Ran a call the other evening for a 92 year-old female with a fall injury. Just the typical call we get when someone is aging and getting weaker. We arrived to find a neat "mother-in-law" detached house, nicely matched to a beautifully groomed house. Since it was dark and the houses were a bit off the street, the man of the house met us at the curb.
My engineer immediately recognized him and they began discussing the horrible fall he had about a month ago that broke off several of his teeth and from all accounts was a pretty bad fall. We went on up to the side house and met the wife with her elderly mother. The elderly lady was not significantly injured, but we decided to transport because she was generally getting weaker and the wife said she was not really able to take care of her mother so much. As conversation continued, the wife causally stated that she (the wife) had had two pulmonary embolisms within the past several weeks and had nearly died. Consequentially, the wife was in not position to care for her mother.
I continued to have a conversation with the wife as we "packaged" the patient and headed for the door. I said something about how the family was really having a hard time of it with all the medical issues. Then she turns and says something about her husband having his finger bit off. "WHAT?" I asked...
"Yes," she says, "he is missing about a half inch of his little finger." She continues to relate the story where their 24 year-old son had a psychotic break within the last few weeks (not sure about the time frame) and bit off the husband's finger and was now institutionalized.
Sometimes it is good to remember that we all go through some rough times and people next to you might be struggling more than you know...
Sunday, March 18, 2018
Sunday, March 22, 2015
Problem Solved
Having recently returned from the East Coast and the wonderful snow, it made me appreciate the relatively mild climate in which I work. I do not need to worry about hose lines freezing full of water, hydrants buried in snow, and the general fun and games that goes with emergency operations in the bitter cold. On a related note, apparently snow can be a real problem as you need to push and pile it somewhere...
In New Hampshire (per a animated Celtic firefighter named Don) the piled snow becomes a real problem. It was decided that they should just push all the piled snow into the ocean, but somehow that was not environmentally friendly. While I was pondering that conundrum, he went on to describe how one transplanted redneck decided to fix the problem of the huge pile of snow in his driveway in town.
Apparently, the simple solution what to construct a teepee type shelter over the giant snow pile, light a fire in said tent, and wait for the magic to happen. Enter Don the firefighter who explained that this was not a good idea in several ways. As the "discussion" about the appropriateness of the snow pile reduction project continued, there was a giant sparking commotion as the fire set the tent on fire and then promptly burned through the power lines above, leaving the homeowner without power - and underscoring Don's analysis of the validity of using a fire - in a tent - under the power lines - to reduce the snow pile...
In New Hampshire (per a animated Celtic firefighter named Don) the piled snow becomes a real problem. It was decided that they should just push all the piled snow into the ocean, but somehow that was not environmentally friendly. While I was pondering that conundrum, he went on to describe how one transplanted redneck decided to fix the problem of the huge pile of snow in his driveway in town.
Apparently, the simple solution what to construct a teepee type shelter over the giant snow pile, light a fire in said tent, and wait for the magic to happen. Enter Don the firefighter who explained that this was not a good idea in several ways. As the "discussion" about the appropriateness of the snow pile reduction project continued, there was a giant sparking commotion as the fire set the tent on fire and then promptly burned through the power lines above, leaving the homeowner without power - and underscoring Don's analysis of the validity of using a fire - in a tent - under the power lines - to reduce the snow pile...
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
When Animals Attack
This morning on the way to work, the radio personalities were asking for animal stories which got me to thinking...
A few years back we were dispatched to some low income housing for a "medical problem". Now this kind of problem can range from a sliver in the toe (actual dispatch), to itching private parts (actual call), to my cat is sick and I am afraid I will catch whatever the cat has (actual call)... so I think you get the idea that this type of call does not rate high on the excitement scale.
We arrived on a beautiful spring afternoon to find a 30 something year old male sitting in the semi-dark of his living room. As we begin chatting about why he might need the services of three highly trained medical professionals, I noticed the very symmetrical stack of pizza boxes that had accumulated next to the lazy-boy chair. It was interesting to note that apparently if you order enough pizzas and then stack those boxes, eventually they will be the correct height to serve as a very functional and highly stylish end table near your chair.
As amazing as the pizza box stack was, we were suddenly distracted by a "fluffing" wind like noise somewhere down the hall. Out of the gloom of the back bedroom flies the biggest parrot I have ever seen. As it sails into the living room, it takes aim at my firefighter and decides her shoulder would make a perfect roost. She ducks and tries to avoid the bird, but not to be dissuaded, it lands on her shoulder. There she is looking like a firefighter pirate, and meanwhile the conversation about how much the patient's stomach hurts continues.
At this point, I make eye contact with my firefighter, and we both start losing it. She manages to unload the bird and we both head for the door, leaving the poor engineer to continue the patient exam, while we do our best to dash outdoors to stifle the extreme case of very contagious giggles.
A few years back we were dispatched to some low income housing for a "medical problem". Now this kind of problem can range from a sliver in the toe (actual dispatch), to itching private parts (actual call), to my cat is sick and I am afraid I will catch whatever the cat has (actual call)... so I think you get the idea that this type of call does not rate high on the excitement scale.
We arrived on a beautiful spring afternoon to find a 30 something year old male sitting in the semi-dark of his living room. As we begin chatting about why he might need the services of three highly trained medical professionals, I noticed the very symmetrical stack of pizza boxes that had accumulated next to the lazy-boy chair. It was interesting to note that apparently if you order enough pizzas and then stack those boxes, eventually they will be the correct height to serve as a very functional and highly stylish end table near your chair.
As amazing as the pizza box stack was, we were suddenly distracted by a "fluffing" wind like noise somewhere down the hall. Out of the gloom of the back bedroom flies the biggest parrot I have ever seen. As it sails into the living room, it takes aim at my firefighter and decides her shoulder would make a perfect roost. She ducks and tries to avoid the bird, but not to be dissuaded, it lands on her shoulder. There she is looking like a firefighter pirate, and meanwhile the conversation about how much the patient's stomach hurts continues.
At this point, I make eye contact with my firefighter, and we both start losing it. She manages to unload the bird and we both head for the door, leaving the poor engineer to continue the patient exam, while we do our best to dash outdoors to stifle the extreme case of very contagious giggles.
Monday, November 17, 2014
Prius Attacks Man in Parking Lot
News story
Some people are just lucky I guess. This man gets out of his Prius which is beeping/cussing at him. Mostly likely, that is because he is getting out of the car, and it is still in REVERSE. Something about those electric cars seem to confuse older people when they don't hear the engine running.
Anyway, the older gentleman simply stepped out and the car went to dragging him until it ran into another car. Only problem was that the car door was completely bent forward on his car until it basically touched his front bumper, and it was sitting on his chest.
We arrived to find two bony legs sticking out from between the cars, and the old guy definitely pinned with that car door on his chest. We attempted to move his legs and found that his front tire was sitting on his pants so that his leg was pinned.
We quickly jacked the car up (releasing the pant leg and the weight from his chest). He then brushed himself off and decided he was fine!
Some people are just lucky I guess. This man gets out of his Prius which is beeping/cussing at him. Mostly likely, that is because he is getting out of the car, and it is still in REVERSE. Something about those electric cars seem to confuse older people when they don't hear the engine running.
Anyway, the older gentleman simply stepped out and the car went to dragging him until it ran into another car. Only problem was that the car door was completely bent forward on his car until it basically touched his front bumper, and it was sitting on his chest.
We arrived to find two bony legs sticking out from between the cars, and the old guy definitely pinned with that car door on his chest. We attempted to move his legs and found that his front tire was sitting on his pants so that his leg was pinned.
We quickly jacked the car up (releasing the pant leg and the weight from his chest). He then brushed himself off and decided he was fine!
Spooky Fire
On a run the other night were the caller was very specific; the flames were about 10 feet high and that was a really big fire in that backyard across the railroad tracks. So we got in our gear, turned on the lights and siren, and got ready for some hero like action.
In the neighborhood where the fire was reported, all was quiet. We slowed down, rolled the windows down to smell for smoke, and started searching. No smoke was wafting on the evening air, and one of the guys comments, "we should be smelling or seeing something by now!" After all, ten foot of flames is hard to hide on a dark evening.
Finally at the described address we sat - wondering where to look next. Then it hit me! The inflated Halloween ghosts decorations in the yard were well lit, waving in the light breeze, and...were about ten feet tall.
In the neighborhood where the fire was reported, all was quiet. We slowed down, rolled the windows down to smell for smoke, and started searching. No smoke was wafting on the evening air, and one of the guys comments, "we should be smelling or seeing something by now!" After all, ten foot of flames is hard to hide on a dark evening.
Finally at the described address we sat - wondering where to look next. Then it hit me! The inflated Halloween ghosts decorations in the yard were well lit, waving in the light breeze, and...were about ten feet tall.
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
I'm in PAIN!
The other day while browsing through a JEMS (Journal of Emergency Medical Service) article about "drug seekers" I found a very humorous list of symptoms/behaviors. Within the medical services, it is common for people to seek narcotics. Often it is because of drug addictions or occasionally, because they can sell the pills on the street for greatly inflated prices. Anyway, I was reading this list of behaviors that ran something like this:
- "I have pain that is a 30 on a scale of 1 to 10"
- "I am allergic to Tylenol, Ibuprofen, aspirin, etc" (all the common non-narcotic drugs)
- "Please give me some ________ (always a very specific narcotic drug)
- "I cannot get in touch with my regular doctor today (it is Saturday and they state the pain started two days ago)"
Not sure if that is a complete list, but you get the idea. Within the hour, we were dispatched to woman complaining of chronic 'hurts all over' pain. She was overly verbal, and spewed a plethora of symptoms, history, and complaints. I suddenly found myself having a hard time not laughing as I realized she was basically going down the list I had just read. As I moved outside to get the gurney I noticed her car as being perfectly capable of transporting her down to the ER for her pain medication. As I looked closer I saw what I thought was the typical white outlines of the family, kids, dogs, etc. but in this case it was the universal pain scale.
All I can say, this woman seemed to have taken the concept of pain and turned it into a lifestyle.
- "I have pain that is a 30 on a scale of 1 to 10"
- "I am allergic to Tylenol, Ibuprofen, aspirin, etc" (all the common non-narcotic drugs)
- "Please give me some ________ (always a very specific narcotic drug)
- "I cannot get in touch with my regular doctor today (it is Saturday and they state the pain started two days ago)"
Not sure if that is a complete list, but you get the idea. Within the hour, we were dispatched to woman complaining of chronic 'hurts all over' pain. She was overly verbal, and spewed a plethora of symptoms, history, and complaints. I suddenly found myself having a hard time not laughing as I realized she was basically going down the list I had just read. As I moved outside to get the gurney I noticed her car as being perfectly capable of transporting her down to the ER for her pain medication. As I looked closer I saw what I thought was the typical white outlines of the family, kids, dogs, etc. but in this case it was the universal pain scale.
All I can say, this woman seemed to have taken the concept of pain and turned it into a lifestyle.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Grumbling
Sometimes it is a little hard not to grumble when we get dispatched to the Alzheimer's ward for the fourth time in a shift. Usually, the complaint is confusion or chest pain or back ache or something else that the patient, CNA, or other disinterested by-standers have a hard time describing. In most cases, we get called late at night for something that has been an on-going problem for several hours or even days.
So when we were dispatched once again to a chest pain call - I was grumbling. It was late in the evening, the location was the same old place we had been responding to all day. As we went en route, we got a bit more information - the patient was a 39 year-old female and had just walked in off the street, smelling of alcohol. This elicited and whole new line of grumbling and complaining as this was sorting out to be a transient who probably just wanted a warm place to sleep for the night.
Once we arrived, the grumbling stopped (at least the verbal part) even though one of the first things we discovered was that she had anxiety problems, for which she was taking medication. At least that made sense, because she did appear anxious.
But then, even though there was a bit of alcohol odor, she was not intoxicated, was clean, articulate, healthy, etc. About this time, I was thinking we might have miss-judged the situation. A quick EKG and it was confirmed. At a heart rate of over 180, she was quickly headed towards complete cardiac failure and death. The grumbling suddenly was ancient history as we started an IV, delivered Adenosine, momentarily freaked her out completely as the medication stopped her heart for about 2 or 3 seconds, and then we all (especially the patient) breathed a bit sigh of relief as her heart rate returned to normal and she was fine.
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