My day as a medic
(First off, If you are looking for the Cystic Fibrosis Great Strides Walk story, it is the blog entry beneath this. Or to donate just follow this link http://my.e2rm.com/personalPage.aspx?registrationID=449990 … thanks.)
That’s right … I got to be a paramedic. Okay, well not exactly. Calgary E.M.S. gave members of the media a chance to experience what it’s like to go through an emergency situation so we better understand what they do.
I love these opportunities. I got to do this with Calgary Fire and had a blast; It was no different with E.M.S.
Adam is the paramedic I was paired up with. After a brief but informative training session on the rescue techniques I’d be performing, we were off to an emergency.
We jumped in an ambulance and with lights flashing and sirens wailing we sped through the parking lot at 30km/h and arrived at the grassy part in the back of the lot at E.M.S. headquarters.
We jumped out and assessed the situation. One woman was hysterical saying she didn’t know what happened but saw her friend lying on the ground. Another woman explained he touched a wire sticking out of the ground, there was a flash, and he fell to the ground.
By the way this wasn’t a real emergency. All involved were actors and no one was harmed in the making of this Media Medic Day.
The man on the ground had burns to his face and arm and Adam and I had to work together with some of the bystanders to properly get the patient on a stretcher and secured before putting him in the ambulance.
Just to rub it in, of course they have a “reporter” on scene asking questions. She was pushy and jumping in my face as I was trying to help this injured guy. I was trying to be diplomatic explaining I couldn’t talk. After further annoyance I was biting my tongue trying not to tell her to _______ (you can figure it out).
To be honest I have never seen a reporter do something as stupid as get in the face of an emergency worker when they are trying to save someone’s life. It is disrespectful, rude, and not to mention idiotic because I’m sure they wouldn’t appreciate reporters disrupting the paramedics trying to save their life if they are ever in danger. BUT … there is always a “but” … I have heard of such stories and I’d like to say those reporters are rare, they don’t use common sense and probably shouldn’t be reporters in the first place.
Back to the story. After nearly killing a reporter and carefully getting a patient with electric burns, and possibly more injuries, onto the ambulance it was time for CPR. The actor playing the patient didn’t jump in, instead we had a dummy. No I’m not talking about Ted Henley (kidding), it was a mannequin. This wasn’t an ordinary dummy though, it actually had a pulse, the chest would move while it breathed, and it’s eyes would open as a response.
Thanks to Adam’s help I was able to save the patients life … or at least keep him alive until we got to the hospital.
I said it when I wrote my blog for my day with Calgary Fire, but you don’t fully realize what emergency crews go through until you get at least a little taste. The stress of the moment, trying to deal with family & friends of the patient, properly assessing the situation, applying life saving medical techniques and trying to keep your hairs from turning white are not easy things to do all at once.
These men and women save our lives day in and day out and many of us take it for granted. This Medic Day comes shortly after the death of Cpl. Michael Starker, and while the feeling is still fresh, let’s remember what these courageous people do for us and thank them whenever we can.