Here's a story from an anonymous contributor:

I'm a respiratory therapist in a small community hospital. A patient called 911 and stated that she was having difficulty breathing after using some medication prescribed by her doctor.

She arrived in the ER on a gurney, and even with a sheet over her she looked gorgeous. She was also our only patient (night shifts at small emergency rooms can be nice and dull), so I got her a blanket from our blanket warmer and put it over her. She was wearing only a gray Army T-shirt and a pair of paisley boxers. I usually assist in getting the patients situated (ya' know—leads, cuffs, oxygen probe, gowns, etc.) and I couldn't help noticing that she was thin, tanned, well-endowed with a tasteful bra, and otherwise stunning underneath her T-shirt. She was, of course, very grateful and I was merely pleasant and professional in return. I should note that I'm better looking than average, and served in the US Army for a couple of tours. I pointed at her T-shirt and inquired if she was in the service or had known someone in the Army. She said she was just given it as a present some time ago.

I guess I should tell you that I really wasn't hip to many of the commonly seen drugs in the ER since most of my work experience was in the ICU. She was on Klonopin and Librium, neither of which I knew much about. She said that her doctor recently increased her dosage, and when she took it she became short of breath. Whatever, she was really good looking. The nurse straight cathed her, got a urine and sent it to the lab. I was at the printer when her lab tests printed out. No cannabinoids, no opiates, no cocaine, all clear except for benzodiazepines. I asked the nurse what benzodiazepines were, and she said that her prescribed meds would appear as such on the urine screen. Fair enough.

I went back in and made sure she was comfy. I got her another blanket, and after I put it on her, she asked, “Are you married?”

I replied, “No, never married, no kids. Why?”

Of course I knew why, but I wasn't sure about the ethics of picking up a patient—even if she was trying to pick me up. But she was really good looking and I rationalized, with the ER doc, that I hadn't really treated her, so it was not an ethical dilemma. We exchanged numbers and she left.

I called her a couple of days later, and she agreed to meet at a laundromat that day. I know it's not a nice place to have a first date, but I still was unsure of the whole situation. She was gorgeous and fun to be with, so we had a proper date afterwards.

Then the really interesting stuff began happening. I asked her where she worked and she replied with the name of the town. Like an idiot, I reflexively asked if she worked at The Gentleman's Haven, which is a strip bar. She fessed up and said, “Yeah, how did you know?”

I learned that she was quite an act, judging from her schedule: San Francisco, various Florida appearances, etc. She also showed me various magazine layouts that she'd appeared in. Wow, me with a popular porno star! Well, soft porn, thankfully, since we'd already had sex.

I got along with her daughter and family even though her Mom and Dad were drunks. I wasn't thrilled with the idea of her being a stripper, but I rationalized that it was just a job and that she was making great money. I also comforted myself with the knowledge that she didn't do street drugs. Basically, I assumed she was just another normal person. Wrong. Way wrong!

• She told me that she was on probation for having drug paraphernalia in her car, which belonged to another person. The other person apparently didn't take the blame, and she was having her urine screened as a result.
• She was in an abusive relationship prior to meeting me.
• She was sixteen when she dropped out of high school, pregnant.
• She finished probation and began using street drugs and alcohol with abandon.
• She was calling me at work constantly. See above.
• She was being seen by a therapist and psychiatrist.
• She fired a gun at me after walking away from an irreconcilable argument.
• I took her to her first AA meeting.
• After breaking up, she sought help for drug and alcohol dependency.
• She was charged with DUI for running an ambulance off the road.
• While returning from court the next day she struck and severely injured a 16-year-old girl who was riding her bicycle.
• She was charged with operating a motor vehicle under the influence of drugs.
• The last time I saw her, she was in jail. She'd been a frequent visitor to “the hole,” too.

Oh, in reference to her alcoholic parents. I think she had some degree of fetal alcohol syndrome since she had bad tooth enamel, a smallish head, and her eyes were farther apart than normal*.

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