Bruised

Went paintballing last minute with Timmy today. Boy did I get tore up. I am not used to the rental markers although I should be since I used to OWN a Tippman 98 custom w/ a Dye boomstick barrel. Then I upgraded to a WGP Autococker with a drop forward and high pressure system. I ended up giving the gun to my buddy Roger since there were no paintball fields in San Jose at the time and the sport was getting expensive. Then guess what? 1.5 years later they open up Santa Clara Paintball next to the County Fairgrounds...

Wow bad judgement call on my part!

So instead of a double trigger w/ light trigger pull and a trigger stop, I have a single trigger rental that is so SLOWWWW.

What is it? Maybe I got pityriasis rosea from my friend Kim? Nawww! Maybe it's a hicky? yeah... like I'd get one on my leg? Just kidding... it's a wheal or more commonly known as a paintball welt on my leg.

I also got hit directly on the hand and it broke skin and gave me some small hematomas also; surprisingly blood looks cool mixed with yellow paint! It's like the paintball was locked onto my ring =D. Yeah I know... paintballs like shiny objects!

Christmas

Since losing my job to help my mom back in San Jose, I have been steadily losing money. This Christmas I did not get my lovely lady anything fancy or even remotely great as I would have like to. Instead I bought her a guava. Yes you heard correct: I am quite broke and ended up buying her a single fruit for Christmas. She was really appreciative and loved it even though it was nothing compared to the nice $400.00 sewing machine I bought her last year. As for my sister, I gave her my second Littmann Student Accessory Kit; for some reason Littmann sent me two and those little packages actually cost quite a bit, so I'm quite lucky and thankful to acquire a present for my sister. SGU still hasn't solved my financial aid issues yet. Goes to show that a single year can change a person's situation greatly.

Failure to Act

Un-freakin-believable.

These two FDNY EMT's gave all medical personnel a bad name after allowing a pregnant coffeeshop employee/barista to collapse and die without even lifting a finger to help. Really? I mean yes, you may be on break, but come on... as an EMT in uniform you have a duty to act not to mention you are a freakin human being so you have a moral obligation to act. With 2 "thingys-to- act" you would think they would ACT!

For those of you who don't understand, let's make it clearer. It would be as if I was wearing my scrubs or my search and rescue uniform and someone collapses in front of me in the coffee shop while I am on my break and instead of helping, I say "call 9-1-1" and take off. I'm so lazy I don't even call 9-1-1 myself, I actually tell people in the coffeeshop to do it and then leave. Anytime you are in uniform as a public safety personnel or a medical professional you create an appearance that you are on duty; don't want the hassle of being on duty, then take off the uniform.

Because of their actions, or more exactly- inaction, two lives are gone. Yes, the fetus died too. If you keep up with this blog, you know I always offer help when people are in need of medical attention.

N-O-R-M-A-N

spells NORMAN!

Who is currently chilling under my bed in the "tenderloin" position. We call it this because he lays down flat with his legs spread out and his body is long and skinny like a pork tenderloin.

I saw some pics today of the place I'll be staying at. Pretty cramped and almost no privacy... I just hope I get a cool roommate and not some cocky MS-1.

Rain

Yesterday was really really rainy!

Stood in the rain for 8 hours in traffic and got soaked trying to keep H1N1 vaccine patients safe. I even got my picture taken by Chris the super- visor! hahaha Apparently I was yelling at the driver to slow down while doing hand motions and trying to clear this lane cause there were obstructions ahead creating a big hazard. Multiple cars went from the "good lane" to the lane I was trying to clear (which was the slow lane). HELLO? Where did you learn to drive and how did you get a CA driver license? My mom worked for the DMV for over 35 years! I know most of the examiners in the Bay Area and they are tough.... WHO did you bribe to get your license given to you because you sure as heck did not earn it!

So I was yelling at these drivers and then I heard a few teenage girls that just got their shot giggling on the sidewalk cause these drivers are so bad and Chris caught me yelling at them. All of us had our fair share of yelling at drivers yesterday; Chris saw me and Phil (a Stanford corneal researcher) almost get ran over!

At the end of the day we finally took a small group photo... very small. I'm hoping they send it to me so I can post it!

On another note, I've been listening to my Littmann Cardiac Sounds CD and boy some of these heart sounds are hard to differentiate. A wide split S1, opening snap, and an ejection click all sound similar! Damn nuances...

Restroom Syncope

Today after shooting at the range with Courtney I picked up Kim Le so we could do some shopping for birthdays coming up. It was decided that Eastridge might be the mall we can find everything we need.

After we arrive I gulped down too much diet coke and needed to use the head before we went into hello kitty store (my gf gets mad at me cause I call it hello kitty instead of Sanrio, but I don't care). As I was walking in, I saw a security guard pop out of a nearby door and enter the restroom side by side with me while holding an AED and medic bag. My thought was WTF? But then I saw some 30 y.o saying "he fell, he fell" WOW talk about timing. Bladder is super full at this point: pee or hold it in? Like the hell I'm going to pass up on helping someone especially when the security guards are just standing around not really doing anything. I then summon on my will power to clamp that sphincter shut and put on my gloves I keep in my pocket.

Elderly man only spoke Vietnamese.... damn- I thought game over, but the guy who was yelling "he's on the floor, he fell" earlier, happened to be Vietnamese, so I get a free translator. After checking his head and neck I determined he was not a trauma and something else was going on. Told security dudes to call fire and AMR and start a response while I do a more thorough history. I also realized at that time I have a freakin former medical translator shopping with me.... *superman song plays in the background* KIM LE to the rescue. She comes into the men's restroom, cape and all and I tell the other dude thanks for his help, but we got it covered.

So the breakdown goes:

Name: Mr. HIPAA, HIPPA y.o male, A&Ox4, history of diabetes, hypertension, heart surgery- possible CABG, had unidentifiable medications in his backpack, no family present, took bus to mall, orthostatic, HR: 100 s/irregular, RR: 18, O2: 93% fluctuating, denied SOB and chest pain but I could tell he had some trouble breathing, did not look well.

He wanted to leave right away, but no way was I going to let him AMA without at least getting a 12 lead EKG and blood glucose by fire and AMR. When they arrive, they say the exact same thing. The AMR paramedic busted out his iPhone and used EpocratesRx to figure out what the drugs were. They were really impressed with my Nonin Pulse ox though!! 12 lead showed he had atrial flutter and possible bundle branch block. He really should go to the hospital and despite all the begging, pleading, and translating he refused because the poor fella was scared and poor. Now that's a sad society where one can't get medical care because they are scared of hospitals and poor....

So he AMAed. I sure hope he didn't end up keeling over and dying, and made it to the bus stop and home safe.

THEN... AHHHHHH... peace and quiet in the restroom as I let the urine flow. Then we were on our way to hello kitty!! I ended up buying a toaster that toasts hello kitty's face onto bread; how awesome is that?

Nursing Lecture

I went to one of my sister's nursing lectures today at SJSU. It was a little bit weird being on campus again since it has been quite a while.

The lecture was on geriatrics and was pretty decent; it mainly consisted of stats, some depressing thoughts, and dissing the Emergency Department, which I did not enjoy very much. It brought up the word GOMER, which I have never heard spoken or used in my entire life. GOMER was explained to mean "Get Out Of My ER" and that ER personnel always wanted to get rid of the elderly because they are infirm and are a burden. Supposedly a doctor came up with that phrase about what she witnessed going on in her ER.

First off I take offense to the thought that ER personnel are not caring of elderly and want them out of the ER just because they are incontinence and "boring" to care for. I love my geriatric patients and always try to chat them up when we are not swamped, but the reality is the only Level II Trauma Center that serves the whole Central Coast of California is not going to have a lot of downtime. Also, the doctor who criticizes ER staff of GOMER can't possibly say this is targeting geriatric patients; it's the freakin ED! We have that general mentality towards ALL patients! Be you young, old, psych, lacerated, broken bone, head trauma, stroke, AMI, STEMI, or even a hottie (which doesn't happen very often) I want you out of the ED ASAP, so yes GET OUT OF MY ER- GOMER!

The fact is the ED is not much different from EMS and prehospital care: we stabilize, package, and ship. The faster we do it, the better- of course without sacrificing quality care. We are not the med/surg, onco/hema, peds, OB/Gyn, SICU, MICU etc. floor where longer term care is provided. I have not seen anyone stay in the ED longer than 8 hours unless they were an undomiciled patient sheltering from the environment and we happen to have room. GOMER is a true statement, but not targeted towards any population. The reason the ED needs to be kept clear is because as nice as it would be to have people stay and chat, those precious rooms are needed just in case two buses collide or a plane decides to fall out of the sky. An empty ED is a good thing.

So the next time you hear the word GOMER, please don't think we are being rude or targeting a specific population. That doctor who invented the word should know better or get a clue by working in the ED. It is a fast paced environment which has a tendency to present itself as more callous than your "slower" floors.

Regards,

Your friendly (former) ER tech.