So I decided I wanted to keep track of my rookie year as a firefighter somewhere. I thought to myself, "self, I have a blog that Kasie and I set up a few years ago that we have never used. Why not just change it up and use that?" So here I am.
Today was my fourth day as a working firefighter/paramedic. My very first shift I was put on the Engine as a firefighter, just to get familiar with things; that was the easy part. Now I have been put on the ambulance and will be working on there from here on out. The ambulance typically runs with two guys, a driver and the medic or "patient guy." I have been designated the medic, and will most likely be that guy until my probation is over. As the medic you are responsible for the drug box key and making sure this stays locked and kept safe at all times. We carry some pretty potent drugs that people would love to get their hands on. I am charged with signing off on these every day, how much we have and expiration dates, if they go missing a red flashing light starts shining over my head. I am in charge of stocking the ambulance with supplies at the start of the day and after any calls. I am in charge of navigation to calls, radio traffic with dispatch; and when we get a fire, I'm first in with the nozzle. In the station: clean the bathrooms, take out the garbage, do the dishes, clean up dinner, wash dishes, be the first one out of bed, last one to sleep, first one up from the dinner table, last one to sit down and eat, never let anyone beat you to answering the phone, vacuum, laundry, first one to the rig when we get a call, never watch TV, and NEVER EVER sit on the recliners.
It is my responsibility to bring all necessary supplies into a call, this includes: Drug box, Airway bag, Heart monitor. I am also in charge of the patient at the scene, I call the shots. As we enter a house, or come up to an accident I go straight to the patient. Following me are 4-6 seasoned, hard nosed, get the job done, "A" personalities that stand over my shoulder and wait for my move. In the fire service we are drilled down our throat seniority, and that you are the scum of the earth until you have proven yourself. So you can imagine the stress as your Captain is standing over your shoulder watching your every move. It is nerve racking to say the least, plus you have a patient to deal with.
Paramedic school was easy, your life was to learn and take tests. I mean, honestly it was probably one of the hardest things I have accomplished in my life; but looking back it was a cake walk. Now I have to remember all that stuff I was tested on. Not to mention, you learn the book "cookie cutter" patient. When you arrive on scene different story, I'm sorry but those patients are no where to be found in my paramedic book! Add to all of that, being rudely awoken at 4 a.m. and getting your brain and memory to work...
Today we have had a few calls. Our first call was an accident on the freeway. We arrived on scene to find a semi truck on the side of the road with a four door passenger car stuck sideways to the front bumper. I was excited, I thought it was going to be my first significant trauma. I grabbed the gear, put on the safety vest and walked to the car. First thing is first; scene safety. Make sure you are safe before anything else, "check." Approached the vehicle and found a patient sitting in the driver seat, obviously shaken up by the events of their wonderful day so far. Something seemed odd, but they looked fine. No sideways legs or backward arms. Their left side was shaking, not from nerves, but it was as if they had Parkinson's disease just to their left side. Well, they denied any neck pain, denied back pain, denied any other pain. So I asked if we could have them get out and go to the ambulance. The car was still in drive and the key was stuck in the ignition, the airbags had not deployed. Because of this, we could not work in the car. Airbags could deploy late and at any time. If we were working in there when they went off we would become patients our self. We got the patient out and they walked to the ambulance. Everything was fine, the only thing was the left side issue. Through our assessment we found they had an issue in the past which caused them to have this condition. I don't want to go into any details of what it was because I don't want them to be identified in any way. Needless to say, patient was fine and walked away. Come to find out, the semi truck never knew he had a car stuck to his front bumper until he pulled over. He thought he had blown a tire; imagine his surprise when he got out of the cab and found a car sideways, stuck to his truck.
I was planning on going through my other calls, but it is late and I am tired. Have a good night.
