Kids

Kids.. peds.. they are not necessarily little adults when it comes to EMS and they can make even the most experienced medic cringe sometimes. Its been a rough week and I'm really ready for my Kelly day that is coming. I think we all have been bit by the "I want to save the world" complex at some point and its so deflating when we admit to ourselves that we can not. When we get called to child abuse cases and calls where a child has been the victim of violence (at the hands of their parents, no less) it can take a toll. I've had a couple of days of back to back calls such as these and all I can do is apologize to my partner before the day even starts.

We had a call that was dispatched as a child hit by a car. When we finally found the child, it turned out that his father got into a shootout while in his vehicle , all the while the child sat in the passenger seat. The child was shot in the head and the father decided to drive a few miles home before realizing that his son, sitting right next to him, was injured and to call the police.

Then had a call for a child bleeding through their diaper. Grandmother is caring for an infant and a young boy who is more mature than his 13 years should have to be... while the infant does not have any true injuries.. she was not bleeding, but rather had a terrible case of untreated diaper rash. The filth and neglect of these 2 kids at the hands of their parent was deplorable. The 13 year old was practically begging to be put into foster care just so that he could go to school. The other details of the call only further support the negligence and abuse claims and we notified PD and child services. I'm trying to keep my anger at bay and keep my perspective... its a good thing I have a few days off.

Just to bad I cant ride. Riding the ATV wouldn't be to compliant with Doc's orders after I broke my wrist. Dang it!!!

Ran a call in the middle of the night for a guy unconscious. ALOC, not a diabetic, no significant history, awake but unresponsive. Found him sitting in the bathroom, extremely diaphoretic, and weak. The wife described waking up to him thrashing in the bed, the bed was soaked with sweat and her husband disoriented and not responding to her. I was thinking either an ACS or a seizure. He was kinda cooperative til we got halfway down the stairs outside and all of the sudden he became so combative. Glad we had a full engine crew as it took 6 of us to keep him from flying off the cot and down the super-steep driveway. Restraints were the order of the day once in the back, and he instantly calmed down. Sugar was fine, EKG was NSR, ... he was a mystery to me. By the time we were at the ER, he could rattle off his SSN and basic info, but had no idea how he had gotten to the hospital. A friend told me about possible night frights... any comments on possible causes other than night frights or more information on them?

So now I'm camping out at home to chill and enjoy the fall weather. Till next time....