A hospitalized woman in Denver, Colorado, was told by a doctor to go for a walk to aid her recovery. She, however, can’t feel or use her legs and just pointed toward her wheelchair in response. The doctor, who is supposed to know her medical history, was embarrassed, to say the least.
Riley Fennewald shared the anecdote on her TikTok. She often shares content revolving around her condition, which stemmed from spinal and neuromuscular injuries, as well as her sobriety journey. The clip above garnered 674,300 views, 66,000 likes, and more than 900 comments, making it her biggest one ever.
The Colorado woman was lying on her hospital bed as she explained what had occurred. In the clip’s description, she said that, as a result of her spinal injury, she also suffers from a variety of gastrointestinal conditions. These include gastroparesis, intestinal dysmotility, malabsorption, CIPO, and colonic failure.
Walking Prescription
She, however, explained what a doctor prescribed to her during this latest hospitalization.
“I just had a doctor tell me that going on a walk would be really helpful in terms of getting my GI tract moving again,” Riley said. “I can’t feel or use my legs.”
Shockingly, this is not the first time that she has been prescribed walking. Ever since her spinal injury, which occurred about a year ago, doctors have told her to “go for a walk” three times, including this one.
“I literally just pointed at my wheelchair,” the Colorado woman added while showing her wheelchair right next to her bed.
Of course, the doctor was embarrassed and mortified after the realization. Riley, meanwhile, captioned that this doctor was her hospitalist as well. This means that she was the one coordinating all her care during her hospital stay. This worried her, and she said that being dismissed by healthcare workers for not looking sick was “wild.”
Social Media Reactions
The video sparked multiple responses online, mostly from viewers who were as fed up as Riley. One asked, “Why is it so hard to read through a patient’s past medical history?” Another one added, “Unfortunately, this is why nurses are so important. They know more about a patient than the doctors, usually.”
Other viewers shared similar stories of their own. One wrote, “I’m a type 1 diabetic and had a nutritionist tell me having ice cream as a snack was ok.” Another one added, “Told to take ibuprofen instead of Tylenol. I have kidney disease and did dialysis.”
Hopefully, Riley received the best care after the unfortunate mixup occurred.
