Subaqua Sternal Rubs

Today's ambulance shift wasn't too busy, 7 calls between two crews in 12 hours. (However, the average call takes 1.5-2 hours to complete, depending on hospital.) I was the driver of the BLS crew today, and somehow we did 4 calls, and the ALS crew only did 3. In an agency rather agressive with its ALS, that's unusual.

Our first call of the day was a 45 year old man who was working in a paper mill, stepping where he shouldn't have been, and subsequently got his foot caught under a 700lb steel cylinder. While this call had the potential to be bad, when we got there, his foot was already out of the machine. His foot/ankle was very painful when touched, swollen and bruised, but no bones sticking out or other gross obvious deformity. After splinting, he was treated to a ride to the Level 1 Trauma Center, simply because on top of the probability of fracture, he was also complaining of some symptoms of compartment syndrome.

Our second call was a 78 year old man who had fallen twice yesterday, and was bleeding from the back of the head since then. Upon our arrival, he said he was feeling dizzy and complaining of shortness of breath. We called for an ALS intercept so that paramedics would be able to assess and treat him. Of course, by the time we met up with the medics randomly on the side of the road, (about 4 minutes from the hospital) the patient changed his story that he was no longer complaining of these things. And when we got to the hospital, his story changed once again that he was complaining of hip pain. You had an entire day after you fell before you called the ambulance — next time use that time to get your story straight!

Next up was a LOL (little old lady) that had just come back from visiting her relatives, when she somehow fell, putting her coat away. Only complaint was shoulder pain. Sling, swathe and a ride to one of the local ER's.

Last call during the day shift was an employee of one of the local supercenters. A box fell on his neck, and he was complaining of neck pain. We found him in the huge walk in freezer (at a chilly 0 deg. F) lying on the ground… He did have a previous history of cervical vertebrae fracture, and he told me that he had broken C2, and had cut the spinal cord at that level too. Actually learning something in my anatomy class, I informed him if that were the case, he would be dead. (C3, 4, 5 keep the diaphraghm alive) :grin; He quickly said he was mistaken, it must have been C7… Gotta love people not smart enough to remember their own medical history. C-Collar, Backboard, and another trip to the Level 1 Trauma Center, simply because of history, and not because of any neurological deficits.

Finally, as I was about to go home, a call for a Motor Vehicle Accident, injuries unknown. I volunteered to go, because we didn't know how many patients there were, and I wanted that $10 gas card that each month's top responder gets. Ended up with only 1 patient who just drove straight off the road into a ditch, taking out a number of signs on his way. Yup, he was drunk. Since the medic was feeling nice, he offered to draw a blood sample for the Sheriff's Deputy. When asked if he would consent to getting blood drawn to determine a BAC, the patient wholeheartedly agreed… like he wanted to prove to the cops that he was drunk… Again, not the smartest move, but then again we are used to that in EMS…

6 hour shift at the hospital tomorrow morning, and then another 12 hour shift at the ambulance…

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