the unexpected

Being in EMS we all know things don't always go as planned. You can try to prepare, but sometimes things take you by surprise. Hurricane Sandy was one of those surprises. I have always wanted to go to EMS World, well for a few years now anyhow. I've just never had the means. Well, this year was the same until I was donating money at a local fundraiser (ok I was playing bingo, I admit it!) and I won a nice little chunk of change, enough to allow me to purchase a plane ticket anyways. I talked to a few friends who were going and the stars aligned just right and I was offered a place to sleep so I could attend this year (felt like a once in a lifetime opportunity to me!) and it meant I could attend the wedding of a friend, MsParamedic!! Well, then Sandy hit. I was worried about my flight, I was watching it like a hawk...then I got the news...the friend who had offered me a place to sleep was stuck in NJ with no place to go until Saturday!! By then it would be too late. He tried to make alternate arrangements for me, I tried to make alternate arrangements for me, but I had no extra money to afford a hotel for myself, and everyone who was already there was so wrapped up in the conference and the events surrounding it no one was able to get back to us. I had a decision to make...as much as it pained me and disappointed me, I cancelled my flights 8 hours before I was to board my plane. I'm not going to lie...I cried...a lot for the first 12 hours...then I realized something...what the hell was my problem? I had a roof over my head, heat in my house, electricity, food, water. There were people a mere 4 hours from me who did not have these things, people that I know, people I call friends!! I had friends in New York and New Jersey who were suffering a hell of a lot more than me because of this horrific storm. People had lost their homes, their savings, their LIVES, and I was upset because I couldn't go on a trip! I was being so selfish and self-centered! So instead of feeling sorry for myself, I decided to pray for those in need. I couldn't do much else for them. I tried to reach out to those I could on Facebook and Twitter and let them know I was thinking about them and praying for them. And I just kept reminding myself just how damn lucky I was and how good I have it...

making a difference

Most of us can remember why we started this career. And most of the time it was help people, to make a difference in someone's life. We have all learned that making a difference doesn't happen everyday. Occasionally we run that call that we know we have all trained for and that training pays off. I once had the pleasure of meeting a wonderful lady. Our meeting was unfortunate for her. This woman was a nurse of 50 years, still practicing 2-3 nights a week in the local prison. The night of our meeting she was attempting to go to bed when she began having a pressure in her chest. She thought it was just gas from a soda she had earlier in the evening. In just over an hour the pain and pressure increased dramatically, radiating to her neck, shoulder, arm, and back and then she got nauseated and sick. She decided she was just going to try and tough it out until her son-in-law heard her vomiting and checked on her and immediately called 911.

Upon my arrival BLS had just gotten an initially set of vitals. All it took was one look and my gut shouted "not good". Placed a 4 lead on this woman and immediately did not like what I saw and proceeded with a 12 lead. Within 5 min of being on scene I knew this woman, who had very little past medical history, was having a heart attack. My BLS crew helped her onto a stair chair and out of the house and down the stairs to stretcher while I called Medical Command at the local hospital and spoke to a Dr. who had received the 12 lead I sent and agreed this pt needed a cath lab and to proceed to the heart hospital, a mere 30 miles away, but that takes the better part of an hour, even with lights and sirens.

I fell back on my education and got my thoughts in gear.  Zofran given IM before we moved pt to prevent any more vomiting, ASA given orally as pt was being moved into stairchair, IV placed on first try as soon as pt was in the ambulance, and then I began the NTG SL sprays and morphine administration. While my pt remained in a lot of discomfort throughout the transport, I did my best to make her as comfortable as possible. The receiving facility knew we were coming and had received 2 EKGs prior to my arrival, one directly form me and another faxed from the local hospital I bypassed. They also received a phone update from me while enroute. I was greeted by 3 doctors, 2 nurses, and an ER Tech all prepared to help my patient. 

During the ride I got to know my patient a little better. She told me of her nursing career of 50+ years, and how she enjoys keeping herself busy by working at the prison infirmary 2-3 nights a week. She was concerned about not making it to her next scheduled shift the next night. She also  told me she was expecting her first great grandchild, a girl, very soon, that the baby shower was next weekend, and she didn't want to miss it. It wasn't until we were about 3/4 of the way there that she looked me straight in the eye and asked "Is it possible I am having a heart attack?" It was at that moment that I realized 1) I hadn't made it clear to her that she was and 2) I had kept my cool so well that she was unaware of just how serious her condition was. I looked right back in the eye and said "Yes ma'am. You are having a heart attack, but I guarantee I am doing everything I can to help decrease your pain and that I am taking you to the most appropriate place for you to be to fix it."

Normally a patient in this condition would go immediately to the cath lab, but due to another patient already on the table there, the ER team did their best to make my patient as comfortable as possible until they were able to get her in. The patient had to have thanked myself and the ambulance crew a dozen times during the handoff process. 

I have the capability to follow up on patients that I take to this particular facility, so the next day I followed up and found she had a 100% blockage in her RCA.  

It's patients and calls like this that remind me why I continue to do this job even when we run the frequent flyers, the drug seekers, and all the other calls we consider "BS". This woman will most likely walk out of the hospital and return to her busy life, her nursing job, and that great grandbaby that is coming so soon...

EMSToday 2012 overview

Just got back from JEMS EMS Today 2012 this morning. It was a blast as always! It was so great to see old friends, make new ones and have fun while learning new things, seeing new products, and just having some great conversations with some amazing folks. I have so much going through my mind right now. The biggest thing that hit home for me this year was EMS 2.0. I have known about EMS 2.0 for a while now, but something clicked this weekend for me. While I had known about it, I didn't fully understand what it was until I tried to explain it to my best friend, an aspiring paramedic student. When she had questions I couldn't answer I went back and did more reading and research and a whole lot of listening this weekend. I finally get it! AND...I want to help! I want to do more than share a post here and there on Facebook and Twitter. I want to be an advocate, I want to learn more and understand what is going on with my profession, I want to make my way to the front lines! I would never have even heard of this if it hadn't been for the First Responders Network folks, Scott Kier, Sam Bradley, Justin Schorr, Ted Setla, Paul Bahnik, Cayce Justus, Maddog Medic, Patrick Lickiss, Random Ward, James Brasiel and all the others closely involved!

Ok, I have more stuff to talk about from EMSToday 2012 but am hoping to make another post about it.

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Count your blessings...often

Wow, Blogger changed its look...don't know if I like it yet or not. I'm not very technologically inclined, so once I get used to something I like it and find change hard sometimes, like the new facebook...HATE it, but that's life I suppose. Life changes...a lot. I was slapped in the face with a reality today, that I should be a LOT more grateful than I tend to be. An old friend of mine messaged me today to tell me he had been involved in a very bad car wreck, he is fine, but there was a fatality in the other vehicle, a young high school student, she was the passenger in the vehicle her mother was driving when her mother swerved to miss a rear-end collision in her lane on a small highway and crossed the center line resulting in a head on collision with my friend. Talk about a miracle that my dear friend is ok, I cant even begin to imagine what that mother must feel like, to know her actions to save herself and her child resulted in her daughters death. Immediately after hearing about this you know what I did? I called Daddy and Mom, that's right, I turned to my parents, the 2 people in the world that I know will always be there for me, no matter what. I had a wonderful conversation with them. Talked about how Mom isn't feeling the greatest, has a stomach bug. Talked about my siblings, how my sisters have decided to move in with each other for a little while, and about 2 of the greatest kids I know- my niece and nephew and how they got to spend a few days with Pap and Doh (my folks) and went to the marble festival, and rode the ferry across the Ohio river and how unimpressed a 6 year old can be while a 3 year old is simply fascinated.  Family has always meant a lot to me, which makes me wonder how I can forget to be so thankful.

Life in general has been pretty good for me lately. I quit a part time job that wasn't making me happy and in turn started a new one that I am still deciding about. I met an amazing guy when I had decided that I had more important things in life to worry about than dating. I might be 27 ( for a whole 12 days now...lol) but I have not had a lot of experience in the dating world.  I didn't date in high school, and my Junior year in college met a guy that I thought was IT, we dated for 3 years and turns out I was wrong. It never ceases to amaze me how people are put into our lives, some longer or shorter than others, for so many different reasons, for encouragement, support, advice, and sometimes for heartache or for us to make a bad decision so that when the right folks show up we can make the right decisions, to make those friends that last a lifetime.

Its realizations like these things that make you check in with yourself. Are you happy? Are you living life to the fullest? Are you taking life for granted? There have been several reasons lately to remind me to be thankful. Multiple friends diagnosed with cancer, a family member who had a cyst on his brain that had to be drained, a friend who can pick right up where things left off last time she saw you, 4 months ago, and another friend who can probably use a shoulder because she got her heartbroken on top of struggling through  a difficult school program so she can reach a goal in her life.

I definitely need to remember to count my blessings, and should probably do it more often, not just when a friend has a close call or a bad day....

slacker, I know!

I was called out today about slacking on my blog...truth is I have been. I dont really have an excuse...life has just been going...a lot happened at the end of March in personal life which made me have to change some things. I lost what I considered to be a good friend, and not to death but to lies and deceit.  She was evicted from our house, leaving me to pick up the pieces, the bills, and the trash. I have to say life has gotten better since she has been gone. The last few months she was around were not good ones for me. It also made me take a closer look into my life...I have re-evaluated the relationships I have with people, my goals in life, both personal and professional.
I have been asked by several people why I chose to be a paramedic, why not be a nurse? Even my own folks have asked me this. Truth is, I am not sure, but I do know I love what I do. I know a lot of people who are burned out or well on their way there, but I still feel like I am still learning the ropes even though I have been a paramedic for 4 years and in EMS for 8. While I'm not a "dinosaur" I am not quite the newbie I once was. I try to keep up with EMS news and all my Twitter folk and fellow bloggers are helpful with that. I was hoping to make it to Vegas for the EMS World Expo this year, even applied for a scholarship but wasn't a luck winner. I will post my essay in blog for reading later...I promise.

EMSToday re-cap

So I realized that I still had not posted my re-cap of EMSToday and it has been well overdue! I got to be part of a surprise visit of SSGJBroyles. I got to hangout with several of the CoEMS folks for food, drinks, and even some karaoke. These folks included, but may not have been limited to, the following: SSGJBroyles, Gingermedic, Ambulance Driver, Hybridmedic, TraumaSheares, SES4EMS, CKEMTP, The Happy Medic, Setla, NJDivemedic, and many more!

I started this post about month after EMSToday and am just now getting it published....I know, I'm such a slacker!

Designer Drugs

It amazes me the things kids, or people in general, manage to get themselves into these days. Behind us are the days of simply doing crack, cocaine, heroine, etc. These days people are into synthetic drugs and alternatives. First there was K2, now folks are sniffing, snorting, injecting, or even eating bath salts and taking 2 C-E, a synthetic version of Ecstasy. Unfortunately, there isn't much we as EMS providers can do except treat the symptoms, we have nothing in our arsenal of drugs to counteract these "designer drugs", as they have been coined.

So tell me, what are you and your company doing, if anything, to prepare for this? If you aren't seeing it yet, I have a feeling you will be soon....

slow and steady

Weight loss is hard. End of story. I have been working on this for a while now and am trying to keep the blog updated with it among other things. Tonights weigh-in is 284.7! Still heading in the right direction. I have been doing my best to get to the gym and watch what I eat, but there are lazy days and days I just eat what I want instead of what I should...I suppose moderation is key... Check back in later for more updates!

a good read...

Another amazing read form yet another amazing friend from the Chronicles of EMS family. Please read! (You might need a tissue or two...)
http://njdivemedic.blogspot.com/2011/03/veterans-day.html?showComment=1299889878658#c7741651490581049868

No disapointments...

"Eat that damn chocolate cake, get your hair wet, love someone, dance in those muddy puddles, tell someone off, draw a picture with crayons like you’re still 6 years old and then give it to someone who is very important to you. Take a nap, go on vacation, do a cartwheel, make your own recipe, dance like no one sees you, paint each nail a different color, take a bubble bath, laugh at a corny joke. Get on that table and dance, pick strawberries, take a jog, plant a garden, make an ugly shirt and wear it all day, learn a new language, write a song, date someone you wouldn’t usually go for, make a scrap book, go on a picnic, relax in the sun, make your own home video, kiss the un-kissed, hug the un-hugged, love the unloved, and live your life to the fullest. So when you’re standing in front of heaven’s gate that chosen day, you’ll have no regrets, no sorrows, no disappointments."


Can't remember where I cam across this, pretty sure it was off of "and its love" tumblr. 


I found this a while ago and had completely forgotten about it until I rediscovered it again tonight. It really got me thinking about a lot of things in my life, particularly my professional life.  I have have been in EMS for about 7 years. I started off as a First Responder and I fell in love, after a year I took an EMT class while in college and I fell more in love, so much so that after 2 years I decided I wanted to be a paramedic. I worked hard, studied enough to get by, and here I am. I have been a paramedic for almost 3 years. I started off as a transport medic, a world completely separate from 911. While I was working as a transport medic I was also volunteering in a small rural college town as a paramedic. I was learning both sides, comparing them, trying to learn as much as I could and use it in both realms. I fell in love with both worlds, and decided my "dream job" would be to be able to do both in the same job, but little did I know that was actually a possibility. A year after I got my P-card I just happened to apply for a job 70 miles and 2 states away, assuming Id never even get an interview, but it couldnt hurt. Well long story short, I got the interview and the job, packed up my things and moved to a world where I had no friends and no family. I wasnt worried about that, I am good at making new friends, and family was just a few hundred miles away. Today I still work in a hospital based 911 system, and I made those new friends, some that I even consider family. I love my job, and I want to be the best paramedic I can be, I want to be better than I am, because I know I am capable of more. I feel like I am being held back though. I have learned how to network, I have people I can reach out to for questions, or articles to read, to get me thinking, heck thats how I ended up here with a blog. But I want to do more, I want to learn more. Unfortunately because the hospital system I work for offers all classes required for my job taking extra classes I am responsible for on my own. I only wish I could have the financial resources to attend more conferences to actually attend classes instead of just driving to Baltimore for a day (after all its only 50 miles) and visiting for a day and socializing and networking in the exhibit hall. I didnt even have a chance to attend the free classes...part of that is scheduling, working 60 hours a week cuts into free time. I know there are people less fortunate than me who cant even do those kinds of things. I wish there were several programs, grants, scholarships, or something for EMS folks to help them continue to educate themselves on new trends and topics. Heck, back where I grew up they just got a monitor capable of 12 leads in the last 6 months!!  


Anyways, the whole point of this, I am vowing to myself to start reading more articles, discussing with more folks, and hopefully attending some more events where I can ask questions, discuss topics, and have some hands on experiences with new products, not just for myself, but so that I can bring them back to work and share.  I feel like my coworkers are not just comfortable in their jobs but might be becoming complacent. I know I am comfortable where I am, and scared as hell that I might become complacent and thats where the problems are....