On Call Doctors and Police Officers

I can understand where you're coming from, Cheri. I went thru the same thing. I ended up in the E.R. about a year ago. I was unconscious on and off and had no clue what was going on around me. I do recall a dr coming in asking me questions but I just laid there speechless. My friend told the dr and nurse to get an interpreter. There was a struggle at first but finally they called in the interpreter. When the interpreter came in.. I didn't need him. How can I see what he's saying to me when i'm in and out? I was in the E.R. for 12 hours cuz I couldn't keep the fliud in me for the MRI. I kept vomitting. I was embarrassed to have the interpreter in the room watching me throwing up and peeing on myself. :Oops: I kinda wish I didn't have one then.. I guess it was too personal for an interpreter to be in the room with me when its me on that bed.

The others were.. when my mother was dying and couldn't breathe, I asked the e.r. nurses for an interpreter.. they said no because I wasn't a patient. I said I was the patients daughter and i'm the power of attorney and I have every right to know what's going on with my mother. The nurse said they wasn't sure if I had that right. I told the nurse to go look up the ADA Laws. They knew what I was talking about and just stood there. So I said well. aren't you going to get me one? They got me one and the interpreter showed up 30 minutes later.

as far as dealing with the cops... I believe that the cops are more aware of Deaf community than the drs are. Alot of cops have learned basic signs such as driver license and using gestures. Alot of deaf people have gotten away with not getting tickets. I was never the lucky ones. I always got a ticket. Why? because the cops thought i was faking my deafness and I talked. I told the cops that I can't understand them but I can speak. so he said slowly to me.. you......were......going....86......of.........55. I was like.. okay.. :ugh: got a ticket.. most of my friends have gotten away with it.

my point is.. i think the police officers are more aware of how to deal with deaf people than the drs do. The drs think of themselves, cops are here to protect and serve so they're more focusing on people than themselves.
 
Yeah I agree with Rebel Girl here...I have no problem with police officers, maybe a few but most of them are soo kind to me when I tell them I'm deaf and they always ask how I am able to understand them and I tell them all they need to do is talk slowly by opening their mouth, and I remember one police officer laughed when I said that!! I think it cause I'm being cute about it!... :dunno:
 
I agree with Taylor here. Most emergency medicine can be handled at least short term without needing to talk to the patient. As a practical matter, it might be worth investing in a Medic Alert bracelet (www.medicalert.com) or something similar if you have an allergy or some other medical condition that doctors should be aware of. You can even link the ID# to a database the doctor can access by phone with any/all medical records you want - allergies, medications, radiological images, even living wills and power of attorney instructions.

What I'm more surprised is when the ENT/Otolaryngology offices don't get it. I don't know how they do with 'terps, but I do know that the receptionist doesn't bother to look at me when talking, or will talk from behind me. Even the doctor does it sometimes - I take out my aid so he can put in his otoscope and he starts talking.
 
^Angel^ said:
Yeah I agree with Rebel Girl here...I have no problem with police officers, maybe a few but most of them are soo kind to me when I tell them I'm deaf and they always ask how I am able to understand them and I tell them all they need to do is talk slowly by opening their mouth, and I remember one police officer laughed when I said that!! I think it cause I'm being cute about it!... :dunno:
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well.. remember you're a blonde! lol so you gotta be cute. :lol: I'm not sure why I can't get the cops to let me go with a warning lol.. really.. i've had umm.. 4 speeding tickets since I've been driving... 2 car wrecks.. the first wrecK i had was a pain in the ass.. dealing with sheriffs :roll:. I didn't like them at all. the 2nd one was flirting with me so he was nice to me.
 
ismi said:
I agree with Taylor here. Most emergency medicine can be handled at least short term without needing to talk to the patient. As a practical matter, it might be worth investing in a Medic Alert bracelet (www.medicalert.com) or something similar if you have an allergy or some other medical condition that doctors should be aware of. You can even link the ID# to a database the doctor can access by phone with any/all medical records you want - allergies, medications, radiological images, even living wills and power of attorney instructions.

What I'm more surprised is when the ENT/Otolaryngology offices don't get it. I don't know how they do with 'terps, but I do know that the receptionist doesn't bother to look at me when talking, or will talk from behind me. Even the doctor does it sometimes - I take out my aid so he can put in his otoscope and he starts talking.
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I got remind about this Medial Alert wrist band... Looks alike Snake curves up and "Medial Alert" words on it.. open flip Everything info and #ID.. that what I felt alike am I special kid? that how I removed and threw it away.. My parent kept stubborn and buying replace and put it on me.. Made me feel angry and unhappy wearing Medial Alert wristband. Ugh.. I kept stubborn and threw it away again.. My parent gave it up.. LOL until When I turn Adult.. and spotted the old lay having hard time to communcation w/Doctor and look up her wristband.. and rushed into the computer look it up ahh there!... Help her quicker... whoa.. She is first prior patient than I do... No wonder why....

I realized that I'm stupid but my parent didn't explain me when I was young little girl... that SAD...

One day I will have those... anyway near the future!
 
GalaxyAngel said:
I got remind about this Medial Alert wrist band... Looks alike Snake curves up and "Medial Alert" words on it.. open flip Everything info and #ID.. that what I felt alike am I special kid? that how I removed and threw it away.. My parent kept stubborn and buying replace and put it on me.. Made me feel angry and unhappy wearing Medial Alert wristband. Ugh.. I kept stubborn and threw it away again.. My parent gave it up.. LOL until When I turn Adult.. and spotted the old lay having hard time to communcation w/Doctor and look up her wristband.. and rushed into the computer look it up ahh there!... Help her quicker... whoa.. She is first prior patient than I do... No wonder why....

I realized that I'm stupid but my parent didn't explain me when I was young little girl... that SAD...

One day I will have those... anyway near the future!
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That is interesting. I don't wear it. I put it away, and now I forgot where is it. I have a Medial Alert card which is better.
 
Yeah, they have all different types - a card for your wallet, the traditional bracelet, various necklaces, that kind of thing. There's another company that puts it on a USB keychain (encrypted - emergency info is always available, but they have to go to the company to get the rest decrypted, I think). I wonder if anyone's ever done a tattoo with their ID #?

Heck, you can even get RFID chipped now, although it's not very common, so a lot of doctors don't check.
 
ismi said:
I wonder if anyone's ever done a tattoo with their ID #?
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That's a little too close to looking like a Holocaust survivor for my taste, but thanks for reminding me I should get one of those wallet cards.

Do they have an option to put "deaf" on those medical alert cards? I know this is probably a distateful idea because many people don't consider their deafness to be a medical condition, but the comments about police officers not believing someone is deaf really make me mad. I just wish there were something "official" you could show them to shut them up. Maybe a card showing membership in NAD or something would be better.

Of course the reason they don't believe you is because HEARING people pretend to be deaf and so they think anyone claiming deafness is crying wolf, but stopping people from being jerkwads is pretty much impossible.
 
Interpretrator said:
That's a little too close to looking like a Holocaust survivor for my taste, but thanks for reminding me I should get one of those wallet cards.
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Point. I was thinking more along the lines of a cadeucus (sp?) on the bicep with the number inside, but you have a point.

Interpretrator said:
Do they have an option to put "deaf" on those medical alert cards? I know this is probably a distateful idea because many people don't consider their deafness to be a medical condition, but the comments about police officers not believing someone is deaf really make me mad. I just wish there were something "official" you could show them to shut them up. Maybe a card showing membership in NAD or something would be better.
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There are some that are "pre-made" (diabetic, penicillin allergy, etc), but you can get blank ones and have 'em engraved with whatever you want. The problem with having to "prove" your deafness, though, is that it draws too explicit a line (IMO). For example, I'm normally able to hear with my aids well enough to communicate - but when I'm sick, or my aids are broken, that's not the case. Similarly, how do you distinguish between a non-speaker with better hearing than a deafie who does speak? I think it's the same problem as is faced by anyone who doesn't speak English (or whatever the local language is), be they deaf (or other ASL users - I'm thinking here of certain autistic spectrum individuals), or a recent immigrant (or not so recent - many Hmong, for example, do not speak much English even after being in the US for years), or whatever.

My thought about the bracelet was not so much about "proving" one's deafness, but about realizing that unconciousness is not the only situation where communication goes downhill, so making it easier for the doctor to get the information they need to treat you is a good thing.
 
ismi said:
My thought about the bracelet was not so much about "proving" one's deafness, but about realizing that unconciousness is not the only situation where communication goes downhill, so making it easier for the doctor to get the information they need to treat you is a good thing.
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Oh yeah, I agree with you completely. My wondering about putting "deaf" on that card was actually aside from the whole question of medical treatment, it was going back to the thing about a police officer not believing someone when she says she is deaf, even if she is speaking. That just bugs me (even though, as I said, I can understand it since I'm sure plenty of people pretend to be deaf to get out of a ticket) and I like the idea of a deaf person whipping out some sort of official-looking proof just to shut the officer up.

I wouldn't be surprised if many police officers also aren't aware that deaf people are allowed to drive. I've encountered many otherwise intelligent people who think you can't drive if you're deaf (last Thursday in one of my grad school classes, for example!) and if they join the force and there is no kind of deaf awareness training, it's entirely possible they'd continue to be ignorant of that fact.
 
Interpretrator said:
...Do they have an option to put "deaf" on those medical alert cards?
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Maybe it wouldn't have to say "deaf" but could just have a message like, "In case of a medical emergency please get a sign language interpreter or call -800-xxx-xxxx." The phone number could be the toll-free number for an interpreting agency with which the person is already familiar.

Or, "the wearer of this Medic Alert communicates thru sign language". Or, wording similar to the visor card that some Deaf have in their cars.

Maybe a card showing membership in NAD or something would be better...
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Don't forget, hearing people are members of NAD, too. :P
 
^Angel^ said:
I agree I mean there are going to be patients there in the ER that will not be able to speak english, or not being able to hear or can't even read etc, how are they going to know what the problem is that the patient is having etc?
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The medical team has to evaluate the patient using other methods, same as they do if someone shows up unconscious and can't communicate. They examine the patient, and they question the other people who brought the person in or witnessed the accident, etc.

There are other patients who show up at ER's with communication problems. Children too young to talk, people with mental problems, people incoherant from alcohol or drugs, people with injuries to their throats or ears, people hysterical with pain, etc. Some patients can hear and speak clearly but lie about their symptoms or the circumstances of their emergency. The doctors some how have to sort thru all these hinderances to communication and treat their patients regardless.
 
I understand how u went thru Cheri. I went thru many times in my whole life. I didnt even bother abt an interpreter till maybe 10 yrs ago I realized I need them so badly.

In 1999, my three friends and I were in a car accident. My hearing friend called 911, 2 ambulance and the cops came. My hearing friend is an interpreter and told the EMT and the cops that three of us are deaf. She told the EMT or the cops to pls call the hospital to get an interpreter for us since she is victim of the car accident. We arrived at the hospital. I was laying on the bed and waiting for my turn to check out by the doctor. In half an hour later, an interpreter showed up. She interpreted three of us. What happened was my hearing friend told me that when she came out of the ambulance with one of my deaf friend. She saw our hearing friend Anne. My friend was thrilled to see Anne, she asked Anne if shes here to interpreting, Anne said no, she works at that hospital. My hearing friend got so mad and asked Anne to call the agency to send an interpreter please. Anne said okay. So we got one. My hearing friend was so mad at EMT and the cops for not doing their job to inform the hospital.
 
RedheadGrrl said:
...My hearing friend was so mad at EMT and the cops for not doing their job to inform the hospital.
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So, after you were all healed from the accident, what did you do about the interpreter situation? To whom did you officially complain?
 
Reba said:
Maybe it wouldn't have to say "deaf" but could just have a message like, "In case of a medical emergency please get a sign language interpreter or call -800-xxx-xxxx." The phone number could be the toll-free number for an interpreting agency with which the person is already familiar.

Or, "the wearer of this Medic Alert communicates thru sign language". Or, wording similar to the visor card that some Deaf have in their cars.
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There you go.

Reba said:
Don't forget, hearing people are members of NAD, too. :P
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Of course, but if the police offer is ignorant enough not to know that deaf people can drive, I doubt he or she is going to know enough to point that out to the person with the card.
 
Interpretrator said:
There you go.



Of course, but if the police offer is ignorant enough not to know that deaf people can drive, I doubt he or she is going to know enough to point that out to the person with the card.
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I don't know about other agencies, but all of our officers are aware that deaf people can drive. I know there is a misconception about it with the general public but when I started the deaf awareness program with our agency, I asked some questions at the beginning of the course before we did anything at all. One of the questions are 'Are deaf people allowed get a license and legally drive a motor vehicle?' Not one person in all of the classes got it wrong, however, many had heard the misconception that deaf can't drive...and all knew the rumor was false.

With that said, there might be agencies/officers that may believe that. In most state certified police academies, the topic of who can/can't drive is covered in traffic law so I don't know how widely it is believed.
 
Taylor said:
I don't know about other agencies, but all of our officers are aware that deaf people can drive. I know there is a misconception about it with the general public but when I started the deaf awareness program with our agency, I asked some questions at the beginning of the course before we did anything at all. One of the questions are 'Are deaf people allowed get a license and legally drive a motor vehicle?' Not one person in all of the classes got it wrong, however, many had heard the misconception that deaf can't drive...and all knew the rumor was false.

With that said, there might be agencies/officers that may believe that. In most state certified police academies, the topic of who can/can't drive is covered in traffic law so I don't know how widely it is believed.
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There's a big difference between classroom and the field. If you're teaching a course on deaf awareness, and ask that question, I think you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who'd say "no, deaf people can't drive". But when they're not prompted, and they don't have that context to rely on, it would be easy to forget, I'm sure. You also have to deal with some officers on a more personal level - I've been stopped a few times by officers who didn't think it was safe for a wheelchair user to be driving, and they let their personal feelings cloud their judgment.

Not to say that all officers will let their personal feelings cloud the situation; I mean, ideally, an officer's job is to be an impartial enforcer of The Law As It Is Written(tm), and certainly most officers do that quite well. But, as in any group, there are those few that cause a problem.
 
What's the downfall, is the wait time for terp's to show up at place of bussiness. can be 1/2 hour to 5 hours! If they have to call in terps. Some place's have terp on site all times. But if they have to call agency, Can be awhile. If it's an emergency situation, Doctor will save life then when person come's too. They have terp to explain what happen. This happen w/LMM. not once but many times. When it happen hospital contact her family, Told them she was in the hospital, They have terp arrvie when she wakes up.
LMM carry's infor in her wallet, in case she's out of town. But our local hospitals have all her infor in the computters. Same with our police department. Yes hospital's will check wallet's if they don't know person. If they don't check wallets, Just ask a hospital here in Mi, What can happen to them! They never check LMM wallet, They gave her drug's that almost killed her. They had to use the paddles to save her! The hospital & nurse were in trouble over this!
If this post helps someone, Glad to have helped!
LMM
 
maybe its a state thing, but here in Tennessee, if your deaf it is printed with a number on your drivers liscense, and when you flip it around the number matches a description stating they are deaf.


its not 100% accurate, cause i have some deaf friends whos liscense doesn't have it, but if they force the person doing their liscense to put it on there it would go a long way to proving they are really deaf.
 
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Should have ...
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~ about the hospital issues... Should bring an interpreter..

Why r u talking about Driving??? isn't related hopsital.. *ahem*
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