Dust In The Wind

Hazing in university fraternities seemed to have claimed another victim.

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Patrick (not his real name) was rushed at this certain university hospital by his dormitory landlord after he was seen unconscious and choking on his own vomitus of blood. After he was stabilized in the ER and initial work-ups were made, a diagnosis of eroded esophagus probably secondary to ingestion of foreign object was made.

An esophago-gastroscopy was done and the following were extracted from his stomach: a partially undigested banana (with the peel on), a dozen of safety pins, bezoar (of rolls of undigested paper) and a pin with an insignia of this certain organization. He later revealed that they were forced to ingest the aforementioned objects as a part of their fraternity initiation rites at this certain state university. He was discharged in good condition.

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Carl was rushed by his dad at the same hospital with a chief complaint of unresponsiveness (not being able to eat, perform activities of daily living, verbally respond when spoken to, etc.). The anamnesis revealed that Carl was an A+ student who, weeks before admission, joined this certain fraternity and was forced to perform the sexual act with another man as a part of their initiation rite. He was brought home in a shocked, unresponsive, and apparently traumatized state.

At the hospital, he was diagnosed to have Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Catatonic Schizophrenia (Stupor type, think waxy flexibility). He was managed with nasogastric tubes, antipsychotic meds, and supportive care. He was still unresponsive even after he was discharged.

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A concerned bystander rushed a John Doe to the same institution after he was seen unconscious on a sidewalk at this major thoroughfare. John Doe has a pulse but had erratic respirations. At the ER, several traumatic injuries were seen on his buttocks, posterior thigh, and lower back.

In no more than fifteen minutes, he coded and expired. Cause of death: cardiogenic shock secondary to massive internal bleeding (ruptured spleen, hemoperitoneum, punctured liver, kidney/renal hematoma), traumatic in origin. At the morgue, he was identified by a friend who claimed that his fraternity initiation rite was held on the night the body was found.

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When will the lamb stop screaming? To Chris Anthony Mendez, Requiescat in Pace.

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The cases presented are real medical cases actually handled by the author in this certain university hospital. The author has no intention to malign or cause undue harm to any third party which may be involved in the aforementioned cases.