BuddingEMT
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What is the most memorable call you've ever had? It can be memorable because it was good or because it was bad.
Most Memorable Call?
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ErinCooley
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Probably 1 of 2.... Aug. 30, the day before the 1 year anniversary of my little girls death, we had a young boy w/ a majorly fractured skull w/ brain injury from rolling his fathers large quad over, handle bars squishing his head. I started back smoking that night. Or, 5 Rangers just back from Afganistan, 3 ejections, 1 partial ejection, and 1 perfectly fine.
There are more, those were the 2 hardest emotionally.
There are more, those were the 2 hardest emotionally.
Mountain Res-Q
Forum Deputy Chief
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Bad calls tend to stick with me more than the good ones. I've got two that I have gotten over (somewhat) because of talking about them.
1. Working Ambulance and was requested to transfer an 11-year-old patient from a smaller hospital to pediatric facility. I've dealt with plenty of kiddie calls before and since, but this once just hit me hard. She had been left in the care of the older sister the night before. The 16-18 year old boyfriend came over and gave the 11-year-old some Ecstasy and you can guess the rest. It had been 8-10 hours since she was doped, but she was still in a fog. They needed to get her to a pediatric facility 2 hours away because for whatever reason her chemistries and electrolytes were allover the place. The ride was interesting for me in the back with her. She had no clue what was going on, where she was, or what was going on. It was so sad, and just killed me.
2. The second one was on SAR. Man goes missing in the middle of the high sierra wilderness (8000ft+ elevation) just as a storm was moving in (the temps were cold enough to produce freezing rain and some snow that never stuck). He activated a GPS located beacon to let someone know he was in trouble. We couldn’t launch when the call went out at 1800 hours on Friday because of the remote location, the storm, and darkness. We launched early the next morning. Helicopters, horses, 4WD… none could get in. So two of us EMT’s hauled butt in to the location and finally were near the scene at about 1800 on Saturday. Darkness was moving in and we did the best we could to locate him, but hunkered down for the night rather than try to search along the cliffs that we were sure he was stranded on. The next morning brought good weather, so we hauled butt up the granite cliffs trying to reach the location he “should” be at. The helo showed up soon after, but we couldn’t find anything. I was exhausted and emotionally drained. HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE! The next day we found him in the worse possible location he could have been, just 500 feet from where we were looking the day before. From all appearances he died a horrible death from exposure a he latterly froze to death. The scene spoke about his desperate attempts to stay alive. We had entered the valley that he would have a bird’s eye view of and crossed in front of the high ledge he was against. We had camped on the other side of the outcroppings. We had walked right past him. I cried several times over the next few weeks. Could we have done something? Was he alive when we entered the valley? Were we sleeping at camp, just a few hundred feet away) that night, while he froze to death? We had a hard time with that until the autopsy revealed that he had died within 12 hours of sending the signal, a time when we could never have possibly reached him. Even tough we did nothing wrong and couldn’t have saved him, the sight of his body and the thought of the 2 infants he left behind still hurts.
1. Working Ambulance and was requested to transfer an 11-year-old patient from a smaller hospital to pediatric facility. I've dealt with plenty of kiddie calls before and since, but this once just hit me hard. She had been left in the care of the older sister the night before. The 16-18 year old boyfriend came over and gave the 11-year-old some Ecstasy and you can guess the rest. It had been 8-10 hours since she was doped, but she was still in a fog. They needed to get her to a pediatric facility 2 hours away because for whatever reason her chemistries and electrolytes were allover the place. The ride was interesting for me in the back with her. She had no clue what was going on, where she was, or what was going on. It was so sad, and just killed me.
2. The second one was on SAR. Man goes missing in the middle of the high sierra wilderness (8000ft+ elevation) just as a storm was moving in (the temps were cold enough to produce freezing rain and some snow that never stuck). He activated a GPS located beacon to let someone know he was in trouble. We couldn’t launch when the call went out at 1800 hours on Friday because of the remote location, the storm, and darkness. We launched early the next morning. Helicopters, horses, 4WD… none could get in. So two of us EMT’s hauled butt in to the location and finally were near the scene at about 1800 on Saturday. Darkness was moving in and we did the best we could to locate him, but hunkered down for the night rather than try to search along the cliffs that we were sure he was stranded on. The next morning brought good weather, so we hauled butt up the granite cliffs trying to reach the location he “should” be at. The helo showed up soon after, but we couldn’t find anything. I was exhausted and emotionally drained. HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE! The next day we found him in the worse possible location he could have been, just 500 feet from where we were looking the day before. From all appearances he died a horrible death from exposure a he latterly froze to death. The scene spoke about his desperate attempts to stay alive. We had entered the valley that he would have a bird’s eye view of and crossed in front of the high ledge he was against. We had camped on the other side of the outcroppings. We had walked right past him. I cried several times over the next few weeks. Could we have done something? Was he alive when we entered the valley? Were we sleeping at camp, just a few hundred feet away) that night, while he froze to death? We had a hard time with that until the autopsy revealed that he had died within 12 hours of sending the signal, a time when we could never have possibly reached him. Even tough we did nothing wrong and couldn’t have saved him, the sight of his body and the thought of the 2 infants he left behind still hurts.
Sasha
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When i was working IFT we had a patient who was home hospice but per case worker her daughter was a drug addict and abusing her.. We were taking her from home to a hospice house. PD, daughter and very young grand children on scene. it was an emotional mess. she was very young herself. late 40s..
She was in so much pain and cried out everytime we went over a bump and always apologized. i held her hand and ran another gloved hand through her hair and talked to her about her life. she was a former NICU nurse and had great stories. she said being bed confined was humiliating and shameful. so when we were going to put her in the bed at hospice we assisted her to stand up and pivot. she thanked us profusely for being so nice to her. she died two hours later.
my most heart breaking patient. and my favorite..
She was in so much pain and cried out everytime we went over a bump and always apologized. i held her hand and ran another gloved hand through her hair and talked to her about her life. she was a former NICU nurse and had great stories. she said being bed confined was humiliating and shameful. so when we were going to put her in the bed at hospice we assisted her to stand up and pivot. she thanked us profusely for being so nice to her. she died two hours later.
my most heart breaking patient. and my favorite..
Hockey
Quackers
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My last shift that I worked and got klocked.
Probaby because everytime I walk in front of a mirror, I get reminded of it
There are some others, but I'll go into em later
Probaby because everytime I walk in front of a mirror, I get reminded of it
There are some others, but I'll go into em later
EMTinNEPA
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Can't pick between two...
The first one actually happened today. Working on the paid BLS I run with, we got called for a fall victim with a head injury/possible diabetic emergency. Recognized the address and realized it was one of our own. Had three of our members come from home, half the fire department come out, and first due ALS unit from the community next door dumped the station. It was touching to see such an outpouring of compassion and to watch us all put our many personal differences aside to help a friend in need.
The other one was an IFT I took last month. My main service has the psyche contract for our region, so anytime somebody attempts suicide or has suicidal ideations, we transport them to a psychiatric hospital. This patient was a 17 year old girl who had attempted suicide via overdose. When I tried to get all the information for my chart, she explained that she had gotten in trouble and was told it might affect college. She spiraled into a deep depression and tried to end it all. I asked her what she wanted to go to school for and she told me that she wanted to enroll in the local college's Physician Assistant program. She said it was all she ever wanted and that she was obsessed with the human body... how it works, why it works, why it doesn't work, how to fix it... so I discussed some options with her on the ride there and reassured her the whole way that even if that college wouldn't take her, she still had plenty of options. I could see that she was cheering up, but only a little bit. I had a quick-drug reference I kept in my clipboard. As we pulled in to the psychiatric hospital, I held it out to her and said "Here, you'll probably be using this more than I will." She flipped through a few pages, then looked at me and quietly thanked me. We took her inside, got her all checked in, etc., and as we were on our way out, I glanced back and saw her showing off the drug guide to her mom. One of the few calls I felt like I actually might have made a significant difference, and I only wish I could find out how things went for her.
The first one actually happened today. Working on the paid BLS I run with, we got called for a fall victim with a head injury/possible diabetic emergency. Recognized the address and realized it was one of our own. Had three of our members come from home, half the fire department come out, and first due ALS unit from the community next door dumped the station. It was touching to see such an outpouring of compassion and to watch us all put our many personal differences aside to help a friend in need.
The other one was an IFT I took last month. My main service has the psyche contract for our region, so anytime somebody attempts suicide or has suicidal ideations, we transport them to a psychiatric hospital. This patient was a 17 year old girl who had attempted suicide via overdose. When I tried to get all the information for my chart, she explained that she had gotten in trouble and was told it might affect college. She spiraled into a deep depression and tried to end it all. I asked her what she wanted to go to school for and she told me that she wanted to enroll in the local college's Physician Assistant program. She said it was all she ever wanted and that she was obsessed with the human body... how it works, why it works, why it doesn't work, how to fix it... so I discussed some options with her on the ride there and reassured her the whole way that even if that college wouldn't take her, she still had plenty of options. I could see that she was cheering up, but only a little bit. I had a quick-drug reference I kept in my clipboard. As we pulled in to the psychiatric hospital, I held it out to her and said "Here, you'll probably be using this more than I will." She flipped through a few pages, then looked at me and quietly thanked me. We took her inside, got her all checked in, etc., and as we were on our way out, I glanced back and saw her showing off the drug guide to her mom. One of the few calls I felt like I actually might have made a significant difference, and I only wish I could find out how things went for her.
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flhtci01
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One that I will never forget is my first call as a basic. We were called for two people down in a manure pit. The first person went in for unknown reason and collapsed. Second one called 911 then went in to help first one. On arrival, both were in manure. FD donned SCBA and removed them. I cleared the airway and bagged one as soon as he was out, while he was transferred to the ALS rig and enroute to the hospital. Neither pt made it out of ICU.
Needless to say, all our equipment had to be cleaned thoroughly and still had a distinctive odor for a while.
The other thing that makes this memorable it the fact I was left at the hospital. I thought our rig was following us to the hospital but the second person was flown from the scene. I had to call the station and ask someone to pick me up at the hospital. They had forgot I was there.
Needless to say, all our equipment had to be cleaned thoroughly and still had a distinctive odor for a while.
The other thing that makes this memorable it the fact I was left at the hospital. I thought our rig was following us to the hospital but the second person was flown from the scene. I had to call the station and ask someone to pick me up at the hospital. They had forgot I was there.
Epi-do
I see dead people
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I would have to say my most memorable call had to be an elderly gentleman I ran on a couple summers ago. He was in his 70's-80's and had been watching the kids in the neighborhood riding their bikes. It was such a nice day, he decided to go out and join them. All the kids appeared to know him - like he was the resident grandfather-figure. While enjoying the day with the kids, he decided he needed to try and keep up with them as well. They were all jumping their bikes over a ramp, so..........he decided to give it a try as well, and ended up with what appeared to most likely be a fractured hip. Despite his injury, he was in wonderful spirits, joking with me all the way to the hospita. When I was leaving the ER, the nursing staff were calling him Evil Kinevil.
bensley101
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I have not been on the squad long, and surely this is not as touching as some of yours. But it's still my most memorable, probably because it is the one I learned the most from so far.
We showed up on scene thinking we had an 8yo having seizures. His parents told us that he had been in the hospital numerous times for observation but he never had one while he was there. He had one more seizure while we were there. We had a BLS crew and 4 FF in the room with the parents who were in control but obviously very upset. The patient's dad was kneeling by the bed, praying to himself I believe. So the whole time I am watching what everyone is doing with this kid and I later find out I wasn't learning about a child having seizures, I was learning about a child faking seizures!
Little punk! Then when we arrived at the hospital he was faking being asleep and wouldn't wake up. I can't even imagine the money and stress he ran his parents through. For some reason, every single thing I learned that night has stuck with me and I won't have to go over any of it again!
We showed up on scene thinking we had an 8yo having seizures. His parents told us that he had been in the hospital numerous times for observation but he never had one while he was there. He had one more seizure while we were there. We had a BLS crew and 4 FF in the room with the parents who were in control but obviously very upset. The patient's dad was kneeling by the bed, praying to himself I believe. So the whole time I am watching what everyone is doing with this kid and I later find out I wasn't learning about a child having seizures, I was learning about a child faking seizures!
Little punk! Then when we arrived at the hospital he was faking being asleep and wouldn't wake up. I can't even imagine the money and stress he ran his parents through. For some reason, every single thing I learned that night has stuck with me and I won't have to go over any of it again!
I am on a first response squad so i spend little time with my pts but there are so many moments i think we can all relate to on our calls when we make the 80 yr old women whos been up all night vomiting smile just because someone came to help her at 330 in the morning or talking to the suicidal man that wants to kill himself and getting through and have him cooperate and go to the hospitol or to see the relieved look on the parents face when there 6 yr old son is having a severe asthma attack at 2 am and them thanking u after u were able to stop the asthma attack or in the middle of a ice storm on the highway as ur holding c spine on a terrified 22 yr old and being able to calm her down and reassure her she will be ok there are countless moments like these we all have had them its why we do this theres no better feeling than to know someone appreciates what you do even if they dont say thank you they give u a smile or when they say u made me feel better and i think this is the most memorable thing about EMS which makes it so different than any other job out there and the only way anyone will ever understand why we do is if they do it for themselves.
nomofica
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I ran out of breath trying to say this out loud. :lol:
Scriptor
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~50yo MVA victim
We were dispatched to tx a 50 something year old male from local hospital to a larger hospital in the city. Nurses at local hospital reported he had several fractured ribs, and a punctured spleen, resulting in a hemothorax and severe pain. The medic I was working with was advised not to administer any more pain killers for reasons I failed to understand at the time. We had to back board and immobilize the PT ourselves (he crashed his motorcycle into a parked car due to bad weather. Family brought him into the local hospital where they diagnosed the trauma). En route we monitored his vitals closely, and tried to keep his mind off the situation the best we could. The PT couldn't open his eyes because of the pain. Every bump felt like another rib breaking into the soft tissues below.
I decided conversation may be the best way to distract from pain, so I asked him waht kind of bike he had. I told him I always wanted a bike too, but my girl friend wouldn't let me get one. He laughed at that and said I needed to lose her.
The fact that I was able to distract him from his pain, even for the moment he was able to laugh, made me realize how much I love this job. Even the worse parts give us something to learn from.
We were dispatched to tx a 50 something year old male from local hospital to a larger hospital in the city. Nurses at local hospital reported he had several fractured ribs, and a punctured spleen, resulting in a hemothorax and severe pain. The medic I was working with was advised not to administer any more pain killers for reasons I failed to understand at the time. We had to back board and immobilize the PT ourselves (he crashed his motorcycle into a parked car due to bad weather. Family brought him into the local hospital where they diagnosed the trauma). En route we monitored his vitals closely, and tried to keep his mind off the situation the best we could. The PT couldn't open his eyes because of the pain. Every bump felt like another rib breaking into the soft tissues below.
I decided conversation may be the best way to distract from pain, so I asked him waht kind of bike he had. I told him I always wanted a bike too, but my girl friend wouldn't let me get one. He laughed at that and said I needed to lose her.
The fact that I was able to distract him from his pain, even for the moment he was able to laugh, made me realize how much I love this job. Even the worse parts give us something to learn from.
My very first call was the most memorable for me. Dispatched for a female who's water had broke, contractions 3 minutes apart for her 6th child. The two medics on the shift delivered the baby in the living room. It was also a breech birth, with the right leg by the head after the left leg was out first. This call definately hit the "WOW" factor for me.