It was a bizarre sight when a man walked out with a knife lodged in his back from a hospital bed just to smoke cigarette. Even after a barrage of convincing, the man would not budge, leaving doctors astounded
The patient, named only as Vladimir, 34, was bleeding from his wound but was determined to make it outside for a smoke.
He only returned inside when he was warned he was risking his life and told: ‘You are about to die’.
He then walked back to the treatment room at the Zelenodolsk District Hospital in the Russian city of Kazan.
A nurse filmed the man, who was dressed only his underwear, as other staff tried to reason with him.
Are you mad?
A female nurse can heard asking him: “Vladimir, are you mad?” before saying: “How far are you going? It is winter outside. Come back.”
He simply responded to say he was going “for a smoke”.
The man had been injured in a “drunken fight”, with the knife being plunged so deep into his back that only the handle was visible.
Ambulance staff who rushed to the scene managed to put a dressing around the wound without risking taking out the knife.
A male doctor warned Vladimir: “Young man, you are going to die now” before adding: “Let’s go, have an injection and you go home.”
The patient had hoped to get a cigarette from another smoker outside the hospital’s door but his attempts were in vain.
As he gave up, the nurse told him: “Yes, we’ll make one injection and let you go home. Come on, come with me. Go, go! Keep going! Go and lie down!”
A spokesman confirmed Vladimir had undergone surgery to remove the knife and was in a “stable” condition.