Happy New Year

I hope that everyone can be as thankful I am for the last year. 2009 brought a lot of joy and lot of heartache and dissapointment. I learned a lot. I have continued to learn about myself and continued shaping myself into the person I want to be. I am looking forward to 2010 to see what it holds.

I am ringing in the new year with one of my biggest blessings of 2009, my roommate, my best friend, Sara.

I wish everyone a great year and please, if you're going to drink, be responsible! If you need a ride please call me!!!

Happy New Year!!!

feeling better

Well, I am feeling better, I suppose thats a good thing. Although Im pretty sure I do have pink eye in BOTH eyes, Im heading to the doc this morning for the sore throat.

Besides that is has been an uneventful week at work....I am pulling a rare day shift on New Years Eve....so we shall see how that goes.

Thanks for reading!

when it rains it pours

Well folks, it seems that when it rains it pours with me....

I absolutely hate being sick. I used to be a pretty big baby when I got sick, but lately I have been doing better. Now I just need to decide where the line is for calling into work.

Last week I had some congestion ( for the 4th time this season) and a sore throat, worked 3 nights before it got so bad I couldnt stand it, had a fever the last 2 nights I worked, turns out it was strep throat....who knew? Got 5 days of antibiotics and was good as new, for a few days....then the throat started back up, the congestion never went away, and then the icing on the cake, I woke up today to my left eye lid being swollen and my eye all weepy. I put some eye drops in it, and now its dry but still swollen....I probably shouldnt be at work...but here I am anyways....

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Whats your EMS opinion?

Well, work has been pretty calm. I had a few days to think about my last few serious calls. I am constantly reminded that I do know what I am doing, although I don't always feel like it. I had an interesting OD call the other day that I wasn't really sure if I did the appropriate thing. Although I have been working in PA for over a year I still sometime revert to the protocols that were engrained in my mind originally (which would be WV...which limit a provider). I was dispatched for a male in his 30s who took an unknown amount of Seroquel. Upon my assessment my pt states he took several different kind of pills, at least 3 different colored pills. The EMTs had gathered pill bottles for me before rendevousing with me and all the bottle they had were Seroquel, all stating the pills were either white or yellow. The pt reported taking several large pink pills as well, the wife stated maybe some Lamictal.
Pt was initially A&Ox4 and stated he felt high, loopy, and nauseated. He attempted to induce vomiting before calling 911, no luck. In PA ALS providers do not carry or administer charcoal, some BLS units do and can give it with approval of medical command. BLS put pt on oxygen and called for ALS. Throughout tx pt became slower to respond to questions and began to get sleepy. Pt could be aroused by a gantle shake to the shoulder but was unable to stay awake for long periods of time and when he talked his speech became more and more slurred, his oxygen saturations also began to decrease as did his respirations. I ended up giving 1 mg Narcan, just to see if it might help, his oxygen saturations came up but he still remained with slurre speech and sleepiness.

When I got back I talked to one of my medic partners who has been a round for a while and she said she wouldnt have even given the 1 mg in case he became violent...

What do you all think?

off day...

So I have to say Im officially having an "off" day. My shift tonight started out BUSY. We as the medics didnt have any calls, but the ER was swamped, and on divert for at least 6 hours. Things eventually calmed down and I was really getting into the game I was playing onmy laptop when the tones sound for an unconscious male, and it was my turn to take a call. As I am enroute further from dispatch is possible cardiac arrest. I keep waiting for the ambulance to mark up, and I wait, and I wait, and I wait. I request PD while Im enroute to the scene (fearing I will be left attempting a code by myself, I assume they can at least provide some man power). I arrive to find a rather large man in his 30s in cardiac arrest with 2 obviously distraught female bystanders.
Long story short: I get a bystander to help me with CPR for 5-7 min until another medic and PD and BLS crews show up. Pt is DRT, in asystole. I attempted an intubation, get no breath sounds but get gurgling, and then stomach distention. So I try a King, no distention this time but only gurgling and no air movement in lungs, so I try the fix all of airway devices, the S.A.L.T.....and still NOTHING, only copious amounts of vomit! My medic partner takes a look and sinks a tube....WTH?!?!?

We get to the ED and of course the doc calls it within 2 min. Then they start examining the body and they find track marks that I would never have seen in a house lit by one 30 watt bulb lamp and they find ice, yes ice cubes, down this guys pants (I had heard of this but never experienced it for myself....) So who knows??

It really affected me that I was unable to get the airway on this pt. I have no idea what, if anything, I was doing improperly and would it have made a difference? Oh, and of course it didnt cross my mind to give narcan a shot....I have been a medic for 29 months now and I still feel so insecure at times....

familiar conversation....

I found this through a post from AD, and got so much enjoyment, I felt the need to pass this gem along....