911 Update
The service responded to 83 911 calls during my 12 hour shift today. Ambulance Driver was assigned 6 of them.
- Call #1 was for a man who had subtle complaints of “just not feeling well.” He was hypertensive with a pulse rate too fast for me to count. EKG showed him to be in a supraventricular tachycardia with a rate of 200 beats per minute. The administration of 6 mg of Adenosine broke the rhythm and he settled into a atrial fibrillation with a rate of 90.
- Call #2 was for an elderly man in a nursing home who suddenly developed a fever. He was weak as a kitten, had a decreased level of consciousness, fever of 102 and with a low blood pressure.
- Call#3 involved an elderly male with a history of drug seeking behavior. Appeared to be shopping for a new hospital/physician since he had been recently dropped by the last doctor.
- Call #4 was for a nursing home patient who experienced a simple partial seizure that lasted 2-3 minutes. This was apparently a first time event.
- Call #5 was to a chronic inebriate who had fallen and fractured several ribs in recent days. The patient had been to the hospital twice already and now was treating the pain with Vicodin and several bottles of mouthwash.
- Call #6 saw us walk into a scene that reminded us of the set of the Jerry Springer Show. Several women had gotten into a shouting match that had deteriorated into a knife fight. The result was minor cuts and bruises. No one wanted treatment – which was just fine by me.