A bit scary

Yes it has been a while but living life and finding fun has taken a bit of a preference over the last week.
So here's the recap.

After a long wait and a couple of harassing phone calls I got registered with the help of a very nice chap at the HPC it was obviously not him I had previously spoken to he must have been a temp he was too helpful. Anyway, I got my licence.

I was slightly nervous but in a good way. First Paramedic shift, night shift and on with a new technician. (No-one to turn to)
The shift was ok got to use some of my new skills. The next couple of nights proved the same with a fair number of standby calls made to the Royal.

A Standby Call = my pt is very unwell we have stopped them dying at the moment can you be ready to take over when we arrive thanks.

Got to cannulate my first fitting pt, whilst still fitting and give drugs. FUN!
So night shift was over and we escaped with no more damage to be done.

Saturday night we went to a comedy show. ended up sitting in the front row in the middle. That was a bad idea we were picked on throughout the show, in a nice way. It was great fun and if anyone gets a chance to see Stephen K Amos I would recommend it.

Sunday we went down to the countryside. Mountain biking, walking etc great just to escape and unwind. Then back to work on Thursday, Fri, Sat, Sun early shifts

Not too eventful until first thing Saturday morning when our patient X decided to have a major heart attach in the entryway of a rather large hotel in the nook. so we arrived and so did the RRU (Rapid Response Unit).

Better to have three pairs of hands so I grab the bag and the O2 and make my way inside. Arriving at the pt and look round to find no sign of my partner or the RRU paramedic. So I got on with my job, after about 3-4 mins the other two arrive at my side (they got chatting outside) saying "oh your well on your way! What can we get you?”

Cheers guys.

So after giving the pt all the standard drugs for chest pain and attaching the monitor we complete the 12 lead ECG and confirm an inferior MI.
So I start asking all the questions and beginning to explain about the drug TNK that we are about to give them and the pt says “I don't care, if it could help me just give it to me.”

Ok so I do.

In the back ground at this stage the other two sent the ECG to CCU at the Royal via the modem. CCU then called back and tells my partner that they think we should give the drug, at which he smirks and points out to the staff nurse on the end of the phone that I had already but thanks for the call anyway and we would see him soon.

Apparently there are a lot of crews on the road that have been waiting for CCU give the go ahead before administrating the drug.

Then it was a rather fast journey in to the Royal.
I should probably explain the drug we gave the pt has a mortality rate of just less than 1% and other complications. So to be fair it is a scary drug.

In the case of this patient the drug managed to revert the third degree heart block the pt was in but did nothing for the ST elevation (ECG - Bit of the wigglie line that was bad)

So since I have been here it has been busy.
It's fun having the skills and the responsibility is something you come to terms with but it is nice to be able to do more for your pts.

Work :- Stressful or not, discuss

Over the last few weeks it has come to me that at work we are dealing with a greater number of real jobs less D&I, hoax and other such interesting calls.
As a result the station has been louder with more banter and humour. Any outsider would look at this as being, sick or depraved but in our world (emergency work, not where the sky is green and animals talk) it seems to be the best way to deal. We all subconsciously ignore stress and the reality of what we do.
Please don't misunderstand me, we know what we do and how important it can be, but the jokes, the merriment and the sick sense of humour allows us to go and keep on with what we do.
After a really bad job we can talk about it to our crew, they were there, they saw, they helped, they probably want to talk, but for the rest. The station will hear they will recognise, they will help.
For any of you who are not already bored with the subject, I found the study into humour for emergency personnel (someone was obviously very interested)
Or you could just be happy with the fact that it works and carry on with the idea
that I try and work with
Stress don't be a sufferer be a carrier

Driving in The Scottish Nook

After my Last post and the comments on some of the other blogs i have read. I think maybe a national campaign should be run. A document telling the public what to do and what not to do when they see an emergency vehicle. The posting Public Information Broadcast Could be used as an example. But since the public think that the highway code is the 'pass the test then disguard' book for driving, what chance do we have for them reading it anyway.

Excuse me

Yes it's tourist time again.
Lots of interesting thing to see and do in the Nook. But please as an addition to kal's posting 'Festival time', can I make a request.
I'm not sure where your from and I don't mind, enjoy everything we have to offer, but when a large moving vehicle with flashing corners and headlights and making a lot of noise comes towards you reasonably fast, and If you are standing in the middle of the road to get a good view of the sights, and that view is blocked by this big white vehicle.

PLEASE MOVE

Your photo is not quite that important. The passenger should not have to lean out of the window and ask you to move. It is considered quite rude.
Apart from that please enjoy your time in the city and be careful crossing roads.

Someone who made me think

Yes a second posting in one day I know

I was introduced to someone very interesting yesterday and we got talking. It was amazing how well we got on. Her other half just finished working with my other half. They were both away chatting and mingling with others for most of the night, while we spent almost the entire evening talking about nothing in particular.

We did, at one stage, get onto the topic of the blog and she made me look at things in a different way.

Where as I had thought of it as a bulletin board for things I’ve seen and moans and gripes she asked me some direct questions about why I think I wrote it, and what the under lying motivation may be for my blog and for that matter everyone else’s blog. So after a day of pondering (I’m still working on it) but things do occur and ring true.

Is the blog not in the same general group as big brother, maybe at the opposite end but in the same group? You write in the blog so people can know you, maybe see a different perspective. From my point of view, get an idea of your thoughts that, with out it you would keep to yourself, your internal monolog.
Or for those of you that hear voices your dialogue :-P

Are we not designed to communicate?
So, you know who you are and I just want to say thanks. I’m not sure if it will make much of a difference to my postings but the company was enchanting and the food for thought was appreciated.

Crossing lives

Someone at work retired and had a leaving party on Friday. During the night I managed to speak to the chap (as you do) saying how after 37ish years they were going to have to get someone else to fill his role.

He suggested that it could have been me. I didn’t really want to break it to him that another few years and plans that are brewing will hopefully come to fruition.

But apart from that, just looking around the room at the number of people that attended that night. About 130 could make it, about the same again that would have liked to but couldn’t.

Affecting this many people’s lives, (staff) over that length of time. Just think about the amount of lives that are better off because of him (patients) and the work he has done over the years. It makes you proud to be involved in the job we do. Maybe not every day, with late breaks and interesting management decisions, but like many things in life looking back on the time spent some real good bits stick in your memory and the bad hopefully fades over time and you can recall with rose coloured glasses the years spent working with friends and colleagues.

Even over the small amount of time I have spent in the job I’m already looking back with those glasses firmly placed for most of my four years. And wondering what the next few years will bring.

How many lives are effected by my colleague and I as a crew, and what differences have been made good and bad.