7 Random Things about Me

I was tagged by Shawn over at Live, Laugh, Blog to post 7 random facts about myself....Ummm so here goes:

1. I am the parent of 3 beautiful fur babies. 2 are pictured, the other one is shy and hiding.

2. My family lives all across the country, I'm the only one that lives in this state.

3. I am a die hard procrastinator.

4. I am addicted to using coupons and shopping sales to get the best deal that I can.

5. I have been a vegetarian for almost 20 years.

6. I don't know what I would do without caffeine. The best thing in the world is yummy coffee first thing in the morning.

7. I only have to wait 2 more months to see my very best friend in the whole wide world again.

In the general spirit of these things, I am now tagging:

Nurse K

and

Stork Nurse

to continue on with the random fun.

Happy blogging, everyone.

Uhhh, you'd better send some more help here...

It had already been a long and busy shift and I had grabbed a few minutes between calls to take a quick shower before going (hopefully) to lay down for a bit.

*tones drop*

Of course while I have shampoo in my hair and I am soaking wet.

"Medic X, need you to respond to 123 ABC Street. Female patient is unresponsive."

Crap!!!! I should have suspected it though, because the shift had already been long.

I heard my Captain check in route and knew that I had a few extra seconds to dry off before throwing my uniform back on. I grabbed a elastic band to pull my hair back and was grateful that I had a hat to out on my head since I didn't have time to drag a comb through my wet hair.

As I'm climbing in the truck, I hear several First Responders check en route to the scene, and my Captain checks out on scene. We check en route and a few seconds later I hear the weary voice of Captain D, "Uh dispatch, you'd better call the Anytown Fire Department. We're going to need some man power here."

Huh? Ok let's see...We've got my partner, myself, Captain D, and 4 firefighters. That's 7 people. What in the world is so bad that we need MORE help?

It became very apparent when we got there. We walked in the door and saw a mattress laying on the floor and a very very large woman was laying on it, unresponsive and with snoring respirations. We start to provide emergency care and the firefighters try to figure out how in the hell we are going to extricate the patient from her house. There wasn't enough space to bring the cot in to her, and frankly her estimated weight exceeded the weight limits of the cot (650 pounds).

We ended up using a spine board as a ramp from the bed to the cot and essentially pulled the pt from the bed, over the spine board, and onto the cot. She was so wide that she had to be placed on her side in order to secure her safely to the cot. That really was the best position for her anyway as the weight of her massive chest significantly impaired her respiratory effort.

We left the cot in the lowest position to roll it over to the truck, then the 11 of us raised the cot up and secured it in the patient compartment for transport. There was 4 of us in the back and Captain D drove us to the ER. We alerted them to get a bariatric bed. Once we left the patient at the er and transfered care, we returned to the station.

I punched Captain D in the arm..."Man Power? Geesh, man you could have come up with something better to ask for."

Severe Weather

You know it's going to be bad when it's 70 degrees in the February. Dozens of tornadoes ripped through Tennessee, Arkansas and Kentucky last night leaving a lot of destruction and causing many deaths.

Please keep these folks in your thoughts and prayers and also the responders that are doing search and rescue, body recovery, and clean up. This weather and it's aftermath taxes all the resources in those areas.

If you live in the affected places, please be careful.

I'll post some links once I find some reliable news sources.

Super Tuesday

So this really isn't EMS related....

But if you love in a state that has it's primaries today--PLEASE go vote. Men and women had died for us to have the right to vote. This is the way we get our voice heard and get to have a say in who our next leader is.

GO VOTE!!!!

And another one..

I received an email this afternoon from a friend who frequents this blog. She included a link to this article.

Folks, your Nation's responders are dying on a weekly, and sometimes daily basis. One day, we won't be here when you need us. PLEASE, PLEASE if you see the flashing lights on the road, SLOW DOWN, move over, and pay more attention. It will save you anguish and possibly jail time (many states add a felony if you kill a FR while they are in the course of their job duties). You will also help to ensure that that person returns home to their families.

Please be more careful...We all want to go home at the end of the day.

To my fellow responders--we MUST be more careful. We should expect issues when working wrecks on the interstate and the side of the road. This career we have chosen is dangerous. It is up to YOU to make sure that you return home safely.

One small step....

Score one for the little people! Our EMS director is on permanent administrative leave until his retirement in 90 days.

Hopefully the rampant discrimination and hostile environment that he has created over the past umpteen years will end. The crews deserve better than intimidation, retaliation, and illegal firings.

If you're the praying kind, we could all use them tonight. There are a ton of hurdles to overcome and I hope that the hurt feelings many have pass soon.

One lost is one too many

People, PLEASE!!!! You must watch out for yourself and your partner's safety...No one else will do it for you. Your family expects you to come home at the end of the shift. One more life lost is one more too many--

Fatal Ambulance Crash in Delaware