Medic 80 (November 2006)

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?