Well, my big friend is back as my partner tonight, at my side one of the coolest laid-back Medics I know. This is the partner that was riding with me the night I blogged about the guy with the GLock 40. It is a busy night, No Units available, our day crew just gets back to our station, jumps out of the truck, we jump in, and off we go. Our first run is in Northwest for a 8 y/o having a ashtma attack. As we arrive on the main thoroughfare we circle around the block, we see people waving but we cannot find a driveway. We jump the curb , cross over the grass and pull up to the door. Inside we find a delightful 8 Y/o female with Bi-lat wheezing. Her inhaler is not working and she is short of breath. There are only a handful of children and adults at the church. We get right to work with VS. and updrafts. During this time the parishioners and preacher are very chatty... My partner, a big man smells food, the parishioners are a good size and food becomes a topic. I laugh at the precise detail that the dishes are detailed, truly, individuals who love a good meal... My partner, like a big teddy bear is beloved by all. We can hear a small group of children signing biblical songs. Everyone is happy and polite. I am actually having a good time on this run, and of course everyone loves the big man. As the young ladies lung sounds are clear and her pulsox is 100%, she perks up. She has a smile that lights the room and will bestow a beautiful gift upon us. She reaches for her song book and begins to sing a song for us. Her voice is angelical and her sincerity is genuine. Inside I feel a certain peace I have not felt in sometime. When she is finished she thanks us both, the adults thank us and give us hugs. The preacher comes over and really gives the big man a hug. The preacher joins our hands and says a special prayer to keep us safe always. I feel really good about being a medic at this particular time, I feel a reward inside knowing I have played a part in bring light to someone. and they have enriched my day. We depart the church, the preacher said that the entrance is hidden and there was much appreciation for the rapid manner that EMS got to their church
From the Northern rim of the City, we respond downtown for a car vs. dog accident. Sure enough, there is a Cadillac with minor grill damage.The guy is sitting in the middle of a main road, we block the car so we are afforded some safety. We find a male wanting EMS to check his back... I go check on the dog, he is dead on the side walk, a good size lab mix. the male is upset about his car. he wants the police for a police report. Hmmm. I check and there are no police available, there is no animal control to remove the carcass off the street. The driver hears our radio traffic and is not happy, he pays taxes for terrible City services. We caution him about sitting in the middle of the roadway. his car has minor damage and can move to the side of the road as he has called his family. He tells his family he wants to go to the precinct to file report. He is especially upset about the carcass of the dead dog just being left on the road as there is no one to remove it. He gets emotional talking to the family about the dead dog. we help him out, but not before getting his car moved somewhere safer. As we pull away, I think about the dog...I think about how I have more empathy sometimes for a animal than a human. Animals get injured because they do not have the intellect of man. Man will get injured because they do not use the intellect they have been given.... Sometimes the dog IS smarter than man. I have pity for the dogs... In my mind I feel like a modern day urban Aristotle.
we respond to an asthma attack for which we give an updraft to and transport, from there we are off to a residence with an angry PSY. patient on Prolixin who is violent, suicidal and homicidal. Police cuff him and transport him to the PSY center. From there we are dispatched to a medical alarm....we beat on the door, after some time a very frightened looking elderly woman comes to the door.... She is yelling through the door... we can see her through the small window pane . She tells us she is scared , she wants us to search around the outside of her house and property. I finally have grasped I am on nights..LOL, it took 2 months, but I now have remembered to bring a flashlight to work. We survey the property.. All is safe and secure. The lady thanks us yelling through the door and we wave good- bye. I feel sorry for the elderly where I work. They are easy prey and victims of violence by the young daily. Their great City that they supported and were promised so much, Going down in flames, they are trapped in one of the most violent Cities in America. So many have expressed dismay, harking for a better time when their leaders were leaders.My heart does go out to these Matriarchs and Patriarchs of what was a place of promise, now nothing more than a land of human misery.
It is busy, there are no units. We hear a call go out for a shooting on the Northwest side. The only unit that is available to respond is on Vandyke on the far east side, we pickup the call to help out. We arrive on scene with scout for a good shooting. A mid age lady, etoh, has been pistol whipped to the left frontal/temporal region. There is a large hematoma and blood. The patient has been shot in the left thigh and the bullet has went thru the leg and is in the middle of the hallway. The patient was not able to walk.. Pulses are obtained, checks for rotation and shortening..Dressings, Long spine Board, C-Collar and I.V. FOR A CODE 1 TRANSPORT TO THE LOCAL TRAUMA CENTER..Did I tell you....I LOVE BLOOD.......!
Our next run is for an unconscious diabetic, of course the patient did not eat...Nothing that a I.V. and some D50 cannot repair... I have to move the rubble in the house to sufficiently work on the patient. She does not have good veins, so I pop a E.J. .....In goes the Dextrose, up goes the patient who does not like EMS or Hospitals. She is CAOx3, she is now eating, she does not want to go to the hospital, medical control approves.. In my mind I think about not wanting put my knee on the floor as I had seen some Creepy Crawlies and the carpeting was worn , or matted right through to the pad....Weird?
From there we are off to a seizure, then to an assault. The mother of eight children injured her ankle while her children were fighting. All of the children were cool except for the big, soft, lispy son.... He was mouthy with us and talking alot of shit with his lisp. The daughters were cool, the other sons were blown out with 40's still on their laps... the sweet smell of natures own herb in the air.. We ace wrap the ladies leg, her lispy son just will not shut up... We dismiss him from the room.... He does not want to go at fist, but the other ladies in the house turn on him... Nothing worse than to see than a man acting like a big ass sissy.Alternative life style is cool with me, but come on dude..you were more emotional than the ladies.The madness of this call takes some time... I have two supervisors show up... One with good intentions, another just to attempt to harass me... Thanks to the super for keeping the other boss off me.
From there we are off to another theatrical event, a 21 y/o male with chest pain, drunk... kicking, bucking and spitting...His crew was all worked up and emotional...Damn, he would not cooperate with vitals... he got his BOYS all worked up... they started acting crazy.... picked him up and began running to the Ambulance, I stop them and and say, lets put him on the stretcher... Vital signs are good, he is crying and starts spitting on the walls. Ridiculous...Oh well, I will just take the time to clean the walls.
We close out the night with a Drunk male who is in someones yard with his van running asleep. We do not have a scout car... His door is open... We put his car in park, I usually pull the rig up to their front bumper as some will startle, hit the gas and could pull you along. MY partner is able to shut off the car, the male awakes, I grab both of his hands as you never know if there is a gun hidden somewhere in the seat or between their legs unseen. We get him out, he reports he has been drinking all night... The Police arrive and take over from there.
Our night is complete, the need for EMS services was immense. I am tired, but I had a great time working with my buddy. I have not had this much fun or enjoyment on busy night in some time. I got some blood, some action, But the highlight of my night was the Angelic little girl singing for us........There is nothing more beautiful than a child......A child in song....Good day my friends and god bless.

HELP ME !!!!!! Help Me!!!!AHHHHHHHHHHH !!!!
It is Thanksgiving Night in the hood, My gullet is full of Turkey and all the delicious dishes from this evenings dinner. I feel a bit sluggish and slow, Turkey has that nice effect, a nice Cigar and Cognac and JB would be settled for a nice relaxing night.Nooooooooo.....911 is as busy as hell, non stop drunks, shootings and domestic squabbles. We have a good assortment of which my partner is called the "N" word and I am told Whitey is disliked.....HAHAHAHA.... no shit!
Well,I was traumatized last night for the first time in years....This was a run that will haunt me for a while... It was not a shooting or accident, I actually like blood... I like the smell of it, you can smell it when it is spilled in the streets. I love the blots with very vivid, or dull colors of red.NO, it was something much worse, it was like a horror movie only worse because I was living it.
My partner and I heard the run come in a few blocks over, we were clearing up an assault run where no one was hurt, but windows and perhaps a weave.We hear a call 2 blocks over with another unit dispatched from many miles away. We go ahead and jump on the run to help out. The call is for a individual under 30 with Abdominal pain. We arrive at the residence. A wheel chair ramp, so it is a good bet that the sickie is crippled. We entered the residence, It is cluttered with garbage and belongings everywhere. We walk thru the residence to a massive rear bed room. The lady that greeted us at the door has a bright NASCAR coat on with Mickey Mouse on it.she very skinny legs and reminds me of a miss- shapened Clown. We find our patient, I look around and see yard tools, shop vac, hedge clippers, clothing strewn everywhere, boxes and documents just strewn every where. I see outpatient in a electric wheelchair. He looks uncomfortable and is disabled from a rather debilitating illness.as I get vital signs and assess the patient I am off in another world. I am fortunate that I can usually do several things in my mind at a time fairly proficiently.As I gather my needed info and physical findings, I see a leaf blower on top of a pile of garbage in the middle of the room. What a strange place for that?Hmmmm. Next thing in my mind I see Bill Murray in Caddy Shack using the Blower to clean his apt.... I chuckle inside and think, wow, I would love to fire that bitch up and blow some of the garbage around....Oh, back to the patient, He has a very rigid Abdomen and very tender. Info coming from the care giver is not very accurate. We are going to have a hard time removing the patient as there is too much clutter. We place our stretcher at the porch and will have to carry him out 2 man physically. I am concerned he may vomit as he looks like he may burst at any time. I am concerned about a bowel obstruction. My partner takes the top and I take the legs, very vigilant as I do not want to get barfed on.I have been barfed on......it SUCKS!
we get the patient out to the unit, so far, so good. The patient is contracted so I desire to start an I.V. in his neck,he refuses as he is scared. The patient has a history of ulcers and has had a bleeding ulcer before. Could that belly be full of blood? His nail beds are pail as well as his skin tone .I am at the patients side, Mom is on the bench to the left, she not only looks like a clown, she appears kind of different. All of the sudden, a burst of vomit flies out at an incredible speed....It hits mom in the face, her hair blows back like a burst of wind hits it...The emesis hits her square in the face and splatters on the walls. It shoots all over our equipment bags...AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! NOOOOOOOO!!! its not over, it shoots off the rear doors, its on the floor everywhere AHHHHHHHHHHH! HELP!!! like the Stephen King Movie dream catcher, I loved the Butt Weasels in that movie...I look for a movement, no misdirected weasel that came out the mouth instead of the ass. I am safe for now.....BUT NO..... I am really freaked out now.Mom , dressed like a clown and covered in bloody shit is laughing..... Laughing..... Ahhhhh FREAKY ! I look at my partner, he is Beginning to heave, Oh no! I look back at mom.... She is laughing , I can see the vomit dripping from her nose , her chin, and her eye lashes.drip... drip.... all the while laughing...Good god I am really freaked out. My partner bails, I tell him code 1 to the hospital. I build a dike to try to keep the fluids from running to the front ....I have a lake on the floor of my truck, This sucks, I am in disbelief, I am miserable now.Evidently at some point I must have yelled SHIT ! The patient said I said shit, I don't remember , but hell yeah shit was everywhere! I like the smell of blood, but the smell of G.I.Bleed blood and feces is a terrible stench... HELP ME.... HELP ME... stop the laughing, I see that last drip finally makes its way off the Clowns face. We are at the hospital, to the code room I must go, I do not even remember talking to the hospital on the radio. I am looking for the bald headed earring clad MR. CLean, as I know I have to clean our unit. The hospital staff freaks out as they see he is covered in emesis as well as our litter. Ahhhh......!Other crews, private EMS and municipal look at our truck in disbelief, glad it was not theirs. They all say they have never see that much bloody-shit filled vomit before. Even a doctor stops by to take a look and said, "it sucks to be you". It did suck.... It sucked big time... Our supervisor came and gave us hazmat suits to clean our rig-thats a first. Three hours later We are finally finished cleaning the unit. I was mad ,but not at the patient, he could not help what happened. I do question his caregivers ability to give him the proper care he needs. I am miserable, tired, and just want to go home... I can't seem to get the laugh out of my head, or the visual of the drip.... drip.... vomit off the eyelash. Happy thanksgiving? there was nothing happy as I went home perhaps to a nightmare of the laughing clown and the visual playing out in my dreams.....AHHHHHHHHHH

JB will have a holiday message for you in the A.M. I will be working thanksgiving night,http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGZ-U_P2XUo&feature=player_embedded so I should have plenty of stories as the holidays are violent.

First and foremost tonight I have good news to report.The children that were injured in the house fire I blogged about yesterday are all doing well. All will make a full recovery including the little guy that was lifeless. He was removed off of life support during the night and is fully conscious and doing well. His siblings are all mending from their wounds. I feel tremendous pride in their status and health.Some days I am down about my job and those who I service. I am appalled with the apathy of an entire City. Tonight I feel pride in my service to the citizens. I feel pride in my agency, EMS for being there on the front line. I feel pride in my Fire division that will from time to time treat me as an adversary. At this moment, this one moment, I feel all the abuse I endure from the citizens and my Fire Department is worth it. My unit, my partner, we made a difference last night. We have a beautiful little boy to show for the effort and labor last night. All the fighting, the union and city,does not matter tonight. Fighting with firemen in the fire house,does not matter tonight....A beautiful, innocent little boy will see tomorrow and hopefully grow old and prosper. Thank you god for being there for this little man. Thank you god for allowing me to have a calm mind and a steady hand to perform when needed most.
Well, the feel good story only lasts so long. We are off to pick up a diabetic male in crisis. After climbing to the 3rd floor we find a male , drunk in his apartment. The apartment is disheveled and filthy. Roaches visibly scrambling across the floor and walls. We immediately start the EMS shuffle to keep the roaches off us. We ask the male to come out to the hall, there is too much garbage for an assessment. The male comes to the door, lights a cigarette and lies down on the floor striking a pose like he is on a beach in Malibu. He is rude and abusive. I begin an assessment and find his sugar is within the normal limits. We attempt to get him up, but he will not cooperate. He is yelling that we are going to get "sued" by his lawyer. I can tell by his palatial estate I need to heed his warning. His girl friend comes up, ETOH , yelling that we are from the state. She starts yelling at us about how we work for the state and we were sent out to harass them. Our male takes a swipe at my partner with his hand. I am nice, I attempt to ask him to "please come to the hospital as we cannot leave you in the hallway". he refuses to budge from the hall. He is obviously a PSYCH patient. Sure enough he reports noncompliance with his PSY. meds. We call fro a scout car.The police arrive and he refuses to cooperate. The police and EMS work together moving this uncooperative patient down to our litter . The patient tells me I am a racist who hates black people. I pay him no attention. My partner is irritated with the actions of my patient, he tells him to be quiet. He is secured to our litter and transported to the hospital for an evaluation, noting his pressure was down a bit.
On the way to pick up the uncooperative patient, our rig was making allot of noise. Our truck rides like it needs new shocks. The truck feels like riding on the back of a stake truck. The vehicle is a year old with 80,000 miles.We run our fleet hard as we don't have enough units. A unit lasts approximately 2 years and must be replaced due to excessive mileage and being worn out. At the shop, sure enough the tension er pulley is loose making lots of noise. The vehicle is slow to charge when running as well. The shop does not have the parts, nor a backup rig Citywide, so we are told to drive the truck until it breaks. Our stretcher is damaged with the wheels having interference and friction slowing it down. My partner and I get a new litter and it is off to work. We spend the rest of the night responding to routine assaults and "one down" everywhere. our night will stay busy as I just sit in the truck. I hear AK47 rounds being fired a few blocks over, we are dispatched there for a shooting. No one shot, good for him, good for us.
We are on a run when we hear a call for a woman being dragged in the street by a man and a woman . The info is being updated to a body dragged and dumped in the field. We head to the location, the fog is so thick it is hard to see. We cannot find anyone in the alley or on the street. We get an update to head down another street, It is very dark and foggy out, with garbage and rubble everywhere . The street dead ends ... we see nothing, however I can hear yelling off in the distance. We follow the faint calling of a female till we find a toothless woman in the street. She is crying there is a body in the Field. The field is over grown, with garbage everywhere from illegal dumping. .. We find a pale female in bra, and panties, with her pants around her ankles. She is very cold, her jaw is rigored.......perhaps dead. As I look on I see the patient take a breath, the one and only she will take. We begin to aggressively care for the female. Getting the litter thru the field to the patient and back to the truck is major work. we offer ventilatory support along with I.M.Narcan,as getting a I.V. will be difficult . The patient goes from a coma (GCS-3) to increased resps and a slight moan. The heart rate is up and the remainder of the vitals are depressed. The tempatic is at 72.3 degrees so the patient is extremely hypothermic. The patient is covered and warmed with assists with ventilations,the jaw is stiff. A small group has gathered. The lady that allegedly found the body is crying, "Who would do such a thing"? Who would do such a thing? The answer is simple, the dope man....... the dope man does not want any one dying at the dope spot. The police, the loss of business, humans are discarded in this matter daily where I serve. We transport the lady to the hospital where she is listed as critical condition. She will be placed on life support and receive warm fluids as he body core temp is mid eighties. She should be dead, all odds were against her being alive. A drug O.D..... dragged in the street, dragged into a field and left for dead.....Lucky...lucky....lucky. My partners belief is the lady that pointed out the body actually dragged her to the field as it appeared they get high together and she was way too emotional. I agree, but do not really care.I performed my job and she will live, good. It is interesting, I play a key role in the survival of 2 lives, but feel only good about one. Perhaps it is because one has a whole life in front of him while the other wastes her. I perform with the same zeal with each run, but my mind really only cares about the little man.

I am riding the range tonight with another regular partner who has chosen overtime at my unit as I do not have a partner.My partner is a nice guy , very quiet, unassuming, however he is a monster feared by all. I respect his demeanor and his brute force. I would fear this man in a fight as I think he would dispense of me quickly. Right out the box we respond to a sick lady at a affluent part of town. Her pulsox is good and she seems to be sick with cold symptoms. She is hyperventilating, Her vital signs are maintained and her blood sugar is elevated with keytones. Perhaps she is trying to blow off the keytones due to the acid base shift? We advise her to seek care, she does not like the closest facility. Her family places her in the family car to transport her to their desired facility. Paper work complete, we place ourselves in service for another run.
From there we are dispatched to a man attacked by 2 pit bulls. The patient is in the upper flat of the residence waving a flash light, We call him down.He has a bite to the midline thoracic spine region with broken skin. A bite to the right forearm with bruising and broken skin. A bite to his right leg with multiple punctures and major swelling, black and blue. I dress his wounds and advise him he will need medical care at a hospital. He declines transportation and will drive the family to his desired hospital. The police arrive on scene and know the dogs in question as they have been terrorizing and attacking residents for weeks in that area. They complain that there are only 2 dog catchers for a city of a million and they work 9-5. sad, my city of 27,ooo have that many....Hmmmmm?
We go down out of service as we have been without a functioning hear radio for weeks. This radio is required by the state and finally the city takes some accountability and does the right thing with a little prodding.
Radio repair is slow and the technicians move at a snails pace. We will be out of service for a few hours for something that could be repaired in 15 -20 minutes.Oh well, I enjoy the break. THE BREAK WILL COME A TO END RATHER QUICKLY! we arrive back at our quarters and we get a call for a house fire with people trapped. We beat the engine out of quarters, I am driving and we are making good time. We are on scene within minutes. We find a working house fire with smoke and flames showing. There is one engine on the scene, while another is catching the hydrant. We exit putting on our safety equipment, as I come around the back of the rig we are met by an exited crowd. In the arms of a young man is the lifeless, limp, flaccid body of a 3 y/o. There is also a teenage young man at the back of the rig covered in soot with multiple lacerations and lots of blood. In attempting to save his siblings he has cuts to the arms , chest , and head. He has soot to his face , chest and extremities.
The crowd is crying and upset as there is a little girl trapped somewhere in the house. I have another unit enroute and supervisors enroute. I advise dispatch there is another child in the house and we have 2 critical. I immediately begin ventilation with high flow oxygen and a bag valve mask. vitals obtained with a monitor. I place his brother on the bench with a high flow oxygen for smoke inhalation. At the 4 minute mark of being onscene we depart code 1 to Childrens Hospital. The incoming unit and supervisors are advised there is another child as they are just minutes out. It is now a race of time to get this child 12 miles to the hospital.we go code 1 to the hospital with a radio notification. The doctor online is long winded and hard to understand.He asks too many questions, I finally tell them we will be there in 12 minutes, be ready. My partner who rarely drives 10 miles over the speed limit is now doing warp speed. He was in agreement that we needed to go. I bag this child taking a split leg position with my knees on the floor using my legs to put pressure on the walls of the truck to support me on the curves. The curves are tough at the high rate of speed, however I focus at the task at hand, breathing for a child that has stopped on his own. Enroute his brother is tearing up thinking the worse. I try to calm him and reassure him he did a good job and was very brave.after about 8 minutes our patient is making good efforts to breath on his own.... his right hand starts to move. I tell his brother to watch his brothers hand. He stops crying and has a brief moment of relief, the tears slow down.... We are turning in to the E.R. and there is more movement by the little man. We transfer care over to the staff waiting in the E.R. The young man briefly opens his eyes as we transfer him. I feel relief and I feel good inside. Our patient is intubated and placed on a ventilator. My truck is bloody from his brother and I have equipment everywhere. I told my partner good job as I have never seen him drive like that. I ask him ," How fast were you going? 75, 80 mph" ? he laughs and says," if you can believe it, I had the truck up over 90". I laugh and slap him in the back, good team work and a supreme effort, a labor of love for the both of us as we are proud fathers. I witness the medics bring in the sister of the lads I transported. she was removed by the firemen as the medics arrived. She has burns, some smoke inhalation, but stable....good work guys. I feel a certain gratification knowing I played a part in this story. I will work hard the rest of the night as we are busy. I will not blog about the remainder of the night as my thoughts and a prayer are with this young man that I have developed a personal attachment to due to our time together. God bless you, love your children, they are something to be cherished.

The last time my partner and I worked, we had a lot of blood and death. We were surrounded by police cars and were illuminated from above by a chopper. It was a hard night that left me in pain and tired. We are united again for this night;what madness is in store for us this evening. The night starts off pretty slow, but it will start to pick up. We deal with a few drunks here, and there, however we hear a call at a adult entertainment strip club. The call is for a lady injured on the dance floor during a fight in the club. Everyone jockeys for the call, however we are the closest and we make good time. En route we debate whether the police will be there. We wait hours for the police usually.. Lets see....Of course , there is a wall of scout cars on Michigan avenue and we are told by police exiting the club we are not needed. Hmmmmm? we can not get a scout for shootings or violence runs, however everyone comes out for the strip club. Telway is down the street, A bag of burgers and coffee and we are ready for some more work.More drunks, more sick babies and a regular flow of non emergency calls, routine madness associated with the green card.

We are dispatched to a assault,a domestic in the Northwest section of the City. The call is for a female who assaulted her boyfriend. He has a bloody nose allegedly from the assault. En route to the scene we debate whether this is a man who has suffered emasculation and is a whiny bitch, Or a guy who is taking one for the team from an abusive woman so she can be hauled away for domestic violence. There is no scout, so we make the scene, dispatch does not make mention of a weapon when asked. We arrive on the scene, my partner has an upset stomach and don't feel well. I tell him just to sit in the truck and relax, I will be right back. I knock on the door and a lady in a bathrobe answers the door quietly. I ask if a man has called who claims he has been injured in a domestic. She reports her boyfriend is drunk and has been beating on her. She reports that she punched him in the nose to get him off her. She tells me that he has threatened to shoot and kill her,and her child who is less than 2. I ask where is he? she says sleeping in a back room. I ask if there is a weapon in the house ? she says yes, his hand gun, a glock . He will not come out of the room. I go in back and find him sleeping. I whisper for her to show me where the gun is. It is behind me in the closet. It is there, unholstered, a glock 40 with a full clip. I now have his weapon, I find he is faking unconsciousness. I touch him and he pulls away, thus confirming he is wolfing. I was concerned for the lady and her child.I take the gun out to my rig.... My partner says "WHAT THE HELL" , i give him the story. He grabs the Glock, removes the clip , there is one in the chamber. we secure the weapon in our locked vehicle and go back into the house. My partner laughs and says, you were right, another male acting like a bitch. I ask for a scout car and explain the situation. The lady and the child are in the living room. The male comes out and orders us to "leave". we decline to act upon his request. He is mad that we are there. He is angry with his girlfriend. He has been drinking and not very nice. He starts getting aggressive and attempts to pull his daughter from mom. I tell him 'Leave the child alone". He says, "who the fuck are you? get out of my house". still no scout car for our scene. The male is angry, he confronts both me and my partner , only after locking the door. He says" f@ck you white boys and goes back to the room. YOU KNOW WHAT HE IS GOING TO GET. he exits the bedroom angry demanding to know where his gun is. He is a piece of crap who would have shot us as he is a coward. We tell him we have his gun and he will not get it back till the police arrive. He then exits the residence, swearing he will kill his girl friend, he drives off. I get in the unit with my partner and we wait for police to come get the weapon. I look at the bullets, he has hydro shock hallow points.This type of bullet is made for one thing.....Killing. my partner was like dude....how did you know? we laugh and I tell him spider sense. Next thing , the guy comes back, hope he is not rearmed,He lives a long way away so I think not. He comes over to the unit demanding his gun, I tell him ....NO. we will wait for one hour and fifteen minutes for a police car....rediculous.we clear the scene and move on to the next calamity.
We get a call for a man down drunk on a porch in a dark part of town where the street lights do not work. We drive a bit of a distance to get to the run. We find a man in a bathrobe waving for EMS in the middle of the street. We exit the unit to the robed man yelling at us that we are not doing our jobs. He is upset and abusive over our response. I take lead, the big man is yelling at me and grabs my shoulder, I spin around with a look like I want to split his skull and tell him" don't f#*king touch me". The man throws his hands up and backs off, I am pissed and he knows it. I arrive to the porch and find a man wrapped like a mummy on a chair. We start to remove all the blankets where we find a man severely beaten. Omg he has had a heck of a beating.... Earlier in the day we had been laughing and joking about the great kazoo on the flint stones. We joked how kids do not like bugs bunny,Popeye or the Flintstones any more. The great kazoo with his large head and green made us laugh....Our patients head is so big and swollen it is shaped like the great kazoos head, except red with blood instead of green.This man has contusions to his body, neck and back . His head is terribly deformed, I have never seen a head so horribly deformed. He was knocked unconscious earlier, however he is talking, but uncooperative. HE is making a bloody mess out of our rig and our ancillary equipment. We transport him Code 1 to a trauma center where people are stunned with the state of this mans head. He is covered in blood from head to toe. Or rig will require significant cleaning with some equipment requiring replacement.The Police show up an hour later to take the report as they never made the scene. I think about our night, another bloody night with my good buddy in the hood. I think perhaps all violent runs should have strippers on the scene as that is the only call in which we got a scout car to our scene . I am disgusted by the state of things where I am employed. I am amazed at the level of complacency of the populace with the abominable status of the City services. I am glad to go home, knowing I am going somewhere I can call 911 and everyone will show up in a matter of a few minutes.

Good afternoon, JB is up and about. I was pretty tired when I arrived home this A.M. as I was tired from work. After midnight my unit responded to 5 runs that happened to be evenly spaced, so there was no sleepy sleepy time. I dyed my hair the previous night and feel asleep with my dye in my hair. I am fortunate I did not lose my hair, boy did I look bad. The dye had run and stained my scalp, I looked like a giant turd. I was debating leaving the head alone and just going to work. After careful thought I decided against such an action as management already thought I was insane.I have my local hair dresser, stylist tend to my melon. This lady scrubs the dew with chemicals and an exfoliate ...My scalp is stained and raw and well, I look better. I will now look good in the haberdashery my employer provides.
Messing with the dew and I am running late to work. I forgot I need to get fuel and pickup a item for a friend. I do not have time for my delicious cup of Telway. I get to work and there is a run waiting for me.I am off to a lady beaten and dragged by a car. She has left the scene before we arrive. From there we are close enough to Telway to get that delicious cup of gold, glorious moment. My partner is a good guy, veteran with more years on the job than I do. He is also a union guy, so I feel good riding with a brother in arms.
We are off to the midtown region with Telway in hand for a chest pain.Upon arrival we find a psy pt, drinking a beer CAOX3. The patient is paranoid that his B.P. is elevated due to the little pressure machine she purchased for him. Everyone has had a few beers. His B.P. is fine, he doe snot have c.p. and his vitals are great. He seems to be at odds because a lady at the house likes the way I look and is trying to flirt. He becomes upset and babbles on. I ask him if he takes his PSY. meds? He says no!I tell him I can tell and I suggest he stops drinking and take his pills as mental illness lasts a lifetime.He does not want to harm himself or others, our job is done ...off to the next run.
We are now at a residence for a 30 something woman with abd pain to the umbilicus region.The room is permeated with the smell of natures own weed. There is another lady yelling in the other room. A complete assessment with pain to the mid abd, not rigid or tender. The patient is not an O.B. patient, zero N&V ,zero tarry stools. The patient has not had a "shit" for a few days per own admission. She Delcine's transport to the hospital and says she is going to take a boo boo.
The next call is a complete waste of EMS resources, The patient is a 4 y/o female with NERD candy in her ear. She is calm with a cute hat. She is a beautiful little girl with a delightful attitude. Her mom is a nice lady and her brother is polite. My patient walks and brings a smile to my face. When we arrive at the hospital, we exit the unit and she wants to hold my hand. My heart melts and I wish this little lady all the luck in the world for the few moments of happiness she has given me.
we respond to a few false runs and it is back to Telway for a midnight cup of coffee to sustain me through the night.
We get run #1 for the new day. The residence is a brand new subsidized house. Kids are on mattresses through out the residence. The residence is dirty and being destroyed. Our elderly patient evidently fell asleep on the toilet and fell off. She is fine and does not want EMS transport after full assessment. I start coughing on the dust or stink in the residence. My partner gives me a mint to clear my throat. We exit the residence and I think the government is too good to some. I work my ass off and I live in a 70 y/o house that is always in need of up keep. It has lost over half its value. I am not pleased. How can someone live in a new house with new oak cabinets and appliances and not have a job. HOW? just HOW? Hmmmmmmmmmmm, sickening.
We respond to a 3 y/o with asthma with sob. The young lad is getting an updraft at our arrival. The young man has congestion in his lower portion of the lungs. Positive upper airway congestion, then a cough. We hear a barking cough, hmmmmm , croup. I tell the family about the cool night air , the steam of a shower , a albuterol updraft will not take care of croup.I will take the young lad to the hospital as I am concern he will not make it to the doctors. The parents say they will separate with mom riding in the ambulance, and the dad following in a car. WTF........ why can't you just put your own child in your own car and go to your doctor, or the hospital. Why would you wait for EMS when you have a car. I attempt to impart some wisdom upon this couple, however I realize this is just a waste of breath. I like the little guy, he is cute and sweet like all young children.
I am starting to tire. we just make it to our station, a little rest perhaps? No.....we are off to a 50 y/o woman with a TOOTHACHE ! Inside am fuming, a bit tired of serving those who have made little, if any effort to help themselves. Sure enough, she is there crying, holding her jaw. Toothache for several days, holy shit a bird just flew into my window, poor bird.... dead. Back to the toothache. I say nothing, I let my cool ass partner do all the talking. She walks to the unit, crying, babbling and really just getting on my last nerve. I say nothing, thinking only of Night at NICK in my head. I see her lips moving, but I no longer hear the words coming out of her mouth. There is a thought of Dr. Dennis Leary and his "shut the fuck up" therapy, I am laughing inside.I then think about Bill Murray in What About Bob... silly funny movie.... I am thinking about the Death therapy scene..lol classic... I look at my patient and I am amused with her stupidity and the things going on in my head.LOL HAHAHAHHAHAHAHA.... finally I am sing the Dennis Leary 'I Am A Asshole song in my head...I am laughing my ass off... I see her lips moving she looks like a dummy without the ventriloquist ......HAHAHAHAHAHA......we drop her off to the E.R. to the triage nurse who has a look of disgust. I am thankful my vivid mind keeps me entertained so I do not say anything bad to this ignorant lady... Night is over with...I think about the middle class, I think about universal health care and the runs I have performed. The poor and needy hmmmmmmm.how about the abused middle class, where is our bail out.....sickening, just sickening.The poor is a never ending vortex sucking the life out this region.

I will report that not a single drop of Telway coffee was spilled in the performance of EMS duties Saturday night. Telway coffee plays a important roll in the daily performance of said EMS duties .That delicious cup of coffee is what will get you going for your shift, or sustaining you.
Our day crew is working over as they cannot get back to quarters due to too many runs and too few units. There are 8 units closed out of our active units of 24. The residents are calling as it is a warm day and night. There are just not enough EMS units and as a result, calls are being held over an hour before an Ambulance is available to dispatch.
I have a good partner this evening who is a young strapping lad.He is hungry and Armando's Mexican restaurant is on the menu this evening. Good coffee, good partner, good food. What could go wrong? Everything went wrong this evening. There is just not enough EMS units and we are traveling up to 20 miles from east to west, to north and south.
Our first run is at a high rise apartment building for a 23 y/o female with ABD . pain. The patient grunts when we knock to enter her apt. She is in a wheel chair with a disability, obese and pregnant. She does not speak English. She hands me the phone and a lady explains she is a O.B. patient who is not bleeding, but has abd pain.We attempt to move her to our litter as she does not have the strength to slide over. We stabilize her and transport. My mind wanders again to the test I spoke about in earlier blogs for a license to have children. I think wow, some guys will mount anything. Where is this guy now? How is she going to take care of her child? Hmmmm stop thinking JB. Take her to the hospital and stop using logical thought.
From there we move on to a party store where we find a drunk male and female staggering and yelling. There is a pregnant bitch dog at their feet that looks a mess. Ems was called by for the male due to his poor gait. When the store that has sold him all the liquor gets tired of their non walking patron they have filled full of liquor , they call us to get him out of there. The female and the male argue over the bottle/. The lady gets the bottle from the drunk and runs off with the mange Kerr dog.The patient is angry because he says" I am walking all over pissing on myself." the patient has piss in his shoes and his pants are stained with the golden fluid. The male said "I STINK"...In deed, he smelled like live stock or a Yak.
Our next call was for a drive by bricking to the head. We arrived on the scene where a guy just starts yelling at me and gets aggressive exiting the liquor store. He is not the patient. The patient left before we arrived, the brick lying on the pavement.
From there its off to a illegal immigrant , she was bitten in the back and punched in the jaw by her man. We render care and advise her to go to the hospital as her jaw is swollen and the bite would get infected, the patient has no I.D. or green card. her interpreter says she will go to the clinic in the A.M
From there it is a man in his boxers missing parts of his legs who has pulled out his dialysis shunt from his thigh. I pressure dress his wound as he does not want to go to the closest hospital. The family will scoop him up and private transport him to another facility.
Now we are off to the east side for a 18 y/o male walking in the street in his boxer shorts with a coat. He called 911 because he has diarrhea and has "shit " himself. He is hopeless for a young man . He does little to help himself and places his shit soaked pants down on the bench where I sit. Hmmm ....18 and pathetic, oh well;
We are off to the west side for and assault between a boyfriend and girlfriend.Police cancel us so we can go on another run. During the course of responding to this run we hear 2 confirmed shootings and a man killed on his motorcycle go out to units. A few more assaults and JB is really starting to get tired.
We are off to a 2nd floor apt for a elderly man that cannot walk.As i enter the apartment and turn the corner I am greeted with a hideous vision. Yes, I have been around since 1986, but damn, this was crazy. This guy had balls.....yes balls the size of basket balls. They managed to hang down below his knees. He could not even walk due to the size of the balls. He could not sit properly on the stair chair. My partner did not want to be bothered with the madness of the firemen. SO he took the bottom of the chair with the gigantic balls brushing his arms. Talk about taking one for the team. My back still hurt from the CPR run the night before. I was really tired and sick of my job this night. From Telway, Armando's and a good partner to piss , shit, and balls. I was tired and nothing here really made sense, but this is the land of misfits. We respond to a building across from the hospital for a lady with a cough. She has had a cough for 3 weeks and is troubled this morning at 4:30 a.m because she can not control her urine when she coughs and it is upsetting. Great, more stupidity for an Emergency service and MORE piss. We will close out the night with another 40 something smelling of piss and with abd pain and pancreatitis.
Much of our night was wasted on non emergency runs for adults who just cannot seem to care for themselves. My partner proved to be a great guy and a hard worker. I am sickened this night by the state of my employer and the clients I serve. I just want to get home and be a normal human being away from the madness. I welcome my off days and the one true thing that brings me happiness, My children. Peace and love, JB.

I did not have time to blog when I came home from work as I had time for 2 hours of sleep , then off to the Peanut Bowl Games. I am at work blogging about yesterday's shift. I must say that yesterday was a special treat as I was fortunate to work with a good friend. We both picked up a sack of telway burgers and coffee.....mmmmm. We started the day out with a 22 y/o illegal who called for her child who vomited 2x. Vital signs were good and there was no temp. She advises us that she was at the E.R. with her daughter yesterday who was diagnosed with a virus. Go figure, might the young lad have caught that? well, he still is wearing his vomit soaked clothing instead of placing fresh clothes on this 2 y/o. I think that people should have to take a test and be licensed to have children. Hair dressers, builders and Paramedics need a license. You even need a license to get married,but anyone can make a baby. mmm mmmm mmmm.
From there we are off to a man allegedly shot, who flew out a third story window shattering it and landing on the pavement below. What a mess, lots of blood and trauma. Massive head trauma,a hematoma the size of half of a football. Massive swelling and contusions with lacerations to the back. Posturing of the hands and side to side motions of the eyes, unresponsive.The patient is packaged with c/collar lsb and I.V. O2, en route to facility....My partner yells, Hey!!!!! he is coming to and telling us who shot at him. Police are notified and told to be at the hospital while this guy is alert and talking..... Incredible, the human body sure can take some trauma. It figures on a day I finally get to drive the truck is a bloody mess.

From there we are dispatched to a seizure, but we are flagged sown en route several blocks from our run. The crowd is excited, angry and hostile. I am met with many angry individuals who create a hostile atmosphere. I call for policed help. From there we find a extremely large man behind the wheel of a S.U.V.......vs. absent. CPR is being performed. , I hurt my back pulling the man from the car. A CPR run is called in for a officer ..... I inform dispatch that "that is our run". We went from having no scout to about 30. Next thing I know we are being spotlighted from a chopper above. We aggressively ALS the patient with a Policeman providing compressions. We work well with the police. They ask if I would like an escort? Sure I reply.When we take off to the hospital I am flanked by multiple poilce cars and multiple cars in front.We are illuminated from above by the Michigan State Police chopper flying over us all the way to the hospital. I cannot lie, I did like the Police escort and presence. I witnessed them running cars off the road who dared to not obey their lights and siren. Good job to all the police units out there.
My partner and I are looking at each other like wow, terrible karma. The remainder of the night is filled with drunks and anger. It was so sickening I just do not want to blog about it. We stayed up all night and had a good time.... Peace and love JB

Well, back to work last night. First thing I noticed our vehicle was leaking fluid from the radiator. The fleet has had problems with leaking radiators. Our first run came in and the vehicle would not start. The truck has been jumped by the shop 4-5 times. The vehicle had just been running. Any type of load on the batteries over 5 mins. and the vehicle goes dead. The shop does not change the batteries and we will have to get further jumps to the vehicle over night. Alas ..... we just have the hospital security start our truck as dealing with the shop proves fruitless. We are out of service for a few hours, so our first run we actually get to is approximately 1100 p.m. This is for a man 56 y/o short of breath. He has been smoking, he smells so much like a cigarette i could light him up and smoke him. He has been short of breath for several hours. Two new ford cars sit in his driveway. House full of adult children could not put him in the family car and drive him 3 blocks to the hospital. We begin care, he has a pulsox mid 90s with a wheeze. Once in the rig he begins to panic. He gets excited, starts coughing so hard he nearly pukes. His coughing increases the 3 C's and his condition worsens. We give him a updraft that he refuses to use. We place a mask on him for the up draft that he pulls off. Care is difficult as he panics.... Pulsox is 98 , however his condition is now becoming worse. We transport him to the hospital where he is taken to the Room for care. further updrafts and steroids and he will be better.
From there we will go to the east side to pick up a 52 y/o male on home o2.There is a history of lupus and the male is weak He thinks he may have pneumonia and all points to that. He is taken 3 blocks to the hospital which is nearly in the same complex as the hospital.
From there we are off to a residence where a 32 y/o female cannot be awakened. Her blood sugar is over three hundred. Her pulsox is low and resps decreased. Her pupils are not pinpoint, approx 3-4 mm. The heart rate is elevated over 1oo beats. The patient is extricated with ventilatory assistance. The patient is wet as family has placed cold water and ice on her. The family denied drug use, no track marks visible. I.V. line established, 2 mg. narcan with little or no effect. The second dose of narcan I.V.P. with positive results. The patient came to and was extremely combative. The patient was kicking fighting and biting. Her boyfriend was very helpful in restraining his girl friend. During the course of restraining her she bit the boy friend twice. I told him to move and he said I don,t care if she bites me. WOW.....next thing mom is in the vehicle and she sees her daughters tongue piercing is coming out. The patient is fighting hard and bucking. The mom tells me to get her piercing out so she does not swallow it. I refuse to put my hands near he mouth as she is biting like a rabid dog. Next thing I see the mom attempting to pull it out of her mouth. Mom gets bit.... I tell mom to stop, she gets bit again and screams. Well, this last bite and mom gets the message, blood all over the patients mouth. Transport to the hospital where the patient is calmed down and restrained. The doctor asks what do you think? I advise the positive pupil response and loc response with narcan, the heart rate over 100, while the CNS was depressed. I think the patient was speed balling and the doctor seems to think that is a good guess.
Well, it is now it is 4 a.m. and we are called to a gas station for a 60 y/o with knee pain and H1N1 type symptoms. THe patient whines all the way to the hospital. I do not say much , but why are you on the street nowhere near home at 4 in the morning and bellyaching about knee pain and a cough... Pathetic. oh well, to the hospital.
At 5 a.m. we are off to a run for a 50 y/o male with abd pain, loose stool and n&v x3. At first we cannot find the residence. Then we find a fenced junk yard. In the middle of all the rubble there was a small camper with three adults in it and a generator. The male, crying and holding his abd. Pain in the umbilicus, Appendix problems, Flu? don't know. I cannot believe the living conditions of these individuals. I look around at the rubble and thatched dwellings and I am in disbelief that I am in the 11th largest city in America. Boy oh boy, I had a brief moment of being in a third world country with the living accommodations. Well, my work relief is now at work and I can go home and go to sleep as I have been up all night and I am tired. Peace and love all, J.B.

Hmmmmmmm. I closed out the previous shift with a flabby smock wearing lady with no where to grab. Guess what, I start out the shift with a monstrous 62 y/o female wearing only a smock. Damn! where in the hell do I grab. Rest assured, if they are old , or flabby, they are wearing a smock of some sort. You can see them hang on door knobs, over chairs, everywhere. They are usually a requirement with the aged and obese. I look at this job where 3 scout cars of officers are on scene. They attempted to pick her up , however her leg hurt. Send in the professionals. My first impression is....she looks like Baby Godzilla from the godzilla movies.....She has fat roles in the same manner and her dry drool trails of white look almost like a ventriloquists dummie. I watch closely for a smoke ring, no sign of one, I don't think this is offspring of Godzilla. The size is right, however, different gene pool.Well, we try and try to pick her up, but her arms are flaccid and legs are large dead trees on the forest floor. We roll the tarp and position her on it. ALas, she does not want to go to the hospital. Food remnants everywhere, liter of Smirnoff and packs of smokes, who can blame her. She is winded with a moderate pulsox. She cannot move, there fore she cannot Care for herself and I cannot leave her. I call med control to order her to the hospital against her wishes as I don't want to repeat this later, perhaps at 3 a.m.Her brothers starts yelling and gets stupid...In my partners face. It gets heated, however he capitulates and backs down. Next thing I know with one mighty lift, flab shaking , hoots and hollers my partner in one mighty lift gets her up.We assist with placement on the tarp and trans to the hospital. I like my partner and the police are much better at a lift assist than Fire. Good job one and all.
Our next caller saw us pass by and called 911 as I was picking up dinner, bastard....no delicious Mexican Village for me. He is extremely drunk and belligerent. He is yelling and has a splint on his arm. He is pissed he is out of Vicodin and wants pain relief. He was supposed to go to the doctors and get a cast and surgery a month ago. He is ignorant and my partner bags the run and gives me a break, What a good partner.
From the southwest side to the east side we travel 13 miles to pick up our next patient as EMS always does not have enough units. Our patient is a 2 Y/o with a ear ache just several blocks from the hospital. Easy run, but come on....Must the government do everything for some.
Our next client again is on the east side.She is large, again,Wearing a smock...But hey, she can walk. She is paranoid about dying. All checks out fine.Remnants of her last feeding evident by the pizza box containing 2 crusts, and the rest gone, consumed.During the assessment I just wrote and said, nothing. The lady looked at me and said you look mean and angry.Hmmmmm, Am I projecting? hmmmmmmm I will just keep quiet. Once in the rig I bend down to pickup a piece of equipment. The pt belches loudly, the stench hitting me in the face.I say nothing just look at the patient. It must have been mean as I was pissed this pig belched in my face. I asked her to cover her mouth please if she felt the need to release further gas. She smile and said .....oh that just sneaked up on me. It was loud and Noxious, there was no sneaking on something that robust.
By now we have had numerous jitney rides to the hospital and our final run is that of a drunk lady whooped in the head by her man. Her fashion is incredible.The police are stunned, if I were the fashion police I would giver her a ticket for her mismatched hideously ugly ensemble.I might have smacked my lady for wearing some sh*t like that. Don't get me started with the hair. She does not want to go to the hospital, I sit in the truck as looking at her hurts my eyes. This is our final run, The EMS gods smile upon us,I get several hours of sleep..ATTENTION, ATTENTION: fat outta shape elderly people should not wear smocks. It makes removal of your carcass difficult in an actual emergency .This has been a public service announcement of JB...Living in the Grey.

I was off on vacation for a week. I had a great time with my kids and friends. We trick or treated and had a great Warrior victory as my boys team advanced in the playoffs. I really did enjoy my time away from the poverty and the misery that is my job. I feel human again after a much needed brake. I did get a unexpected call to work overtime on election day, triple time. I worked of course, thanks for the bone MIKE.
My triple time day was uneventful, I mostly worked in the capacity of that of a cab or jitney driver. Th lone interesting run is the lady that could walk, but she felt too much pain so she could not walk. We were her third ride to the hospital for the day. She is a pain seeker, one who goes to e.r. with complaints of pain to get pain meds. The 2 hospitals did not giver her pain meds, so off to a third. During the course of removing her from her residence in the projects I bumped a lamp in the hall with my big rump and broke it. She said she did not care for get it. We transported her to the hospital as she cried and yelled at her son on the phone for not caring about her. The clients were sickening, but I got paid appropriately for once so all was good.
Last p.m. it was back to work with partner du jour. The night crew came flying into quarters frantic, not wanting another run. Upset and tired just wanting out. My partner and I jumped on the rig and it was off and running 2 men and the jitney truck. We performed as the local cab service early on in the night. Later we were called to a man shot and cowering in the bushes in the brightmoore district. The attacker was armed with a AK-47 and still roving firing shots allegedly. We posted just short of the hood. Brightmoore is drug and prostitute infested. Many homes are burned out with much of the land scape over grown or barren looking like that of a bombed out war zone. My partner asks if I want to make scene.Oh no.....I forgot my Ak -47 bullet repellent.... I respect the hell out of a AK round. I view them as the most destructive and deadly.... Incredible wounds they leave in their fury. DPD cancels us , and its off to a 19 y/o male with abd. pain.

At out arrival my partner leaves the keys in the unit mistakenly locking the doors. I leave him to get the keys while I get the young man. The male has had a belly ache for three days. He is acting like a little girl, if he were one of my sons I would smack him and tell him to suck it up and man up......He is sickening...the apt is a one bedroom, very spartan..A 13 inch t.v. and a chair. One bed in the bed room and 10 occupants. The smallest wearing diapers and as cute as hell. I talk with the little people hoping the best but fearing the worst having witnessed the trees these acorns have fallen from. In the truck the young man bellyaches about him stomach hurting for 3 days. He appears not too bright. Out of the night his dad pops in and takes him from the Ambulance for transport by car to another hospital as they do not like the closest facility. GOOD... time to try a new local burger joint. 99 cent burgers, I order two, my partner 3. Burgers were good, however a little later I began to experience terrible stinky flatulence. BUBBLE GUTS.....damn. en route to the shooting my partner starts to complain about stomach pain. He tells me he turned on the lights while eating the last burger. He was distressed as it was pink and he wishes he did not turn on the light. He needs a toilet. We respond to a shooting in Northwest Detroit. The scout is at the wrong building, we help them find the right building. We arrive in front of a building and see Chinese food all over the pavement. Then I see A bunch of shrimps.... Large battered and looking delicious. I am over come with grief of the loss of the shrimps. I stair in disbelief. We find the party who was assaulted. He is beaten badly with his left orbit closed, black and blue. Dents and lacerations to the frontal, hematoma to the right cheek with a loss of consciousness. We package the patient with I.V O2 with code 1 to the local trauma center.I am troubled and haunted by them big shrimps lying there on the pavement just wasted..... terrible, just terrible.....We have a few more cab rides to the hospital with out last at midnight. A good night till our last run. I will get off late as my relief is a minute man who gets to work right at 0700hrs.
My patient on this last run presents with stroke like symptoms with left side deficits and unable to ambulate. No injury from trauma. The patient wants to go to the bathroom. I attempt at first to help her, but we it is taking too long and I attempt to place her on the stair chair. She wants to go to the bathroom, I let her know we have to go due to her having a stroke. She becomes upset and starts yelling, her neighbor starts yelling and snatches her dragging her to the lav. The male is yelling at me and angry. I am thinking about how old flabby people rarely have clothing on that you can easily grab for moving....I think why dont love handles actually have handles. I make a note to self....when old just make sure you wear clothing the can be grabbed and pulled on. Anyways, back to the yelling. The neighbor said I look mean and I did not run to the apartment. I advise him rescuers do not run and the patient is having a stroke and we are wasting time. I exit the lav, notify my supervisor and dispatch of the delay and the angry neighbor. After 10 mins wasted we load the patient up . Name and badge given to another ignorant imbecile who lacks common sense. I have never seen so many complainers who make pathetic excuses in my life. I just maintain care to my patient, code 1 to the hospital with all appropriate care. She is sent to C.T. immediately to r/o bleed. I am now tired. The last run was pain as I tried to do the right thing and got yelled at by a moron who will make a complaint to managers who do not support their people. Damn, I still cant get the vision of the poor lost shrimps just wasting on the pavement. Tragic, just tragic.

Overtime today.....! News Flash....JB worked overtime. Overtime is a phenomenon that happens once every few years for me. The stars and planets must have aligned and all was good with the force as I worked overtime last night. It was fun to get out and work on the first part of the weeks shift. I must admit it was nice seeing lots of faces I have not seen in some time. My partner last evening worked overtime twice with me last week so the night had a regular sort of feel to it.I will say, this unit I worked last night is much slower than the unit I am assigned to, the night and the units case number would bear that out.
The night started out uneventful till our first run of the night. This first run was in a sweltering senior housing unit. The heat is turned on with no controls for the tenet. The apt. had to be over 100 degrees. In a bed room we found our 80 y/o male with altered loc. A quick check of this moist diaphoretic chap revealed a low blood sugar.His wife reports he did not eat. The I.V. is established with this combative patient and D50 is administered. The patients LOC improves to CAOx3. The patient refuses transport and eats the meal his wife has prepared for him. This will prove to be our only real rescue run for the night.
From our area we are sent a significant distance to a Coney Island that has been robbed at gun point and three women are allegedly injured. It takes us a few minutes to get there as we must travel some 7 miles. Upon our arrival at the coney, there is no police. I tell my partner to chill I will go in as things look quiet. The female employee behind the bullet resistant glass reports the ladies have left. I ask if the coney was robbed? she reports no, that the prostitutes that work outside were robbed at gun point and one was bleeding. A male patron tells me, "The robber was a black male wearing all black". I look at the patron and said, well, you covered half of the neighbor hood. He looked at me, started laughing and said, I guess you are right. None of the parties could be found so we cancelled the police.
The next patient came from shelter row as I like to call it. Our 70 y/o caller reported chest pain. The pain revealed to be a chest wall pain to the anterior / midaxillary region of the left chest. pain with cough , resp, palp, and movement. All v.s. looked good. A 12 lead ekg looked splendid. A saline lock and transport to the hospital with nasal O2. Once at the hospital the staff is angry. The patient was at the hospital twice yesterday for the same thing and 5x in 5 days for the same thing. I don't care as I am at work for 12 hrs. I knew this was nothing having done this job long enough to know the real thing. Why all the work for nothing? Because my agency really does not have a quality assurance program, so some fool who has not been a regular with patient care will look at a code f for chest pain and like a check list will see if certain diagnostics were performed. Instead of dealing with that madness, I just make sure all the check boxes are checked and move on.While everyone berates this man I just move on. He thanks me for my kindness as he reports EMS and hospital staff has treated him poorly. I smile and move on, I don't care, I just do my job in this ridiculous region.
Back to shelter row, This time for a 22 y/o female O.B. patient who has had a cold and fever for a few days. It is after midnight now and I listen to her tale of madness. I think to my self, just 22 y/o, multiple kids and homeless. I say to my self, I sure hope I do a better job at preparing my kids for life than this young ladies parents did. she is delivered to the hospital where I find one one of my EMS coworkers moonlighting. It is good to see him and exchange stories.
It is 0300 hrs, I am sound asleep in the front of our rig parked on the street. I did not go into the station. My partner is beating on the locked door. I awaken like a maniac screaming and beating on things, it takes a few minutes for me to get it together. My partner is stunned,he said"that was crazy, I did not know you would wake like that". there is a certain uneasiness going to the run , I catch him glancing over at me. He tells me he will call to let me know there is a run.I smile and nod my head yes.Still half a sleep we get to our run, I am trying to pull it together. I see a mountain of a man at the door in bib overalls. His big man boobs hanging out the sides. As I get to the porch there is an incredible stink wafting thru the air. This is the unmistakable stench of poverty and misery. Upon entry to this filthy liar I find a elderly female who promptly coughs in my face. I ask her to cover her mouth, then she asks her son for the mask she is suppose to wear over her face. I immediately grab the wheel chair to get her out as the stink is starting to foul up the thinking centers of my brain. The lady and her son go thru this theatrical production to get out of her chair. We get out to the unit and put her on our litter. It is apparent this lady will do nothing for her self and is very theatrical. Her v.s. are good. She reports she has been sick for 2 weeks with a cold. Her son comes to the back of our unit and starts coughing without covering his mouth. I look for a tractor in the yard or banjo but do not find one. In my mind I hear the deliverance banjo playing over and over.I transport this patient to the hospital and wave good bye. It is back to quarters for some rest as the EMS gods have blessed us with no more runs for the night.See ya.....jb

Welcome back to my world friends. I must say, the last evening at my job was one of the most tiring I have had. I was left worn and weary at the end of my shift that saw nearly a quarter of the fleet shuttered for the night. I was fortunate to have the same good partner I had the previous night.As usual as soon as I got to work there was a run waiting for me. Where should I start? off to a 50 y/o with sob....well, the patient really just needed her Advair filled and wanted a breathing treatment but was too lazy to take care of it herself. My compassionate partner put together her updraft which would not work due to the nebulizer being green with fungus and moss from one year of use with out cleaning.With provisions made for her rx. of Advair to be filled in the a.m., we left the patient with a new nebulizer as she felt fine and did not want to go to the hospital.

It seems the rest of our night would be busy and with every run there would be a angry young male who lacked the mastery of the Queens English and seemed to be angry.A young lady of 18 happened to poison herself several hours earlier. She drove to another location where she vomited. The possibility of bleach mixed with ammonia. Heart rate over 150 , decreased pulsox and elevated resps this young lady would be a code 1 with oxygen and an i.v. Her young brother met me in the yard angry in my face over the EMS response . The young man said glad no one is shot up in here. A brief exchange and care progressed. Mind you there was a driveway full of cars and their loved one could have been to the hospitals hours ago. Of course he wanted to know why our monitor did not work ....... mind you it was working fine... SINUS TACH. This guy kept telling me how to do my job.... His GED was suspect and watching E.R. reruns do not make you a medical professional. With the exception of one elderly man rolling out of bed striking his eye, the remainder of my shift would filled with patients of a median age of 20 , alcohol and weed.
The pole is down and the crowd is walking across the downed PLD powerline. There are damaged cars and a ETOH male who fled scared the crowd was going to beat him down. We could not get a scout for sometime. The crowd did not beat this man down, but there were a few close moments. Lots of yelling and tempers....I did not have popcorn, but I did munch on potato chips.The grease has not dried from my fingers and we pull up to a young lady having an asthma attack. I am met with an angry young man as soon as I exit my truck, bitching about EMS response, angry. The house is full of drunks from teens to 50 y/o occupants. The unclothed Blubbering gut shaking while lying flat , exposed. An anxiety attack due to a confrontation. Tensions are still high in the residence. With all Vitals monitored and good, the young lady was calmed, we departed flagging the address due to hostilites. At approx. 0400hrs. we are called to another loud residence full of drunks and twenty year olds acting loud and wild. This young lady , 18 smoked too much weed and there was a fight at the party and now she is emotional causing all the young men to get angry. I did not see a Golden Globe in her future, but perhaps a bit part in the highschool theatrical production. Our closer for the night was another 20 y/o female who awoke at 0430 hrs. with non traumatic back pain.This lady cried the whole time i cared for her and really wore me out. Her man packed her a sandwich and said see ya...lol.... I put Sinatra to the test yesterday trying to maintain my sanity. After midnight the only run that actually merited a Medic unit was the elderly male who fell out of bed. The rest of the night and resources were wasted on twenty year old drunks, that were high , and theatrical. Tomorrows leaders..... Whew..... we are in trouble. Peace and love JB

Welcome back my friends ! This flu bug has been kicking my butt. I was really tired and sore with body aches after my shift. I slept till it is time to go back to work.Hmmmm, I can tell you last night was a very busy night as the weather was mild. There were allot of stabbings and shootings, however i was fortunate to have missed all that action. I will admit I did have fun watching one crew cleaning all of the blood out of their truck and they had a blood clot on the floor that was in the perfect shape of .......beans and franks, very cool.
We started our day with an mva in southwest, minor -moderate damage, no seat belt , hit head on windshield. The patient declined transportation against medical advisement as there was no desire to wear a c/collar with a long spine board. Note, I would see this patient later in a local E.R. sitting in a bed with a C/collar. Our next call was for a 25 y/o female with non traumatic back pain. At our arrival we found the patient in a doggie style position complaining of pain. EMS did not even get the opportunity to assess the patient as she demanded we transport her standing up.She was advised that we have equipment to carry her out of the residence and she could not be transported standing due to liability. A tirade of verbal swear words proceeded to come out of her mouth... We were told to get the f#*k out of my house. We complied, her man had a poor frustrated look with his lady. I knew that poor mans feelings as I was married once..........poor bastard.From there it was off to another guy walking like Frankenstein shaking jumping around, looking around paranoid that someone was going to kill him. This chap would not follow directions very well, mental illness and drug abuse is just NOT a got thing. After depositing him at the E.R. it was off to central district to pick up a regular with side to side gait waving and laughing. He says "I am too drunk, take me to the hospital" . He had only 5 or 6 beers tonight with a chuckle.....Not too bad u say, a 6 pack. WRONG , his 6 beers are not double deuces, they are 40 ouncers. We deposit him next to Frankenstein and they make an interesting duo at the triage area. From there we pick up a 16 y/o who called for chest pain with no parent at the house. She is fine, but we trans as there is no parent home.
Our next run was cool and highly anticipated. We were dispatched to a residence for a fight where an ear was bit..My partner and I in unison said tysoned.... We both busted out. I asked if he wanted to to wait scout..He said hell yeah, they are biting off ears.We both busted out laughing and he picked up some fries at the coney waiting for scout. At the scene , sure enough, this drunk animated fellow was missing a good chunk of his right ear. Gone, just gone...Tysoned, self portrait forever changed like Van Gogh. His profile picture will always now be to the right. This guy just would not be quiet. He kept saying he won the fight, but how? he is missing a ear....And what about the guy who bit it off.......primitive... I needed a nap. After that we had a 22 y/o regular who refuses to use a family doctor, he just calls when his asthma acts up and goes to the hospital to get rx. for albuterol. tonight he takes the treatment and refuses to go to the hospital. Oh well, EMS there for HIS convience.
Finally our last call is for a unresponsive 80 y/o . We find a elderly female frantically waving for ems.... Her car is up against the house. Herr husband slumped in the passenger seat, hand on the steering wheel, his last action in life,Vital signs absent. I jumped in the driver seat and drove the car to our ambulance where we pulled out or cot and removed him from the vehicle ...Time saved for 2 men and a truck. From there we begin running a asystole protocol. Tube and I.v. immediately with cpr. Code 1 to the hospital with aggressive care for the patient. Upon arrival to the hospital there is a spontaneous return of pulse. Mission accomplished for 2 Men And A Truck, the patient is alive validating our efforts. Who knows his fate, only god can determine that. I am glad his wife will get to touch his warm hand and have a different final moment of her and her life mate. Good day Jb

Welcome back, I must say I have been under the weather. I worked the last 2 nights with a fever. At one point my fever was 103 degrees,I was fortunate to have good partners. I did not post Wednesday as I was just too sick after work..... So here it goes. Came into work and spilled my delicious Telway coffee...Can you believe it? devastated, that is the only words I can use to describe the lose of my beloved Telway. Well , I get into work and we are off and running with a run right out the boy for one down. MY partner a hulk of a man is cool as hell as usual. We trans to Detroit Receiving . Once clear we get called all the way to the far East side. En route we hear a medic unit calling for help as they are getting assaulted. We have turned too far east to be of help, my partner will not let us go as he wants to protect me from management. I am thankful to have this guy with me I think to my self. At our arrival on scene with no scout, this family erupts into battle. There is a theatrical young lady acting out unconsciousness adding to the fire. Her brother bleeding from the head is yelling and the whole house is crazy. My partner takes lead and i stay on the peripheral to take down anyone as they concentrate on him. At one point my partner has to get loud. The bleeding male picks up the weight in a threatening manner as if he is going to strike my partner. MY hulking partner gives him a menacing look and suggest "you really don't want to do that". the imbecile puts the weight down.Now more young me roll up in a van, the young lady is packaged in c/collar and a long spine board for removal from the residence.At this time it really gets loud and crazy as one of the young men brandish a hand gun, with the imbecile yelling "shoot me". We take the patient and leave the scene. Upon our arrival at Saint Johns hospital there are no beds and we end up waiting nearly an hour.Our stretcher bar had broke, when we transported I had to improvise securing the patient, so off to the shop.
Well, we are repaired again and off to Woodward and Palmer. Our regular wants to go to the hospital. No complaints of injury or illness, just wants a bed to sleep it off in as the pavement and curb are uncomfortable. Our patient has corn and stink all over him from eating out of the garbage can. Eating garbage, but enough money for 2 pints and a forty oz....priorities. Our next patient is a 52 y/o female sleeping on grand river, actually using the curb as a pillow in a fetal position. once awakened she is abusive and combative. She is a chronic COPD patient. Her pulsox is low so we give her a treatment, no i.v. as she is just too uncooperative. To calm the beast I put on some Frank Sinatra. Old blue eyes has also been a relaxing favorite of mine. To my surprise my patient knows the words and actually calms down enroute. Frank nearly works 100 % of the time.Summer wind proved to be her favorite. At the hospital she strips down, attacks security and throws all her belongs everywhere, they did not have Frank. We clear the hospital, I feel absolutely terrible. The gods have smiled upon me tonight knowing I am sick. I do not do another run as the cold rain seems to slow down EMS. Thanks for a good night dispatch and my great partner. Peace and love......JB

Well another week in the books. I was fortunate to have such a great partner to work with last night. Last night was the best night I have had on nights since my forced tenure there. I started the evening off at 1900 with a run as soon as I hit the door. A child , preteen who stepped on a board in the closet that had 4 nails protruding upward. (2) 4" nails and (2) 2 " nails. The nails had penetrated her tennis shoe and the board was stuck to her foot. My partner took command of the residence that was in complete turmoil. The leg and shoe was splinted together with the board for removal at the hospital. After vitals a saline lock was established with morphine for trans. The child reported pain relief with the opiate. I was very pleased and satisfied as things went as planned as written out of the text itself.
Our next run was for a house fire on the west side. The fire was still burning at our arrival and the firemen had the wheel chair bound patient on the porch. With good team effort by Fire and EMS the patient was moved to the Ambulance. The patient had sustained significant burns to the face and head. In addition there were burns to the forearms and hands. Burn sheets, vitals and oxygen with an I.V. en route to the burn center code one .
The remainder of the night was wrought with female psych patients who were non compliant with meds and very nasty to us. Again a good partner took care of that situation. My learned partner educated me on the star constellations on a remarkably cold clear night. Jb signing out for today , peace and love my friends. Stay safe in the D.

Back to work

Good morning and welcome back. It is now 0800hrs. and I have completed another shift. Last p.m. actually was a good night. While I did not get any sleep on the job the night proved to be pretty easy. Our 90 y/o proved to be small and light with a nice new wheel chair ramp. This little lady was very sweet and nice. Our others were small children who were easy to care for . We even had a 20 y/o who met us at the street upon arrival with his sore throat. Tonight my back was spared and everyone was pretty nice. My partner was a good guy who is coming down with a cold. I hope he feels better.There were many rollover accidents and much trauma to be had last night. I am just glad to have been fortunate to miss all that madness. I am going to chill for an hour then its off to my twins football game ---GO WARRIORS. be safe, take care and have a good day.... JB

Well, I had some difficulty getting on my Blog yesterday. After some technical assistance from Mr. Liagre I am back up and running. I had been off work for some 10 -12 days on vacation which was simply smashing. I watched my twins play some football and advance to 4-0. Feeling refreshed and energized I went back to work . Enroute to my station I was run off the road by some young guys driving erratic in Southwest. Then a stop at Telway for a cup of the most delicious coffee to be found anywhere. Upon my arrival to work I was met by my day crew that had received disciplinary action during the day and had to write additional letters. So sad.. my division is so out of control in management with disciplinary action that sometimes I feel like I work for the Cavalry instead of EMS, as all I ever hear from supervisors mouths is "charges". Oh well, moving on my night had started out with the most uneventful of runs..Everyone walking and waiting on the street, a medics delight in this urban center, easy runs physically and mentally.The night did not become difficult until a lady jumped in the back of the truck with abd. pain. She refused to remove her clothes for assessment, jumped on the stretcher demanding we take her to the hospital immediately of her choice while waving the all mighty medicaid card. The lady then called 911 to ask for another Ambulance as she did not like sitting for the 5 minutes gathering vitals and paperwork, we were her taxi at her beckoning call. This lady was rude and nasty during our whole time together but I was fine as I was glad that she was miserable and I was not. The night stayed simple until a heavy weight with a low blood sugar needed attention. 3 privates were called in addition to EMS. 4 units on one scene for a diabetic and her drunken companion. Of course EMS corrected the medical emergency and all was well. EXCEPT for the cockroach that appeared on my clipboard at the top ..with a ill look about him. It was a scene out of Joe's Apartment. I beat the clipboard on the end of the hospital bed and the roach did a beautiful flip with a spiral hitting the landing for a perfect 10. Everyone just looked at each other and my roach took his respective spot back in the bed. All is well. SO now I am tired, still not used to nights, no rest as our run volume at my unit stayed steady all night. At 4:30 a man called with no complaints, he reported that he wanted to go to the hospital for a medical exam. He reported he did the same thing 3 weeks ago and nothing was found and he wants to go back. Still no complaints of injury or illness.I am totally sickened by this madness but like a true professional give him an assessment and transport at a complete waste of time and cost to the taxpayers. My mind seems less tolerant at 4 in the morning than during the day. I must remember to not use rational when working in MY city especially at night or one would lose their mind. I went home and finally slept after a shift for the first time...Nights just got a little easier.Peace and love. JB