medichopeful
Flight RN/Paramedic
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What's with all the capitals?
Worst Call you've ever gotten ?
- Thread starter Ped101
- Start date
What's with all the capitals?
paccookie
Forum Lieutenant
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I didn't really agree with this until about a week ago when I realized that most of my calls were starting to run together. I've had my paramedic license since May and I've definitely had my share of "bad" calls, even a couple of high profile calls. I'm not sure which one was the worst or how to compare them. Some were medical, some were trauma. It's tough to pinpoint which one was the absolute worst call. There have been several that I will never forget. The 7 month old that a tv fell on her head (she didn't make it). The 20 year old near drowning victim (he did make it). The community official who shot himself in the head but still had a pulse and agonal respirations (he didn't make it), the pedestrian hit by a car that had a head injury, right femoral neck fx, left midshaft femur fx, left open tib/fib fx and a pelvic ring fx (he made it), the diabetic with a blood glucose of "high" that also had a rapidly declining BP and LOC (he made it), the CHF'er with massive amounts of pulmonary edema (he didn't make it, family made him a DNR at the hospital). I could go on, as I'm sure everyone here could. I've had an interesting past few months.
mycrofft
Still crazy but elsewhere
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I had a bad exercise support assignment once....
I let myself get into the middle of a micturition contest between my commander and the parent unit's commander.
Our medical unit had just gone through the Alpena Medical Combat Readiness course and our medical ORE (medical operational readiness exercise, actually an evaluation) so we didn't need another exercise. The parent unit commander wanted us there to both play as medics, and to be medics.
I did that before, and it contributed to a death. I argued and my commander argued, so we deployed 1200 people including myself and two med techs to act as medical personnel. To avoid being utilized as "Real world" as well, lending confusion to our role, we were to carry no medical equipment.
Turns out no medical personnel were on the ADVON (site survey) team. Otherwise it would have been discovered that the base had not had a hospital since the Seventies and all they had was a clinic. No EMS capability to speak of, and no transport or field capability. Also, we had been written out of the scnarios, so we were basically "spooks", not even there.
Unknowing of that, and being , well, the way I am, I smuggled a couple cubic feet of supplies including our LMR's (walkie-talkies) and their support equip.
The following ensued:
1. One emember of the parent unit had a MI, was taken to the local receiving hospital where he was told he would have to be driven home (no flying), whereupon without consulting us he was loaded onto a Hercules and flown home.
2. About a dozen members came down with influenza, requiring essentially taking turns on the clinic's exam tables getting IV's (for what, ??, never got treatment records) and tylenol before being sent back to their quarters.
3. The batteries ol the radios turned out to be worthless due to bad battery discipline (shallow recharges) on the part of the weekday techs.
4. We had the exercise commanding officer nearly pass out from positional asphyxia during MOPP4 (full chem suit and mask) doubled over in a desk kneehole.
5. We medics walked around as exempt obsevers and tried to prevent as much mayhem as we could, including a brand new airman who took cover in the exercise and was becoming hypothermic because he didn't have a coat on but stayed hidden behind a hangar.
We used half of the supplies and donated the rest to the clinic.
I vowed never to let myself get into a position again where the commander, looking at me and shaking his head, could again say "What the hell good are you guys here anyway?". (Paid off too. That's another story)/
I let myself get into the middle of a micturition contest between my commander and the parent unit's commander.
Our medical unit had just gone through the Alpena Medical Combat Readiness course and our medical ORE (medical operational readiness exercise, actually an evaluation) so we didn't need another exercise. The parent unit commander wanted us there to both play as medics, and to be medics.
I did that before, and it contributed to a death. I argued and my commander argued, so we deployed 1200 people including myself and two med techs to act as medical personnel. To avoid being utilized as "Real world" as well, lending confusion to our role, we were to carry no medical equipment.
Turns out no medical personnel were on the ADVON (site survey) team. Otherwise it would have been discovered that the base had not had a hospital since the Seventies and all they had was a clinic. No EMS capability to speak of, and no transport or field capability. Also, we had been written out of the scnarios, so we were basically "spooks", not even there.
Unknowing of that, and being , well, the way I am, I smuggled a couple cubic feet of supplies including our LMR's (walkie-talkies) and their support equip.
The following ensued:
1. One emember of the parent unit had a MI, was taken to the local receiving hospital where he was told he would have to be driven home (no flying), whereupon without consulting us he was loaded onto a Hercules and flown home.
2. About a dozen members came down with influenza, requiring essentially taking turns on the clinic's exam tables getting IV's (for what, ??, never got treatment records) and tylenol before being sent back to their quarters.
3. The batteries ol the radios turned out to be worthless due to bad battery discipline (shallow recharges) on the part of the weekday techs.
4. We had the exercise commanding officer nearly pass out from positional asphyxia during MOPP4 (full chem suit and mask) doubled over in a desk kneehole.
5. We medics walked around as exempt obsevers and tried to prevent as much mayhem as we could, including a brand new airman who took cover in the exercise and was becoming hypothermic because he didn't have a coat on but stayed hidden behind a hangar.
We used half of the supplies and donated the rest to the clinic.
I vowed never to let myself get into a position again where the commander, looking at me and shaking his head, could again say "What the hell good are you guys here anyway?". (Paid off too. That's another story)/
Last edited by a moderator:
Tyler Bruns
Forum Probie
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Not a call but my ED rotation.
Being a EMT-B student (Almost done!) I dont have any real experience other than my ED time so far. I get to the hospital 30mins early just to be on the safe side. Seconds after walking up to the nurses station a on staff tech tells me to follow him, they have a full arrest on the way in and they need me to do chest compressions. They bring in the PT who had gone down at home prior to EMS arrival. The on staff tech starts compressions then we switched out. I cracked ribs for the first time, got a systolic of 132 out of the PT. It was a pretty intense way to start out my EMS career.
Just wanted to share my story. I do my ride along this week. We'll see how that goes.
Being a EMT-B student (Almost done!) I dont have any real experience other than my ED time so far. I get to the hospital 30mins early just to be on the safe side. Seconds after walking up to the nurses station a on staff tech tells me to follow him, they have a full arrest on the way in and they need me to do chest compressions. They bring in the PT who had gone down at home prior to EMS arrival. The on staff tech starts compressions then we switched out. I cracked ribs for the first time, got a systolic of 132 out of the PT. It was a pretty intense way to start out my EMS career.
Just wanted to share my story. I do my ride along this week. We'll see how that goes.
mycrofft
Still crazy but elsewhere
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Hang in there. Say HI to Daedalus.
..Welcome..
..Welcome..
texasemt19842002
Forum Ride Along
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The worst call i can remember was when i was 17 and on the volunteer fire department. We get paged out for a house fire at 2200 and its 30 degrees out. As i pull up to the station the dispatcher said that a girl was missing and possibly inside. The chief told me jump in one of the grass truck he grabbed the tanker as we pull out people jump in the trucks. we arrive at the fire. Its fully engulfed no way inside. This was about 5 to 10 min after the pager went off. at 0100 the fire is out and were looking for the girl i was manning the line when the steam cleared, there she was. I can still see her today and that was eight years ago. I've now been in ems for 7 yrs.
firecoins
IFT Puppet
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the worst call I ever had was someone with the cold. It was an ambualtory patient who had several family members home with driver's licenses and several vehicles in the driveway. 
firetender
Community Leader Emeritus
- 2,552
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Hi! This is Rip Van Winkle!
When did paramedics start doing 12 leads on emergency calls?
Look tommy bahama who said it had to be an emergency?, I just put those in my worst call category thats all.
Tyler Bruns
Forum Probie
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firetender
Community Leader Emeritus
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4 month old post arrest
52 fractures in various stages of healing
Human bite marks on torso and limbs
Ring finger on left hand nearly bitten off
Parents claim they have no idea what happened...
52 fractures in various stages of healing
Human bite marks on torso and limbs
Ring finger on left hand nearly bitten off
Parents claim they have no idea what happened...
citizensoldierny
Forum Captain
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I hope the parents fell down some stairs and bumped into some doorways and no police or jailers have any idea what happened.
nomofica
Forum Asst. Chief
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Working security at a large, 3-day country music festival, we experienced a gust of wind that was 10 times stronger than it was sudden (which literally hit in seconds of me seeing the actual wall of sand blowing towards us from over 100 yards away).
The banners on the main stage acted as sails and the entire stage went down as it was anchored in such a way that it allowed the front of the stage to lift but the rear of the stage stayed stationary.
The horn speakers that were hung from the rigging above the stage collapsed and landed on the "VIP" bleachers that were on the stage, landing on a single mother of two boys; crushed her completely.
Story here.
The image of her entire body crushed by a 2x7 rack of horns (which weigh about 40 lbs each... you do the math...) is burned in my head forever. Definitely showed my true EMS colours that day; stepped up and did beyond my job description for that event (I was security and I could have very well just left - I was compelled otherwise).
Another bad one: the driver of a semi trailer had pulled over on the side of the highway for the night, hazard lights, orange rotating beacons and all. Couple hours later, a drowsy middle-aged man traveling down the same highway in the far closes his eyes and drifts onto the shoulder of the highway. Drowsy driver slams into the back of the semi trailer, ripping everything at the clavical level off - the top of the car, and his head. Ended up finding his head on the floor in the back of the car.
The banners on the main stage acted as sails and the entire stage went down as it was anchored in such a way that it allowed the front of the stage to lift but the rear of the stage stayed stationary.
The horn speakers that were hung from the rigging above the stage collapsed and landed on the "VIP" bleachers that were on the stage, landing on a single mother of two boys; crushed her completely.
Story here.
The image of her entire body crushed by a 2x7 rack of horns (which weigh about 40 lbs each... you do the math...) is burned in my head forever. Definitely showed my true EMS colours that day; stepped up and did beyond my job description for that event (I was security and I could have very well just left - I was compelled otherwise).
Another bad one: the driver of a semi trailer had pulled over on the side of the highway for the night, hazard lights, orange rotating beacons and all. Couple hours later, a drowsy middle-aged man traveling down the same highway in the far closes his eyes and drifts onto the shoulder of the highway. Drowsy driver slams into the back of the semi trailer, ripping everything at the clavical level off - the top of the car, and his head. Ended up finding his head on the floor in the back of the car.
Trauma's Mistress
Forum Crew Member
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I don't really like talking about my worst call with people who weren't there... it was just a big clusterf***.. but i'll talk about it here. We're all sitting in the station watching a movie, most of us not even in uniform, meanwhile a city bus driver is pounding on the office door for help w/ a woman having a Sz on the bus. we get paged "somebody go out and check on this bus thing..." all 7 of us make a mass exodus to the bus. EMT#1 and i board the bus, find a large, but young woman lying in the middle of the floor. not breathing, call out to EMT#2 that she's *** not breathing,*** need O2. ***EMT#2 comes back with a nasal cannula.*** EMT#1 can't get a radial pulse or carotid pulse. at this time EMTs#3 & #4 show up with the canvas stretcher and help us move her on to it. We move her into the ambulance, hook her up to the pulse oximeter. it shows her around SpO2 60%ish w/ an inconsistent pulse reading as it bounces between 20-90. we are unsure if she has a pulse or not. perhaps due to her excess fat we just can't find the carotid pulse. EMT#1 checks for a pulse again, EMT#5 starts the ambulance, and then just leaves to stand in front of the building. EMT#4 jumps in the driver seat and tells us that we're going. EMT#6(is a completely incompetent whacker) is sitting at the head of the Pt, where i need to be to BVM her. EMT#6 then moves into the stepwell to watch, he is useless, i literally kick him out of the side door, and lock him out. EMT#7 didn't do anything but tell us what to do after we've begun doing it. Sepervisor#1 is yelling at EMT#5 because 3 of our 7 EMTs just left in that ambulance. en route, EMT#1 has started CPR, I'm on the BVM. EMT#4 got confused and missed the exit, reroutes to the next hospital, no distance difference really, but the code was called to Hosp#1. (all 7 EMTs and 1 supervisor totally forgot about the AED, which is locked up and the key is on the drivers key) We roll up to Hosp#2. the nurse who meets us wants to know if this is real. we look at eachother very confused, I inform the nurse that 'no... it's not real, we're pretending to perform CPR on a Pt who is pretending to be dead because we thought it would be funny.YES, fatass, this is real!". nurse sends us to resus room. they take over from there. time to fill out the paperwork. go through the Pt's purse to find an ID. i find it, along with a picture of 2 young children and a stack of GED prep books. the PT turns out to be a 27 y/o w/ 2 kids, working on a GED to try to get ahead in life. as i come to this conclusion they call it.[/QUOTE]
OK heres what I wanna know ....
what friken pretend emt,should never touch a patient ever again,i fail at life - complete moron goes and grabs a nasal cannula for a patient THAT ISNT BREATHING !?!
In the story you said EMT #1 was the one who said- pt not breathing. and then it said EMT #2 goes and gets a nasal canaula.
I am really hoping thats a typo and it was supposed to be the idiot useless Emt #6 in your story, because what do we get when a patient ISNT BREATHING ... Oh to get a nasal cannula ...
Seriously?!? lol
also ...
"yea fat *** this is real" I laughed my *** off and I woke my dog up lol
OK heres what I wanna know ....
what friken pretend emt,should never touch a patient ever again,i fail at life - complete moron goes and grabs a nasal cannula for a patient THAT ISNT BREATHING !?!
In the story you said EMT #1 was the one who said- pt not breathing. and then it said EMT #2 goes and gets a nasal canaula.
I am really hoping thats a typo and it was supposed to be the idiot useless Emt #6 in your story, because what do we get when a patient ISNT BREATHING ... Oh to get a nasal cannula ...
Seriously?!? lol
also ...
"yea fat *** this is real" I laughed my *** off and I woke my dog up lol
DrankTheKoolaid
Forum Deputy Chief
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re
Sigh. actually had a worst call ever happen to me within the last couple weeks.
G5 P3 AB2 20wk IUP slip and fall at home day prior landing on abdomen. Get dispatched to a possible miscarriage at said residence. Arrive on scene to find developing fetus with cord attached in the gals lap, and she is mildly upset (tweeker). Open towel to examine, only to find that during the discharge of the fetus her cervix clamped as the head was passing. So there lies a headless formed fetus with a hole on the neck where the head used to be. Thankfully the VFD FR on scene were mostly oblivious to what was going on. Off for a D&C she went
Cant get much worse then this, so i am going to have to say the rest of my career is going to get much easier.
Sigh. actually had a worst call ever happen to me within the last couple weeks.
G5 P3 AB2 20wk IUP slip and fall at home day prior landing on abdomen. Get dispatched to a possible miscarriage at said residence. Arrive on scene to find developing fetus with cord attached in the gals lap, and she is mildly upset (tweeker). Open towel to examine, only to find that during the discharge of the fetus her cervix clamped as the head was passing. So there lies a headless formed fetus with a hole on the neck where the head used to be. Thankfully the VFD FR on scene were mostly oblivious to what was going on. Off for a D&C she went
Cant get much worse then this, so i am going to have to say the rest of my career is going to get much easier.
kittaypie
Forum Crew Member
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holy $%#@!!!!!! that's beyond horrifying.
QSMITH89
Forum Probie
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WOW, that is just horrifying.