Drive with courtesy, it’s the NH way!
So, about that damn white cloud. It floated away for the last two days, giving me a good call volume and variety for my last days of orientation ride-alongs. Thursday we had, um, three calls, I think. Mostly we got to work on getting to know the city and driving the ambulance. I got my first ‘tone’ from the road safety system and it freaked me out so much that my FTO had to say: “um, you’re now going 25 with the lights and sirens on...” My emergency driving is much better, though.
The most entertaining call was a multi-car accident, that was essentially bumper v. bumper v. bumper v. bumper. A couple people got a little banged up, but it was my first MVA here. I also had my first call with a language barrier. Three semesters of Spanish were all but wasted on me. I managed to get by for the most part, but it was interesting to say the least. I definitely became a source of amusement for the patient. Especially when trying to demonstrate to her what sublingual (under the tongue) meant. When I left her at the hospital, she laughed at my seriously broken Spanish, and my big “Gracias!” at the end (one of the words I know for sure.)
My goal today was to reduce the amount and intensity of my ‘granny driving.’ Become braver about exceeding the limit, clearing intersections, splitting traffic and all that good stuff. I think I was way better today than any other. I even got to rock out the defensive driving when a guy blew a stop sign and tried to meet the side of the ambo up close. Accident evasion; good for the soul, but not the nerves!
We had four calls, including (what I hate to call) a sweet rollover accident, but it was, well, pretty sweet. On the way there I got a healthy dose of driving on the wrong side of the road and slaloming around traffic, it was awesome.
The vehicle involved clipped another car while changing lanes, causing it to roll probably 3 times before landing on it’s roof facing the wrong direction on the highway.
The patient became pinned, and it took fire about 20 min to extricate her. Basically, she should have been dead, unrestrained, high speed rollover, but something was on her side as minor injuries abounded. It was very exciting all the same.
Later I met a family member of the patient and the first thing they asked me was: “Is the car totaled?” Um, yes…soundly.
Other than that we washed the truck, cleaned the bathrooms, ate lunch, drove around a lot and enjoyed hanging out at the station. So, now I’m cleared at work, and hopefully by next week I’ll have a regular schedule.
After work I found a grocery store that stocks my favorite British tea among other authentic imported foods, what a great day!
The most entertaining call was a multi-car accident, that was essentially bumper v. bumper v. bumper v. bumper. A couple people got a little banged up, but it was my first MVA here. I also had my first call with a language barrier. Three semesters of Spanish were all but wasted on me. I managed to get by for the most part, but it was interesting to say the least. I definitely became a source of amusement for the patient. Especially when trying to demonstrate to her what sublingual (under the tongue) meant. When I left her at the hospital, she laughed at my seriously broken Spanish, and my big “Gracias!” at the end (one of the words I know for sure.)
My goal today was to reduce the amount and intensity of my ‘granny driving.’ Become braver about exceeding the limit, clearing intersections, splitting traffic and all that good stuff. I think I was way better today than any other. I even got to rock out the defensive driving when a guy blew a stop sign and tried to meet the side of the ambo up close. Accident evasion; good for the soul, but not the nerves!
We had four calls, including (what I hate to call) a sweet rollover accident, but it was, well, pretty sweet. On the way there I got a healthy dose of driving on the wrong side of the road and slaloming around traffic, it was awesome.
The vehicle involved clipped another car while changing lanes, causing it to roll probably 3 times before landing on it’s roof facing the wrong direction on the highway.
The patient became pinned, and it took fire about 20 min to extricate her. Basically, she should have been dead, unrestrained, high speed rollover, but something was on her side as minor injuries abounded. It was very exciting all the same.
Later I met a family member of the patient and the first thing they asked me was: “Is the car totaled?” Um, yes…soundly.
Other than that we washed the truck, cleaned the bathrooms, ate lunch, drove around a lot and enjoyed hanging out at the station. So, now I’m cleared at work, and hopefully by next week I’ll have a regular schedule.
After work I found a grocery store that stocks my favorite British tea among other authentic imported foods, what a great day!
Comments
~m
http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/llama.php i think youll like that :-)
~M
I'm glad you had fun, and I wish I could join you :)
Pimp Homey E