First, I don't want anyone to become offended by the following post. I didn't intend to insert a disclaimer, but after consideration, while driving home, I decided it's best, since I don't like offending people, unless they deserve such treatment, or need a reality check on their limited ability to logically examine information, remove any preconceived prejudices, and find they find credibility with my ramblings.
So, here we go:
I was driving by a local EMS service location (that's what used to be an ambulance service, but "ambulance" doesn't have the same thrill of using an acronym.) and noticed five of the employees standing in a circle outside. Since I didn't have much time to determine what they were doing, I could only examine the individuasl and analyze their appearance.
All of the men had the same body shape, which is best described as the same height, pear shaped, with narrow shoulders, fairly thin arms, and a hefty steel belted truck radial strapped under their shirt. A less discerning observation would yield an opinion of family members standing around a pit; waiting for the links to be done enough to eat on a bun.
My first thought was: "What would happen, if they were to help me in a dire medical emergency, and one had a heart attack, or a slipped disc.... or something?" The thought provoked possible solutions, such as one being strong enough to just throw me over their shoulder, and ignore the one having the heart attack. As my thoughts continued, I wondered about the protocol for such an event.
My mind wondered through possible solutions. Just throwing me over their shoulder was a possibility, since I only weigh about 150 pounds, and even I could manage that. That, and maybe there's a special dolly for handling the other end of the gurney, when one of the emergency technicians has a medical problem that prevents them from taking care of a patient.
My mind wandered further, and I tried to determine it it's possible for an EMT to drive, take care of two patients, and talk on the radio. I couldn't arrive at any logical solution, so I settled on this situation would require a call for backup, and a wait. That, to me, could result in terrible problems. Two people with life threatening injuries shouldn't have to wait beyond the "golden hour"; especially if the help arriving could have a heart attack, or a slipped disc.
I was left with a conundrum, which was disconcerting. What would happen?
I have no solution, except to not allow myself to be in that situation, or to be extremely inebriated if it does. I feel better now, and will enjoy the birds, as they make a strong effort to empty the bird feeder.
Hi Jess,
ReplyDeleteLove the blog, a daily read.
In todays day and age, most emergency EMS calls are also attended to by the local Fire Dept. in the area and more often than not, the Fire Dept will arrive prior to EMS's arrival.
In most states, an on duty Firefighter is allowed to drive the Ambulance at the request of EMS as part of their lawful duties, even though they may not have the specific Ambulance Drivers License. I've used them at several times in my career as drivers for various reasons but mostly, we had critically ill/wounded or multiple patients that be benefited with two medics in the back.
So for your conundrum of a EMS person going down on a call would be solved by a Firefighter driving the bus.
And if Fire/Rescue was not automatically dispatched they could easily be summoned as most are within 5-15 minutes of most populated areas. Sure there are exceptions but most times they are out of the norm.
I've noticed that with local cities. The fire department is usually at any medical emergency, and the crews are obviously well trained.
DeleteMy problem is in the rural areas, where I sometimes roam. Considering what I saw, the EMT's are lacking in the physical fitness part of helping someone with an emergency.
I live in a rural area, where as far as I can tell, all the local "services" (fire, EMS, police, etc) are like that. When I see them as I pass by, they're usually smoking. I'm pretty sure I'm going to try to arrange my upcoming medical emergency (I said it that way so as not to jinx myself, using reverse jinx psychology) next door to UCLA Medical Center or Mayo Clinic or anywhere I have a higher chance of someone being able to sling my ass on a gurney and get me some little cups of jello.
ReplyDeleteAfter spending three days of no food, while experts in the medical profession used expensive equipment to determine their opinion was correct, I was rewarded with some jello. It was better than the best steak I ever had.
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