Thomas

      A 15-year-old boy named Thomas complained of abdominal pain and fever for 1 week. When [he arrived] he looked like your typical teenage boy. He was tall, thin, wearing glasses, and had blond curly hair. As he walked by the nurse’s station he did not appear to be in pain, but I also noticed he would not look at us. Missy, who was the other nurse I was working with, and I walked into the room to complete a quick assessment and history. The patient seemed very nervous. He was sitting on the bed and rubbing his hands together and he had a worried look on his face. As soon as I approached the bed he quickly asked me what I was going to do. His mother was sitting in the chair next to him and was very calm. As Missy starts asking questions about his medical history I notice mom is answering all the questions. From my past experience as a nurse with other 15-year-olds, they usually answer most of the questions and look to the parent to make sure they answered correctly. I approached the bed to do my assessment and as I did Thomas let out a moan and asked, is this going to hurt?