I have a new appreciation for a new group of friends I have called Paramedics. On Monday I spent the day with a N. St. Paul Paramedics unit in preparation for our Up Coming series. I was amazed to see what this mobile hospital can do.
I was not sure what I would find but when I jumped in the back of the rig I realized how amazingly well taken care of we are in this country. These two paramedics had almost 25 years of combined experience. They told me story after story of how they had to save people in the worst conditions possible on little sleep and with the frustration of a strongly bureaucratic system. They joked about stupid people hurting themselves in embarrassing and gross ways. What endeared me the most to these brave foot soldiers was when they talked about "the save."
Kylen (I hope I am spelling that right) Told me that the burn out rate is High. She said that most don't make it past seven years in this business. She told me it gets old some days. You go to a house and a lady tells you her legs hurt because she road her bike to long and she needs a ride to the hospital and the next call you go to a guy cusses you out because someone thinks your doing things wrong. But she said it is all worth it when you walk onto a scene and the person is dying. You can see it in there Eyes. She said when the adrenaline starts to pump and you feel the life flow back into the person as you work on them. "That is what you live for. That moment will carry you for months!," she exclaimed with a flicker in her eye.
They are ready for anything. Aaron pulled out a needle the length of my forearm and said this is what we use to insert into the heart tissue if there is a need to relieve fluid... they said it is remarkable to feel the heart quiver as the needle is inserted into it and the pressure is released. They showed me how they like to hold the tongue to intubate and then Aaron saw something he just had to show me... He pulled out a small drill and said, "you know what we use this for?" EEEEERRRRRRRR... went the drill... "NO?" I said, He smiled and said... "We drill a hole in the calf below the knee and stick a needle right into the bone marrow. It delivers the fluids faster. Cool, Huh?" All I could do was swallow.
I had a great time and I am so gratefully for there contribution to society. "Rescue ME" is going to be a great Series.
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