10 hours of 911

0700: Truck check. Allow OCD tendencies to take over until truck is pretty on the inside. No time to clean the outside as the rotation of 911 ambulances has put us out next.

0830: Dispatched to chest pain. Transport high stress/anxiety patient with no cardiac history, unremarkable EKG. Medic takes 2 tries to get IV with patient screaming about how much it hurts.

1000: Dispatched to heart problem. Transport patient with confusion, mild chest pain, dehydration, extensive cardiac history, unremarkable EKG. I miss the IV, medic hits one.

1115: Dispatched to fall with head injury. Find patient who fell getting out of wheelchair and wants help to stand up and get back in chair. Find three adults and 4-5 kids in house not helping patient, wife hollering "I told you the next time you fell I was going to call the ambulance!!" Help patient up, quick assessment, no transport.

1200: Lunch.

1230: Finally get chance to wash outside of truck. Medic finds me just as I'm finishing up and complains I didn't ask for help. Unenthusiastic response to earlier request for truck washing made me fairly sure asking for help was going to cause ill will. We are again next out before I can finish washing, but the EMS gods are good to me and I finish before our call.

1300: Dispatched to medical clinic for heart problem. Ask if medic is bad luck for cardiac calls today. Find tachycardic patient (155 bpm) with "palpitations". FD assists moving and loading. In truck, medic asks for patient to be hooked to defibrillator pads and gives adenosine. Patient's heart rate slows to below 30, before running back up to 130. Drive lights and sirens through city. Patient's heart settles down to 108 before we clear the hospital.

1415: Fuel truck. Settle in to couch to watch TV, read, play on internet as we are still 3rd in line for calls.

1630: Dispatched for motor vehicle accident. Find 2 cars in front-end collision, one car with woman and baby, other car with no driver. Police say driver went to get her purse from building. Medic assesses woman and baby, no injuries and no transport. Other driver reappears, I assess, no injuries and no transport. Clear the scene, head back to station for paperwork.

1720: Finish paperwork after begging times from dispatch. Get lecture on how we're supposed to wait for them on the computer, but the call wasn't over because the fire engine was waiting for a second tow truck. Out only 20 minutes late.

So there it is, a reasonable day - not too many calls, not too few, and really only one patient that needed an ambulance, others that just needed the reassurance that comes with being evaluated by trained professionals.