An eventful day
Last shift, amazingly I had an interesting day at work. We started the day out with a NICU transport. This wasn’t really a big deal, as the baby was being transferred to a hospital closer to its parents because it was getting better. Wait. This was actually a happy story! We got the baby there and all was well, but on the way back, we broke down. The truck started to idle like a Harley and was pouring out black exhaust. It was decided for us to stop and get towed. After a series of ridiculous events, including the always morale boosting sight of our ambulance on a tow truck, we found ourselves stranded briefly in a parking lot. This would have been fine if it hadn’t been 95 degrees out and we didn’t have a cot full of several thousands of dollars worth of equipment on it. What I liked the most about being broken down was that this particular truck was on its first day back after about 5k worth of work to the engine and a month of being out of service. We were rescued and got back to real work.
We took a very pleasant veteran to rehab after he had broken is foot. He was very spry and nice to talk to. I have high hopes for his recovery. On our transport though, we did have an episode of ‘runaway cot’. The cot is supposed to be locked into the ambulance before we transport. Unfortunately, this time it was not properly secured, and the first turn we took sent the cot rolling into me. I deftly grabbed the cot and in one swift motion slammed it into its holder and sat back down as if nothing had happened. The patient took it very well. One other time this happened to me, I nearly broke my leg trying to save myself from the rolling cot.
Next we went to do a typical BLS run, taking a person from the hospital back to their nursing home. We arrived and the patient was ambulatory, usually a good omen for such calls, as this makes it much easier, usually. I got the paperwork and my partner went to get the patient.
When I got into the room, the patient and his nurse were having an argument. Good omens gone. There was a random Frankenstein size orthopedic shoe that the patient was insisting was his. This is an easy fix, I thought, as I asked him to put on the shoe. He obliged, and slipped on the shoe that was easily 4 sizes too large, and began to walk around. I think that he believed this was proving to us that it was a good fit, which it was not. He took the shoe off, still convinced it was his, and resumed arguing with the nurse about where all his stuff was (neatly packed in a patient belongings bag). He was vexing me big time. He challenged all of my negotiation skills; reason, bargaining, and force. I asked the nurse what he was in the hospital for, she said confusion. Oh, I’m glad you cleared that up.
At one point the hospital staff manhandled him onto the cot and buckled the straps. They thought they were very accomplished and looked to my partner and me for approval. My partner said, ‘uh, we’re not taking him’, as the patient began to wriggle out of the seatbelts. I asked the nurse to get us orders for restraints or drugs, or we would have to leave without him. Just as that was happening, the patient suddenly was totally compliant. I was surprised and more than a little skeptical, but off we went. He didn’t say another word, and I was, for once, happy to have a quiet patient.
While this was going on, one of the other ambulances was broken into. They were parked right next to us at an ER downtown in plain view of the doors, in broad daylight. Apparently, a thief had smashed the drivers window, jumped in, and stole a GPS navigation system that was suction cupped to their windshield. The door wasn’t even unlocked.
I don’t know why I’m still surprised by crime sometimes. But really, stealing from an ambulance?!
Google search term of the day: ‘photos of old people working in grocery store’ Sorry, fresh out.
We took a very pleasant veteran to rehab after he had broken is foot. He was very spry and nice to talk to. I have high hopes for his recovery. On our transport though, we did have an episode of ‘runaway cot’. The cot is supposed to be locked into the ambulance before we transport. Unfortunately, this time it was not properly secured, and the first turn we took sent the cot rolling into me. I deftly grabbed the cot and in one swift motion slammed it into its holder and sat back down as if nothing had happened. The patient took it very well. One other time this happened to me, I nearly broke my leg trying to save myself from the rolling cot.
Next we went to do a typical BLS run, taking a person from the hospital back to their nursing home. We arrived and the patient was ambulatory, usually a good omen for such calls, as this makes it much easier, usually. I got the paperwork and my partner went to get the patient.
When I got into the room, the patient and his nurse were having an argument. Good omens gone. There was a random Frankenstein size orthopedic shoe that the patient was insisting was his. This is an easy fix, I thought, as I asked him to put on the shoe. He obliged, and slipped on the shoe that was easily 4 sizes too large, and began to walk around. I think that he believed this was proving to us that it was a good fit, which it was not. He took the shoe off, still convinced it was his, and resumed arguing with the nurse about where all his stuff was (neatly packed in a patient belongings bag). He was vexing me big time. He challenged all of my negotiation skills; reason, bargaining, and force. I asked the nurse what he was in the hospital for, she said confusion. Oh, I’m glad you cleared that up.
At one point the hospital staff manhandled him onto the cot and buckled the straps. They thought they were very accomplished and looked to my partner and me for approval. My partner said, ‘uh, we’re not taking him’, as the patient began to wriggle out of the seatbelts. I asked the nurse to get us orders for restraints or drugs, or we would have to leave without him. Just as that was happening, the patient suddenly was totally compliant. I was surprised and more than a little skeptical, but off we went. He didn’t say another word, and I was, for once, happy to have a quiet patient.
While this was going on, one of the other ambulances was broken into. They were parked right next to us at an ER downtown in plain view of the doors, in broad daylight. Apparently, a thief had smashed the drivers window, jumped in, and stole a GPS navigation system that was suction cupped to their windshield. The door wasn’t even unlocked.
I don’t know why I’m still surprised by crime sometimes. But really, stealing from an ambulance?!
Google search term of the day: ‘photos of old people working in grocery store’ Sorry, fresh out.
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