Please be yourself!

To any identical twins: it must be GREAT to be able to switch places, and I know Cystic Fibrosis is a pain so you try anything to make medical experiences more fun, but please, please don't do it in the ER, ok? You may look alike, but we really need to treat each of you...

Twin 8 year olds with CF come into the ER. They both have been experiencing increased coughing, and then the whole family gets the flu. So, off to the ER. Of course their names start with the same letter. And of course their treatment is nearly the same. IV's, nebulizers, etc. I go to hang some IV antibiotics for Emily, and notice she already has some going. I double check the bracelet, Emily sure enough. Hm, it is a slow night, maybe someone else hung the IV. I hung Elizabeth's about an hour earlier, she was really tough to get IV access on. I'm suprised she doesn't have a port. All of the sudden I notice the little mark on "Emily's" other arm from the first IV attempt on ELIZABETH. But the bracelet says Emily.

Okay, I am so glad this was caught and I didn't give one of them a double dose of medication. Or something scary like that.

"Did you two switch name bracelets" I ask? Two guilty looks. How in the world did they do it? They proceeed to show me that if they hold their hand a certain way, it tends to make the bracelets looser and then they can switch and "have some fun". Needless to say they got a lecture, bracelets that FIT, as well as a note in the chart saying double check patient - switches places with identical twin! I even got the bracelets we put on and write in severe allergies, put them on their ANKLES, and wrote their names. I wanted to write their names on them with permanent marker!

I just feel so bad for them though. Spending Christmas Eve in the ER, and it isn't even anything unusual for them. They were just trying to have some fun. But just imagine the potential problems! I think we need to have a standard question "do you have an identical twin" and "if so is she in the hospital right now?"

By the way, we finally came up with a way to tell them apart. It was a slow night, they were eventually going to be admitted (probably for one of their last times I was told. I didn't realize it was that bad.) They both have always wanted casts, but never been active enough to break bones. Emily wanted a purple cast on her right wrist. Elizabeth wanted a pink one. Well, they aren't going to be having much sucess switching places. It was so sad. I heard Emily asking her sister "Is this when they tell us we won't get better, ever?" I had to try really hard not to cry. I think the doctor was to give them casts. I did find out that their best friend had just broken her arm, so aparently that was the "cool" thing now. At least they got to do something "cool", and at least we can be sure we have the right twin. Sure wish the rest of it was that easy to fix - just put a cast on it and make it all better.