The old man with Alzheimer’s who used to stand out by the road and watch the traffic go by isn’t there this morning as we pass. He hasn’t been out there for awhile. Ahead there’s a For Sale sign in the yard of the now vacant split-level ranch where for a time we used to…
Month: April 2008
24s and Snipers
The President was in town the other day. The first I found out about it was seeing a string of police cars and sawhorses by the side of the road. My partner mentioned she’d heard he was coming to speak at one of the local schools. As soon as we passed (headed South into the…
Cutting Clothes
We all carry trauma shears. Of all the tools, a medic has to carry, I would say there are only three — a pen, a stethoscope and trauma shears that are essentials. I wear my stethoscope around my neck, my pen or pens in various shirt and or pants pockets, and I carry my trauma…
Fund for Injured EMTs
I receieved an update on the condition of the EMT who lost her arm in a recent crash, as well as her partner, who also suffered serious injuries. JKosprey writes: “I am a regular partner of both EMTs involved in that horrible accident. Seems to me there wasn’t much that could have been done to…
Comments and Follow Ups
I wanted to thank everyone who has posted comments. I always read them and have learned a lot from many of them. I want to use this post to followup on comments and some recent entries. *** I particularly want to thank the commentator who brought up the tidbit that Nitro spray (NitroLingual) doesn’t have…
Equipment? (Brain) Malfunction
It doesn’t happen often, but every once and while, there we go again. *** Where I work in the contract town, we have three ambulances that all look pretty much the same. Box Type. Red stripe along the side. AMBULANCE written on it. We have four medics (but only one on at a time). Every…
The Tree
The husband awakes to an empty bedroom. He reads the note his wife has left him on the kitchen table and then goes out into the backyard and finds her in the backyard at the edge of the woods, hanging from the big tree. When we arrive, an officer in the driveway tells us they…
Black Flies
I just finished reading a new EMS novel called Black Fliesby Shannon Burke, who also wrote Safelight. The novel is about a young paramedic in Harlem who, trying to fit in, falls under the influence of some seriously burned out medics. Black Fliesis a much better read than Burke’s first book, which while well-written, seemed…
Faces of Life and Death
Earlier this week I did a cardiac arrest at a nursing home. I arrived to find an elderly patient apniec and pulseless. The patient was quite large and had a lifeless face with a small amount of facial hair that made it difficult to ascertain gender. The nursing home staff had last seen her (she…
Minimally Interrupted CPR
There is another new study out (published in the March 12 Journal of the American Medical Association that may change the way we do CPR, continuing the emphasis on “Minimally Interrupted CPR.” Minimally Interrupted Cardiac Resuscitation for Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Here the jist of the protocol: This novel approach, aimed at maximizing cerebral perfusion, involves:…
Zen Masters and Gizmos
I’ve been precepting a new part-time intermediate. He needs 15 IV starts in the field. He may have five or so. (We only work together once a week.) He doesn’t quite have the hang of it yet. I tell him not to worry about missing because when you miss you learn what not to do…
Epistaxis-Syncope, SYNCOPE-HYPOTENSION-epistaxis
The call is for a nosebleed. Person unconscious in a car. We get updated that the patient is now conscious, but still some bleeding from the nose. The first responder tells us the man has had a nose bleed all day and finally called a neighbor to drive him to the hospital. On the way,…
Hands-Only CPR
The AHA has issued a new Hands-Only (Compression Only) CPR advisory. The advisory applies to bystanders, not professional rescuers. When you see an adult suddenly collapse, use Hands-Only CPR: that’s CPR without mouth-to-mouth breaths. And it can help save lives. Hands-Only CPR is CPR without mouth-to-mouth breaths. It is recommended for use by bystanders who…
Driver's Seat
We’re called for an unresponsive at the movie theatre, but are soon updated that the patient is conscious and breathing. As we pull into the parking lot, we see a police car next to a green Oldsmobile, and the officer looking in the passenger door. The officer comes over and talks to me as I…