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Friday, February 15, 2008

Don't Shoot, I'm Only the Piano Player...or A Pianist by Any Other Name

Ya gotta love EMS. In the midst of the misery and suffering we see on a regular basis, you can usually count on one thing: Your partner is as twisted as you are and will likely share some of the whacked out ways that we EMTs see the world.

We were en route code-3 to a shortness of breath call at one of the local nursing homes. On just about every call there's someone on the road who seems to have forgotten what to do when they see a large vehicle with flashing lights and siren. I dunno about you all, but my partner(s) and I have come up with some pretty descriptive nicknames to yell at these jokers, knowing all the while of course that they can't hear us. I suppose it makes us feel better anyway. So this car seemingly goes out of his way to cut us off and the first thing out of my mouth is "NICE JOB YA P*NIS!" I felt better and my partner got a chuckle out of it.

Soon afterward we had the patient in the ambulance, and while my partner was getting vitals, I reviewed the paperwork supplied by the nursing facility. The patient was having a hard time communicating and I wanted to get as much info on him as possible. The first page listed name, DOB, etc. but also listed this elderly person's previous occupation: PIANIST. Being a part time musician myself, I leaned over and said " I see you're a pianist, that must have been a fascinating career, I don't think I've ever met a pianist before."

Without missing a beat, my partner looks up from the monitor, and in a voice just loud enough for me to hear says, "Whatya mean? We just saw one on the road a few blocks back!"

Ouch.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Lol! Boy can I relate to casting aspersions on car driver's legitimacy....