A Work in Progress

Graduation went as expected. In the morning we had our departmental precommencement which was nice, as it was a little more intimate than actual commencement with 1300 other people we don’t know. As for graduation, thankfully, we got a parking place downtown, and Mom and Dad found the perfect seats. Other than that the afternoon was filled with mixed emotions and classic activities: crossing the stage in a haze, shaking hands of people I don’t know, adding “BS” to the end of my name, and moving the tassel from right to left. Afterwards, we had a great dinner in little Italy, and moved the first of the boxes out of my room. In the evening, a few people came over to enjoy refreshment and each others’ company. Today has been a leisurely day of packing and stripping the walls. I have a feeling this moving thing will get harder before it gets easier. Now that it’s come to an end, I made a list of ‘UMBC in review’. It grew as I gave it more thought, remembering all of the things ...

I am overjoyed to report that I am one huge step closer to being a paramedic. Today was the practical exam, and I can hardly believe that it’s over. I was so stressed this morning, I don’t remember ever being that freaked out. But all was fine. I never have to face the bane of my existence, Trauma Assessment, ever again, and in fact, I never have to do any of it ever again. Now, only the results of my written stand between me and the disco patch. Let the merriment begin, and maybe the consumption of a particular class of drink (who am I kidding?) Bring on the blender and the pina colada mix!

Work last weekend was the greatest. 20+ hours and only 2 patients, beautiful. On Saturday I was unwillingly sent to our sister company, based out of a local hospital. I don’t like it there. I have to get my narcs out of a pyxis, run calls with people I don’t know, hang out in a cramped team room, use equipment I’m not familiar with, and socialize with people who don’t like outsiders. But all was not lost. I knew my partner, who is awesome, and soon after our arrival we were detailed to standby for a lacrosse game. Nothing happened there, and one of my dad’s alma maters won the game. When we returned to our hospital base, we had one long, uneventful call that brought us to the end of the day. The next day, I was indoctrinated into becoming a driver as my partner for the day was not old enough to drive, and there was no one else. It ended up that my partner never showed up and I was sent again to our sister company to help them out. So, I drove there, got my drugs out, did one...

I hate long posts, (short attention span) so, here’s some more to give the illusion of a short read. Work was interesting, we had two what we call “superstats” which are the 911 calls of critical care ambulances. They are the only time we get to go lights and sirens, justifiably so, as the person is usually suffering from an acute heart attack or some other serious ailment. I usually like these calls, as I can use some of my critical care skills, have a patient who is suffering from something that is pretty interesting, and well, the lights and siren thing. The problem was that were in an upgraded BLS van and squeezing all the necessary equipment and people in there was difficult. Yesterday Ewing and I went on a little kayaking trip to celebrate his purchase of a fine new paddle, and my purchase of his old one. To try out our recent acquisitions we went to a section where we could park one car and paddle around freely. Just up the river from this area is a section that the local ...

Last week, because I have completed a certain amount of clinical hours and competencies, I was suspended from clinicals and forced to give the rest up to other students. “Okay,” I said to this, “I’ll just go anyway.” but I decided to be a good student and clarify the consequences (if any). When I inquired, the department resorted to threatening us with a failing grade or pulling our national registry application. Needless to say, I’ve been pretty bored recently, and mad. Although, my suspension has given me more time to participate in some fun activities, kayak more than usual, freak out about entering the real world, hang out and do absolutely nothing, and go to work. My last clinical, which will serve as my last clinical ever, aside from the ambulance getting hit by a train and having a drunk fall on me, I got looked up on a police “Should I be afraid of the person I’ve pulled over?” computer. While we were hanging out with some local cops, my preceptor commandeered one of thei...

At my last clinical we had what I will call the “light rail incident.” It started out with a call that went out as “unconscious in a wheelchair.” We decided to find out what this meant exactly and squirreled the call. The patient was on the sidewalk, indeed in a wheelchair, wide awake, and the first thing she said to us was something to the effect of “You ain’t givin’ me any of that (expletive) Narcan!” That’s fine, but you may want to consider going to the hospital anyway. Mid conversation, the light rail train came down the road we were parked on, and all of a sudden we were all distracted by a loud scraping noise as the train tried to pass the ambulance. A well meaning firefighter then climbed in the passenger side and attempted to move the ambulance, but actually made it worse, as more scraping noises ensued, and the pieces of a light fell to the ground. Meanwhile, the patient wheeled away why we were watching this literal train wreck that we couldn’t tear ourselves away from...

I’ve had a series of clinicals leading to not very interesting stories. The other day I did have the weirdest reaction to having an ambulance crew showing up at your place of employment. Apparently, the patients’ co-workers had called the ambulance for her, and must have forgotten to tell. When we walked in, she just started laughing hysterically. It was really bizarre, as if she was on candid camera, or we were throwing her a surprise party. “Surprise, you’ve won an ambulance ride to the hospital of your choice!” She kept giggling and guffawing “You guys!” to her co-workers. It was an amusing and interesting way for someone to deal with stress. The rest of that day turned out to be a day of cancellations. For example, the calls we were sent out on in rapid succession: non-breathing...cancelled, unconscious...cancelled, pedestrian struck...cancelled. I kept getting my hopes up but then, “oh, nevermind.” Patient quote of the week “I take percocet fo’ my toof!” I also had entire...

It's been a while and I’m having to look at my calendar to remember what’s gone on in the last couple of weeks. Should I be concerned? Here follows a mixed bag of events. I’ll start with Easter; traditional, family oriented, candy, desserts, and delicious food abound. We had egg hiding for the big kids and egg finding for the little kids. I think the adults in my family have a silent battle over who can hide a plastic egg in the most ridiculous, precarious, and vexing place. We should have an award for the egg hider who made the egg finder play the “hot and cold game” the longest. Last week some friends and I taught CPR classes at school. It was no doubt the most successful venture in the history of the student EMS organization on campus. We ended up teaching 44 people, more than twice the amount we expected. The money we made counted as Jon and I finally raising the money we ‘borrowed’ from the club to go to London, sweet! I officially applied for my paramedic national re...

This weekend I was a staff member/victim for the EHS departments’ search and rescue class. I took the class 2 years ago, where I learned about search management, deployment of resources, and the like. Every year, there is a weekend trip to Shenandoah national park to put into practice what the students learned throughout the semester. The weekend consists of several mock searches with extrication and tabletop exercises. My year, forever known as the ‘year of the snow’ began with 6” of snow on the ground when we got there, and two more after we got to the campsites, crippling a few tents, including mine. On one hand our searches were easy (footprints) and on the other, terribly wet and cold. Shenandoah is notorious for extremely variable weather and, for some crazy reason, I volunteered to return this year. Thankfully, when we arrived at the park, we were not greeted by snow, rather with lovely warm, sun burn inducing weather. I could hardly believe it was the same place that I ...

Night Work 2: We started the second night in with a febrile seizure that was fixed with clothes off and some ice packs. Then we had a cool motorcycle accident where the patient had apparently performed spectacular acrobatics after losing control and accidentally hitting the throttle. He jumped away from the bike right before it became bike parts and just in time to miss the explosion. When we got there, the sad, burnt out shell of a motorcycle was on the ground with the handlebars and front tire about 20 feet away from the rest of it. It was soundly destroyed. The patient walked away with only minor cuts, amazing. Later I got to experience the consummate Baltimore call. An absolute classic. The call came out as an unconscious person. What I didn’t know at the time was it was at an inner city Baltimore church. As we walked in, the singing, praying, and organ music continued. All of the women had on beautiful dresses topped with intricate hats that very few people could pull of...

So, 30+ hours in the city should yield some interesting calls; shootings, stabbings, calls that are generally violent in nature. That is, of course, if you are not a white cloud like I am. I had the formula right: ALS bun, warm weather, the weekend, and I had just sharpened my trauma shears, but I just ended up with a long string of various types of BS calls peppered with the occasional “good one.” I had so many calls, that I literally have to look back in my paperwork to remember what happened. Day work: What did happen? CHF, HTN, unknown unconscious (patent airway), etc. A man with a fractured femur secondary to a car backing into his motorized wheelchair and knocking it over. Then we had a patient who claimed her boyfriend had assaulted her. The cop interviewed her in the ambulance and it soon became clear that the patient was not a very good liar. “What’s your address? Where can I serve a warrant?” “Um… [gives address]” “That’s not your address, that’s a strip club! Don...

One of the greatest parts of the movie, “What about Bob?” is when Bob learns to sail on lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire. "I'm sailing! Did you see me? I sailed, I'm a sailor, ahoy!" Well, tie me to the mast and teach me to sail, ‘cause I’m moving north. New Hampshire may seem like a random choice, but the rent is so cheap that the equivalent in my hometown would rent me a nice cardboard box. I’ll be living with a couple of friends in the middle of nowhere. We visited the house last week, and the silence there was absolute and glorious. And what a state! No sales tax, no state income tax, and beer in the grocery store, what more could I ask for? I learned that thanks to NH, the world has Velcro, Tupperware, McDonalds hamburgers, and republicans. Well, the last two are not very useful, but all the same, a pretty cool state. And, although I will be a resident, I will still giggle a bit when I think of the state symbol used on their road signs, quarters, li...

Today it appears that my white cloud is back from spring break and hanging over my head once again. 10 hours, 1 call. Woot. I did get to attend a lecture about tasers to break up the day. It was pretty cool, especially when they asked for a volunteer. I thought, they wouldn't...they couldn’t...they did! They shot that guy with a taser! That was pretty awesome! Very useful tools, I especially like the barbed 'probes' that dig into the assailants’ skin. I also ordered a pre graduation, graduation gift, a new (desperately needed) stethoscope from my Godfather. Tomorrow, spring break starts officially for me, I'll be heading up north with the 'rents to check out the place where I’d like to work.

Don't tell, but I actually had patients that required care. The 1st call of the day was a rolled over dump truck with entrapment. No, seriously. Somehow the patient managed to roll the truck onto the drivers’ side, leaving him sitting where the drivers’ window should have been and leaning against the roof. The extrication was pretty sweet to watch. Once we got him out with the obligatory board and collar, it was revealed that he basically had nothing wrong with him, aside from a suspiciously low heart rate for someone his size, and for the fact that he was just pinned in a dump truck. So, we took him to (the obvious nearby hospital of choice) where I caught up with my other patient. After that we had a series of medical patients resulting in a near record three medication administrations. Three! A little lasix for our trouble breathing, some glucagon for our 43 blood glucose diabetic with no access, and a few baby aspirins for our quasi chest pain. Glucose checks, EKGs, 12 ...

I've had a very interesting last few days, pretty much starting with an asystole arrest in a nursing home notorious for killing its residents. As soon as I realized where we were, I said "Ooh, this place." When we got to the room, cpr was in progress, 4 rounds of epi 3 rounds of atropine had already been given, and to top it all off, it was a trach patient, so I didn't get my airway! We tried to pace him, unsuccessfully, both my preceptor and I went for EJs, unsuccessfully, but a few minutes later, we had return of spontaneous pulses. Wow. The patient had been down for 20 minutes, and pupils were fixed and dilated. We transported carefully. Shortly after, we had a patient, that, looking back at my paperwork now, I don't remember at all. I was trying to finish my Fisdap stuff and I couldn't remember a thing about them (do note the use of 'them' as I don't even remember that detail). Apparently, I even started an IV. Freaky. Then we had my f...

I've had a very interesting week, but no time yet to blog it. Sometime in the near future, I'll have stories in full. Here's a preview: quasi cardiac arrest, 2 story fall onto head, cops and belligerent drunks don’t mix, pinned under a dump truck, and some absolute classics: diabetes, trouble breathing, and chest pain. Pt. quote of the week: "Who's driving? It's not the girl, is it?" Partner quote of the week: "Minorities and bigots...I hate them both." (said just fast enough to throw you off)

I’ve had a few days of clinicals, hence the lack of updates, and the length of this one. I started out by hitting a new personal level of ghetto by taping the earpieces onto my stethoscope, classy. We had a very eclectic day, starting with a burn patient, marking the first time I got to give morphine, sweet! Later we basically had an interfacility GI bleed patient, pungent! The patient had a PICC line in and the sending facility had started a 22g; way to put fluids in, not. One call was for neck pain. A quick assessment, (looking at the patient) led to the discovery of a large abscess on her neck. Apparently the patient had shot up there and missed the vein, infiltrating heroin. Of course your neck hurts! Finally we had a, well, technically it’s outside of my scope of practice to diagnose, but we had a seizure faker. Tip to fakers: look up what ‘ails’ you before attempting to portray it. Accuracy helps. For example: seizure patients do not typically stop seizing to say ‘ouch...

Since last I wrote: EMS wise; 23 hours of work and about 13 calls, and 1 clinical yielding 1 call and 4 cancellations. Also, 2 cadavers for an airway class allowing for 2 intubations, 1 surgical crike and 1 needle decompression. School wise; 2 tests back, bizarrely with the same grade, and the score of my last bowling game, 97, marking the end of my phys. ed career. The best number of all: around 75 degrees, the high for the last 4 days. Needless to say, we’ve been kayaking twice. A few miles of flat water so Ewing can be properly acquainted with the new kayak. Flat water is great for honing our skills, edging, bracing, drawing, and my favorite, perfecting my forward stroke. Kayaking wise; smelled 1 skunk, spotted 1 fox, and about 20 geese. 0 impromptu swimming lessons. Today I ordered my cap and gown and the graduation announcements, leading us to the scariest number of all: 72, the number of days until graduation. Which leads us to the next scariest number, or perhaps the mo...

So, Ewing bought a new boat. Not like we really need an excuse to go out on the water but, new kayaks help. It was a bit of a brisk day, and the water was lower than usual making me wish that kopapa was equipped with a rock-crusher of some sort. Rocks on a shallow river not only get you stuck, sending you into a fit of rage, they also sometimes jump out in front of you. They should know that kayaks have the river right of way, but no. They’ll pop up when you least expect, causing you to be tossed one way or another, scraping the crap out of the hull, or in the case of Ewing and the new kayak, cause you to capsize. A particularly large rock jumped out of the water and grabbed the new kayak, forcing it underwater like a possessed marine animal, or something like that. After my initial shock, I grabbed his now rogue paddle and made my way to where he had finally emerged from the roughly 38 degree water. I had a towel so he could dry off a bit, and out of the kindness of my heart I...

It’s been a while, and I’ve been trying to think of what I did over the last 10 days. I learned that 14 hours at work is about 14 too many. It’s a little scary, because now that I think of it, I can’t remember anything I did during my shift last week. I had a clinical. It started out pretty well with an asthmatic 12 year old whose wheezing I could hear from a cross the room, and an IV on the fly. From there it went to a car v. pole and eventually faded into absolutely nothing. At work recently, I transported 9 day old in withdraw, which was kind of scary. Other than that I had I had some good conversations. One with a spry Greek lady looking forward to Mardi gras, and a minister who had actually interned at my church back in the 70’s. Today I scheduled 183 hours of clinical time between now and the end of April, got the dates for the national registry exam (gasp, shock, horror!), and really made progress on this whole real life thing (don’t look now, but I may have made a decisi...