My Life as a Firefighter

Bobby loves the kids.

2011-02-08T11:10:00.000-08:00

Ever since I can remember, I have always loved children. I love making them laugh, seeing them smile, playing games with them. I love how they don't judge, and I love their innocence. As a father of 5 wonderful children. I am truly blessed. This love for children is a curse when it comes to being a firefighter and a paramedic.

I feel like God has shielded me from making too many serious EMS calls involving children. With each call you make, you gain confidence, knowledge, and become just a little more callous. I can see blood and guts. Dead mangled bodies don't bother me at all. Unless they are children.

Last winter, (yes it's been over a year since I can talk about it, and share this story. Even now, I am fighting back tears), our engine and medic unit were first in to a house fire. We could see the flames that were about 2 miles away as soon as we pulled out of the station. The scene was utter chaos. Flames were reaching out from every home orifice. People were yelling and screaming that there were 3 children trapped inside. Men were grabbing at the engine crew telling them to hurry. There were locked burglar bars on every door and window. Adrenaline pumping, our Captain ripped the bars on the back door off with his bare hands! Our engine crew entered the blaze to extinguish the flames and me and my partner "caught the plug"(hooked up to the hydrant). Just as soon as we opened the hydrant, our Chief began yelling at us that a victim had been pulled out. We ran with the stretcher to find our Captain holding a toddler, and a bystander trying to take him from our Captain. The child wasn't breathing. We started CPR and began "working him" in the back of our ambulance. I prayed God would give me the strength, and I prayed for a miracle.

Two men, probably emotional family members, jumped in the back of our ambulance and began yelling at us and grabbing at the child. We threw them out and locked the doors. We then heard all of the fire trucks on scene sound their horns, which is a call to immediately evacuate the building because it is no longer safe. I began praying that our crew would make it out. We could hear on the radio that our engine was still unaccounted for and wasn't answering their radios. Worry for my brothers set in. As we started an IV and intubated the boy, we heard gunshots just outside the ambulance. Bystanders had gotten into an argument with camera crews and shots were fired. Like I said, chaos. I looked to make sure the doors were still locked. After the shots someone was banging on our back door. Scared to open it, I peek out the window and see firefighters with another toddler victim. Our engine crew wasn't responding to the call to evacuate because they had found another victim, this little boy.

We opened the door and now have two children in cardiac arrest. Undoubtedly the little boys were overcome with smoke and heat. I can still remember how hot their bodies felt. Almost too hot to touch. I remember talking to myself to stay calm and to just do what I've been trained to do. I fought back tears the whole way to the hospital. Four of us tended to the boys and one firefighter drove like a bat out of hell to the hospital. I prayed and prayed for a miracle. We did everything by the book. Our training did kick in. I have an amazing partner who also kept his composure in this worst of situations. In spite of all we did right, the miracle never came. In spite of our best effort and unending prayers, the boys were pronounced dead at the ER.

The third child, the boys older sister, did make it out, but her feet were badly burned. We were later told, the fire started in the kitchen after food was left unattended on the stove. The adults had left the children asleep and home alone.

After we cleaned up and finished our record. I looked at my partner and asked if he was all right. I asked if he was ready to go back in service. He was visibly shaken, as was I. I hit the button and went back in service. I have found, that after the toughest of calls, the best thing to do is get back on that horse.

As soon as I got off in the morning, I headed straight to church. It was Sunday, and I had to preach. I hadn't slept at all, and I was numb to the world. Some how, some way, God gave me the strength to deliver the sermon. I am reminded of 1 Corinthians 9:16 "Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!"

That was my new goal that morning to preach Christ crucified, buried, and risen. Life goes on, as hard as it may be. It does with or without us. I don't know where I would be without my faith in Christ. I'm amazed how His Holy Spirit can give us strength. So many verses come to mind. Incidents like this one always make me realize how important and fragile life is. They help me cherish my wife and children. They teach me to be dependent on God for my strength, joy, and peace.

Live to Tell the Story

2010-08-29T18:44:00.001-07:00

Almost a year ago, we made a routine call just a few blocks from our station. An elderly lady had a near syncopal episode(almost passed out). After evaluating her, we began to make small talk with the family who was grateful for our presence. Then the daughter of the elderly lady began to talk to us about her son who recently drowned while wade fishing. She had asked if we saw the story on the news. The story that followed had us scratching our heads and wondering if all of the events as told by her were true and possible. Here are some news links to the story of Terrell and Damien: http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=7061389 http://www.hcnonline.com/articles/2009/10/19//fort_bend_sun/news/sws_-_equasearch_1013.txt

The mother says that the week before her son was tragically taken, she felt like he was acting strange. She says that he was extremely affectionate toward her, hugging her, telling her, "I love you, mom," and caressing her arm. She says that one night she woke up frightened as he was in the room just staring at her. She asked him what was wrong and he of course said, "nothing." Terrell was considering making a career move and becoming a mortician. She thought this odd, but Terrell said he was not scared of death or the dead. She said that the night before the trip, Terrell had a dream that he was surrounded by caskets and snakes. She said he wasn't sure of the meaning of the dream, but that he tried his best to put it behind him.

Terrell was excited about going fishing with his uncle who is a cop, and his cousins. That evening before they left, he had a talk with all of his family about some of the bad choices they had been making and that it was time to "get right with God." They had all been raised in church and that night prayed for forgiveness and made a commitment to live for Christ. On the way out the door, Terrell grabbed an extra bullet proof vest his uncle had. His mom asked why he needed it, and he said in a joking manner, "Someone's gotta live to tell the story."

When they got to the coast, they were approached by some men dressed in nice clothes like they were "going out." It was obvious that they were not there to fish. The men asked if they had caught anything. As Terrell watched from a distance, he put on the vest and grabbed his handgun. Nothing more occurred, but Terrell was on edge. The family continued fishing. Terrell and Damien ventured out into the surf wade fishing and began to drift. Their uncle tried to help, but just like that they were gone. Moving water is such a powerful, and often unstoppable force. Tragedy had struck. Both men were unable to swim against the riptide. The other men tried their hardest to get the the men, but it was too late. Their bodies disappeared into the abyss.

With the help of Texas Equusearch, the family searched all over the southeast Tx coast. Damien's body was found a few days after the accident. Terrell's mother refused to believe they would never recover her son's body, and a week later they found Terrell on Wolf Island. His mom said his body washed up on the cemetery there. Before searching the island, they were warned to watch out for snakes. The civil war cemetery there is known for its vast array of snakes.

It seems that some how, some way, God had been preparing Terrell for death. The dream, the prayers with family, the affirmation of love for his mother, far from coincidence. I believe God made Terrell aware, so he would speak to his family about Christ. Something in his spirit gave him an urgency to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. All Christians are alive, so that they would tell the story. We can be great story tellers. We spend our time on blogs, Facebook, Twitter, at the dinner table, and water cooler telling stories. All entertaining, but in the grand scheme, meaningless. More often than not, we fail to tell the Greatest Story of all. Would you Live to tell THE STORY.

Teen Mania(cs)

2010-07-21T13:28:00.001-07:00

Being a teenager is tough stuff. You have to deal with all those hormones, feelings, relationships, the pressures of life, school, sports, work, etc... I think that growing up as a teenager in the "hood" may be considerably harder. Over the past year back at good ole 80s, I have encountered teens with all kinds of problems: drug overdoses, shootings, stabbings, being jumped by gangs, robberies, teen pregnancies, suicides, cutting, you name it. I remember 3 teens in particular. The following are their/our stories.

We made a minor MVC(motor vehicle accident) at an intersection. I was driving the pumper(engine), and the first appalling, gruesome, stomach sickening thing we all noticed was a teenage girl, age 15, with short shorts, cellulite-booty hanging out, and the words F*#K ME written across the bottom standing on the sidewalk hugged up to some punk that looked to be in his mid 20s. In the car that caused the accident was a woman who was smoking, she looked like the kind of woman who has lived a hard life and waits at Waffle House. She happened to be the mother of the hussy who was advertising the services of her unattractive backside. The bystanders, and wrecker driver came over to us and told us that the teen had actually been driving and that the mother showed up and was trying to take the fall for the girl because she did not have a driver's license. Everything is wrong with this situation! The mother is allowing her daughter to dress like a $2 hoe and to be used by some punk who is not able to date a woman in his own age range, so he preys on young girls who are lacking self worth. She is also teaching her how to lie, cheat, be dishonest and not letting her suffer the consequences of her illegal actions. Parents need to be parents. Not friends. They need to stand up and set boundaries, guidelines, and proper discipline. They need to be the ones setting the example and teaching morals, values and integrity. That woman should be ashamed of herself.

Teen call #2 to remember: We arrived on scene to find an elderly lady wielding a foot and a half broken off leg of a walker as a sword, yelling at her grandson who was sitting in the van in the drive way. The boy was a 12 year old who decided that he was not going to obey his grandmother. Thankfully, Granny don't play that. The grandmother was asking him to get ready for sports camp. The lazy, plump, in desperate need of a workout- boy refused and told his grandmother that he wasn't going. She then, in not so many words told him staying home was not an option. He then bowed up to granny and pushed her out of his way. She may or may not have hit him in the mouth. He then went to the kitchen and got a knife and told her he was going to kill her. So she called 911 and may or may not have hit him again, maybe with her makeshift billy club ;) and got control of the knife. She called 911. He was crying like a big baby and went on and on about how terrible his life was, and how evil his granny was for not taking his "no" for an answer. BRAVO, Granny! Bravo! The lady above could learn a thing or two about not taking any shenanigans from a child. We need more parents and grandparents like Granny.

The saddest, and yet my favorite memory of the teens in our territory is about a 5ft 10in, 155lb 15 year old young man who had to confront his 6ft 4in, 300+ pound dad. The couple was going through a divorce because the mother had had enough of being abused by the overgrown coward. In that night, the man had come twice. The first time he came, he tore down the garage door with both hands, and kicked in the door to the house. For some reason he left, and the family barricaded themselves in their home. He later returned, shut off the power and kicked in the back door. He then went to the mom's room and began beating on her. The son picked up his reliable Louisville Slugger and went to home run derby town on his dad's fat head. When we arrived, we found the scumbag lying on the driveway, both eyes swollen shut, baseball sized lumps all over his head, crying like a little girl. He got what he deserved. Justice was served. Needless to say, he got zero sympathy from us. I have never felt so sad for and so proud of a young man in my life. That young man made the manly decision to protect his family against a perpetrator who shared his DNA. That night, the boy became a man, way too soon.

Yup, life is hard. Parenting is hard. Single parenting is harder. The common denominator in all three of the above scenarios was: the dads. Somewhere along the lines, men have disappeared. This generation has often been referred to as the "Fatherless Generation." The family unit as God intended it to be is on its last leg. Men have abandoned their families for work, "freedom," drugs, crime, and/or another man/woman. The only hope for the family and for these kids is for them to know the truth that there is a Heavenly Father who LOVES them, cares for them, who will never leave them or abandon them. Its time that men stop letting single moms, grannies, schools, daycares and churches raise their own children. Its time they start loving their wives and kids, being the priests of their households, protectors and providers. Its time they start teaching their families about God, His Word, and His unfailing love. See Deuteronomy 6. We have enough donors, we need more Dads!

What do I look like?

2009-03-04T06:32:00.000-08:00

Some things never change. Some people never change. I think prejudice will always exist. In my 30 years of life I have heard every racial slur known to man directed towards me and others. As a mulit-ethnic mutt, I am usually not offended and am often amused because you may have only offended 1/16 of me. I've heard stories of black or hispanic firefighters who arrive on scene to help a white medical patient only to be told they want a white firefighter to care for them. Pretty silly when you think about it, but hey we still live in the south and people will always be imperfect. Recently I have been the target of or I have been witness to the crossfire of this silly judging a person by the color of their skin business. It's true, in 2009, with Barrack as President.

Two such incidents happened in the same day at the same retirement community. In both incidents my partner was assessing the patient and the other EMT's were getting vitals. So I decided to be the person who finds the medications, driver's licenses, social security cards, and insurance cards to complete our records. In both situations as I asked the patients where there walletts were so I could get the information. A look of horror and disgust came on their faces. I know huh, a dark skinned bald headed guy, who you called for help, wants access to your money, credit cards and identity. One of them responded, not thinking I could hear her, for one of the white firefighters to "keep an eye on him" and the other told me outright in a stern voice "don't steal anything." They both wanted to look in their walletts when I was done.

One thing I've never been is a thief. I am human and have many a flaw. I'm a sinner with the best of them. Not all dark skinned people are thieves, murderers, rapists, gangsters, lazy unemployed, and illiterate. Some of us do have college degrees and have graduated with honors ahead of most students in predominiantly white schools. Some of us on scene finished number one in their paramedic classes. That's the guy I'd want taking care of me and I'd be willing to trust....

The third incident happened this weekend. We were talking to an older gentleman and trying to figure out his baseline mental status. He had a stroke before and it was exremely hard for us to understand him. His wife interpreted for him, like a mother does for her two or three year old. We asked him the normal questions, what's your name, where are you, what day of the week is it? He missed the day of the week-which I do a lot of the time, so I asked him another common question. I asked him who the president was. Without missing a beat and in the most understandable articulate words he spoke since we got there he answered, "the ni--er." I looked around the room and jaws were dropped to the floor. There was absolute silence and a quick look to the only black guy in the room to make sure he was okay. The man's wife broke the silence by asking, " Did he just say ni--er?" Then she apologized for his words. She became the black guys best friend the rest of our time there.

It's true that these incidents happened with the elderly, It's not just the elderly who have prejudices. Membership in "hate groups" has risen dramatically since the recent election, and increase in hate crimes has occurred as a result.

Regardless of how people treat me or my co-workers, we do the job required of us with professionalism and compassion. It's our job. We have a rule, the Holder Rule, to treat all people as if they were our own family. The Bible tells us to love our neighbors as ourselves, Jesus expounded on that by teaching that everyone is your neighbor. The Bible also says not to "judge by mere appearances" and that there is "neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free." We are in fact all humans, all God's creation. We bleed the same blood, breathe the same oxygen, die the same deaths, and will have to answer to the same creator. When people show their prejudice and racism, we joke about it and laugh at their ignorance. We don't retaliate, because then their sterotypes and preconceived notions become justified and true for them. I live for the opportunity to prove them wrong, by loving the snot out of them.

Resurrection

2009-01-01T09:47:00.000-08:00

So a couple of weeks ago we made this call that came in as a "Hanging, Possible Cardiac Arrest." These type of calls usually get the mind focused and the adrenalin pumping because you know you have a legitimate shot at "really" helping someone as opposed to the run of the mill sick call or panic attack. What we didn't know what that this young man would be 16 years old.

As we arrived, the family was understandably hysterical as they came home after being gone for 3 hours to find their son, with a belt around his neck and tied to the balcony. What a horrific thing to witness. We "worked" the kid for about an hour giving him every drug and medical treatment available. Experience and science were not on his side. There was absolutely no improvement after all we did. Upon arrival to the ER the doctor "called him," and gave the official time of death. Everyone- doctors, nurses, and firemen had the same look of devastation, thoughts of "he's too young, what was going through his mind?, could this have been prevented?" ran through all of our heads.

One thing about this call has really stuck with me. Just after placing the kid in the ambulance, his father arrived, hopped in the back, laid hands on him and began praying for him. We kept on doing CPR and bagging him as he prayed. There was a look of disgust on some guys, confusion on others, as if the father was impeding our progress. I at first wanted to have him leave as we were exhausted from trying everything we could to revive his son andit was an emotional thing to witness. But then it hit me. The father was praying a prayer of life, somthing along the lines of "In the name of Jesus, you shall live and not die." Over and over again. He said those words with power, faith, and conviction. One might say he was just in denial. I got the feeling that this man knows exactly the God he serves. I had a wake up call. I preach faith in God, believe in the impossible, and I know that God is all powerful. I try to live it; I am not always successful, but I try.

Here this father was with a lifeless son, putting his faith into practice. Not grieving, not mourning, not yet anyway. I know he believed what he was praying. The Jesus he knows gave life again to Lazarus, who was dead for four days. If He did it then, he can do it again. He CAN do ANYTHING. It's one thing to say it and know it, it's another to put it into action. God chose not to raise this young man from the dead, but that doesn't change the fact that He can. I believe that father still believes in God even after God did not answer his prayer the way he wished. That is true faith. It also reminds me of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego who told the king, even if God does not save them, they still will not bow to the statue. Our desired outcome of situations is sometimes not in God's will. He is still God. REAL FAITH is FAITH in ACTION. Do you believe? Do you have that kind of Faith? That man taught me a lesson in his darkest hour.

"Look both ways..."

2008-11-23T19:40:00.000-08:00

I can still hear the words of my mom, or any other influential adult in my early childhood life. It is one of the basic rules of commuting on foot. "Look both ways before you cross the street." I have tried to teach my own children this simplest of rules. Over the past two months I have had to care for 3 people who were hit by moving vehicles the following is a brief summary of their stories.

1. While trying to stop a tow truck driver from taking his truck, a young man was run over. The details of why and how it happened are sketchy, but one thing is certain, the tow truck won. The guy had road rash over face, a broken collar bone, a broken femur, tibia, and fibula and possible basilar skull fracture. The good thing, he was still alive and going strong when we got there. It is never a good idea to stand in front of a moving vehicle. The bad thing, the tow truck driver fled the scene. Is there such a thing as an honest or honorable tow truck driver?

2. After getting high on an unknown pharmacological agent, a violent and erratic man was tased by police officers to subdue him. One of our ambulances was called to transport him to the ER for injuries sustained from the being tased and falling. As soon as the ambulance was leaving the scene, this muscular, drug crazed maniac broke loose from the backboard and jumped out the back of the ambulance. Our guys did the right thing and called for police to come get him and called for a supervisor. The man broke into a few apartments to hide and once he was found he became a track star and ran in his boxers and white air force ones across the ever busy Hwy 59 in the dark- just like the classic arcade game, Frogger. The man almost made it across before being flattened by a car travelling 70mph +. He was still breathing, but barely. We began to "work" him and cerebral spinal fluid began pouring out of his eyes and nose. Needless to say, he didn't make it. In addition to "look both ways", "just say no."

3. This last one was tough. A kindergartner and his mother were walking in the crosswalk right in front of their school when they were hit by a guy who stopped at the stop sign and did not see them. The kid ended up under the car. When we arrived, the kid was fighting and trying to get out of his c-collar and back board. We hopped in the back of the ambulance and got to the ER fast. Maybe faster than ever. He sustained multiple injuries, was breathing, moaning and fighting, the whole way to the ER. As soon as we opened the doors of the ambulance at the bay, it all ceased. No pulse, no breathing, no movement, nothing. We started CPR and let the Drs and nurses do all they could for about 45 min, but nothing worked. It was his time. The worst part came when I stopped by the room to drop off my record. The mother who was also hit in the incident was holding her lifeless child telling him it was going to be okay. I can't imagine the pain she was feeling and no doubt is still feeling.

In this job, I've seen plenty of adults breathe their last breath. None of them affected me to the degree I was affected by this. I struggled to keep my composure. I wanted to cry, but still had to remain professional and manly. In five years, this was the first time I watched as a kid died, the first time I had to try to revive one. It was by far the toughest day I've ever had at work-emotionally. We had to go to mandatory counseling, which was awesome. I highly recommend it. After some rest and a good cry, I was ready to get back on the horse.

Life is unpredictable. One day you're here, the next day you're gone. One moment, you are getting high, the next minute you're not as fast as you thought. One moment, you are trying to keep your car from being towed, the next you're fighting for your life. One morning you are walking your kid to school the next you are an empty nester. We don't know what the future holds. Death changes your outlook on life. Relationships are what matter the most. Spend time with your loved ones. Make time for them. Tell them you love them. Hug them until they make you let go. More important than loving your friends and family is being certain of your eternity, your life after death and having a relationship with your Creator. For God so loved the world...

It's Gettin Hot In Herre....

2008-10-22T07:56:00.000-07:00

Most of you all 35 and below can probably finish the lyrics of Nelly's Hot In Herre, and the title of this blog. For those of you who cannot appreciate hip-hop/rap music, the line ends,"so take off all your clothes." Thus the real reason why I decided to post.

Naked (or nekkit if your from Tx) is how we found a young man last week. The call came in as a "fall." We entered an apartment complex to find a young man about 18 years old, 110 pounds, lying "butt freakin nekkit" on the sidewalk in front of an apartment that wasn't his. Some kind bystander placed a wash cloth over is you know what. He has a good sized strawberry and bruising to his right shoulder and right knee. The kid wreaked of alcohol and was obviously not in his right mind. No one seems to have ever seen this guy before, there are kids all over the place peering over the stair rail.

We try and treat him and get him on a backboard and he tries to get away. When I grab his arm, he tries to strong arm me. I'm 2x plus this guys size. I've eaten bigger steaks than this guy. He surrenders shortly there after and we get him into the ambulance at which point he goes unresponsive for several minutes. On the way to the ambulance I was sure to address all the kids. I told them not do to drugs because they will end up like this guy. I tell them to stay in school and graduate. They all nodded their heads. Oh the teachable moments. The guy "comes to" while in the ER. The Dr asks him if he has any family and he says, "solo tu"- only you. I start laughing and the doctor is a little embarrassed but amused as well. What a character.

The story goes something like this. A teenage girl was upstairs when the patient approached her with all his clothes on and tried to hug her. She denies knowing the guy. She says she pushed him away and he took his shirt off. Some time later the guy came back and was fully in the buff, and I guess very proud of his physique. She says he fell over the rail, hit his head and has been lying there for almost 2hrs.

So why wait 2 hours to call 911? She said he came back with no clothes on yet her family had the guys shirt, cell phone, and wallet. I'm no CSI, but some things just don't add up. Her older brothers were there and were being noble and said they covered him up because of all the kids around.

Fry/Wet/Sherm(marijuana dipped/soaked in formaldehyde) can mess people up. These people love to take their clothes off because their body temperatures climb and they sweat profusely. It also makes you lose your inhibitions as do most drugs including alcohol. Could he have been high so high on the wet?

Did the brothers throw him over the rail?

Did the girl slip this guy a date rape drug in his drink, so she could take his stuff?

What do you think happened?

The truth is out there somewhere. Some people say there is no truth, or that truth is whatever you think it is. I struggle with that logic dearly. I know people have different perceptions from past experiences, that shape their reality, but surely there is still truth. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life..." What a crazy statement. What a bold statement. Who else calls themselves the truth? It has been said that Jesus was/is who he said he was/is; he was a big fat liar, or he was insane. For me I believe He is all that he claimed/s to be and more. Who do you say Jesus is? We all have already decided or have not yet made up our minds.

I'm Hungry

2008-09-04T10:23:00.000-07:00

What an interesting call. I just had to write about this misuse of public funds and the apathy/laziness/stupidity of some nursing home/assisted living center staff. This past Saturday morning, we raced around the 610 loop to a call that came in as "Chest Pain." On our arrival to this assisted living center we found the ambulance crew wheeling an 91 year old lady on the stretcher. So I turned around and hopped in the back of the ambulance to get ready to run an EKG and decide if she needs advance life support(ALS) of basic life support(BLS).

The ambulance crew told me that the front desk nurses/help said the patient was short of breath, had chest pain and had ischemic heart disease. Sounds serious. Like a "real" emergency. I looked at the patient who did not look like she was in any type of distress, but looked like she was along for the ride-straight chillin.

I like to get the story straight from the horses mouth. So I asked her what was wrong with her today. Without missing a beat she said, "I'm hungry." I asked why she needed an ambulance for that. She said, "I don't know." She then told u how she was hungry and really wanted some milk, but that she had none in her room, so she went to the nurses station. Next thing she knows, they call 911 and she is on a stretcher. I asked her if she was ever short of breath. She said she was 91 and has been short of breath for 4 or 5 years. She also denied having chest pain. I ran a 12 lead EKG just to cover my you know what. It looked as good as it could.

I asked her if she thought she needed to go to the hospital, and she said she was just following the orders of the staff. She asked if we could stop by McDonald's on the way so she could get something to eat, and then chose the hospital according to how good their food is. We all agreed that Methodist Hospital has the best food. So we left her in the caring hands of the ambulance crew.

When they got to the ER, the triage nurse asked for the patients "chief complaint." He said "hunger." The nurse didn't believe them and thought they were joking. The nurse then asked the lady if she was really hungry and she said," of course I'm hungry, these guys didn't stop at McDonald's on the way here." They were told to place this poor lady on a wheel chair so she could wait in the waiting room.

I take a lot of issues with this call. More firemen are injured in car accidents than any other job hazard. I take issue with us racing to a fictitious call risking our lives on the aggressive highways of Houston. And why? So that a nurse has one less patient to deal with, or maybe because she is fully incompetent at doing her job of caring for her elderly patients. It wasn't fair to us, the patient, the hospital, or the citizens who may have had a true emergency at that time, who could have received delayed care. Is it too much to ask people to do their jobs well?

If you want to make sure your elderly family is getting the proper care, often it is best if you do it yourself. As a matter of fact, God expects us to. "But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God." 1 Tim 5:4. If you can't physically or medically do so, then you better make darn sure well the people you are paying to do their job, are fully capable of doing so.

Visitations

2008-08-25T20:29:00.000-07:00

For some reason, people in our territory are a lot nicer to us as firefighters than in other parts of the city. People stop by all the time to our station. Parents bring their kids to see the fire truck. I personally love to show kids around, because I remember what it was like as a kid admiring that big shiny red truck. We let them try on our gear and turn on the lights. If they are lucky we will pull a hose off and let them spray some water. I know most other stations love to do the same for children.

New parents often stop by with their new car seats wanting to know how to properly install them before they bring home their new addition. I must be upfront with you all and tell you that we do not receive special training on car seats. We actually receive no training whatsoever. I help out, because having 3 kids, I have become a pro. The best thing to do is to read the instructions.

One night a car literally rolled up on our driveway and two young ladies began banging on our door. It seems that with the recent gas prices, ran out of gas just blocks from their home. What better place to go when you run out of gas at 2 in the morning, than the fire station. I stumbled out of bed and made my way to get the lawn equipment gas can. I gave them enough to get home and then crawled back in bed.

The goodies seem to appear at least monthly, if not more frequently. Cookies, cakes, muffins, sandwhiches/subs, and icecream arrive from people who want to say thank you. The most interesting was an elderly woman who came by and opened her trunk that had 2 cases of Coors Light for the "guys who saved her life." I was in shock and amused. She insisted we take it, so we put it in the car of one of my co-workers. No beer was drank while on duty.

The most moving visit came from a young lady in her 20's. We were winding down after 9 O'clock clean up when someone came knocking. There stood this young woman with puffy eyes and the tears began to flow. She was able to muster the words thank you. She said she recently attempted suicide and our paramedics made sure she lived. She then turned and quickly left. It was moving and so brief. The next morning I got held over for a couple of hours and she returned. She was smiling full of life. She handed us a painting of the poem "The Road Less Traveled." I gave her a hug and she shed some more tears and said she had a new love for life.

Tell the people you love how much you love them every chance you get. Don't underestimate the power of the words Thank You. It has done wonders for our morale and for those who work at our station from out of district. People suffer from burnout and bitterness when they don't know they are appreciated. Kids tell your parents, husbands tell your wives, tell your co-workers, family members, cashiers, clerks, anyone who does a service for you. I think it is also very necessary to count your blessings and be sure to thank God for all he does and not take his blessings for granted. The Bible says to "Give thanks to Lord, for He is good. His love endures forever."

Uptown

2008-08-25T19:06:00.000-07:00

In Jan. 2008, I transferred to a new station with a new crew in a new neighborhood. I also get to ride on the pumper(fire truck) more often and get around on EMS calls in a squad (Ford Excursion staffed with two paramedics) instead of an ambulance. I am assigned to a/the station in River Oaks which is one of the million dollar home districts in the city. Every day I am amazed at how big, and nice, and extravagant the affluent live. The servants quarters are bigger than my own home. We often ask ourselves what the heck to so many people do to make so much money, as I know I can't even afford the taxes on the homes in this neighborhood. You must also understand that most of our calls are not in our territory, because the wealthy seem to keep up with their Dr.'s appointments and have the best construction and fire prevention systems in their homes. The other thing I have realized is that no matter how much money we as people have, we still have problems. So here are a few of the calls to the rich and famous.

An older middle aged woman who happens to live a shopping mall of the home all by her lonsesome. Her brother came by to check up on her and found her some what altered and bruised and cut from head to tow. She had been on a drinking binge and had stumbled across her bedroom knocking over furniture and bruising herself from head to toe.

Another older middle aged woman who lives in a highrise condo/townhome/penthouse on my shift has contacted 911 at least twice. Once she called to report the building on fire. Upon arrival, we found out she just burned a cake. About two weeks later she called again because she "didn't feel right." All of her vitals were normal and she then seemed to feel better and think that maybe she didn't need us. She was looking for attention. Again.

An on air radio personality was found unconscious in the parking garage of her radio station. She sustained some injuries from a fall which was caused by low blood sugar or a cardiac issue. She awoke and was not alert and oriented enough to refuse treatment and transport. So we convinced her to go to the ER. At the ER she became shrewd and began using racial slurs and profanity. She was moved to a private room and shortly afterwards she ran out of the room and pulled out her IV as she was leaving a trail of blood out the front door. The nurses chased her down and took her back to her room. As soon as they left her alone in her room, she bolted again and was successful.

On two occasions I have had the privilege of meeting one of the most demanding rich old ladies in town. She tells us how to do our job, complains about the drive, our care, bosses around her hired help who have been with her for decades. Yells out in pain whenever she is touched. Tells us to shut up when we are talking to each other because she doesn not want to hear our conversations. She was told by the hospital the after the first time we took her to the hospital not to come back. She pushed their patience to the max.

On two other occasions we made calls to a new high rise penthouse in which the owner has had way too much to drink and has fallen on his marble floors and split his wig. He then became beligerent and violent with the first responders. They had to call for a firefighter assist over the radio, which sends more staff, a supervisor, a district chief, and HPD. He calmed down before we got to put the smack down on him. Lucky for him. A couple of days later he was drinking again, and we were called out again, because he fell again and the staples from his original wound broke free.

We were recently called out to one of the bigger homes in the neighborhood for an unconscious 19 year old boy. The house cleaners found him snoring really loudly and could not wake him. When we got there he was on the floor barely breathing and he was blue in the face. I started an IV and we gave him D50 for a low bloor sugar and Narcan for a possible overdose. He had a ton of hard liquor in his room and drug paraphernalia:pipes, bongs, and beer bongs. The home belonged to him and his brother, paid for by his dad and fully staffed with security, house cleaning, the works. Also furnished with several cars including a Bentley for the 19 year old lad.

As you can see people are people. Loneliness, depression, drug addiction, and disease know no color or economic status. It is apparent that money can buy you the nicest things the world has to offer, but it doesn't buy you happiness. It is more evident that we all are in need of love and acceptance. More importantly we see the condition of man who is far from God. The signs and symptoms are obvious and are all the same. It is encouraging to know that a relationship with God cannot be bought and is available to all mankind. Thank you Jesus for the Cross!

Halloween 2007

2008-01-10T10:13:00.000-08:00

It is called many names: all hallows eve, all saints day, dia de los muertos, new moon festival, samhein, halloween, and hallelujah night for the Christian fanatics. The Ghetto Boys started their song "My mind's playing tricks on me" with the ever famous lyrics "this year halloween fell on the weekend...." Well this year it fell a Wednesday. At the beginning of our 24 hr shift, I remember asking my partner, "Lott," if he had ever worked on Halloween. He said he couldn't recall, but said it should be just another day. Oh how wrong he was. R-O-N-G rong. It turned out to be one of our busiest days in recent memory. It was nonstop nonsense. We responed to call after call after call of what firefighters call BS. You can use your imagination on that one. Here are a few of the not so emergency calls.

There was the lady who faked a seizure in her car while stopped at a stoplight with her mother in the passenger seat and her baby behind her. The mother was hysterical and the daughter was far from an academy award winning performance. They are lucky they didn't get hit.

Or how about the "group home" nestled in a neighborhood. These homes are a medicare scam and are popping up everywhere. Well the nice lady called 911 because her 86 year old patient was "gasping for err." The old woman told me not to touch her and told us to "go home" because she was fine. Far from gasping for err. When asked the lady's medical history, the caregiver couldn't tell us anything. While we were trying to figure out why we were there, she became defensive and wrote everyone's name down. So we in turn called our supervisor and wanted to speak with her supervisor to which she refused. She is incompetent and unfit to take care of a cockroach let alone an elderly lady with medical problems. But she said she's been doing this since 1976 and she dropped out of junior high to pursue her career in getting paid to pawn off old people to EMS and the hospital system so she can sit at work and watche re-runs of one life to live. Even though the lady said she was fine, we took her anyway. We learned from the patient that the caregiver made the gasping for air thing up and learned that the lady's elbow was out of socket.

Yet another lady faked another seizure/stroke. We've made her several times already and dread going to her house because it stinks to high heaven and is dirtier than a "2 dolla hoe." The real issue I have is that a 2 year old is left in these deplorable conditions while the lady fakes injury for attention.

A 15 year old who is in dire need of a spanking was outside and scratching herself with a piece of glass to make it seem like she was a cutter or committing suicide. The police called us for scratches some of which she did the day before-superficial in nature and not bleeding. The girl was bad mouthing everyone. The mom said she is done with her and will not sign her in to a psyche ward. The mother was passing the buck to the police who tried to pass it to us. We walked out to let the police deal with the unruly child as she was cussing out everybody. She ended up leaving in handcuffs.

The darker it got, the crazier it got. First there was a young man who was jumped by about 8 people as he was trick-or-treating with his girlfriend. Turns out we have a group of thugs driving around the neighborhood picking out easy targets and beating them up. No sooner had we got back to the firestation when the trick-or-treat bandits struck again. The mother of this vicitm gave us a 20 minute monologue on how she just moved into the neighborhood, was paying $1000 a month in rent, and was ready to move. She said that she "done moved into some sh*% up in here." She said the "women want to be men, the men don't know what the want to be, my son wants to be in a gang and can't even fight. How the he!! you gonna be in a gang and can't fight? And "bubba(the neighborhood rent a cop) got himself a flashlight. what the he!! he gonna do with a flashlight?" I still laugh at her monologue almost every day. I'll bet she would have beat up those thugs.

The stupid person of the day award goes to a 25 year old woman who jumped out of a moving vehicle to "show" her boyfriend "how much" she "loves him." What a crock. She split her wig pretty good on the concrete. There was blood everywhere. She was crying and going on and on how her boyfriend doesn't appreciate her and that he doesn't even appreciate what she just did for him. You think? I told her if she was my girlfriend I would never talk to her again and for sure would never want to see her again. I told her that the only thing she proved was how stupid she is. I told her if her boyfriend didn't appreciate her, find someone who would. The poor guy was torn on whether to support her by going the the hospital or end it there. He followed us to the ER and then left when we did. I hope he ends this madness now before she cuts off her arm to prove her love.

So that was my Halloween. No candy. No costumes. No sleep. Just people acting stupid without wearing a disguise. For me it was a true model of how messed up we are as humans, how desparate we are to be loved and noticed. It shows how much we need a savior- someone to rescue us from ourselves and this world. Jesus came into this world to do just that. So that we could find our true identity in Him and so that we could know what it is to be loved and to love. Til the next episode.

Blog Interactive: October 2007

2008-01-10T10:10:00.001-08:00

In this week's episode of The HFD Chronicles, I am appealing to you the reader to provide me with your objective opinions. The following events really happened. I wish I could make this up. All parties witheld the whole truth to protect themselves in some way or another. I am relying on you to let me know what really happened. Let's get started.

1. The call comes in as a Shooting. We are first on scene to find about a hundred teenagers in the street. Four people have been shot-3 guys and 1 girl. All of them have been shot below the waist. The girl is shot once in both thighs in the groin area, one guy in his shin, another in his foot and ankle, and the last in his calf. The people assembled for a birthday party after a football game nearby between two rival schools. The neighborhood is zoned to a different school altogether. The Eyewitnesses say an argument broke out and the shooter went home. He came back rushing toward the party goers firing a sawed off shotgun. Staying true to street ethics, no one admits to knowing the shooter. They say it could possibly be gang related. Who is the shooter and why? Why did he shoot them in the legs?

2. This call comes in as a Stab Wound. The call notes state the victim was stabbed by his stepson who is still on location. As I get out of the ambulance, a 19 year old male approaches me and tells me he is the victim. I ask if he is stabbed in the leg, and he says no, and says there are no other victims. He has a laceration to the webbing of his thumb and to his finger tips. I clean him up and bandage him like a pro.The wound will require stitches. He says his mom and her boyfriend were arguing. He tells us that the boyfriend poured beer on her head and then pulled out a knife. He says he was wounded when the boyfriend lunged at his mom with a butcher knife and was stabbed instead.

After being on scene for 20-30 minutes and while HPD is speaking with the mother a man walks out of the house holding his arms in the air yelling "Ive been stabbed, I'm stabbed." HPD draws their weapons and tell the man to stop. They search the man and then the man begins to holler obscenities about him being the victim and why is he being searched. He won't calm down, so they handcuff him. He in turn becomes more vocal. While he is going on and on, we notice blood is just pouring down his leg. He has a stab wound just below his knee cap and slash marks on his shin. I do another awesome bandaging job, but this time he bleeds right through it. He states he was in an argument with his girlfriend when she stopped talking to him and acted like she was sleeping/unresponsive. He then states his biggest mistake was pouring beer on her head. He says the son the came in with a butcher knife and stabbed him in the leg. He says he locked himself in his room and did not know HPD was on scene. We transported him to the ER in handcuffs. The whole time he maintained his innocence even when police were not around. The knife was not found. Who is the real slasher and why do you think so?

3. The call is an Assault. We arrive to find a 24 year old female standing in the street. She is covered in blood from head to toe. She is wobbly and admits to drinking. She tells us she was at a club when her boyfriend became angry with her. They argued all the way home. On arrival to their house, he punched her. She received a black eye and a split open her cheek from the impact. She says he locked her out of their house. While she was trying to get inside through a window to retrieve her clothes, the window broke slicing up her hand in multiple areas. She also has cuts all over her hands, feet, arms and legs from the glass. Her cousin is with her. While I am bandaging her wounds, her cousin asks me to go get her shoes from inside. I told her the patients health is more important. She asks 2-3 more times about her shoes. HPD arrives and takes the girl's statement. He knocks on the door to speak with the boyfriend. No one answers and he says he is not going to break the door down. He gives the girl a case number and leaves. Why did the boyfriend punch the girl? Should have HPD done more? If so what? What's with the shoe obsession?

Well now it is your turn to solve these horrible crimes. Let me know what you think?

September 2007

2008-01-10T10:09:00.000-08:00

This month has been the month of fakers, liars, and drama queens. Here are a few for example:
In a slot machine video game store, which is probably illegal, a large woman fell out of a chair on her badonkadonk. Her friends called 911 for her, and she was laying there acting hurt. All that cushion and she fell on a carpeted floor from a chair 2 feet high. I made her get up and sit in a more stable chair. Her friends were then saying, "she landed on her spine. You're not supposed to move her." She got up all by herself and they left. I guess they realized there is no money to be scammed here. She walked out on her own power. Her spine fully intact. Thank you bodonkadonk.

A teenage girl went to a high school football game after missing school that day. She is on the drill team and was seen by her drill instructor at the game. Feeling that she would get in trouble, she told her boyfriend to take her home. She began to panic and hyperventilate. Her family thought she was dying as she willingly made a bunch of noise while she was breathing. By the time we got her, her hands and feet were cramping from the metabolic imbalance caused by her hyperventilating.

A mother called 911 after her 3 year old drank a small amount of bubbles. Just soap and water that he spit out on his own. Her reason was that her son was born premature...3 years ago. What a waste. Another teenage girl called 911 after she was wrestling with a friend and she became out of breath and her chest began to hurt. She was fine when we arrived and she said she was out of shape.

Speaking of out of shape another teenage boy had to run or walk 2 whole laps on the track during the first day of marching band practice. Feeling tired or overwhelmed, he flopped onto the track, reached inside his pocket and called 911. His band director was so embarrassed for him. There are just no more men around. No sense of toughness or personal pride. Yet another great use of your tax dollars.

A woman was in a fender bender and claimed to have lower back pain. She too was well cushioned on her backside. The car had minor damage on the rear passenger wheel well. After she stood up and accused the other driver of a hit and run and being intoxicated, she decided she must be transported to the ER because her "spine" could be injured as well. More like her pocket book was hurt because she didn't get the insurance on her rental car. She should have watched,"Meet the Parents" and "Meet the Fockers."

Just to make myself clear in case any of you all ever wonder. We do not carry an ultrasound machine in our ambulance. We cannot "check your baby out," contrary to popular belief. And if you are 9 months pregnant and your stomach hurts and gets tight, it's called a contraction. Moving on...

Violence abounds in the "Ridge." One man was stabbed in his belly and another beat down with a tire iron. These geniuses confronted a group of men who threw an empty beer bottle at them. After getting a beat down, they complained about it not being a fair fight with only fists. Does that even happen anymore? The fellow who was beat with the tire iron was screaming and acting hard vowing revenge. Yeah tough guy everyone is gone now. Keep talking trash to your invisibe assailant.

I saw some good car wrecks on the beltway. One SUV had a blowout and then rolled landing on the middle barrier. The woman survived with minor injuries. Another woman flipped her Mazda 6 four times on the same stretch of highway after she blacked out and hit the barrier. She too survived with minor injuries.

Some people just have no concept of cleanliness. We walk into all types of homes and it doesn't matter if you are rich, poor, or middle class there is no excuse to being dirty. Your home doesn't have to be sparkling clean, but it doesn't have to smell like a dinosaur booty with dingleberries. The funk is like walking into a wall. It hits you and you don't want to continue forward. It burns your nose and you smell it for the rest of the day. It's the gift that keeps on giving. Four homes in our immediate area are unforgettable. We had to go into them for a headache a man sustained after a hangover and getting beat up over a day before, a lady with recurring abdominal pain, and a lady faking a stroke because she is mad at her daughters. True emergencies all.

We did make 2 cardiac arrests in which we got pulses and respirations back. It is always good to make a difference, even if it isn't every day. I can go on and on about the nonsense that we sometimes seem to make. Some people desparately need us and others need self esteem, reassurance, a whooping, common sense, a shoulder to cry on or whatever. Regardless of what the true need or emergency is, we are required to respond and do so out of duty. God is even better and more amazing. No matter where we live, what we're going through, or what we've done. He is always there for us by His own choice and love for us. For some he is just waiting for you to call. You can't ever call to much. No problem is too big or too small.

July 2007

2008-01-10T10:08:00.000-08:00

This blogging thing takes a lot more time than I anticipated. I checked to see when my last blog was. Would you believe that it was back in December? My how time flies. So today as my wife and children are out of town celebrating Jen's grandpa's 90th birthday, I have all the time in the world. I do however miss them and all the noise they bring to our home. It's not the same without them.

Today as I catch you up, I have to give props to Dr. Wade and the staff at The Eye Center of Texas. Last week they performed Lasik surgery on me. It is a beautiful thing to be able to see all of God's creation without glasses and contacts. Vision is a beautiful thing that I don't take for granted. I think I cried like a little girl after the surgery realizing how blessed I was to see. But I didn't let anyone see me cry. I'm a real man... Hahaha. So here goes a little catch up for all my little hulkaniac fans out there across the globe and the universe. I mean to all those bored people who have nothing to do but read this poor soul's blog.

VIOLENCE: Another rapper was shot. Ever since Tupac, Biggie, and 50cent, getting shot is the only way to get "skreet cred" and sell more records. My experience is that the harder they pretend to be, the bigger babies they are when they do get shot. He whined the whole way to the ER. -----A much tougher victim came in the form of a 14 year old boy who was shot in his stomach by his friend who was showing off his new gun. The friend ran and didn't stick around to make sure his friend was okay. ----Bullets do kill. That's what they are made to do. An 18 year old male was shot point blank in the forehead as he attempted to rob/car jack a bar patron. Is that justice? Maybe. ----A wannabe rapper/producer/dj was stabbed in his shoulder by a friend after the friend drank his "drank" while he went to the bathroom. The stupid thing is that the genius called 911 two days later and told the dispatcher that he had been stabbed. 4 police cars, a fire truck and an ambulance were sent to his aid. We should have given him a new stab wound. ---One hard working young man was waiting for a ride home from his second job when he was stabbed in the back by a gang banger looking for money. Here's a novel idea, if you don't have money, get a job. If your job doesn't pay enough, get an education so you can make enough.
DRUGS: Using drugs while working or at work can be hazardous to your health and career. Just ask the fella who showed up to work drunk and high. It just so happened to be his evaluation day. He passed out during the review process. I'll be he got rave reviews. And there was an older gentleman who passed out at work as well. He claims no drug use, but his pinky fingernail was substantially longer than all of his others. The co-worker who found him had the same long fingernail. I asked the manager if there was a work related reason for the long pinky nails and he said no. Hmmmm...-------Probably the happiest druggie I ever met was a youg guy who said he smoked some "fiend." I don't know what it was, but it was some good stuff. He was laughing the whole way. Anything I said was funny. I could have been the last comic standing. He giggled the whole way. It was a shame I had to take him to the ER. ------"Fry" is a drug that makes people paranoid and just plain stupid. Yesterday after smoking some "fry" a man got behind the wheel of his car and drove 100 yards in a ditch before being stopped by a telephone pole. When we got there the man thought we were the cops and hopped back in his car and tried to drive away through the telephone pole. Then he got out and started to walk with us and then ran as soon as we got onto the road. He ran down the middle of a busy street. HPD chased him down and almost tased him. Then they cuffed him and put him in our ambulance even though it was clear he was not injured. Had he not been 300 pounds with his crack showing, he might have gotten away. He tried to get out several times and then laughed while he was at the ER.

Another young man was not so happy. He was down right depressed. His heart was racing, his body wasting and his hope was fading. He looked like trash and didn't want to live anymore. A teenager with all hope gone. I tried to encourage him and let him know that there is more to life that what he knows or thinks he knows. I pray he finds the hope that comes from Jesus.

MEDICAL EMERGENCIES: A young girl and an older woman both had an allergic reaction to an unknown substance on separate occasions. An allergic reaction will give you hives, make you swell up, cause breathing problems and can send you into shock. We gave them both shots of Benadryl and Epi. Works almost every time.

We just got a new CPAP machine that allows people who have fluid on their lungs to breathe better by using positive pressure to push the fluid out of the lungs. They say it will revolutionize how we treat these types of patients. The first time we used it. The lady got absolutely no relief and when we got to the ER, the Drs didn't do much better. The second person we used it on happened to be autistic, mentally retarded and unable to speak. As soon as we entered the house we could hear the fluid in his lungs. It's like when you slurp your straw when your beverage is almost out. We put the CPAP on him and almost immediately he slowed his breathing and we couldn't hear the fluid without the use of a stethoscope. Then the Dr at the ER had the audacity to ask why we are bringing in patients on the CPAP instead of putting a tube down their throats. He should let me stick a tube down his throat while he is awake and see how he feels. Moron.

CARDIAC ARREST: One thing is certain in this life. We will all die. That's it, it is a reality that my job forces me to live with. Lately we've made several people in either nursing homes or personal care homes who have passed. Their caregivers/nurses are never doing CPR when we arrive and expect us to do everything to save them when they themselves have done nothing. I know not all places are the same. It would be wise for you to do your research before placing a loved one in the care of complete strangers.

The most memorable cardiac arrest came to a man in his 40s. This man had been separated from his wife and had a lady friend over for some extracurricular activities. We got the call as a breathing problem. When we were a couple of blocks from the house, we got a message saying he had stopped breathing. When we arrived the man was butt naked in a chair with secretions on his leg-you can guess which kind. He had taken too many sexual enhancement pills and died while being pleasured. At the ER while we were finishing our record the nurse came to tell us that the man's mother was there and that she wanted to know why her son had a tube in his mouth and was dead. The mother said the lady friend told her he was awake and breathing when he left the house with us. Then the man's wife arrived and wanted to know who the lady was. It was a huge mess.

I've learned that the truth will be revealed no matter what. We can lie to friends, bosses, co-workers, spouses, police, EMS, and even ourselves. Sooner or later the truth always comes out. God sees all and knows all. So it is best to do the right thing and treat others the way we wish to be treated. It's the "golden rule" set by Jesus himself. That's all I got for now. Until the next episode. Peace out!

December 2006

2008-01-10T10:07:00.000-08:00

I love the holiday season! I love the weather, the food-you know big daddy loves the food-giving presents, lights on the house. The whole bit. This also seems to be the season to get sick and sometimes die. Death seems to come about in spurts. I can go a month or months without seeing dead people then bam all the sudden they're everywhere.

I got to work on Thanksgiving day and made some serious dinero for doing so. It's always nice when a guy can make a little extra cash for the holidays. The holidays bring about the best and worst in people. For instance a young fellow organized Thanksgiving dinner for the firefighters at Station 69. They came through with more food than I have ever seen on one day at one place. There were 4-5 turkeys, salmon, dressing, calamari, 30 or so pies, drinks, chips, dip, rolls, bread, any side dish imaginable. It's nice to feel appreciated from time to time.

The runs:
--An old fellow passed out in his seat while eating Thanksgiving dinner at a very nice and expensive hotel. The cause, unknown. Maybe too much excitement and viagara for an 80yr old in one day. When he came to, he didn't know where he was, but everything else checked out.
Another old fellow had a stroke. He had just made it home when he noticed himself going paralyzed and having trouble speaking. He got on the phone and his daughter called 911. Everyone did their job-the patient, his family, EMS, and the Dr. We got him to the hospital fast, so they can work their magic. I assume he is doing great!

--Death came rearing for a 100 year old man at about 6pm. It's about time. 100 it's amazing he made it that far. What's more amazing is that we had a student who needed to get an intubation and had to run and race against our supervisor who is notorious for wanting to do everything himself so he can be the "hero." The supervisor was about 15 yards ahead of us as we entered the lobby and he the elevator. He didn't hold the door for us, and we watched the doors close as he rushed to get the "tube" first. Well when we got to the apartment he was about to open the guys mouth for the tube and I told him to hold on because we had a student and he gave some lame excuse, but conceded and our student did his thing. We ended up shocking the old feller quite a few times, but he was gone. There's only so much a 100 year old heart can handle.
2AM, the day after Thanksgiving, I saw some juvenile behavior from some middle aged people.

--This nice young couple, an engineer and a flight attendant, went to a Thanksgiving day party and got wasted like they were at a frat house and then said, "we wanted to have some fun," so they smoke some weed. Well the idiot of a man was acting like a little girl, crying, curled up in a fetal position, whining his girlfriend's name. Freaking loser wanted to be cool and then let peer pressure get to him and now he's acting like a baby. I wanted to pimp slap him, because I keep my pimp hand strong. I refrained and took him to the hospital where the loser put himself on the floor, shirtless, in the fetal position and crying. What a sight. Pathetic. Where are all the responsible adults at these days.

--Another elderly man was taken out of this world. His family found him in the evening. Dead. We were in first and did all we could. I got to use our IO drill which establishes and IV in the bone. It was cool. It was also the first time I can remember working someone to the max and then having our doctor on the phone terminate efforts-which is what the family wanted. I'm starting to get the hang of this trying to bring people back.

--We get called to an assault. When we pull into the neighborhood, there are police cars everywhere. At least 10 of them with officers in the street and a sea of onlookers. I'm thinking this can't be good. Apparently a mom tried to stop her 15 year old daughter from walking out of the house against her orders by grabbing her arm. The daughter ran upstairs and called 911 telling the operator that her mom was beating her up. The girl only had a scratch on her arm where her mother grabbed her. Hardly child abuse, though the girl's actions warrant some serious abuse. There was nothing the police could do to the mom or the daughter. That little girl needs a serious whooping. Old skool style. This whole human rights/freedom thing has gotten way out of control. Everyone has rights, except the people who are doing right.

--We made another scene swarmed with cop cars. We pull up and a guy is being hog tied by police. His face is all bloody, with blood on the ground, on a police car and broken glass. It turns out that this outstanding citizen was "high" on something-more than likely PCP and was pacing up and down the street talking to himself. Someone called 911, the police officer drove up in his car, lowered his window to ask what the problem was and the guy reached in and started choking the officer. A fight ensued, the officer managed to hit his panic button or called for back up. It took a bunch of men to get him down. They put him in the cop car and the beast kicked out all the back windows. I cleaned his wounds with peroxide and left him to be taken to jail. I don't think I could be a cop and put up with that kind of behavior without using my gun. That officer showed restraint. A little thing called self control, that not too many people in our society care to exhibit.

--Bullets to the head seem to pretty much end life quickly. It was a very surreal scene as we made the call for a GSW to the head. A middle aged man in a nice neighborhood decided it would be a good idea to end his life. He thought he was being considerated by laying out a note, all the insurance papers, bank account info, stocks etc, and then by shooting himself in the back yard instead of inside. Suicide is such a cowardly and selfish act period. Now his wife is a widow, his children are fatherless, and it is during the holidays, so they will forever associate the two.

Life is not easy. At times it is tough, it is stressful, we may even think that we are better off dead. The reality is that our selfish/sinful actions affect everyone around us. The reality is that as long as we wander through this life trying to cope with things on our own, without the help of an Almighty God, we will always feel inadequate. Jesus came to carry the burdens that we can't handle on our own. There is a God who loves you more than you could ever imagine, so much that he gave up his own son, so he could have a relationship with you. Life isn't all honkeydory as a Christian, we have the same problems, the same temptations. But he gives us the strength to overcome them. He gives us peace in the midst of a storm. He wants to do the same for you.

Medic 80 (November 2006)

2008-01-10T10:06:00.000-08:00

I think it's been like 2-3 months since my last blog of the adventures in the life of a FFP(firefighter paramedic). I've made a lot of runs since then. Some legit and others "totally bogus dude." Here are the ones that stick out in this ever aging mind of mine.

BOGUS: "I got water in my ears for 3 days," said the schizoprhenic as he sat in in his drive way in the pooring rain across from a giant teddy bear on a chair, and while holding up 4 fingers. Yeah buddy sure 911 to the rescue. "My tooth hurts," said the grown man 6ft+ 200lbs + at 3AM. Don't eat sweets, brush at least twice a day and see your dentist you big wuss~! "I can't stop shivering," said the 20 something year old man who had a fever and would not allow me to take the blankets off him to assess him. Who later threw up and then said, "I feel better now." Glad I could be of service, and have the privilege of witnessing' what you had for dinner. MMm lasagna. "My stomach hurts," said the lady from the bathroom as she relieved her bowels on the toilet. Ya think? She then told her daughter to get the air freshner and the told us we could go. Another life snatched from the grim reapers clutches.

As you have read, 911 abuse is running rampid in Houston. People call all day long for reasons the normal individual wouldn't even think. I can count the number of times on 1 finger in my own life that I have called 911. Some people have what we call "frequent flyer" status. But hey if it weren't for these wonderful people, I might not have a job. So thank you from the bottom of my heart for job security. Next time you don't feel like dealing with normal aches and pains of life give 911 a call and keep employment rates up.

LEGIT: A guy was shot point blank in the neck yesterday. Some punks tried to rob his daughter and son in law, in the front yard and dad went to help. Then the punk, -sorry excuse for a man, too lazy to work a job, but depraved enough to take other people's things even if it meant killing them,- shot him. The good thing is that the fellow survived! The bullett missed his spinal cord by millimeters! The only deficits he had was numbness to his right hand! A miracle. People always say, "God has a plan for your life." We hear it so much, it's like yeah yeah yeah. Nothing could be more true. That man should have been dead, but it wasn't his time, because God's not done with him yet. Sometimes there is no rhyme or reason as to who get's to check out next.
--Last weekend a lady just blocks from our firestation, went into cardiac arrest while she was on her home dialysis machine. We got there quick, began CPR, I intubated her, started and IV in her jugular and gave her one round of drugs-epi and atropine. Her heart kicked right in. We got pulses and a good blood pressure back, rushed her to the hospital, only to have the Dr say their was no brain activity and they stopped life supporting measures. It was her time, even though we did everything right.

I got to fight some fire about a couple of weeks ago. That just sounds cool to say even though it was nothing. 99.9% of the time, I'm on an EMS unit. We got the call at about 7AM for a house on fire. My ambulance beat the pumper in. A dryer was on fire in the garage. I got the garden hose and put that sucker right out. I should have given this radio report- "Medic 80 on location. We have moderate smoke coming out of a 1 story brick home. M80 initiating a fast attack." Then after we beat down the flames-" 7-1 this location holding M80 only." So any of you could have done it, but dadgummit I'm a firefighter too.

I have been making a ton of rapid heart rate calls lately. Most of them women whose hearts are beating way tooo fast! I'm talking at least 7 people. What is the deal here? Is it because I'm so stunningly attractive that people's heart rates sky rocket and their hearts flutter? Could be, not likely. When the heart rate gets above 150 without exercise, this creates a huge problem for the most important muscle in your body. It cannot sustain life at such a rapid pace, and it's only a matter of time before it quits. We have a drug called Adenosine that literally stops the heart, to reset the pacemaker and get it back to normal. I had one partner who did not want to give it because he did once and the lady's heart never started again. Serious stuff! So I had an 86 year old lady who's heart was in the 240s, other ladys in the 180s, 160s, 200s. I mean all over the place. I've been giving Adenosine like it's going out of style. Once the drug kicks in, patients get scared, and feel "weird" and then if the heart slows down for good, they get instant relief. For others Adenosine slows it down and within seconds their heart goes back to racing. The next treatment is to get out the paddles and shock their heart into submission. I have yet to do that on a fast pulsing heart rate. Sounds like fun though.

How true is that whole scenario for us and our lives. We get to being so busy and moving at 100mph, that we are getting by, juggling a million things and then the next thing you know things begin to crash in on us, we are stressed, tired, and cranky/emotional. We cannot sustain the pace we set for ourselves, and we don't take the proper breaks/vacations/rest we need. Even God rested. My suggestion to all of us is to take that wonderful drug called rest. Sundays or the sabath was designed just for that. It is a time when you can rest your body and mind, and refuel physically and spiritually. Unless you tend to your physical and spiritual self, you will not function at your peak. When was the last time you rested? When was the last time you went to church?

G Unit got nothing on da Medic Uniiiittt!!! (September 2006)

2008-01-10T10:05:00.000-08:00

It's been a couple of weeks since I've updated ya'll in the world of saving or not saving lives. One reason is due to the emotional toll one of my calls had on me, and the other is that last week I had a serious stomach bug that lasted about 5 days. Did I call 911 because I had a splitting headache or because everything I ate and drank made it's way back out quickly? NO. I went to work and sucked it up.

So ever since we got our student/intern, we've been making some pretty good calls. What I mean by that is that we actually got to help some people instead of just giving them a ride to the ER.

There was this nice gentleman who happened to be an ex NFL fullback who has an internal defibrillator to shock his heart when it takes off into a fast rhythm. Well it had already shocked him 3x and he was showing some pretty serious complications on his EKG. So we gave him an amiodorone drip, and it cleared up his messed up rhythm to an almost perfect one. We got him to the hospital and he was 100% better. We had to pat ourselves on the back for a job well done.

There were the usual diabetic problems where their insulin drops their blood sugar levels way lower than the brain can tolerate putting them into insulin shock. One fella was on his riding lawn mower when we got there, out cold. We gave him sugar to his veins and he came to and went to eat lunch. He said he loves being on his riding lawn mower, and that it's like a toy to him. He knew he needed to eat but wanted to keep riding. He can come do my yard any day. Another fellow's wife found him when she woke up and he was cold and mumbling inchorently. He had been a diabetic for 20 something years and she had never seen him like this. She thought he was having a stroke. Just lack of sugar. It took a few times stabbing him, but we finally got the IV and the "sugar daddies" score again, saving lives left and right. High 5!

Then we had a fella pass out in the parking lot of Foodarama. In the hood there is a Foodarama on every other corner. They have awesome prices. Anyway this fella had a low blood pressure for whatever reason, which was making him weak and causing him to pass out. We got there and he was about to pass out again so we picked him up onto the stretcher and got him in the ambulance. We elevated his feet, which is always a good thing for people who pass out. We then gave him some fluid. By the time we got to the hospital. He was better as well.

By now we are starting to get big head syndrome. There have been some people who seriously needed us and we have answered the call. Just doing our job feels sooo goood. God says pride comes before the fall. Every instance in my life where I believe my own hype, I'm always brought down to earth by own limitations. Read more to understand that concept.

More often than not, there are people we cannot help as medics. There are people who we have no idea what is wrong with them and therefore we have no measures pharmacologically that can help. OOo that was an SAT word.

A wife found her husband still in his car out cold. He was supposed to have gone to the grocery store-probably Foodarama, but never made it. He had wet himself and was disoriented. He was a big fella and we had to pull him out of the SUV and onto the stretcher. He just sat looking into space not uttering a word and not obeying our commands. Could have had a seizure, a stroke, EKG looks fine, sugar is good. All we could give him was oxygen and take him in. We were stumped.

Again we were stumped when we met a guy who had a seizure but never fully awoke from it. Generally minutes after a seizure people come back to their senses. Well this guy's mind was telling him that we were the enemies and he fought us. It was like he had super human strength. We weren't able to do anything. We tried oxygen and he ripped 2 masks to shreds. An IV was out of the question- one of us would have gotten stabbed. We had to tie his arms to the stretcher and he still whipped us all the way to the hospital and we stayed another 30 min to an hour in the hospital holding him down as the nurses and doctors gave him shot after shot of sedatives. What caused this behavior? A bleed in the brain, drugs, electrolyte imbalance? We checked on him later that night and the doctors were still stumped because all the tests came back negative

This next patient didn't stump us, we knew exactly what was going on with her, but we failed in being able to help her. A rather large woman woke up at about 3am feeling her heart beat extremely fast. The EKG showed SVT at a rate of 184 beats per minute. Her heart was flying and she was sleeping when it started. Can you say not normal? We have a drug called Adenosine that actually stops the heart for a brief period so it can reset itself and beat normally. It's amazing and has worked every time I've given it. The only problem was that this woman had terrible veins. We probably stuck her 10 times before we got to the hospital with nothing to show for it. Talk about being frustrated. You know how to help someone, but you can't. It's even more frustrating when you get to the hospital and the nurses get an IV established in a couple of tries. The good thing is that they were able to help her and she was feeling much better once she got the adenosine.

I'd like to think that most of our calls don't affect me in a negative manner. I think a life of gory movies, and video games has prepared/conditioned me to not whince at the trauma that happens to the human body. Well my faith and heart were put to the test on a recent Saturday morning. We got the call for a cardiac arrest. We get on scene and someone tells us they are doing CPR. One thing I've always tried to do is stay calm so we can do our job with a clear mind. It turns out that the latest victim of life and sin was a 5 year old girl. This was the first time I've seen and touched a lifeless child. I've always been told that children will be the hardest calls I will ever make. It's true. As a father all you can do is picture your own children. So I touched the child to feel for a pulse and she was ice cold, but it's a 100 degrees outside, and I go to open her mouth and it's clenched shut. Rigor mortis has already set in. I asked when the last time anyone saw the child awake and it was 10:30 the night before-12 hours ago. I told the mom that the baby was cold and that her jaw was stiff. The mom asked, "so what are you telling me?" I told her there was nothing we could do. She screamed a scream I will never forget. She then went on a rampage tearing down pictures from the walls and blinds from the windows. There's nothing more I wanted than to be able to bring life back into the child. I couldn't. I'm not God, but how I wished I were. It took every ounce of energy for me to keep it together. It took a lot of deep breaths and biting my lip. We are supposed to be the strong ones. I didn't want that responsibility, but I accepted it. I just wanted to be alone in a dark room and cry my eyes out for however long it took. It was a quiet ride back to the station. We all called our wives and just wanted to embrace our kids and not let go. I told them that I loved them and that I always will.

Moments like those make you appreciate your loved ones. So often we take them for granted. We get comfortable in the fact that they have always been there. The reality is that they won't always be there. Life is short. My partner asked why did God allow this girl, who happened to be sick from birth, have to be born, or have to die so young. I can't say I can answer that question. I have a few ideas though. I'm sure she taught her family how to love, how to laugh, how to cry, how to have faith in God when things don't go as planned, how to lean on others for strength, how to cherish every breath you take and to treat every day as a gift. Every day is a gift- a chance to make things right with those around us and especially with our maker, our creator, our savior. This world has a lot to offer, but it can't even come close to living an eternity in a perfect heaven. That little girl is now in a place without, fear, prejudice, crime, disease, hunger and sadness. It is those truths learned in the Bible that keep me sane and ready to take that next call, whatever it may be.

Medic 59 & 80 (August 26,28, 2006)

2008-01-10T10:03:00.000-08:00

Man have we been busy lately. Busy is a good thing in that it makes the day fly by. It's a bad thing in that sleep becomes scarce. But hey, I do get paid to sleep on occasion. I''ll bet you don't.
As usual, we had some serious calls, and some not so serious. Here are a few not so serious.
The most absurd or should I say anger provoking call came at 2:30 in the morning as a punk, sorry excuse for a man, beat up on his ex girlfriend. He choked her and punched her. As she got away he hopped on her car and kicked in her windshield and her rear window. A real tough guy. The thing about it is, that wasn't the first time he had done something like this. What a loser. At times like this I wish I could be a vigilante and open up a can of justice on punks like him. Teach him a lesson.

I can't stress enough how bad drugs are. They make people absolutely stupid. We were driving to the location of a call when a guy ran through an intersection chasing us down dodging traffic after midnight. This must be the clown who called us. He ran up to my door and was bugging out saying "feel my chest" as tried to grab my hand and put it over his heart. He was yelling at us to do something and saying, "I'm gonna die." So I told him we're all gonna die. I had to tell him to back up off me, you don't know me like that. I had to swell up a little and assert my rather large frame. Luckily he had a sane sidekick with him who was able to tell us that he smoked some "sherm." Then the little guy laughed at me when I asked him what that was. Sorry I don't keep up with all that druggie jargon. My bad. Then he went through the list,"wet, fry, ..." Ohhh now I know. Marijuana soaked in formaldehyde-you know the stuff they embalm dead bodies with; that chemical they soak the frogs we dissected in biology class in. Why would anyone want to smoke that stuff. Are you that bored, that in need of something better in life. Yes. I wish he realized that life and all it has to offer are unsatisfactory, that unless you know Jesus, you will always be running from high to high, never quite having that feeling you first had when you took your first puff , snort, or hit? If only he could understand the true nature of his disease. Well, the wet or fry makes people out of their minds. Fools. Idiots, and quite entertaining for us. As if fry wasn't enough, he had also done some cocaine. So he was all doped up, and his chest was pounding as his heart was racing non stop. He was paranoid and starting to hallucinate. He has become a slave to the very thing that he thought would fulfill his needs. He has given control of his life to something that has the ability to take it.

We also made some more crazy people-or mentally ill. Mental illness is the real deal. No one quite understands it, but I believe that it is a mix between chemical imbalance and the supernatural/spiritual. It made a young man both days I was on, who had become violent toward his family, hallucinate and become suicidal. You could see the hopelessness in his eyes. It made a middle aged lady park her car at a stop and rob. She would not open her car door or lower the window to talk to us because the sun is too hot and she thinks shes having a stroke and is rambling nonsense. She would not let us evaluate her, so we called HPD to talk to her and she tells them she is a schizophrenic but is not crazy. Go figure. Most of them are adamant about not being crazy. And it is true. Something else has a hold of them and their thoughts, they know it but can't stop it. The Bible speaks of taking every thought captive and being transformed by the renewing of your mind. To put your trust and hope in Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith. It is this mental element that no medication will ever be able to replicate.

Now it's time to switch gears to the serious.

They say heart disease is the number one cause of death in America. I guess it goes with the territory of being the most prosperous nation ever on the face of the planet. We like our food no matter how bad it is for us. As I have written, "abdominal pain" calls flood our system. The ever present "my stomach hurts and I have been throwing up" has a tendency to make anyone in the medical community underestimate the root of the problem. I almost made that mistake as we approached a lady sitting on the toilet (with her clothes on) complaining of the same thing. But this time as I felt her temperature which was ice cold and her pulse which was almost non existent, I thought maybe I ought to do a little more investigating, as did my partner. Her blood pressure was low and after I hooked her up to the EKG there appeared to be what we call "tombstones" which means she is having a heart attack right now. So I went from a 3 lead to a 12 lead to confirm this. Sure enough she was having the big one! She knew it, she kept saying over and over "I'm gonna die. I'm not gonna make it to the hospital." We told her that if she does die that we'd bring her back. That's a pretty bold statement. If she did we would try, but we aren't the givers and takers of life. I encouraged her, prayed for her. She got oxygen, aspirin, and I loaded her up with fluid. I let the hospital know we were coming and they were ready when we got there. In about 10-15 minutes after arriving at the hospital, she was sent up to the cath lab to open up the blood vessels in her heart and repair and even reverse the effects of her heart attack. For the first time in a long time, the doctor came out to us and thanked us and let us know what a good job we did. It feels good to be a part of actually getting to help someone, especially when it is the difference between life or death. It's times like these, which don't come too often, that remind me of why I do what I do. This is truly a job that can't be about me. It has to be about serving other people. If it isn't, then it is easy to write off people's complaints and down play them. If I had been lazy and selfish on this call, this lady could have died.

Death is something that I have come to accept as a part of life. We are all sentenced to die because of our tendency to disobey God. Many times death comes to those who we least expect. There is no rhyme or reason. When God says it's time, it's time. This Sunday morning a young man who was only 29 was the latest victim of life. We got to the house and you could see the sadness and all the emotions on the family. This is when you know it's the real deal. We walk into the hallway and there is the guy's father tearing through the bathroom door with a sledgehammer. His son was lying on the floor lifeless, blue from the chest up, eyes wide open. My partner and I are the first to arrive and dragged him out into the open where we'd have room to work. We put on the monitor and it showed what we expected- asystole- what you all know as the flat line. I intubated him, we started CPR then I started an IV in his neck. We gave him all the drugs we could possibly give. We loaded him up and rushed to the hospital. The A/C wasn't working so we were all drenched from head to toe with sweat. Working plan A's or codes is the most work we have to do as paramedics. We arrived at the hospital where they pronounced him dead. We did all we could. He got the best treatment medicine has to offer. We attempted all the man made ways to prevent death. Nothing man has made or will make will ever stop death. But death is not the end, it is merely the beginning. It has to be. It is the hope that I have. The apostle Paul says to live is Christ and to die is gain.

Now on a serious but lighter note, an elderly lady, 93 to be exact went into a diabetic coma. The glucometer read "LOW" which usually means her blood sugar level is less that 20. The normal range is 60-120. This happens with people who are on insulin, take their insulin and then don't eat and their blood sugar drops tremendously, leaving the brain starved for it's only source of energy, sugar. We had a student with us so we had him try to start an IV on he so we can give her sugar straight into her veins and bring her back almost instantly. It is really quite amazing to witness. Well our student stuck her 3 x and missed. Then it was my turn and after ribbing the student, I missed. She was 93 and her veins we big but fragile. Luckily, my partner got it after it looked like he too might miss. About a minute after getting her sugar fix, the lady looked around the room and said, "What in the world? What's going on here? What are all these men doing in my room? I don't allow men to be in my room. It's been 20 years since a man has been in this room. I'm going to call the cops on all of you." She was hysterical, we were laughing sooo hard. My partner kept egging her on and she said, "Now you shut up. You talk to much (she was right). I'm gonna get up and choke you. What in the world? What is going on here? Y'all get out of my room before I call the cops." Her neighbors who called 911 were there and said she is back to her normal self. At 93 she was more full of life than anyone I had been around all day, including myself. That is of course after she got her sugar. The coolest thing about that call is that the whole neighborhood was at her house concerned for her well being. One of her neighbors made her some dinner to eat. How often do we go through life not helping those around us who are in need? That is what we are all supposed to be to each other. There in that little neighborhood in this big city of Houston, some people were actually following the golden rule given to us by Jesus. They get it! I'm sorry for not getting it all the time.

Medic 59 & 80 (August 13&15&17, 2006)

2008-01-10T10:02:00.000-08:00

If I haven't mentioned it, I love my job. Let me tell you why I love my job. I am writing this right now at work, eating a cup of ice cream which is half dulce de leches and half fudge brownie overload. Man life is good, I get to help people and eat Blue Bell and get paid for both and I'm on overtime which means it's time and a half - all extra dinero!

One of the great traditions of HFD is that you buy icecream when you are on overtime- treat the guys who are making regular money. We also are supposed to buy cake and icecream for our own birthdays, and any time there is a "first." When you are a rookie, the firsts come daily, multiple times daily to be exact. First fire, first care fire, first house fire, first house fire on ...street etc etc

This past week I made a lot of calls and worked more days than usual. As a matter of fact I was 6 hrs late to my debit day. It was the first debit I didn't have a fat clue about. A debit day is an extra day that we work where ever they want us to for free. Some how they city accountants figure we owe them 24 hrs a month. I have no idea how that works and I figure it to be a scam of some sort. Anyway I was late- AWOL to be exact which means now instead of working for free, I now get docked about 100 bucks pay because of it. Now that is just messed up and on top of that, I didn't get to go to sleep until 4am and we get off at 6:30.

The most note worthy call this past week was a motorcycle crash. It appears this kind fellow who happens to own a bar had just left a dart tournament on his Harley. He took a curve too fast and lost control and hit his head on the road. His ear was hanging on by some skin, and he had a huge gash on the side of his face that was oozing blood the whole way to the hospital. He had no clue where he was, what had happened, or that he was close to death. He kept saying he didn't own a bike and wanted to know what happened. As if we saw the accident ourselves. He then asked an attractive Dr if he was in heaven beacuse she looked like an angel. I had to leave the room laughing. What a character.

I got to start my first IV on a baby. That's more cake and ice cream huh. I personally wouldn't have taken the kid to the hospital for a high fever, but when the mother asked me if she did the right thing, I said of course. I guess you can't go wrong erring on the side of safety, but Heck little Riley had the same thing last week and I didn't take her. Walk it off kid, put some dirt on it. What doesn't kill you will make you stronger.

There were the usual feeble attempts of suicide. I know life is hard, no one said it would be easy. I know some people don't have many people who love them. I also know that no one really wants to die, we want to be heard, we want to matter to others, to fell loved and accepted. Memo to everyone out there: Aspirin will not kill you, so talk to someone about your problems, get counseling and pray. Aspirin will just give you a stomach ache and they might pump your stomach. But Christ can give you a sense of purpose, a reason for living. Try Him first. He won't disappoint.

Tis the season for asthma lalalala la lalala. I can't recall a time in my life when I couldn't breathe. I don't want to even imagine what that's like.They say it feels like you are drowing. That is just messed up. We made at least 3 guys who couldn't breathe. Two of em were real bad off. Kicking fighting doing all they can to survive. We have nebulizers for asthma and all we can do is watch them suffer if it doesn't work. It is a truly helpless feeling. The whole time you are anticipating them going unconscious and putting a tube down their trachea so you can breathe for them. Then there was the guy who had a ton of fluid on his lungs and we sprayed nitroglycerin under his tongye all the way to the hospital. At one point he wanted to lay down, because he was tired of fighting which is like tapping out of a UFC fight- you lose, game over. Luckily the nitro worked and he was 100% better when we got him to the hospital. It wasn't his time.

Cancer is a bad deal. We have no cure and don't really know what causes it. We met lots of cancer patients this week. One family was in denial and we spent about an hour explaining the process and the impending mortality of their loved one. The patient had come to terms that it is the Lord who begins and ends life and she was ready for whatever he decides.

I definitely spent some time just thinking about my own mortality. We are all terminal patients of a disease called life. That is a sobering thought. I'd like to blame Adam and Eve for that, but then I'd be a hypocrite. I mean after all the wages of sin is death. We don't know what lies around the next corner or when we'll breathe our last breath. The only thing we can be sure of is our final destination. I'd love to talk with you about how exactly you can be sure. Until the next episode.

Medic 80 (from August 2006)

2008-01-10T09:59:00.000-08:00

The other day I did some serious complaining about my crew not cooking at the station. It has been said that the sqeaky wheel get's the grease. It has also been said that it is the first to be replaced. Well it seems that there is a leak/snitch reading my blog, because yesterday breakfast was cooked. Dinner would have been better, but you have to start some where. You have to take what you can get. So to the "my space informant", I salute you, and I'd like very much to not be replaced.

It was another easy day at the office. We made some calls and got some rest. We also got our ambulance back from the shop. After being in 5 different vehicles in the last month, it's nice to drive something with less than 100k miles.

In my first HFD remembered blog, I made reference to there being a bunch of crazies in this city. Well I got to meet two more. The first one was a 60 something year old crazy lady. She was so much fun. She was saying that it was flooded and that there was water everywhere and then she said that her husband cut her with knives this morning. She was on a ton of good psych medications and had stopped taking em on her own. So her equilibrium was all off and she was hallucinating. She said the year was 002, 009, 006 and said she didn't want to go to the hospital, but she wanted to go to Hallisville, Tx. I did what any amused person would do, I played along. So I told her we'd take her to Hallisville. We made all kinds of small talk as I humored her delusions. When at the hospital they asked her if she knew where she was and she said " Hallisville, Tx". Now that's what I'm talking about. Can I get an Amen? The next one was a 22 year old person who has the mind of maybe a 13 year old. Poor thing didn't need an ambulance, just to respect authority and if she wasn't so old I'd say she needs a good old fashioned spanking. Her foster mother called because the child was yelling at her. If my mom called an ambulance everytime I yelled at her, they'd probably leave an ambulance parked in front of my house. So the crazy award goes to the mother who is too lazy to deal with her child. I really felt more for the girl than the mom. The mom decided she was going to send the child to find another foster home. It really irks me, because people like her are foster parents for the money. Everyone knows it's not easy. Heck raising your own blood children is hard work. More than anything kids need love, stability, structure and consistency. All the foster mother is teaching her is that you suck and I don't want you anymore, and you have not and will not earn my love. Meanwhile the child get's tossed to and for like a leaf in the wind, never knowing what it is to love and be loved. Well miss foster mom, you're the one who sucks, you lazy money loving.... Okay I'm off my soap box. So we called for a basic unit to take this hurting child to the hospital to talk to someone. I pray that someone will take her in and show her what true love is, love as Christ himself showed.

Let's see, we had to wait at the scene of a gas leak for an hour. Z said I was catching flies because I was sleeping so hard with my mouth wide open. Some workers were digging and busted the gas supply line. So all kinds of people were out there, and HFD was to the rescue. I sure am glad that I am on the ambulance today because those on the hazmat team and the pumpers had to be fully geared up in their firefighting gear in the 100 degree weather and dig up and cap off the leak. Crazy.

We went a whole day doing basic calls. Our last run came in as an overdose, and low and behold it was the real deal. This fella stopped at an undisclosed location after work to buy some pills, because he hurt his knee at work. Well his sister came home and found dude out cold, lights out, syanara, see ya wouldn't wanna be ya. Dude has high as a kite, with pinpoint pupils. We put him on some oxygen and I started an IV with our biggest needle and he didn't even flinch. Those must be some goooood pills. While we were on the way to the hospital I gave him some Narcan, which counters the effects certain drugs. About a minute later he popped up and was scared as can be. I told him what happened and that we were on the way to the hospital. Well they did what any other hospital would have done, they stuck a catheter in his manhood. Now I have had the misfortune of seeing this done way too many times. They take a tube that is about as thick as those big straws from Wendy's that you use for a frosty, and they shove it up the pee whole and into the bladder. It is painful to watch, I promise. Well this guy's high was gone because of me and he flexed every muscle, turned red as a tomato and screamed like a little girl. I don't blame him for any of that. My heart broke for him and I felt just a little bit guilty, but he did do this to himself. So once again, kids drugs are bad. Just say NO.

Over the last 3 years, I have gotten to see a lot of cool procedures done in the hospital. I have seen knee replacement in which the surgeons have power tools and chisels, play lout music and get down to business as if they were in their own garages. I've gotten to pump someone's stomach because she overdosed as she was awake and watching me. I've seen a stomach blown up with air that leaked into the stomach after I breathed for him using the bag just before I "tubed" him. And the most wicked thing was surgery on "testicular torsion." What happened to him was that his nuts got twisted up and cut off the circulation. The surgeon cut open his sack and all this liquid squirted out. Nasty. That hurt me to watch too.

Bad things happen to people all the time. In the car wreck I blogged about last week, I watched as they drilled and placed a bar in the lady's leg. Cool stuff. They can fix almost anything these days. If God allows you to live, they/we can drastically improve your quality of life. It is an awesome thing to get to be a part of. A true blessing. Til the next episode.