Saturday 24 at EAS

Haven't written in awhile. Haven't had any really decent calls in a while either. I should know better than to put that out there as I usually end up with a bad call after I complain about getting no decent E-calls. Speaking of a bad call... I got a phone call from a woman while I was working at EAS the other night. She called to let the service know that she wasn't blowing us off as far as her bill goes, its just that she has been unable to get things together enough to make a payment. I was confused as I don't do the billing end of things, and insurance covers this anyway. I let her know that she needn't worry, that we aren't gonna make a big deal out of things, as long as she makes an effort, etc. Besides, it takes a while for Medicaid to pay etc. After I got off the phone with her, I suddenly realized why her name was familiar. My worst call ever came last fall when we were dispatched to a MVA. Arriving on scene I found a patient laying in the road amidst the debris and the remains of a small sedan. Fire and heavy got there just ahead of us, PD was there and the officer on the scene said there was a DOA in the car. I approached the patient in the road, finding out it was a 15 y/o boy. He'd been ejected and had severe injuries to his head and upper body. Bottom line is we had a 25 min. transport time, with the kid coding on us when we were still about 10 mins out. I only had free hands enough to do one large bore IV and maintain the airway and do CPR. There were just 2 of us in the back, (my partner being certified at the BLS level) while a firefirghter drove. The patient had a brain injury that precluded his ultimate recovery, but we managed to get a heartbeat back in the ED (we meaning the doctors, RTs, nurses, and me as I continued the CPR). He was rushed into surgury, but died later in the day. He was an organ donor and there are people living longer and better lives today because of him. My partner and I recieved an accomodation from the hospital and the medical director for our efforts, which was I guess helped ease the hangover from the call. I still see that kid's face just about every day though.

Posted: 11h27, March 3, 2007