Gangrenous Situation

[vtemti]

Has anyone else ever encountered gangrene? I have, and I can tell you that you will never forget it if you do.

Call comes in as possible infection. Officer on scene describes the smell in the house as the worst smell the he has ever encountered. When I asked him to describe it, he said "a mix of incontinence and old cigarettes soaking in stale beer". He was right, I have never smelled anything soooooo bad and wouldn't you know it, he couldn't have lived much further to the south from the hospital. The first time I ever came close to blowing chunks on scene or in the ambulance.

Long story short, diabetic patient with no job, no insurance and no money. He had brown goo oozing from his shoe which turned out to be his now liquid toes.

One of the nurses at the hospital told me that I deserved a six pack for that call. My reply was "ONLY A SIXPACK?". I then proceeded home to take a 45 minute shower.

 

[TTLWHKR]

I had a man who has gangrene in his abdomen.. He had cancer removed at a bad hospital, and it became infected. Being that he had been unemployed since he returned from Vietnam, he only had VA Insurance. There is no VA Hospital anywhere nearby. So he never went to a hospital for months. So the infection was kind of like flesh eating bacteria. It ate a 7" diameter hole in his abdomen, and the skin collapsed in and turned green.. The skin was so thin, you could basically see through it. There was yellow and brownish green fluid and ooze inside. And his legs looked about the same. But the worst part was his legs were wrapped and the bandage was soaked w/ yellow fluid and dripping. After the initial exam, and covering my face w/ a surgical mask.. we retreated to the bus to get medical command. I rubbed every inch of my exposed skin w/ alcohol gel <YECH> and put on a tyvek suit and an N95 mask, but not before squirting scent blocker in my nose. :blink:

We covered the floor of the bus w/ a tarp and cut holes for the stretcher mounts, then covered the cot. Went back in and carefully loaded this guy on. The legs had cellulitis, and were horribly infected. He veins were collapsed, but not hard to find because they were all bright red. The infection was in his blood too. He lived for like three hours, and then coded; but the pronouned his w/out working b/c his bones were even brittle.

I will never in my lifetime forget that smell. VT's description is right on the money, it is putrid, my partner needed oxygen after that run. It made him so sick he didn't come back for two weeks.

 

[Wingnut]

 

[CodeSurfer]

Smelly things like this are why I decided not to be a forensic scientist. I guess I'm destined to have a smelly job, because everything I love doing always has something to do with stankyness. Not that I love the stench, more like a side effect.

 

[Stevo]

but the Boss didn't finish the story, see...he made the probie do the bandaging...

~S~

 

[SafetyPro2]

Wasn't on the call myself, but we had a PT with a gangrenous foot a few months ago (I think I was on duty that night, but had coverage for some reason...was my crew that responded). Don't remember the details, but do remember the rest of the guys telling me about the "black foot of death" as they so aptly put it.

 

[Stevo]

methinks call like these are why it's called 'Whine-11'

 

[vtemti]

Originally posted by Stevo@Jun 10 2005, 09:58 PM
but the Boss didn't finish the story, see...he made the probie do the bandaging...

You gotta have some perks being the boss.

 

[vtemti]

Originally posted by vtemti+Jun 11 2005, 09:56 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (vtemti @ Jun 11 2005, 09:56 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteBegin-Stevo@Jun 10 2005, 09:58 PM
but the Boss didn't finish the story, see...he made the probie do the bandaging...

You gotta have some perks being the boss. [/b][/quote]
Keep it up, I can fire you ya know. HeHeHeHe


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