Patty Wooten presents ... 
Finding Comedy in Chaos
From Journal of Nursing Jocularity, Summer 1995, 5(2), pp 46-47.If you talk the talk, can you also walk the walk?
At the recent annual conference of the American Association for Therapeutic Humor (AATH) we saw that some people can. Over eighty health professionals attended the conference's Sunday afternoon closing session. Speaker Kathy Passanisi was teaching us how to use humor to enhance our presentation skills. Kathy had her audience of clinical psychologists, nurses, physicians, social workers, occupational therapists and teachers learning and laughing.
Suddenly, in the back of the room, a participant stood, then fell to the floor with a grand mal seizure. Three nurses ran to her side to help. Others gathered about in shock. Kay Caskey, LCSW from Decatur, Michigan was cyanotic, convulsing and bleeding profusely from a cut on her chin. Denise Driscoll (AATH member), Karyn Buxman (editor of the AATH newsletter) and I (vice president of AATH) began emergency care, established an airway and monitored pulse and respiration. Clinical psychologist Ed Dunkleblau (education chairperson for AATH) comforted Lauria Young, who had, together with Kay, taught a "Therapeutic Juggling" workshop only the day before. Hospital administrator, Bruce Strombach (president of AATH) sent a participant to call 911 while he looked for a room to relocate the meeting. In the excitement and chaos Kathy asked the concerned onlookers to move to the front of the room, since sufficient help was provided. Soon, Bruce returned with the room change announcement and the lecture was resumed a few minutes later.
Kathy then beautifully demonstrated the art of creating spontaneous humor. She found some comedy in this chaos and relieved the anxiety and tension of the group. First, she acknowledged the group's concern, reassuring them that appropriate care was provided and an ambulance was called. Then she created a bit of humor to help the audience relax and find perspective.
"It's lucky we have such competent nurses who know precisely how to handle such an emergency. If I was back there managing things with my training as a physical therapist, I'd be yelling for an ace bandage. You social workers would probably want to start filling out referrals for community services. And as for you psychologists, I really don't think she needs any counseling right now."
What a magnificent example of grace under pressure. The audience laughed, appreciating the release of tension that only humor and laughter can provide. They were assured that action had been taken, and then provided with a detached perspective through the use of humor. This helped them to separate from the drama and protected them from continued uncomfortable emotions.
Meanwhile, in the other room, the nurses stabilized Kay's condition until the ambulance arrived. It took her to Northwestern Memorial, a large teaching hospital in downtown Chicago. There Kay recovered and received a complete neurological workup with a dose of therapeutic humor.
Laura accompanied Kay in the ambulance. Denise and I followed in a taxi. While Denise comforted Laura, I provided a detailed clinical description of the seizure activity along with cardiac and respiratory assessments. You see, I've had three years of experience as a neuro intensive care nurse, so I could certainly talk the talk, because I had already walked the walk.
The doctor was impressed. That morning I had considered wearing my Nancy Nurse clown costume to that day's workshops. Had that been the case, I would have attended to Kay and arrived in the ER in my clown suit. I'll always wonder about the response I would have received.
Even without the clown suit, I wish I'd have been able to access my playful self, and shown the doctor a photo of Nancy Nurse, to prove the validity of my nursing observations and skills. Perhaps we could have shared a laugh and experienced a respite from the drama of the our situation.
Dr. David Zull, a certified emergency medicine physician, then began a very thorough plan of care. It was a joy to witness excellent medical care delivered with kindness and compassion. Working with senior medical student Aseem Desai, they ordered diagnostic tests and sutured Kay's chin laceration.
During the long wait for tests and treatment to begin, Laura and I visited with Kay. Soon we were all laughing and experiencing a wonderful release of tension. Kay was concerned about how she was to perform a juggling show the next week with stitches on her chin. I suggested that she just get a Barney Band-Aid and work it into her routine. She liked the idea and laughed.
As we discussed how the seizure had started in the middle of Kathy's lecture, she realized that she'd missed the rest of the presentation. Kay then asked me how the rest of the talk went. I said, "Well, I didn't catch a lot of it because I was a bit distracted by trying to maintain your airway and prevent you from aspirating blood." She saw the absurdity of her question and laughed. Her response assured me of her capacity for abstract cognitive processing. Humor provided a neurological assessment tool.
Our ability to find comedy in a crisis has therapeutic benefits. An educator can gain control in the classroom and help the students release the tension that blocks learning. For a health professional, humor can provide a whimsical solution to minor concerns of the patient. Cerebral function can be assessed by the ability to appreciate the abstract quality of humor. And by seeing the absurdity of alternative solutions to the crisis, we can eliminate some of the doubt we may feel about our choice of action.
The American Association for Therapeutic Humor is dedicated to the exploration and application of humor as a therapeutic tool. This year's annual conference in Chicago has proven that the AATH members can not only talk the talk about humor in the conference, but they also walk the walk and use it therapeutically.
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This article was originally published in "Jest for the Health of It", a regular feature in the Journal of Nursing Jocularity.
Feature columnist Patty Wooten, BSN, is also a past President of the American Association for Therapeutic Humor, author of two books related to humor, and a national speaker presenting on the benefits of humor.
