Perspectives
It took a while for them to notice something was wrong. He had filled his gas tank and leaned into his car to get something. Nothing unusual there. A few minutes passed and they noticed that he hadn't stood back up. Someone curious approached the car. First off, his exposed hand was blue, this couldn't be right. He shouted for someone to call 911. He edged closer to the man and shook him. Nothing. Someone handed him a phone and he was asked if the man was breathing. He wasn't sure. Help was on the way, he was told. He didn't know what to do and was getting flustered by the dispatchers’ instructions. "No, I don't think I can get him onto the ground. He's in an awkward position." Thankfully, sirens approached. A paramedic arrived and asked what happened. He couldn't answer. She looked at the patient and attempted to pick him up. "Damn, I'm going to drop him." She turned to him and asked, "Can you lift?" He held out the phone to her, in shock over the situation. "You can hang that up now, thanks. Can you lift?" Before he could answer, her partner arrived and together they lowered the man to the ground.
It had been a boring day so far. The tones dropped for a possible cardiac arrest. They nearly ran to the truck, aching for something to do. The call was around the corner, at the gas station. "Must have been the price of gas." She joked to her partner. They got there first in their chase truck, a bystander pointed to the car where the patient was slumped over the front seat. "Sweet, this looks legit." Her partner put it in park and she hopped out. She approached the scene. "What happened?" she asked a bystander calmly. He didn't answer. She took one look at the patient and was worried. His face and hands were blue from lack of oxygen. She attempted to get him out. "Damn, I'm going to drop him." She turned to the bystander and asked him if he could lift. He was taller than she was and maybe could help. He wordlessly handed her the phone, still connected to the 911 operator. "You can hang that up now, thanks. Can you lift?" She repeated, hoping to hide the frustration she felt at his futile gesture. Her partner arrived and helped to lower the patient to the ground. They dragged him into a more open area. She started CPR and, her partner got the BVM out. The ambulance arrived and together they put the patient on the monitor and into the ambulance. She intubated him while her partner started a line, and declared the patient was in PEA. He gave some drugs as she secured her tube and listened to lung sounds. A few minutes of CPR, and she noticed a pulse in the patients neck. "Whoa, stop CPR for a sec, I think he has a pulse." He did, and in the same minute they were at the ER doors. She happily reported a strong pulse and blood pressure to the receiving nurse. "On his keyring it said to call a priest in an emergency." she added as she left the room. The nurse thanked her.
"This one must be serious," The CT tech said to his partner, "they've moved him to the front of the queue." They went together to help the nurse wheel the patient to the scanner. Their day had been typical so far. It took a few people to get him onto the narrow CT table, he had so many tangled IV lines and wires connected to him. The respiratory therapist bagged him throughout, as the techs started the scan and watched the computer screen carefully. And there it was, a subdural bleed, probably from a ruptured aneurysm in his brain. The CT tech showed the nurse the areas of white in the scan. Short of a miracle, this patient would not recover. He would be admitted to give the family time to decide what to do.
Another patient in another hospital had been waiting for a new kidney for a long time. Today she got it. She will get to see her grandchildren grow, get to travel the world, and soon appreciate even the most mundane tasks, including pumping her gas.
It had been a boring day so far. The tones dropped for a possible cardiac arrest. They nearly ran to the truck, aching for something to do. The call was around the corner, at the gas station. "Must have been the price of gas." She joked to her partner. They got there first in their chase truck, a bystander pointed to the car where the patient was slumped over the front seat. "Sweet, this looks legit." Her partner put it in park and she hopped out. She approached the scene. "What happened?" she asked a bystander calmly. He didn't answer. She took one look at the patient and was worried. His face and hands were blue from lack of oxygen. She attempted to get him out. "Damn, I'm going to drop him." She turned to the bystander and asked him if he could lift. He was taller than she was and maybe could help. He wordlessly handed her the phone, still connected to the 911 operator. "You can hang that up now, thanks. Can you lift?" She repeated, hoping to hide the frustration she felt at his futile gesture. Her partner arrived and helped to lower the patient to the ground. They dragged him into a more open area. She started CPR and, her partner got the BVM out. The ambulance arrived and together they put the patient on the monitor and into the ambulance. She intubated him while her partner started a line, and declared the patient was in PEA. He gave some drugs as she secured her tube and listened to lung sounds. A few minutes of CPR, and she noticed a pulse in the patients neck. "Whoa, stop CPR for a sec, I think he has a pulse." He did, and in the same minute they were at the ER doors. She happily reported a strong pulse and blood pressure to the receiving nurse. "On his keyring it said to call a priest in an emergency." she added as she left the room. The nurse thanked her.
"This one must be serious," The CT tech said to his partner, "they've moved him to the front of the queue." They went together to help the nurse wheel the patient to the scanner. Their day had been typical so far. It took a few people to get him onto the narrow CT table, he had so many tangled IV lines and wires connected to him. The respiratory therapist bagged him throughout, as the techs started the scan and watched the computer screen carefully. And there it was, a subdural bleed, probably from a ruptured aneurysm in his brain. The CT tech showed the nurse the areas of white in the scan. Short of a miracle, this patient would not recover. He would be admitted to give the family time to decide what to do.
Another patient in another hospital had been waiting for a new kidney for a long time. Today she got it. She will get to see her grandchildren grow, get to travel the world, and soon appreciate even the most mundane tasks, including pumping her gas.
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Anne