04 June 2009
Posting
It is frustrating when I take the time to write an entire post only to have the network disconnect and effectively delete it. I'll try to get motivated enough to write it again.
02 June 2009
Premature posting
Apparently I worried too soon about bad-luck ambulance calls. In the last three overnight shifts, in four days, I have seen exactly 0 patients who needed to go to the hospital, much less by ambulance.
I took a frequent flier who "we" have begun telling children's stories to, recently, "The Little Engine That Could" and "The Boy Who Cried Wolf". I think most folks are operating on the assumption that she never had the kind of caring family environment to learn these stories and morals and clearly needs some intervention, or they're just trying to entertain themselves on yet another B.S. call. I can't even bring myself to care that much.
I took a frequent flier who "we" have begun telling children's stories to, recently, "The Little Engine That Could" and "The Boy Who Cried Wolf". I think most folks are operating on the assumption that she never had the kind of caring family environment to learn these stories and morals and clearly needs some intervention, or they're just trying to entertain themselves on yet another B.S. call. I can't even bring myself to care that much.
21 May 2009
Ambulance.....OF DOOM!!
Edited 5/21: I try and de-identify calls as much as possible, but I'm not sure I did a good enough job the first time, so I've trimmed this one down a bit...
I've come to believe that bad calls don't just stick to individual EMTs, but to trucks too. Lately, my truck has become the ambulance OF DOOM. If this truck shows up, you are in deep trouble. Rollover accident ends up with C-spine fracture. Gunshot to the head ends up as not quite dead yet with EMTs trying to save your life. Chest pain ends up being something serious, heart attack, broken ribs with lung laceration. Difficulty breathing ends up with an intubated patient (or two). Thankfully, not all of these are my calls, but enough that I'm probably on a downhill slide for crappy calls too.
The latest fun was an overdose dispatch which actually said multiple patients were involved, and they still only dispatched 1 ambulance and 1 engine. We brought the stretcher, O2 and first-in bag up with us to the fourth floor, FD brought their oxygen. A cardiac arrest and an unresponsive patient in a tiny bedroom where most available area is taken up by the bed and dresser. Everyone in sight denying drug use, everyone having mysterious matching puncture wounds in their arms. Nobody brought up a defibrillator or cardiac monitor and no first-line cardiac arrest drugs were available upstairs either, pretty much a worst case scenario for patient care.
After the giant hassle of getting the unresponsive patient out of the room, I head out with the paramedic from the second ambulance (because the unresponsive patient was mine) and leave the second EMT with my partner. Stretcher doesn't fit in the elevator, so we have to stand the backboard up and I take a second elevator with the stretcher and meet up downstairs. We head to the more distant hospital, my partner heads to the closer hospital in town.
Cardiac arrest patient died. Unresponsive patient woke up with some Narcan. Nobody was willing to discuss what had caused the mysterious wounds and PD is following up.
I've come to believe that bad calls don't just stick to individual EMTs, but to trucks too. Lately, my truck has become the ambulance OF DOOM. If this truck shows up, you are in deep trouble. Rollover accident ends up with C-spine fracture. Gunshot to the head ends up as not quite dead yet with EMTs trying to save your life. Chest pain ends up being something serious, heart attack, broken ribs with lung laceration. Difficulty breathing ends up with an intubated patient (or two). Thankfully, not all of these are my calls, but enough that I'm probably on a downhill slide for crappy calls too.
The latest fun was an overdose dispatch which actually said multiple patients were involved, and they still only dispatched 1 ambulance and 1 engine. We brought the stretcher, O2 and first-in bag up with us to the fourth floor, FD brought their oxygen. A cardiac arrest and an unresponsive patient in a tiny bedroom where most available area is taken up by the bed and dresser. Everyone in sight denying drug use, everyone having mysterious matching puncture wounds in their arms. Nobody brought up a defibrillator or cardiac monitor and no first-line cardiac arrest drugs were available upstairs either, pretty much a worst case scenario for patient care.
After the giant hassle of getting the unresponsive patient out of the room, I head out with the paramedic from the second ambulance (because the unresponsive patient was mine) and leave the second EMT with my partner. Stretcher doesn't fit in the elevator, so we have to stand the backboard up and I take a second elevator with the stretcher and meet up downstairs. We head to the more distant hospital, my partner heads to the closer hospital in town.
Cardiac arrest patient died. Unresponsive patient woke up with some Narcan. Nobody was willing to discuss what had caused the mysterious wounds and PD is following up.
17 May 2009
Letter
Dear Brain,
I would like to place a request for improved coordination between the eyes and the hands. Softball is not an especially dangerous sport, but when the hands and eyes don't work well together, other body parts suffer. Obviously, the feet and legs are listening well as they moved directly into the path of the oncoming ball, but somehow the glove just didn't get there. I don't appreciate this large painful bruise, despite all the lovely colors it adds to the normally pasty white area.
Sincerely,
Left Thigh
I would like to place a request for improved coordination between the eyes and the hands. Softball is not an especially dangerous sport, but when the hands and eyes don't work well together, other body parts suffer. Obviously, the feet and legs are listening well as they moved directly into the path of the oncoming ball, but somehow the glove just didn't get there. I don't appreciate this large painful bruise, despite all the lovely colors it adds to the normally pasty white area.
Sincerely,
Left Thigh
11 May 2009
More boring waiting
Even now that I'm finally admitted to school, I am still waiting. August can't come soon enough. I'm just trying to grit my teeth through May and June because I think there will be plenty to do throughout July to get ready/moved/relaxed. There are still some open-ended questions about how my housing situation will work out, thankfully it is a situation with a couple of workable options instead of one with no solution.
I'm also in the market for a laptop and I know just enough about computers to know that I don't really need a high-end machine but I don't want one that will be completely outdated for new software before I'm done with school. Financial aid includes a "computer allowance", but I'm not really planning to wait until the money from the guv'ment comes in to buy a new machine. I've never run any version of Vista, anybody got suggestions/short cuts/useful tips?
I'll try and think of something interesting to write about soon...
I'm also in the market for a laptop and I know just enough about computers to know that I don't really need a high-end machine but I don't want one that will be completely outdated for new software before I'm done with school. Financial aid includes a "computer allowance", but I'm not really planning to wait until the money from the guv'ment comes in to buy a new machine. I've never run any version of Vista, anybody got suggestions/short cuts/useful tips?
I'll try and think of something interesting to write about soon...
04 May 2009
Redeeming night
So many ambulance shifts consist of nonsense after idiocy after dumb-assery, every now and then one comes along which make me feel a little better about the job. Not that the individuals involved are any different than the usual suspects, just that they actually needed an ambulance.
This particular night started with a lift assist for an older gentleman who was stuck between his rocking chair and dining table. His family had been unable to help him up, but we were able to get him situated and on with his evening. Next call was for an unresponsive person on the sidewalk, turned out to be someone we've picked up before, alcohol and unknown medication overdose. He woke up a little on the way and we liberated two fifths of vodka from him. Always good fun when the crowd is catcalling both us and the patient as we're trying to get him off the street. Next call was pure stupidity, the eventual solution was that the woman needed more instruction with her crutches and a more explicit explanation that a "fractured" foot meant it was probably going to develop bruises in a couple of days.
Then the fun starts, dispatch for a roll-over accident on the highway. Car is on it's driver's side, patient halfway out the window with her neck and shoulder supporting her weight and screaming loudly about her neck pain. After more than 25 minutes of playing with their toys, the fire department was able to get her out of the car and onto a backboard. (All I'm going to say is that to a man with a hammer, everything looks like a nail!) She had some periods of unconsciousness and when she was awake she was screaming and complaining. At the hospital, she got a quick dose of "be quiet" involving Haldol, Morphine and Ativan. She turned out to have a cervical spine fracture, a skull fracture and a lung contusion and got shipped out to a higher level facility pretty quickly.
Next dispatch is for a car in the median on the highway. The car was found by another group driving by, no information on how fast it was going, or even which way it had been going on the highway. When we get there, the patient is laying outside the car on the ground, unresponsive, each eye twitching a different direction. A quick transport to the hospital and she earns a helicopter trip to a trauma center in the big city. All in all, a night where 80% of the calls were legitimate and I feel like did something useful.
This particular night started with a lift assist for an older gentleman who was stuck between his rocking chair and dining table. His family had been unable to help him up, but we were able to get him situated and on with his evening. Next call was for an unresponsive person on the sidewalk, turned out to be someone we've picked up before, alcohol and unknown medication overdose. He woke up a little on the way and we liberated two fifths of vodka from him. Always good fun when the crowd is catcalling both us and the patient as we're trying to get him off the street. Next call was pure stupidity, the eventual solution was that the woman needed more instruction with her crutches and a more explicit explanation that a "fractured" foot meant it was probably going to develop bruises in a couple of days.
Then the fun starts, dispatch for a roll-over accident on the highway. Car is on it's driver's side, patient halfway out the window with her neck and shoulder supporting her weight and screaming loudly about her neck pain. After more than 25 minutes of playing with their toys, the fire department was able to get her out of the car and onto a backboard. (All I'm going to say is that to a man with a hammer, everything looks like a nail!) She had some periods of unconsciousness and when she was awake she was screaming and complaining. At the hospital, she got a quick dose of "be quiet" involving Haldol, Morphine and Ativan. She turned out to have a cervical spine fracture, a skull fracture and a lung contusion and got shipped out to a higher level facility pretty quickly.
Next dispatch is for a car in the median on the highway. The car was found by another group driving by, no information on how fast it was going, or even which way it had been going on the highway. When we get there, the patient is laying outside the car on the ground, unresponsive, each eye twitching a different direction. A quick transport to the hospital and she earns a helicopter trip to a trauma center in the big city. All in all, a night where 80% of the calls were legitimate and I feel like did something useful.
22 April 2009
Remembrance
Suicide brings up a lot of emotions in me, many I can't even name or describe through the general turmoil of my thoughts. Ultimately, the person who dies leaves everyone else to sort through the wreckage for meaning and the strength to go on. The recent suicide of a co-worker has brought on memories and questions.
TP started at the north station as an EMT-Basic, working on a transfer truck with a woman who was full of laughter and emotion. He often appeared shocked by the openness many of us brought to the station, sharing details of lives, loves, disappointments and desires. I attributed this to his younger age and general inexperience, never thinking about the type of broader experiences that might make a man reluctant to share, hesitant to open his heart. Over time, he became accustomed to the rest of us and began to join in our laughter and the general teasing that goes on in the station, if not our sharing.
He shared only a very small portion of his outside life with us, frequently deflecting questions about his family, his life or goals. He would often answer something non-committal, "Whatever you say," or just "Sure." It took me a very long time to learn that he lived a couple towns over in an apartment, no family or roommates. When he moved into a new place, it was months until I figured it out based on the few clues which came up in conversation. The one thing everyone knew was his dedication to EMS. He completed his EMT-Intermediate and was excited to do more for his patients and the services he worked for. He worked for pretty much every company or municipality in the area at one point or another, frequently for a hundred hours or more a week. If you needed a shift off, TP was always available for more work.
We noticed a change in him when he was dating more seriously. Instead of 90 hours a week, he'd cut back to 70. He took a fair amount of ribbing and pointed questioning about which woman was equal to all the fine company he had at the station. A girlfriend, or maybe two, came and went, the only noticeable change being the number of hours you could find him at the station. He began training for the 2008 EMS Memorial Bike Ride, riding to work, losing weight and generally living a healthy lifestyle. He asked for, and received, donations from his co-workers, some of us learning for the first time about this organized effort to recognize line of duty deaths for EMS workers as distinct from the Fire service. He returned a changed man. I didn't realize the extent of the change at first, but he was more focused on his profession and improving his skills. Station gossip went from substantial issues to petty complaints, a sure sign of improvement. Eventually, we found out that he also returned with a new woman in his life and he seemed quite happy for at least 8 or 9 months.
Two weeks ago, he seemed to shut down. With his history of withholding personal details, I didn't directly ask what was going on but tried to show concern. Every "How are you doing?" was met with a "Fine," or some other answer to turn us away. The station environment being what it is, we eventually got around to teasing him about his girlfriend, with someone piping in "What's wrong, did your woman dump you?" He got up and left the room. Several of us followed up with him that night and in the following couple of days to express our concern for him. He still turned us away. The next week, he seemed to be feeling better. Not quite back to his normal self, but able to smile a little and willing to interact again at the station and back to working a ridiculous number of hours. And then, he was gone.
His sudden death leaves a hole in our station. We all feel it, friends or not, and we grieve his loss. I'm working through my own emotions about the scenario, to order and organize my thoughts and feelings, to place this shocking event in a larger context, but it is not easy work. Services are being held Friday, I'm hoping a larger gathering of colleagues and friends will help me recover.
TP started at the north station as an EMT-Basic, working on a transfer truck with a woman who was full of laughter and emotion. He often appeared shocked by the openness many of us brought to the station, sharing details of lives, loves, disappointments and desires. I attributed this to his younger age and general inexperience, never thinking about the type of broader experiences that might make a man reluctant to share, hesitant to open his heart. Over time, he became accustomed to the rest of us and began to join in our laughter and the general teasing that goes on in the station, if not our sharing.
He shared only a very small portion of his outside life with us, frequently deflecting questions about his family, his life or goals. He would often answer something non-committal, "Whatever you say," or just "Sure." It took me a very long time to learn that he lived a couple towns over in an apartment, no family or roommates. When he moved into a new place, it was months until I figured it out based on the few clues which came up in conversation. The one thing everyone knew was his dedication to EMS. He completed his EMT-Intermediate and was excited to do more for his patients and the services he worked for. He worked for pretty much every company or municipality in the area at one point or another, frequently for a hundred hours or more a week. If you needed a shift off, TP was always available for more work.
We noticed a change in him when he was dating more seriously. Instead of 90 hours a week, he'd cut back to 70. He took a fair amount of ribbing and pointed questioning about which woman was equal to all the fine company he had at the station. A girlfriend, or maybe two, came and went, the only noticeable change being the number of hours you could find him at the station. He began training for the 2008 EMS Memorial Bike Ride, riding to work, losing weight and generally living a healthy lifestyle. He asked for, and received, donations from his co-workers, some of us learning for the first time about this organized effort to recognize line of duty deaths for EMS workers as distinct from the Fire service. He returned a changed man. I didn't realize the extent of the change at first, but he was more focused on his profession and improving his skills. Station gossip went from substantial issues to petty complaints, a sure sign of improvement. Eventually, we found out that he also returned with a new woman in his life and he seemed quite happy for at least 8 or 9 months.
Two weeks ago, he seemed to shut down. With his history of withholding personal details, I didn't directly ask what was going on but tried to show concern. Every "How are you doing?" was met with a "Fine," or some other answer to turn us away. The station environment being what it is, we eventually got around to teasing him about his girlfriend, with someone piping in "What's wrong, did your woman dump you?" He got up and left the room. Several of us followed up with him that night and in the following couple of days to express our concern for him. He still turned us away. The next week, he seemed to be feeling better. Not quite back to his normal self, but able to smile a little and willing to interact again at the station and back to working a ridiculous number of hours. And then, he was gone.
His sudden death leaves a hole in our station. We all feel it, friends or not, and we grieve his loss. I'm working through my own emotions about the scenario, to order and organize my thoughts and feelings, to place this shocking event in a larger context, but it is not easy work. Services are being held Friday, I'm hoping a larger gathering of colleagues and friends will help me recover.
13 April 2009
Drat!
Okay, that isn't the four-letter word I used upon opening my email this afternoon, but you get the drift. The school I've been waiting to hear from sent me the wait list letter again, for the third year in a row. I've been hoping for an end to the uncertainty, but apparently that is not going to happen. I don't really understand their wait list process but I can tell you that it hasn't favored me in the last two years, so I'm pretty disappointed in that outcome.
Maybe the new mattress will help me sleep away some of my sadness, sure wish I had it today instead of in two weeks...
Maybe the new mattress will help me sleep away some of my sadness, sure wish I had it today instead of in two weeks...