Don't get stuck with the Bariatric cot (the cot for our...larger folks) for more than one run.
Four bariatric runs later (plus two sore backs, one kick to my abdomen, and an almost broken foot), we managed to almost get rid of that damn cot.
We were literally IN THE DRIVEWAY of the station where we were to drop the cot off.
Dispatch: Unit 700
Me (Rolling my eyes, as it is five minutes before we are to be off the clock and I know that we're about to catch a run): 700, go.
Dispatch: What's your 20? (One's location)
Me: SON OF A BITCH THEY'RE GIVING US A RUN!!!!! (I get on the radio) Unit 700, we're in the driveway of Station X.
Dispatch: Standby
Me: (More cursing under my breath)
Dispatch: You have a run, Code three for the county, 123456 Blah Blah Ave South. Code three for the county. (You're about to take a 911 run a good 12 minutes away if there's no traffic, longer during rush hour. And oh, yeah, throw on those lights and the siren, and haul booty)
Brand Spankin' New Partner: OOOOH, CODE THREE???
Me: DAMMIT! FIVE MINUTES and I would have been safe! (on the radio) "700 is enroute and checking" (We're on our way but looking at the map book as we have no idea where we are or where we're going)
A little sidenote. We had been on the clock for more than 12 hours already (for a 12 hour shift) and we had five patients with a combined weight of just shy of a TON. That's 2,000 pounds folks. It had been a long painful day. We were tired, we were sore, we were ready to go home.
I flip on the lights and the siren and head towards the street the run is on. I figure I know where the street is, I should be able to find the apartment complex.
No such luck. To make a long story short the address and cross streets got garbled between the county and our dispatch office and we never found the address. This is pretty significant... Missing a County run is bad news for the EMT's on that particular truck. We were cancelled more than 20 minutes after the run came in.
I felt like crap. I'm the senior EMT on the truck, I was driving, I should have gotten us there.
Right now I feel a little defeated, definitely exhausted, and ultimately VERY happy that I'm off for the next two days.
If only I could have gotten rid of that damn bariatric cot.
Today's lesson at work
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3 comments:
My very soul aches with your expended energies (mental, emotional, AND physical). Bless your sweet heart ... How I do hope that you have a few giggles, many leisurely muscle stretches, and an abundance of rest during your two off days.
Damn - a ton?! My back aches just thinking about it. Kudos to you for maintaining that "patient first" attitude, even when unexpected difficulties (location, dispatch confusion) arise.
Enjoy your two down days!
*gigglesnort* Been there, done that. My lumbar spine extends it's sympathies.
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