CPR

This made me laugh really loudly (and get rather embarrassed in the process)... because it's just a great poster, but not only that, my mom (an RN) had this same CPR poster, obviously with slightly different directions, posted inside our linen closet when I was growing up. I plan to print this version out and post it at my desk at work.
Enjoy!

The tour.

I gave an agency tour to a kid and his mom last week. Agency tours fall to me basically because they're in my job description, even though I am really not great with kids. A tour typically entails me walking people through our building, showing them our simulation lab, the ambulance bay and our 911 dispatch center, etc.

So my tour last week came after a string of particularly crappy work-related events that were beyond anyone's control. Just file them under "shit happens"... I honestly think the tour could not have come at a better time to help cheer me up.

The mom pulled her autistic son from public schools where he was not getting the proper attention he needed. She is now homeschooling him and wanted to show him all the kinds of community helpers there are. This includes the police, fire department and of course our paramedics.

Her son is somewhere around age 10 (I think, I'm not great with judging the age of children based on size) but functions on the level of a 5 year old. He was thrilled with the trucks lined up in  a row. I asked a paramedic who is on light duty to help show off the truck for me, since that's not really my area. Matt was super patient with the kid, Patrick's his name, and took time to show him the truck inside and out... turning the lights on, then off, then on at Patrick's request. Patrick took a ton of photos with his camera. One photo of each side of the truck, with lights on and off.

His mom seemed thrilled with their visit, and she says Patrick got a lot out of it. I hoped it was true, and didn't think more of it until I got a little package in the mail today. It was a thank-you card from Patrick's mom, and 2 handmade cards from Patrick, 1 for me, the other for Matt.

Mine's going on my desk, to remind me why I love my job if I'm ever having a hard day (though those days are few and far between)...

A PR girl and 2 paramedics walk into the homeless shelter...

I am shocked, SHOCKED I tell you. I forgot to relive for you the best part of my past month.

Being a former TV news person, I'm not used to having Christmas off, much less other holidays like MLK Jr. day. So, I decided why start now? While all my carpetwalker counterparts were sleeping in on MLK day, I was riding along with a crew on a truck/ambulance. This required me being there for the entire 14 hour shift... and waking up at 4:30 am. Needless to say, I was almost late and ALMOST missed the truck.

So, I rode with a Medic veteran and a newbie to Medic. These two have only been partners for a split second. Both are very nice and easy to talk to... and not bothered by seemingly endless, obscure questions from a nosy PR girl...

I digress.

So, we got our first call immediately... a psychiatric call at the uptown men's shelter... now, this place is a real gem. I used to pass by there each and every day when I worked in TV. Most of these guys are fine. But there are several who like to play frogger with your car... which can be frustrating when I'm half asleep and caffeine deprived...

Anyway, the call was a guy saying he was having suicidal thoughts. So off we went. I will take this moment to say I have never been more relieved when I heard the firefighters (who got there before us) tell me the patient was walking out to the truck, and we wouldn't have to go inside. I would have gone inside, but I really REALLY didn't want to... The first thing the patient said when he got to the foot of the ramp and saw me: "oh, I see I've got some eye candy for the ride"... does this sound like a guy having suicidal thoughts? No, not quite... but who are we to judge...

He wanted to go to a hospital that couldn't have been further away... and I had to endure him making passes at me for about a third of the way. The paramedic I rode in the back with said he would have stopped him if he went too far talking to me... but the smile on his face when he said it left me slightly skeptical. I had to pull out the "well my husband wouldn't really like if I went on a date with you" card. I said this as the paramedic turned on the vent to get the rank body odor smell out of the truck...

This patient proceeded to tell us about his new fiancee who is deaf, but he did not know she was deaf for the first two weeks he was dating her... yes. you read that correctly.

Anyway, we walk into the ED and immediately the nurse says "is that 'so and so'" I replied yes... and she told us he only comes there to socialize, and to put him in the waiting room... even though he said he was having suicidal thoughts... that's a big no-no, and I'm pretty sure it's not legal, but what do I know about medicine? They even had a poster on the back of one of their doors that says "if 'so and so' comes here, call his legal guardian immediately and put him in the waiting room.' Me and the guys agreed that cannot be legal ether...

After that we spent several hours parked in a harris teeter parking lot... where I caught up on my sleep. From there it was boring, routine stuff... about 6 calls that somehow all involved the 3 of us getting into a teeny elevator with the stretcher. Not easy. I also got to see one of the guys start an IV line on a 100+ year old man with the flu. His thin skin and hard to find veins were a problem and he actually said "I'm not going to make this on the first try."... but he did, in the back of a moving truck. I was impressed, but as we've established, it doesn't take much to impress me...

All of this was very mundane to the crew I was with. They were bummed it wasn't more exciting for me, but I had fun... I guess it's all about perspective, and being called eye candy at 6 am.