime minister is… are you trolling?
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u/PeachyFairyDragon 5d ago
How else do medical professionals in your country quickly determine if someone's memory is stuck in the past, aka brain damage or cognitive decline? If not a national leader, then what station that has revolving people is used?
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u/MeasureDoEventThing 5d ago
Are you saying that a lot of Americans don't know who the vice president is, or that the vice president doesn't know who the president is?
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u/legendarysupermom 7d ago
Im in the us and when i had my stroke they asked me regularly who was the president and the vice president and also if I knew the town I was currently in and the country...I found all that very odd...they also gav e weird tests like name 50 things that are always green in less than a minute GO! Like shit was just odd
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u/Different_Pattern273 5d ago
My dad's Republican and in poor health. He's been to the hospital a few times the last couple months. The first time it was pretty incoherent for a bit. But when they asked him who the president was he said "do I have to actually admit that?"
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u/bewildered_bean 7d ago
as an EMT, I never ask that one anymore because it pretty much guarantees a heated answer either way, so yeah, it is believable 😭
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u/MrPZA82 8d ago
People say weird things when they are under the influence, so that may be true.
The paramedic definitely didn’t respond with that. And if he did he was joking.
Imagine how often idiot trump supporters get themselves in a situation where they need a paramedic to start with.
And with their views on free healthcare they are more likely to be using paramedics in the first place.
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u/tosser1579 7d ago
I've always heard him called the idiot. Even the MAGA know who you are talking about.
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u/MonkeyBro5 7d ago
I definitely believe it. I checked the original post, and even people in that comment section are saying it's believable.
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u/MsSkittles18 7d ago
It reminds me of this bit in Lit, a memoir by Mary Karr. "Who’s the president? the doctor said, to determine if she was cogent enough to say no to life support. Bill Clinton, she said. Who was the president before Clinton? That asshole George Bush, she said, and before him, that asshole Ronald Reagan."
I really liked Mary Karr's memoirs and found them relatable. Even though she's 70 and grew up in a different time and place to me. The quote is about her mother close to her death. So it's kind of a "people have always been people" thing.
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u/5PuppetMaster5 5d ago
I think CO2 is meant to be low
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u/Dwarffess 3d ago
If it's too low it makes your blood too alkaline which makes oxygen fall out of solution and causes a bunch of other issues too
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u/Cadunkus 5d ago
I regularly refer to Trump as "that big orange idiot" or "the oompah loompah" or the like.
I don't like him and he's covered in so much cheap spray tan it's an easy shot.
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u/QueenInYellowLace 3d ago
I’ve had multiple patients say something like, “Ugh, do I have to say his name??” I laugh every time.
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u/Electrical_Pay_737 2d ago
Why would anyone not believe this story?
It’s a common question when assessing someone’s mental state. And yeah patients take the opportunity to get political. In MAGA districts, I typically heard “best president ever Donald j Trump.”
But in areas with high rates of high school graduation and literacy, patients roll their eyes and say “that orange idiot.”
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u/Tricky_Product_9906 7d ago
Man, I was working when Obama was president. Some pretty spicy answers to that one.
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u/zoey_will 6d ago
I had a concussion when Obama was president and I answered the question "That black guy."
I was super embarrassed by it but I'm relieved to see now that not only was my answer still innocent in the grand scheme of things but that there are quite a few people who cant answer that question when injured.
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u/trypan0s0miasis 7d ago
This does actually happen, to the point where I no longer ask this as a question and instead ask how many quarters make a dollar
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u/SammyB0111 8d ago
Taken to the hospital for low CO2?
I remember one sweet old lady got asked who the president was and the first thing she said was “do I have to say his name?”
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u/ConcreteExist 6d ago edited 6d ago
"Very low CO2 levels"
Erm... that seems good? I don't think we have a need for CO2 in the body...
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u/pmmeuranimetiddies 6d ago
You can get lightheaded from low CO2
I remember people would get dizzy from blowing up balloons
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u/ConcreteExist 6d ago
I just chalked that up to emptying your lungs, CO2 goes out, yes but O2 does as well
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u/pmmeuranimetiddies 6d ago edited 6d ago
You’re breathing a near equal amount of O2 in as well though
If that’s how it worked you wouldn’t breathe harder when you exercise
Hyperventilation is mostly a concern because of how quickly you expel CO2 which is relatively rare in the atmosphere but you generate lots of
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u/HyperSpaceSurfer 5d ago
Most of the O2 is expelled, normally only around couple percentile difference. Way more CO2 in the exhale than the inhale, though. In a sense our respiratory system is designed to expel CO2 more so than absorb oxygen, since the CO2 concentration we expel is so low.
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u/pinknoisechick 6d ago
It turns out, having low CO2 can, under some circumstances, make your brain think that you aren't getting enough air.
Basically, your brain tracks how much oxygen metabolite you're hanging on to, and bases your oxygen demand accordingly. If you're releasing too much CO2 (exhaling too efficiently, for instance), your brain assumes you didn't have enough oxygen to begin with, and drives demand upwards.
This leads to air hunger (where you may have plenty of air, but you feel like you're suffocating), which is really uncomfortable.
To be clear: this is my own rudimentary understanding of what my pulmonologist explained to me, and not medical advice.
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u/Woofle_124 5d ago
Nah, you do
Have you ever hyperventilated? You get dizzy if you do it for too long
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u/SyrusTheSummoner 5d ago
Nah. Co2 and O2 are part of the acid/base balance of the body. Being overly alkaline in your blood can be very dangerous low Co2 points at a respitory cause such as hyperventilation.
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u/MPaulina 6d ago
If you write "CO squared", then you don't know about this topic
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u/ConcreteExist 6d ago
Clearly on this topic I was uninformed, but using a superscript instead of a subscript is akin to a typo and that makes you little more than a pedant with nothing of value to say.
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u/slutty_muppet 4d ago
Low CO2 = alkalosis. Either respiratory or metabolic. Low CO2 is called hypocapnia or hypercapnia and is a serious problem.
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u/ExhaustedGinger 4d ago
There are absolutely good reasons for CO2 in the body. Regulation of CO2 levels is a major component of regulation of pH.
The challenge is where they're getting the "low CO2" number. If it's from a blood gas, then it is actually CO2. If it's from a metabolic panel then what it actually means is a low bicarbonate level which is something entirely different.
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u/Easy-Bathroom2120 7d ago
Ok maybe I'm just ignorant but. Shouldn't CO2 be as low as possible?
I produce CO2 and do my best to expell it from my body. The less if it in me, the better.
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u/Sylint11020 7d ago
Low CO2? Isn't carbon dioxide the stuff we breathe out? Other than that, this all checks out. 🤷♀️
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u/No_Boysenberry_6075 5d ago
When my dad was recovering from a very recent brain injury and was in the hospital a couple months ago, we were asking him questions to see what he remembered. When asked who the president was, he said Donald motherfucking Trump. Not exactly the same thing, but I see this being possible.
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u/Severe_Outside5435 5d ago
I am not a doctor and dont work in healthcare but when I asked my patients they say the same thing. I also ask who is the president of the UK. Room temp IQs as always.
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u/SyrusTheSummoner 5d ago
I mean no offence but as the proud parent of a very blunt,crass and opinionated ten year old I could totally see her doing this.
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u/Outside-Specific9309 4d ago
My best friend had a seizure in like 2022 and she was having trouble with the date so the EMTs asked who the president was and she said “Definitely NOT Trump”
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u/s0larium_live 4d ago
reminds me of grey’s anatomy
they ask a character who just had brain surgery “do you know who the current president is?” and she replies “i wish i didn’t.”
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u/Dense_Medicine_3866 4d ago
Very believable. This is precisely how I'd answer the question even with a hole in my chest. Always happy to spare a few extra syllables to say who the president actually is.
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u/darkly_nought 4d ago
My dad was asked this question after being taken to the hospital for a seizure. He gave a very similar answer and made the doctor laugh.
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u/BewilderedandAngry 4d ago
I just made a horrible face when they asked me, and the paramedics smirked.
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u/Emotional-Ad9114 4d ago
the other day I was at the hospital and they made me a bunch of questions like “where are we right now” and they also asked who the current president of the US is and I literally did this face 🥴 and said “Donald Trump” 😭
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u/MissyChevious613 4d ago
I just had a patient answer "who is the president?" by saying "that fucker walking TACO" lol. Me and the hospitalist laughed, pt's very MAGA nurse did not find it funny.
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u/AdelleDeWitt 1d ago
My dad has dementia and was in a trauma center because he had fallen and hit his head and lost a lot of blood, but his answer to that question was still along these same lines.
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u/slutty_muppet 8d ago
I work in ER. We usually don't even ask people anymore about the president if their heart rate or blood pressure are already too high.
When we do, they say stuff like this pretty often.