A Work in Progress

As trite and generally stupid I believe resolutions are, for some reason I feel compelled this year to write...something. Basically, resolutions set me and everyone else who makes them up for disappointment and failure, especially when they get reviewed next new years eve. I don’t want to find myself saying next year: “What?! I didn’t climb Mt. Everest?! I didn’t stamp out disease, didn’t write the great American novel, and didn’t contribute in a great and tangible way to the evolution of society?!” What the hell did I do? This year was probably one of the highest and lowest of my life and I am mostly relieved to see it end. I can’t say that I have any regrets, but I made mistakes that I will not make again. I will start this year as a great scrutinizer. A skeptic. I accept this fully, and I am fortunate to not have felt this way until now. I don’t believe it will stand in my way. Caution: a trite, clichéd, hackneyed thought ahead. I need to prioritize my goals and set the...

The following is some evidence that I have way to much time on my hands (or that I am working too much). Okay, picture this: a Christmas tree decorated with medical supplies. Just let that sink in for a second. Let the idea wrap around you like a warm blanket. Oh yeah, it’s that awesome. Small children would love to bask in its glow on Christmas morn. IV tubing, oxygen tubing, gauze, and suction tubing as tinsel. Needles, scissors, empty medicine bottles, (yes, it’s a very dangerous tree) electrodes, and airways as ornaments. Complete with isolation gown tree skirt and PEEP valve topper. Glorious. Happy Christmas!

I have been worried about my pent up anger lately. It has been raining and cold, so I haven't gotten much bike time in (which is my usual cure). My mental state in general has been pretty low lately. But, as Dory says, I'm going to just keep swimming. Even if it feels like my head is under the water. But, here's an example to attest that I am not a complete rageaholic. We took a newborn the other day to long term care for detox. That in itself prompts the snake inside me to seethe. When we got there the baby was dead asleep from being drugged up. The mom was there claiming that she got in a methadone clinic once she found out she was pregnant to get clean. Right. And magically the baby tested positive for cocaine, benzos, and heroin. Yeah. That's what I call trying to get clean. I know that addiction is a terrible plight and a near incurable disease. Regardless, this is your child! I come from the school that if I were pregnant I probably would give up eve...

We had a depressed guy which usually isn't funny but because paramedics have an inherently terrible sense of humor, became funny. From the very start I could barely talk to him. For example, "Hi, how are you?" "Terrible!" "It's not all that bad. It's a lovely day out and you'll get to enjoy it." I offer. "I don't care. I hate this place and everything about it." I continued to try making conversation so I asked where he was from. Dramatically he answered: "I don't know where I'm from, but I know where I've been: Hell!" Um...ok, I don't really know what to say to that. When we got to the hospital, he looked at me very seriously and said "Do you smell that?" "Um...yeah" trying to be polite as I did indeed smell something that was emitting from him. "Smells like death!" Once this conversation was relayed to my partner, it became legend, and for the rest of the day ever...

I've had a few calls lately of people taking meds that weren't theirs, taking too much of their own, or being just plain neglectful with their meds. We had a guy who couldn't sleep so he took one of his moms rx antidepressants. He slept for 5 hours and when he woke up around noon he felt dizzy and lightheaded. He was 30 years old. No excuse for taking drugs that weren't his and even admitted to me that he took one of his moms valiums last week, but nothing bad happened. Stop taking medicine that is not prescribed to you. Later we had a kid who got into and took three of his grandmothers clonozipam pills. He was pretty drowsy when we got there even though it had only been about 20 minutes since he took them. He was 20 months old. No excuse for leaving drugs around accessable for children. IV fluids, EKG, oxygen and to the hospital he went. A few days later I took a lady who "accidentially" took 30 5mg valiums. Oops. She even called the pharmacist aft...

My second job has become a good time to catch up on the blogs I read and the blog I write. Even though the weather has been bad pretty much every time I go there. Last week the only call where I did anything was a diabetic who was in bed in the middle of the day with a blood sugar of 49. Okay, why are they always naked?! I mean seriously! It was snowing last week and in the county there were about 600 motor vehicle crashes, and we didn't actually get on scene to one of them (canceled by BLS before we got there) The roads were legitimately bad and even with the four wheel drive on our pimp chase truck I was having a hard time stopping. What a comfort that was. We also got on scene for a kid who basically didn't want to go to school that day. His mom said that he was unresponsive so it had potential. When we arrived my partner went to the patient who appeared fine and I talked to his mom. She started going on and on about how he is a good kid, and loves school, and she wo...