I spent a lot of time in the ER with a sick family member. I usually had something to do while there and would mind my business and chat when people were free. Met lots of great ER nurses, male and female. Didn’t make a difference to me.

One time I was chatting with a male nurse while he was in the room with us. Same as I would any other nurse. Find out later my mother snuck his number to him and said to contact me. I felt so insanely violated while simultaneously thinking how utterly inappropriate it was. My mother will say plenty of sexist things about guys, but doesn’t think it’s hypocritical when I point it out.

Maybe it’s just me, but I am absolutely more relaxed and casual with ER workers than I am with other medical professionals. Perhaps it’s because they are instantly dealing with something very personal and possibly embarrassing and that makes people behave a bit more freely like how the trolls treat the Internet. I don’t know.

I’m sorry you have to go through this and it’s ridiculous how people can even remotely see it as appropriate