The elderly woman was known as a difficult patient — often aggressive, with many medical problems. A nurse had recommended that someone sit with her, but no one had followed through on the suggestion.
At 7:30 a.m. on Nov. 23, 2002, Karen Brooks, a registered nurse, started her shift at the medical unit of the hospital located in Eastern Ontario. She was told the patient's daughter was sitting with her and a decision would be made shortly on how to deal with her.
Less than an hour into her shift, Ms. Brooks heard a loud bang coming from the patient's room. Fearing she had fallen out of bed, Ms. Brooks ran to see what had happened. As it turned out, the patient had thrown a tray against the wall and was hell-bent on doing harm.
The patient, who was crouched down near the bed, grabbed Ms. Brooks by the left wrist, snapped it back, bringing her down to her knees. Then she took Ms. Brooks's index and middle fingers on her left hand and pulled them in opposite directions.
Karen Brooks needed years of physiotherapy after a patient's assault tore the nerves in her left wrist and hand. (Charla Jones/The Globe and Mail)
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"It dislocated all the joints from the fingertip to the knuckles and ruined a great deal of nerves from wrist on down," said Ms. Brooks. "It tore the nerve pathways from my wrist."
The violence occurred as the patient's daughter had stepped out for coffee, something no other staff member had noticed. When Ms. Brooks yelled out, others came running to help. Incredibly, it took seven people to pull the patient, then in her 70s, off the nurse.
"It all happened in one minute and yet the repercussions will last forever," Ms. Brooks said. "I loved bedside nursing; I would have done it until I died."
She could do it no longer. In fact, her life became one of continual visits with doctors and other specialists in an attempt to repair her hand. It was placed in a cast, then splints. In an effort to relieve constant pain, she underwent four nerve blocks, a procedure that interrupts how pain signals are sent to the brain.
Ms. Brooks was in physiotherapy for 3 1/2 years. She has developed reflex sympathetic dystrophy, a nerve disorder that occurs at the site of an injury and is characterized by severe burning pain.
As a result of the injury, she cannot touch anything that vibrates. Even simple acts such as putting her hand on a car steering wheel can trigger severe pain. When she flies, she has to wear anti-vibration gloves. She can no longer play the piano, which she would often do in church and for weddings before the attack.
"It has been a horrible experience," Ms. Brooks said. "It has changed every aspect of my life."
Looking back, she felt that as a nurse she had total responsibility for patients but no power to change things. A sitter could have prevented her injury.
"It was the responsibility of the place I worked to ensure I have a safe and secure working environment," she said. "That was not a safe place. It was really better to walk to the parking lot by yourself than to be on that floor."
Five years later, Ms. Brooks has since retrained, obtaining her post-registered-nurse bachelor of science in nursing; she is now working in a family health team in chronic disease management.
"It is a wonderful place to work," she said. "I realized I could still be a nurse without having to lift people."
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