Eeewwww...

Ran a call late into the night for a person sick. Such a vague dispatch.. and to an address of an apartment tower of the geriatric age group. Enroute we get information that a grandson has something stuck in his ear. Hhmmm.. just what could we have here. To give you an accurate picture, most of the apartments in this tower are occupied by folks who have less than acceptable cleanliness standards. We walk in to find a 20-something young man in a chair with his head in his hands. He tells me he has a roach stuck in his ear. A roach!... stuck in his ear!!!! My partner and I cant see anything and at first I think.. no... please tell me no... maybe this kid has a crazy case of wax or something. Then I look at the dining room table and see a good 10-20 roaches crawling all over the place.. and as my eyes adjust to the low light... I see them all over the walls and ceiling. I want to bathe... NOW! We take him outside for better light and try to do our thing with no resolve. He says he can still feel it moving around. We take him on in and we use a potent lidocaine concoction to kill it and it floats out. ok... now I'm really ready for a bath.

Everything else was meat and potatoes... an arrest that should have been called in the field but since we couldn't get a line and dropped everything down the tube we transported. A bunch of basic calls where onset was 3-6 days earlier and now they were just "tired of feeling like this".

The next couple of days are set aside for chilling, working out, and doodling around the house. Next 2 weeks will be busy... see ya when I get back. Stay safe. Play hard. Get dirty.

Weather

The day started out pretty good... after musical driver for about an hour (seems every shift, after the roster has been made, we go through musical chair for about an hour while other stations call in needing an extra body)... it was me and the EMT I was assigned to for the day. I have had previous shifts with her before, but my day went from great to "oh shit" when she got moved over. I try not to gripe, but anyone can tell you.. you can handle practically anything on your shift if you have a good partner. But having a crappy partner can make even the most mundane calls a headache.

Definition of a crappy partner: someone who doesn't check off the truck efficiently, knowing that after you do your thing with drug checks and setting up your equipment the way you like it, you might as well go back and check the whole truck yourself cause your partner will only visually check the things that are in plain view. A crappy partner does only bare minimum, does a half-ass job at cleaning the back of the truck after a call and then sits in the front and plays solitaire while you do your thing and STILL SITS there while you are in the back putting everything back in order.

And for those of you who are saying, tell your partner to get off their lazy butt and do their job!, well... easier said than done. That's all I can say about it for now.

So we ran 2 calls in the morning and then got to catch up on some much needed sleep for a few hours. I had worked at my other job the day before and was sore and beat to hell and back. I rode my quad for a good 8 hours straight. I am certainly not complaining as its the BEST pt job out there. Lets see... I get paid almost what I'm getting at my full time job to ride my quad around the woods and my gas is paid for to boot! The weather was beautiful, the ground was perfect, and my baby was running good. So I rode hard... and so my body was hollering at me all day at work.

Watched the NFL playoffs for a bit before we caught a good house fire. Home owner apparently was cooking a mean fried fish meal and got a grease fire on the stove. Hint: what DON'T you use to put out a grease fire? Yeah.. guy brings in a garden hose to put it out. Ends up lighting up the whole kitchen and by the time we get called and get there, the roof, the garage, both cars are all lit up. We did some serious remodeling during overhaul. All the while it was 33 degrees and raining. Good times. 3 hours and fresh, dry clothes later, bed time.

Got up around 1am for a 24 yo woman with tingling in her arm which started up again while she was exercising. No other complaints, original onset was 2 months ago, no KNOWN history as she hasn't seen a doctor in over 10 yrs, and at 300 pounds exercising at 1am... I thought.. so we're your doctor, huh? Do you want to go the hospital or not? "I don't know.. what do you think?" What do I think?, Well I wouldn't have called 911 cause my finger tips were tingly. "Ok... well I'll go and get checked out, can you bring the stretcher to my front doorstep?" Are your legs tingly too? I ask. "No"..... well then... lets keep up your exercise regimen and WALK to the ambulance.

Until next time... stay safe, play hard... and get dirty.

Cougar Bar

Another insanely long day on the box. Started about 45 minutes into our shift and we didn't get a breather at the station til about 4pm. And that only lasted about 15 minutes. Seems every time I have our rook on the box with me, we get slammed all day. Our rook is new to the fire service, but has been an EMT for about 4 yrs. But she is eager to learn and willing to work hard. We were cleaning up the box at the hospital and we were trading near miss stories. She's telling me how she almost lost a finger when someone threw a hydrant wrench at her while catching the plug and she starts talking about the cougar bar. I do a head tilt wondering what the heck a cougar bar is... I'm trying to figure out what she is talking about... and then she does an .. "oh.. I mean cheetah bar!".... and I start laughing so hard cause she's confident she really meant a cheetah bar... Its a CHEATER bar goofball! We get a good laugh and she's a good sport about it but begging me not to tell our senior guy. Are you kidding? Some of the best nicknames come about from doing silly rookie things. So now "Rook"... she is now "Cheetah".

We ran a woman in labor which I'm not sure what exactly it was... but lets just say that I was envious that my partner was stopped up and couldn't smell what I was smelling. She was in her early 50's giving birth to her 4th child. Ambitious woman.

Ran a call on an ALOC with significant ETOH history. When starting the line on him, went through 6 alcohol prep pads to get the area clean. His wife sitting up front was intent on trying to have a conversation with him while he was out of it in the back. While my partner drove we laughed the whole way since she was hard of hearing, but rambling on to him.. we're trying to get information from her on him.. and all he would do was just stare at me. Older couple who both seemed like they hadn't bathed in over a month. I wonder if this is because of old age our their situation. We weren't laughing at them... I really wish at times I had more power to help people in this environment... but that there were 2-3 conversations all going on at the same time and none of them meshed was candid camera-ish.

Had a call on the other side of the county from PD.. they found a guy laying in the woods on the opposite side of the guardrail, very... let me emphasize... very combative when approached. But would just lay there if left alone. By the time we got there, the engine company was on scene as well as the pt's mom. In the course of a few minutes, he tried to bite his mother, bite me, took a swing at one of the engine company guys... he was a workout. Restraints, Narcan, and Valium later... he was peacefully sleeping with an artificially induced SVT. The frustrating part was mom on scene. She refused... and not even by saying she refused.. she simply ignored any request for information or assistance regarding her son! "Name?... ma'am... what is his name?" Nothing. "Ma'am.. your son wants to be able to see you, can you stand over here?" Nothing. She would just look over my shoulder at him and start to walk away. Gggrrrrrr.... I wanted to shake a knot in her! It was a nice little bout of chaos.

We got back to the station between 4 and 5am. I just stayed in the passenger seat and slept. No point in going to bed. Oncoming crew woke me @ 0630, took my keys and radio and THEN I went to bed for a bit before heading home. Now I am home, got the laundry done and I'm taking the quad out to ride. It's cold but its at least not raining. Gonna get some good practice time in before working out there tomorrow. Its not as busy during the week and can play on the track easier. Stay safe... play hard... get dirty.

Good day

Yesterday made for a good day on the engine. Much unlike last shift, the whole company got to get chores done and relax for the first part of the day. It was a welcome relief. Nothing much to speak of.. a car fire, a full arrest, a couple of MVA's with all the rain and a few others.

It was crazy unseasonably warm but I am certainly not complaining. It was a beautiful day. But as usual that is coming to an abrupt end. The cold weather has moved in overnight and I am gonna try and get in a couple hours of riding practice before it gets really bad today. Heard that by next shift we're gonna have a day of sleet and cold crappy weather. Guess winter finally decided to arrive. Well, off to do some riding and hopefully stretch out my back from last time.

Status Quo

I haven't run a shift like yesterday in a while but having a good partner makes it bearable. We were at the station for an hour out of 24. Wished we just could have had a BLS truck tailing us since almost every call was a basic call and a few were just taxi rides.

On one call a basic wasn't available so we transported a repeat patient complaining of ab pain. While she states her pain is 10/10 she looks rather bored and only when she is not getting enough attention does she start with the moaning. I have picked her up before and she is known to have a hx that would warrant extra BSI, but she is random on whether she admits it. I advise my partner and drive on. We get to the ER and my partner cant remember the door code to get into the ER. I start to say it to her and THE PATIENT rattles it off to her! And when the charge nurse says she can go to the lobby triage, she pipes up, "Oh... and now I have chest pain." ...mmm-hhhmmmmm.

Everything else we ran was typical bread and butter stuff. AMS, dizzyness, fall off a bike, an ear infection in a toddler, and lots of difficulty breathings. We had a late call and the oncoming crew hadn't gotten to the station yet so it was 0715 by the time we got back. Have to leave the station by 0730 to get to my other job on time.So tired and running late make for a grumpy me. And I was having practice while out at the track. But it was a good day.

Another weekend of record numbers. Thankfully nothing major. A broken wrist after a guy ran his quad into a tree and a kid with some abrasions after laying down his bike off a big berm. While out patrolling came across 2 bikes that collided while merging on a trail and another rider comes up and his holding his neck. Apparently he was clothes-lined by a vine that had gotten pulled down. Pulled him right off his bike and left some nasty looking lines on his neck. Patched him up and he was off but I think it would have been a good time to call it a day.

Practice time was good... Improved my time on two of the trails by 1:12 and my time on the SuperMX track by 42 seconds. When I finally got home last night, after cracking a beer and soaking in the tub, I finally felt human again. Countdown to 6-hour HareScramble: 41 days.

I'm still here

I've gotten a bunch or emails lately wondering if I'm still around... I am... I just hadn't realized how long its been since I've sat down to type anything. Goodness.. 3 weeks.. a lot has happened in 3 weeks. Christmas.. New Years... Hope everyone had a great New Years.

2006.. wow.. what a year of changes, risks, some with rewards and some with... well... lessons learned. In 2006 I got divorced, I moved to another state, I finally got the job I had been working so hard for, and I loved someone more than I thought possible. I've met some life-long friends, and have lost some people very close to me. I've reaffirmed that I am a strong smart chic who can make it on her own. I've started loving a new sport that I've jumped into with both feet. I have been through fire academy. I have saved some lives and saved some houses. I've watched a family's dreams go up in smoke on Christmas Day, and was thankful that my family was at least safe. I have tried in vain to save a 17 yr old who was driving to fast without a seat belt, and then comfort his mother while still at the hospital. I took in Granny Frinkett at 2350 and we celebrated New Years together in the back of the ambulance... (while I needed a hospital more than she - will get to that later.)

It has been a good year... heck... I'm still here. LOL! And 2007 has plenty to offer. Lots of traveling... I'm hitting the Jersey shore this summer, FDIC in Indy in the spring, riding as much as possible, skiing in a few weeks.. and whatever else my little heart desires.

So.. while I have felt like I've been hit by a train the last couple of days, I am renewed and refreshed. I was on shift New Years Eve night and dinner did not sit well for most of us. So around 2300, it was not a pretty picture. Bathroom.. Bedroom... Bathroom.. Bedroom... oh no... a call... are you kidding... lets hope we make it. By the time I was dropping off Granny Frinkett I was calling a time out. A friend of mine started a line for me at home. 2 bags later and I still didn't have to pee. Started feeling better this afternoon after getting lots of sleep.

Some memorable calls since the last post... medic boy and I got a call for an uncon/fainting pt. Its really a young guy who is complaining of ab pain, feeling like he must have eaten something "bad". Vitals are all good, no fever. Looks in great health, no history, no meds, no nothing. I call for a basic to transport him. He then starts touching between his legs saying it hurts and he moved just enough to notice a massive growth between his legs... and no I don't mean that one. After questioning and doing what we're supposed to do, his scrotum was the size of a nerf football. By the time we got to the hospital (yeah, I cancelled the basic) it was the size of a full size NFL football. He said he had been like this for 4 days. 4 days! Are you serious? And you weren't planning on telling us any of this while we're standing there? I figured he had herniated himself. Ran into the ER doc later and turns out he had torn a blood vessel.

Ran a call for an MVA with rollover on the highway, which is very common for our section of the interstate. Car landed right side up. Dad is in the front complaining of multiple injuries, slumped over into the passenger seat. The young child in the back.... very content, still playing his video game that is attached to the back of the front seat! He couldn't understand why.. since he wasn't hurt and "but I had my seat belt on" ... that we still immobilized him. He was an awesome little kid.

So.. for now that's the updates. Hope you and your families had a safe and happy time over the holidays. Hope you have a great new year in 2007. Make sure you live every day without any regret. Stay safe. Play hard... & get dirty.