I worked on the house all day. There are no longer any interior walls except for the bathroom. Thank God I am finally getting somewhere! I am actually off all day today. It is an absolute miracle!
I didn't leave the house until around 1930. I got to the next town south and the tones dropped. (That figures) It was mutual aid to a town about 10 miles south for a grass fire at a state park. I saw the brush truck go by and an engine from a department in Wisconsin. Cool. I drove home, dropped off some stuff, picked up my uniform just in case, and headed back up north. I was on standby at the station for several hours.
I figured I would spend the time studying. My captain was also there and asked if I could hang out for a while because there wasn't a medic there (she was on the brush truck). I figured what the hell, I could use a good call. Yeah...we sat there for several hours studying and there weren't any calls. Oh well, at least I studied. I have my Hazmat test tomorrow morning.
Time for some good ol' sleep.
Friday, April 14, 2006
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
The Easter Bunny is real!
Today was a rather odd day. It was way too slow for a Wednesday. We did a psych transfer in the morning. It was for the same lady that I took yesterday with the fire department. I didn't even recognize her. Yesterday she was slumped over and had snot running all over the place. Today she was yelling and cursing, in 4-point restraints. She was so combative that the hospital's security actually followed behind us just in case she got out of hand. Then we could pull over and he could help. Yeah. She was okay for the ride over. The first thing I recognized was her name on the face sheet. She told me the last name yesterday, but the police officer told me that it wasn't her real name and gave me a different one. Her face sheet had her "fake" last name on it. The second thing I noticed was her clothes. They were in a belongings bag, and they were the same ones she was wearing yesterday when I picked her up. What a small world :)
Our second call didn't come until mid-afternoon. We got called for "abnormal labs." It wasn't even given as an emergency call, just a call going to the ER. We went non-priority to the nursing home. My partner spoke with the nurse as I got vitals, etc. The guy's blood pressure was only 87/50. I tried it on the other arm: 87/50...it was the same manually. Great. We did the entire ALS workup and headed towards the hospital. I was driving. By the time we got to the hospital, our patient's blood pressure was down to 70 systolic. A wierd call. Good thing they dispatched the call ALS.
Around 1900 we met five other crews at an ice cream place. We all parked in the back, turned all our radios to the same station and had a little get-together. You know how it works-it didn't last too long before a crew got a call...then another...then another. Eventually only the two shift crews were left, so we broke up the party. Good times though. It was still 70 degrees and sunny outside.
Back to quarters again for a few hours before we got another psych. This one came from a government facility. Nothing special. Just a routine transport.
Our final call didn't come in until 0720. I was supposed to get off at 0800. Damn it. This always happens. It was for a psych. We were late on the call as it was. Traffic was backed up something awful. I should have expected it because we were going south in the prime time for rush hour. Anyways, we got to the hospital about 10 minutes late. Another patient in restraints. What a way to end the shift. I really didn't read into the paperwork in the ER. I just made sure that we had the petition/certificate, etc. and was ready to go. The nurse handed me a belongings bag while my partner was getting the cot ready out in the hallway. Inside the bag was something covered in polka-dots and something white and furry. I looked at my partner and said, "what the hell is this? A bunny suit?" We both laughed and went into the room to get our patient moved over. She was relatively calm, so we decided not to put on the 4-points unless she got out of hand. We got the lady out to the rig, and as I was climbing in she asked, "can't we drive with the doors open?" I just shrugged it off. She would fade in and out. One minute she would be talking like a normal person, the next she would be talking to absolutely nobody. About two minutes later (and about every two minutes throughout the transport) she asked me, "Do you have my bunny suit?" I nearly choked when she said that. I just replied, "yes." The she asked me for her purse. I told her I couldn't let her have that until we got to the hospital. I had to hide my snickering because all I could think of was, "what does she carry in there? Carrots? I finally read her history after I realized that it was, in fact, a bunny outfit. The paperwork stated that she was wandering around a mall in the bunny suit muttering to herself. The police were notified, who then called rescue. I've got to give her some credit though. At least she was in the bunny suit and not dressed as Santa or something. She's got the right holiday in mind. When we got to the psych hospital she recognized one of the staff members from her previous stay. She told him, "I told you I would wear my bunny suit next time, but they wouldn't let me put it back on...I told you I'd show it to you, only I didn't think it would be this soon..." Nice. I would have liked to be a fly on the wall when she was brought in the ER. All I can envision are the scenes from the tv show ER around halloween where all sorts of crazy things were being wheeled in. Definitely worth being held over until 0930 for.
Our second call didn't come until mid-afternoon. We got called for "abnormal labs." It wasn't even given as an emergency call, just a call going to the ER. We went non-priority to the nursing home. My partner spoke with the nurse as I got vitals, etc. The guy's blood pressure was only 87/50. I tried it on the other arm: 87/50...it was the same manually. Great. We did the entire ALS workup and headed towards the hospital. I was driving. By the time we got to the hospital, our patient's blood pressure was down to 70 systolic. A wierd call. Good thing they dispatched the call ALS.
Around 1900 we met five other crews at an ice cream place. We all parked in the back, turned all our radios to the same station and had a little get-together. You know how it works-it didn't last too long before a crew got a call...then another...then another. Eventually only the two shift crews were left, so we broke up the party. Good times though. It was still 70 degrees and sunny outside.
Back to quarters again for a few hours before we got another psych. This one came from a government facility. Nothing special. Just a routine transport.
Our final call didn't come in until 0720. I was supposed to get off at 0800. Damn it. This always happens. It was for a psych. We were late on the call as it was. Traffic was backed up something awful. I should have expected it because we were going south in the prime time for rush hour. Anyways, we got to the hospital about 10 minutes late. Another patient in restraints. What a way to end the shift. I really didn't read into the paperwork in the ER. I just made sure that we had the petition/certificate, etc. and was ready to go. The nurse handed me a belongings bag while my partner was getting the cot ready out in the hallway. Inside the bag was something covered in polka-dots and something white and furry. I looked at my partner and said, "what the hell is this? A bunny suit?" We both laughed and went into the room to get our patient moved over. She was relatively calm, so we decided not to put on the 4-points unless she got out of hand. We got the lady out to the rig, and as I was climbing in she asked, "can't we drive with the doors open?" I just shrugged it off. She would fade in and out. One minute she would be talking like a normal person, the next she would be talking to absolutely nobody. About two minutes later (and about every two minutes throughout the transport) she asked me, "Do you have my bunny suit?" I nearly choked when she said that. I just replied, "yes." The she asked me for her purse. I told her I couldn't let her have that until we got to the hospital. I had to hide my snickering because all I could think of was, "what does she carry in there? Carrots? I finally read her history after I realized that it was, in fact, a bunny outfit. The paperwork stated that she was wandering around a mall in the bunny suit muttering to herself. The police were notified, who then called rescue. I've got to give her some credit though. At least she was in the bunny suit and not dressed as Santa or something. She's got the right holiday in mind. When we got to the psych hospital she recognized one of the staff members from her previous stay. She told him, "I told you I would wear my bunny suit next time, but they wouldn't let me put it back on...I told you I'd show it to you, only I didn't think it would be this soon..." Nice. I would have liked to be a fly on the wall when she was brought in the ER. All I can envision are the scenes from the tv show ER around halloween where all sorts of crazy things were being wheeled in. Definitely worth being held over until 0930 for.
Monday, April 10, 2006
Realization
I realized today that I got a shitty house. I mean I knew it needed work, but come on! This sucks. Just about everything that could be wrong with a house is wrong with this one. I was thinking about just donating it to the fire house so we can do live burn training. Ha. That would be the day.
It seems like I will never get the place into good enough shape to actually live in it. Damn it. The only good thing I found out after tearing apart the ceiling is that my inner walls aren't load bearing. Only the outside walls are. So, basically, I am free to move any walls I want inside.
I would give all the details, but I am too upset right now. I might just break something.
It seems like I will never get the place into good enough shape to actually live in it. Damn it. The only good thing I found out after tearing apart the ceiling is that my inner walls aren't load bearing. Only the outside walls are. So, basically, I am free to move any walls I want inside.
I would give all the details, but I am too upset right now. I might just break something.
Sunday, April 9, 2006
Back up needed
Only two memorable calls today.
One was a basic return to a nursing home. The nurse in the ER left as soon as we got there-it was the end of her shift. We were told the name of the nursing home and given the address. Good enough for me-it matched what our dispatcher told us. We got to the nursing home and got inside. The staff said that it wasn't their patient. Great. We had to call dispatch and get things squared away. There is only other nursing home on the same road, and I figured they just gave us the wrong address. Sure enough, she belonged at the other nursing home. Nice.
We got dispatched for another call right after that for a psych at a group home. Our pager said, "possible restraints...aggressive." This should be fun. We got on scene and spoke with the caregiver. He said that this child (13 years old) broke the door off the porch, was breaking things around the house, and was threatening and hurting other children and staff. Our patient was sound asleep in bed. He didn't know he was going to the hospital. The caregiver expected me to wake the kid up, tell him I'm taking him away, and everything would be a-okay. Not. I told the caregiver that it was his responsibility to tell the kid that he was going, and I certainly wasn't about to get into this kids face and wake him up when he had been so destructive all day. Needless to say, the child refused to cooperate and we ended up call the police. After much convincing, and threats of being tackled by several officers, he walked out to the ambulance without a fight. He was good the entire ride. When we pulled up to the hospital there were several security guards and two workers off the psych floor waiting for us. I asked how they knew we were coming and they told me that they heard us over the police scanner. Good times. He did put up a fight once we got on the floor, and ended up in the quiet room and in restraints. Never a dull moment.
One was a basic return to a nursing home. The nurse in the ER left as soon as we got there-it was the end of her shift. We were told the name of the nursing home and given the address. Good enough for me-it matched what our dispatcher told us. We got to the nursing home and got inside. The staff said that it wasn't their patient. Great. We had to call dispatch and get things squared away. There is only other nursing home on the same road, and I figured they just gave us the wrong address. Sure enough, she belonged at the other nursing home. Nice.
We got dispatched for another call right after that for a psych at a group home. Our pager said, "possible restraints...aggressive." This should be fun. We got on scene and spoke with the caregiver. He said that this child (13 years old) broke the door off the porch, was breaking things around the house, and was threatening and hurting other children and staff. Our patient was sound asleep in bed. He didn't know he was going to the hospital. The caregiver expected me to wake the kid up, tell him I'm taking him away, and everything would be a-okay. Not. I told the caregiver that it was his responsibility to tell the kid that he was going, and I certainly wasn't about to get into this kids face and wake him up when he had been so destructive all day. Needless to say, the child refused to cooperate and we ended up call the police. After much convincing, and threats of being tackled by several officers, he walked out to the ambulance without a fight. He was good the entire ride. When we pulled up to the hospital there were several security guards and two workers off the psych floor waiting for us. I asked how they knew we were coming and they told me that they heard us over the police scanner. Good times. He did put up a fight once we got on the floor, and ended up in the quiet room and in restraints. Never a dull moment.
Friday, April 7, 2006
Rain, rain go away
I got off this morning at 0800. I had big plans for the day. I was going to work on the house-pulling ceiling and drywall. Yeah. It was pouring rain and extremely windy. A wasted day. Damn. I hate that because I don't have much time off and now I just lost a whole day. Oh well.
I worked tonight at 1700 until 2000. We did absolutely nothing. No calls. This is the first shift in a long time that I haven't run a call. I guess I have a nice relaxing evening of nothing to look forward to.
I worked tonight at 1700 until 2000. We did absolutely nothing. No calls. This is the first shift in a long time that I haven't run a call. I guess I have a nice relaxing evening of nothing to look forward to.
Thursday, April 6, 2006
Neuroblastoma
Long day. We only did six calls. It felt like 20. We did a few BLS calls during the day. We also did an ALS MRI that took forever. The kid was 18 and had overdosed on heroin. Crazy.
We had a transfer going to a Children's hospital. It sounded like a routine call. We were dispatched for epistaxis. I got the whole story at the ER. We were taking an 8 year old boy with neuroblastoma. He was bleeding from his eyes, ears, and nose. My partner was in back. I drove on priority all the way to Milwaukee-60 miles. His nose was packed and his eyes and ears had stopped bleeding before we left the ER, and he rested comfortably for most of the ride. The boy really tugged at my heart. He said he was going to me a fireman when he grew up. When we got to the hospital we had to wait for a few minutes for a clean room close to the nurses station. We stood in the hallway. While we were waiting for the room he reached up to his ear and pulled back his finger. He looked at it and there was blood. He said in a tiny voice, "I'm scared." I could have broke down right there. He was so innocent and so scared. There was absolutely nothing I could say to comfort him. It really made me feel useless.
We did one more call-a return to a home address. Nothing good. Just a crabby old man that wanted to call a taxi, but couldn't because he was a paraplegic.
We had a transfer going to a Children's hospital. It sounded like a routine call. We were dispatched for epistaxis. I got the whole story at the ER. We were taking an 8 year old boy with neuroblastoma. He was bleeding from his eyes, ears, and nose. My partner was in back. I drove on priority all the way to Milwaukee-60 miles. His nose was packed and his eyes and ears had stopped bleeding before we left the ER, and he rested comfortably for most of the ride. The boy really tugged at my heart. He said he was going to me a fireman when he grew up. When we got to the hospital we had to wait for a few minutes for a clean room close to the nurses station. We stood in the hallway. While we were waiting for the room he reached up to his ear and pulled back his finger. He looked at it and there was blood. He said in a tiny voice, "I'm scared." I could have broke down right there. He was so innocent and so scared. There was absolutely nothing I could say to comfort him. It really made me feel useless.
We did one more call-a return to a home address. Nothing good. Just a crabby old man that wanted to call a taxi, but couldn't because he was a paraplegic.
Tuesday, April 4, 2006
There's no place like home
Back at the house today. What a mess. I worked mostly in the yard. It was too nice to be stuck inside. I met some neighbors-all very nice. My next door neighbor actually brought his ride-on lawnmower over, mowed the lawn, then swept it, and then came over and fertilized it. He said he was excited that someone was finally cleaning up the place. The previous owner lived there for 8 years and never touched anything. Yeah for me.
A very long day. I almost regret buying the house. It is going to cost me a lot of money :(
A very long day. I almost regret buying the house. It is going to cost me a lot of money :(
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