It has been quite a long month of the same old crap. I really haven't had any good calls whatsoever.
Today has been a typical day. Well, kind of. We have only done four calls so far. We did a couple BLS calls in the morning. We just did a call for "bleeding" that was actually for an ulcer that started bleeding on a lady's leg. The bleeding didn't worry me too much, but the fact that her leg was really swollen above the wound, that I couldn't get a pedal pulse, and that her capillary refill was +3 worried me. Oh well, I'm sure she'll be fine.
We also did a psych right after that. I walked into the room to get him on the cot and he had blood streaming down his arm from where he had an IV. By the time I got gloves on there was blood everywhere-a nice little pool on the floor, all over my gloves, and all over the bed. Good times. The best part was that the RN was rushing us to get him out of the room because she had a squad coming in. Well, they couldn't use the room anyways because housekeeping needed to sanitize it all now that it was covered in blood. Gotta love it.
Now I am back in quarters, just chilling. I have homework to do...
Monday, October 23, 2006
Thursday, October 12, 2006
BLS
A complete BLS day. The only call that we did that was ALS was a burn and return (radiation). Pretty boring.
Most of our calls were psych transports. Nothing good either.
I am off until Tuesday, so hopefully I'll have something by then...
Most of our calls were psych transports. Nothing good either.
I am off until Tuesday, so hopefully I'll have something by then...
Monday, October 9, 2006
Deer
I haven't posted in forever. I've had a lot of crap going on....
Anyways, life is the same. I missed a structure fire today. I don't feel too bad because we went mutual aid and only did change on quarters-they struck out the box as soon as they got in the station.
But, the reason I am posting is much more, well, funny.
After returning from a rescue call this morning, the crew that was working was doing house chores, etc. One guy was out in the garage and he heard something behind him. He turned around and a deer had run into the bay. The deer was wounded-bleeding from god only knows what. (Walk in rescue call?) Anyways, so the guy is yelling at the others not to move because, they were all in the "house" part of the station and he didn't want anyone to get hurt. Meanwhile, one of the other guys was in the training room and heard a commotion and the one firefighter yelling, but he figured people were screwing around (as usual). Well, the deer ended up running into the door that separates the bay from the house and left snot marks everywhere and scratched up the door. It turned around, as the one firefighter is hiding in the workout room, and runs into the dayroom, getting blood all over the carpet, table, and chairs. The firefighter that was in the fitness room called the police station next door and told them that they needed to get over here and help. Well, needless to say, the cops thought he was joking. The deer eventually ran out of the bay, leaving only a trail of blood and snot.
Good times. I wish I could get the pictures, but they aren't on the shared disc. Very funny though.
I did a practice CPAT test on Saturday. Let's just say that I am joining a gym on Tuesday, because otherwise the only thing I'll be leaving in on test day is an ambulance.
Not too many good calls recently. I have had a few funny ones.
I had a lady that kept yelling "can someone please get me a gown" every thirty seconds for the hour we waited for her paperwork in the ER. They were getting slammed-two full arrests at once.
Anyways, life is the same. I missed a structure fire today. I don't feel too bad because we went mutual aid and only did change on quarters-they struck out the box as soon as they got in the station.
But, the reason I am posting is much more, well, funny.
After returning from a rescue call this morning, the crew that was working was doing house chores, etc. One guy was out in the garage and he heard something behind him. He turned around and a deer had run into the bay. The deer was wounded-bleeding from god only knows what. (Walk in rescue call?) Anyways, so the guy is yelling at the others not to move because, they were all in the "house" part of the station and he didn't want anyone to get hurt. Meanwhile, one of the other guys was in the training room and heard a commotion and the one firefighter yelling, but he figured people were screwing around (as usual). Well, the deer ended up running into the door that separates the bay from the house and left snot marks everywhere and scratched up the door. It turned around, as the one firefighter is hiding in the workout room, and runs into the dayroom, getting blood all over the carpet, table, and chairs. The firefighter that was in the fitness room called the police station next door and told them that they needed to get over here and help. Well, needless to say, the cops thought he was joking. The deer eventually ran out of the bay, leaving only a trail of blood and snot.
Good times. I wish I could get the pictures, but they aren't on the shared disc. Very funny though.
I did a practice CPAT test on Saturday. Let's just say that I am joining a gym on Tuesday, because otherwise the only thing I'll be leaving in on test day is an ambulance.
Not too many good calls recently. I have had a few funny ones.
I had a lady that kept yelling "can someone please get me a gown" every thirty seconds for the hour we waited for her paperwork in the ER. They were getting slammed-two full arrests at once.
Wednesday, October 4, 2006
Tornado
A couple days ago we had some really bad storms. On my way to work I could see heat lightning, but it didn't look bad. We got a rescue call right off the bat, and it was still okay outside-it wasn't even raining yet.
By the time we were about two minutes from the hospital it was hailing. By the time we got into the ER you could hear the sirens going off outside and the intercom at the hospital saying "code yellow." Which is their tornado warning. We hauled ass to get everything together and get back up to our station. I was doing my paperwork and I had to call dispatch to get times. The phone rang and rang and their was no answer. I thought for sure that the tornado had taken out my town. But, they apparently didn't feel like answering the phone.
The tornado was sighted in the town just north of the hospital, and headed towards the hospital (south). Basically we had to drive right back through the storm to get to quarters. The roads were flooded, shit was flying everywhere-leaves, sticks, trash. We were making waves going down the road. It was so windy that every time my partner took his foot off the accelerator, we got blown into the other lane. Crazy.
When we got back to the station there were tons of people here. A lot of people don't have basements, so we all come to the firehouse when there's a tornado warning.
Anyways, we got back for maybe 15 minutes and got dispatched to another call. Nothing big, but by this time it was raining like crazy. I looked like a drowned rat by the time we got to the ER.
It was an interesting night, to say the least.
I found out the next morning that a tree in my backyard got struck by lightning. It is a huge willow tree, and the branch is literally split to the core. It will definitely take out my fence if it falls.
By the time we were about two minutes from the hospital it was hailing. By the time we got into the ER you could hear the sirens going off outside and the intercom at the hospital saying "code yellow." Which is their tornado warning. We hauled ass to get everything together and get back up to our station. I was doing my paperwork and I had to call dispatch to get times. The phone rang and rang and their was no answer. I thought for sure that the tornado had taken out my town. But, they apparently didn't feel like answering the phone.
The tornado was sighted in the town just north of the hospital, and headed towards the hospital (south). Basically we had to drive right back through the storm to get to quarters. The roads were flooded, shit was flying everywhere-leaves, sticks, trash. We were making waves going down the road. It was so windy that every time my partner took his foot off the accelerator, we got blown into the other lane. Crazy.
When we got back to the station there were tons of people here. A lot of people don't have basements, so we all come to the firehouse when there's a tornado warning.
Anyways, we got back for maybe 15 minutes and got dispatched to another call. Nothing big, but by this time it was raining like crazy. I looked like a drowned rat by the time we got to the ER.
It was an interesting night, to say the least.
I found out the next morning that a tree in my backyard got struck by lightning. It is a huge willow tree, and the branch is literally split to the core. It will definitely take out my fence if it falls.
Chocolate
I ran all day in Chicago. I didn't mind too much because for once I actually knew where I was going. We did mostly BLS transfers. Nothing exciting, but I met some nice people.
We took a lady from a suburban hospital to a home address in Chicago. She was in her early eighties and her daughter was with her. Neither spoke more than a couple words of English-only Russian. So, needless to say, we had a hard time communicating. I was in back, and my partner was driving. We got the address, but the daughter was trying to tell my partner where she needed to go. We made it to the apartment complex eventually. It was an odd place, almost like a planned community. It had a nursing home, senior living, regular apartments, school, church, etc. I don't think we would have found it if the daughter hadn't been with because the address was off a main road, but it was just the address to the complex, not the apartment. Anyways, we got there and as I was getting out of the ambulance, the daughter said in broken English, "wait...wait..." and she was digging through her bag. Then she pulled out a box of chocolate truffles and handed them to me. She said, "for you...thank you...thank you." We took her mother upstairs and said our goodbyes. It's not too often that people are actually appreciative-and we didn't really even do anything but give them a ride.
We did a couple more transfers, but got out of the city on a whim. They sent us on a priority from Chicago back up to Waukegan. That was over 25 miles running hot. It was for an altered mental status, but when we got on scene we got the rest of the story. The status was not normal, but had been abnormal for several days already, and they were really sending him out because he had a fever of 100.1 that was down to 98 by the time we got there. Yeah. Good times.
We did several psych bounces, and a return to a nursing home in Cook County. The place isn't the best, but I have never seen it in such terrible disrepair as I did last night. We took the lady into her room and I heard a chirping noise. It was the smoke detector in the room. I told the CNA that they need to change the battery and he looked at me like I was crazy. Then the nurse was on break, so I was sent to the other side of the nursing home to get a signature. On my way over I passed probably 5 or 6 smoke detectors that were either hanging from the ceiling by the wires or that were simply torn down. There were also about 4 large emesis basins lining the hallway because the roof was leaking. Really nice. That place should be shut down.
We went back up north and stopped for gas. I was pumping and a lady walked out of the station and said "Hello!" She sounded rather drunk, and I just said hi and went back to my pumping. I watched her walk to the other side of the building and start dancing. She only had a t-shirt on and it was pouring rain. By the time we left she was deep in conversation with the wall at the laundromat next door.
We took a lady from a suburban hospital to a home address in Chicago. She was in her early eighties and her daughter was with her. Neither spoke more than a couple words of English-only Russian. So, needless to say, we had a hard time communicating. I was in back, and my partner was driving. We got the address, but the daughter was trying to tell my partner where she needed to go. We made it to the apartment complex eventually. It was an odd place, almost like a planned community. It had a nursing home, senior living, regular apartments, school, church, etc. I don't think we would have found it if the daughter hadn't been with because the address was off a main road, but it was just the address to the complex, not the apartment. Anyways, we got there and as I was getting out of the ambulance, the daughter said in broken English, "wait...wait..." and she was digging through her bag. Then she pulled out a box of chocolate truffles and handed them to me. She said, "for you...thank you...thank you." We took her mother upstairs and said our goodbyes. It's not too often that people are actually appreciative-and we didn't really even do anything but give them a ride.
We did a couple more transfers, but got out of the city on a whim. They sent us on a priority from Chicago back up to Waukegan. That was over 25 miles running hot. It was for an altered mental status, but when we got on scene we got the rest of the story. The status was not normal, but had been abnormal for several days already, and they were really sending him out because he had a fever of 100.1 that was down to 98 by the time we got there. Yeah. Good times.
We did several psych bounces, and a return to a nursing home in Cook County. The place isn't the best, but I have never seen it in such terrible disrepair as I did last night. We took the lady into her room and I heard a chirping noise. It was the smoke detector in the room. I told the CNA that they need to change the battery and he looked at me like I was crazy. Then the nurse was on break, so I was sent to the other side of the nursing home to get a signature. On my way over I passed probably 5 or 6 smoke detectors that were either hanging from the ceiling by the wires or that were simply torn down. There were also about 4 large emesis basins lining the hallway because the roof was leaking. Really nice. That place should be shut down.
We went back up north and stopped for gas. I was pumping and a lady walked out of the station and said "Hello!" She sounded rather drunk, and I just said hi and went back to my pumping. I watched her walk to the other side of the building and start dancing. She only had a t-shirt on and it was pouring rain. By the time we left she was deep in conversation with the wall at the laundromat next door.
Tuesday, October 3, 2006
Ladder Fight
I have been really busy recently. Work is keeping my social life to a minimum, as usual, and school just started again on the 24th of August. I am taking five classes, just to make sure I have no free time :).
Again, I have been having trouble sleeping more than 2 hours at a time, so consequently, I end up doing all of my chores half asleep. Last shift was no exception.
I was out in the bay checking out all the rigs. I had already checked out the ambulances, the command vehicle, the brush truck and the engines. I only had one engine to go and I would be finished. I walked around the back of the older engine, and my typical sleep-walking self wasn't paying any attention. I walked straight into the ladder hanging off the side (and protruding about 2 1/2 feet off the back of the engine). I was seeing spots for about a minute afterwards. I cracked myself up because the first thing I did wasn't to curse or check for blood; I looked around to make sure nobody saw me make a fool of myself. I had a nice lump on my head (thankfully concealed by hair) and a bit of a red forehead for an hour or so, but I was okay. Thank God, because both of the guys I was working with were into their own little projects. They probably wouldn't have found me until we got a call.
A few brain cells lighter, and I am still pushing through the days. More work lies ahead. I have two days off this month.
Again, I have been having trouble sleeping more than 2 hours at a time, so consequently, I end up doing all of my chores half asleep. Last shift was no exception.
I was out in the bay checking out all the rigs. I had already checked out the ambulances, the command vehicle, the brush truck and the engines. I only had one engine to go and I would be finished. I walked around the back of the older engine, and my typical sleep-walking self wasn't paying any attention. I walked straight into the ladder hanging off the side (and protruding about 2 1/2 feet off the back of the engine). I was seeing spots for about a minute afterwards. I cracked myself up because the first thing I did wasn't to curse or check for blood; I looked around to make sure nobody saw me make a fool of myself. I had a nice lump on my head (thankfully concealed by hair) and a bit of a red forehead for an hour or so, but I was okay. Thank God, because both of the guys I was working with were into their own little projects. They probably wouldn't have found me until we got a call.
A few brain cells lighter, and I am still pushing through the days. More work lies ahead. I have two days off this month.
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