Saturday, October 21, 2006

I think I died

I had forgotten what 36 hours awake running non stop calls felt like. 21 calls in all, ranging from two woke up deads, one full arrest, one GSW, two fall down stairs, one stillborn 20 week fetus and a partidge in a pear tree. I have had my fill of emergency. Stick a fork in me I am fucking done. I went through six walkie batteries. I became a drug-administering, code-running, patienting-restraining angel of death. Currently I myself am only CAOx1, I can tell you my name, and thats about it, forget time and place I lost the ability to form full thoughts at around hour 20 and currently am running on fumes od adrinaline left over from dead baby call. I am not doing too well with that, but I am so tired that it doesn;t matter right at the moment. It will hit me after sleep.

I do have to laugh though, our last call of the night was right at shift change and my relief wasn't at the station yet. So we get called to unresponsive. I hate unresponsives this early in the AM because they are usually woke-up deads or diabetics. The Diabetics I can handle they are no-brainers, but WUDs they just suck. They are emotionally draining. Too much to process that damn early in the AM. Anyways this Unresponsive was of the diabetic variety. thank god. Gave the man some D50 and he perked right up. But This guy gave me the best response I ever got from a diabetic post D50. He was this 80 year old guy that lived in a pretty nasty part of the island. His wife, daughter, grand daughter and great grand son (who was five and thought the fire truck and ambulance was the "Coolest thing EVER!" (we let him hit the siren then he burst into a fit of giggles. So okay, the patient was the really cool old man once we woke him p. WHile he was still kinda coming around he looked up at me and said "You coming to take me to jail?" I responded with "No, I am a paramedic" He just nodded and asked for his "women" Which I took to mean his wife, daughters, ect. They came in with some grits and bacon and the guy sat up and started eating. After a few bites, he bacame quite alert and looked up at me and my partner and said "Well, I saw all you white people in my house, I thought you were coming to arrest me"
"No, no sir, why have you done anything we need to arrest you for?"
"Oh no Mam'am, Ya'll want some grits?"

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I know you work hard and you deserve some rest. Look forward to hearing from you about your day off.

No

Anonymous said...

36 hrs? We are limited to maximum shift length of 14 hrs.. I guess that doesn't apply in the states?