Sometimes i'm just amazed....

at the human condition, what some people have sunk to. Or what some people consider neccessary in the course of their daily lives.

Just a thought for right now, i'll talk to that more later.

First, as some of you may know I was released as a preceptee for ambulance officer just recently. My only issue is that today starts my ProBoard FF I/II academy through the county. So i've been taking any and every opportunity to put up a shift as OIC recently. Usually i hate to give up my friday nights but hey, one night isnt going to kill me. I put up a shift with our Operation Chief as my driver and our station president as my third set of hands. Its a normal slowish night, one dehydrated baseball player with leg cramps, and then .... quiet....which, to tell you the truth is kinda the norm at our station recently. Being only the second time i've ridden the seat to a call i think i did pretty damned well, the CAD was handled quite well, we arrived on scene in good order, radio traffic was professional and well stated. I'd give myself an 8/10 on the precall. Get on scene assess the patient get him in the back of the unit take a good set of vitals and yep, just as i thought everything is good except for his hydration. He'd been outside playing baseball all day, didnt remember the last time he had something to drink and didn't remember the last time he needed to use the restroom. Just a simple transport to the hospital of his choice and then its back home for what we hope is the usual quiet night at Company X. Pick a bunk, pick up a good book and settle in for the evening..... zzzzzzzzzzzzzz....snore...zzzzzzzz....snore.....

HONK HONK BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEPPPPPP... the tones drop at 0248. Engine 30, Engine 2, Medic 2, Ambulance 2 respond to the local hole in the wall divebar for a stabbing. HUH?!?!?!? what? who where? Oh, ok.... lets go... i add us on to the call and out the bay doors we go, unsure exactly whats going on, this place closes at midnight, has for the past 50 years. So whatever is going on can't be 100% kosher. Luckily its directly down the street from the station so we're on scene in about 40 seconds. We stage since the po-po had just arrived themselves. We're cleared in, and we find the victim soaked in blood, he'd been given a "second smile" from clavicle to clavicle. Blood everywhere, ytou could see it pumping out of his carotid, mmmm tastey, you could smell the irony gamey smell of the blood hanging in the air. The vic speaks no english and none of us speak any usable spanish. Wonderful. Well i give up my driver, move my third to driver and let both ALS providers and our Volunteer BLS provider stay in the back to keep this dude alive on the way to the hospital. So much for sleepy little town. Evidently it wound up being gang related and was one of 4 such incidences that night in the general vicinity. Well, i know we got there promptly and found the man alive, he left alive, and we delivered him alive, score one for the small town vollies. GO US!!!!!!!!

Back home to sleep!

JUUUUUST drifting off to sleep.... HONK HONK BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEPPPP!!!!!!!!!! Tones drop again! We can't get a call to save our lives usually and both night's i've ridden as OIC we've gotten 3+ calls. Oh well, we don't need sleep!

Dispatched for an 82YOM with high fever, vomitting, and incontinence. Pretty average BLS type stuff, figure its just pick the dude up change his clothes and get him to the hospital for some quick meds. We roll up and this poor gentleman's wife has cleaned him, changed his diaper, tried to get him situated in bed so we can pick him up and he starts vomitting again. I get in there and ask the third to take a full set of vitals while i grab a temp and check some other things. 104* pink and completely dry, still vomitting, i confer with my chief who is my aide preceptor and we upgrade the call to ALS, really the only thing i would have done differently is pack his underarms and groin and the back of his neck to cool off his core. But hindsight is always 20/20. The medic's get there and determine he's on the verge of septic shock from surgery he'd had (yes we knew about the surgery, got a good history from his wife). Got a line in him pushed saline, got him rehydrated and last we heard he was on serious antibiotics and still in the hospital.

Well things might get a little more exciting in this little corner of the blogosphere, i'll have a lot of good recruit school stories staring tonight.

Talk to ya'll later!!!