Bed Number Ten

Bed Number Ten is a true story in which Sue Baier recounts her experience as an

intensive care patient with a rare illness called Guillain-Barre syndrome. The book is separated

into three sections that detail Sue’s initial symptoms and diagnosis, her difficult time in the ICU,

and her road to recovery. In addition to shedding light on what it is like to have Guillain-Barre

syndrome and be a helpless ICU patient, this book also highlights the quality of care rendered by

her healthcare professionals.

When admitted to the ICU, Sue was assigned to bed number ten, which is where the book

got its name. Reason being, in the beginning of the hospital stay, she was frequently referred to

simply as “bed number ten” rather than “Sue”. Being reduced to a bed number was one of many

ways she felt dehumanized by some of the people who were supposed to care for her. Other

notable instances of dehumanization were evident when she became paralyzed and could not

audibly convey her message. Although she learned a way to spell what she wanted to

communicate not many doctors or nurses bothered to learn to spell with her. Additionally, Sue

mentions that most doctors did not speak directly to her, and were rather inattentive and

dismissive. She was often handled carelessly when being turned/tended to by nurses, consistently

ignored as if she were an inanimate object, and on one occasion while being changed, she was

left exposed as the nurse ran off to do something else. Fortunately, Sue’s accumulated fear,

anxiety, and depression concerning her state and quality of care were alleviated by visits from

friends and family, and augmented by positive encounters with considerate nurses, physical

therapist, and other specialists who demonstrated genuine concern. As time passed, Sue began to

think of many of these professionals as friends and family. Their high quality care, willingness to
communicate, in addition to advocating for Sue facilitated her recovery and discharge from the

hospital.

I found this book to be heart-rending, enlightening, and thought provoking. Although I

have never been hospitalized, I found myself heavily empathizing with the author. Despite being

paralyzed and unable to speak, she found a way to communicate, but many people did not bother

to learn how to speak to her. This seemed ludicrous considering they were trying to solve

problems related to her condition but always seemed to be missing pertinent information that she

was privy to. Personally, Sue Baier’s story sparked a myriad of thoughts and emotions, including

sadness, helplessness, irritation, excitement, and gratefulness.. It seemed like Sue went to the

brink of death and back multiple times throughout this illness, to the extent that when she finally

saw an upward trend in her recovery, readers are genuinely happy for her. The best part of the

book, other than watching Sue recover, was seeing that the compassion and humanity in some of

the nurses and health professionals. I also enjoyed the instance where Gary had the common

sense to be ashamed after asking Sue if he was wrong for not spelling with her.

This book does relate to health communication in that it shows how important inter-

departmental communication and patient inclusion are for optimum patient health outcomes.

Often times, Bill and Sue were given the run around by the many doctors who said they were in

charge of her care. The lack of communication amongst these individuals and failure to

communicate with Sue lead to the avoidable duplication of blood tests and x-rays. Bed Number

Ten was an easy read, that I do recommend to others, even if just for leisure. However, I did

notice multiple instances of typographic errors that decreased the reading experience.

Nonetheless, it is an excellent example of health communication and should still be used in

future classes.
Criterion for book review Points: 1 (Poor) – 5 (Excellent)

Easy to read. 4

Suitable language and vocabulary for 5

audience

Layout/Format of book 5

Relevant to Health Communication 5

Thought provoking 5

Total /25