Quiet nights for the end of Autumn.

Well I have bought a laptop just for my uni work so I can read/type search while on station or at a hospital and the Cheese and Kisses who has been discovering the joys and wonder of sewing has made me a bag/satchel for it, looks very professional an store bought.

80M - Pain from hip to shoulder on left side.
26F - Break up with her long time B/f and took a few too many pills.
26F - After work drinks that went wrong, collected by us from the police station and breath analysis returned a 0.341 and she could walk!
86M - Dizzy so the family said, no pulses located, tachyponea at 40, supine I got a BP of 50 sys, monitored AF around 90, temp of 33.3C or 91.9F, GCS 15 and smiling asking for a pillow. Bat call, cannulate give 200mls of Hartmann's (Ringers) and we arrive. 30 minutes later he arrested, they got him back but it was time for me to leave before he did.

Next night working in the suburbs,

41F - Trying to convince me that she had a seizure rather than it was a domestic. I know what I know but can't prove it.
76M - Known rapid AF but feels palpitations, while I have the monitor on a few ventricular beats just couple and then runs of 7-8, there you go that's the problem.
85M - With an infected foot from a splinter.
77F - Chest pain that probably originates from the chest infection and cough she's had for the last two weeks rather than the AMI she had 10yrs ago. Transport for further Rx as she is already on her second course of oral AB's.


Be Excellent to Each Other and See You at the Big One!

Taz

Scary start!

When I read the notes of the first patient I had some sphincter pucker happening!
54F - Heart transplant FOUR WEEKs ago and dizzy, shaking, feels unwell - SHIT! For a stable patient who was just being (an rightly so) over cautious. Walked out six hours later happy.
30M - Drug effected in custody and the Police need a medical clearance. Luckily I know this one, he's new but I have picked him up before so some of the games he's trying to play are known to me as games and after a quiet chat he stops being so drug effected with me and we transport for the Dr's letter from the ED.
43M - Also in custody and bunging on some back pain. Credible witnesses debunk his whole story but he's using us to try and avoid the cells. The Cops who also didn't come down in the last shower give him paperwork on the spot and allow the patient to try and save face but struggling out to the ambulance for more ob's where he makes a miraculous recover and opts out of transport.
40M - Day after a three day bender of Meth and IV Oxy's and now feels like crap! No Shit Sherlock!
90F - SOB, delirium, pneumonia.
38M - Meth use again with dystonia a day later. Disturbing to have two meth jobs on the same day, must be on the rise in our area.
25F - Riding a scooter and had a stack with only grazes to show for it.

Be Excellent to Each Other and See You at the Big One!

Taz

I just can't get my stride.

I'm struggling to get all the different facets of my life together and in sync.
The Uni study where I feel out of depth with the structure but not stimulated by the content.
Ambo work were due to the current roster I have a partner on my 1st day and night shift but am single for the 2nd shifts and unsure of where or with whom I'll work. Not that it is bad just I like routine.
Home life around the Uni study and paying the wife enough attention for her support and just riding my bike!

I know and accept that my problems are insignificant to some but they're my current problems.

33F - Cardiac Arrest and unsuccessful resuscitation. No known medical Hx, no known drug use other than a big night on the booze. A shit start but we gave it our best and as I do say in this blog 'When your number is Up!' I am going to follow up with the Police for a coroners report on this one.
53M - Hypertension and feels unwell.
72F - Septic.
46M - IP and incapable of self care right now.
67F - Another septic patient.
73F - Nursing home say she's in an altered state and want investigation? During transport she seemed fine to me in fact I think it was a ploy by the patient to get out of the home for a while.

Be Excellent to Each Other and See You at the Big One!

Taz

Last shift of the block.

84M - Abdo pain but it appears more acopia and demantia.
22M - Manic but had enough insight to his problem to be able to comply with us and attend hospital for sedation and followup.
?52M - Pissed somewhere in town in a alley thinking he is having a stroke but can't tell us where he is. UTL
51M - Abdo pain, hard and distended.

I'm back to struggling with the UNI work again, too many other things and exams are now closing in. It's got me worried but I have to get through it!

Be Excellent to Each Other and See You at the Big One!

Taz

The seasonal change is slowing them down.

Very few jobs are on the street, there usually inside.

26M - Had an unusually big night out and 12 hours later was still feeling below par and made himself vomit thinking it would settle his guts. Didn't like what came up and had a burning throat from it so called us. He was concerned I told him up front that they wouldn't keep him there for this and most likely would get an antacid drink and some TLC.
81F - Walking back to the car with family after a meal and had a simple mechanical fall on a dry footpath suffer in a hip injury. No obvious sign of a NOF so hopefully it was just sore.
58F - SOB, emphysema.
47M - Interstate visitor with gastro. Daughter had it four days ago. Where I would try to leave a gastro at home in these circumstances that was not possible in his hotel room by himself.

Be Excellent to Each Other and See You at the Big One!

Taz

No partner? Who do I play with?

The powers sent me to the next station over to team up with an officer from a station two away from mine!

So when we did team up this is what we did.
73M - Increased SOB, bloody good chest infection it was to, made me SOB just to hear it rumble.
22F - Abdo pain, 1st day of her period but when questioning further like professionals do it had been two months since her last and actually wasn't sure when she was due. Me thinks it may have been an ectopic?
86F - Mechanical fall and c/o mid shaft femur pain. No obvious deformity but a frail ol' thing.
17M - Concussion playing sport. Had been walked off dazed and sat in the first aid room before a parent arrived and they all decided to call and ambulance. He was fully asymptomatic with me and even regaining memory of the tackle but 1st every concussion transported for everyone's peace of mind.
36M - A criminal who fell >6 metres during an alleged break and enter. Doped up he hurt his ribs and nothing else.
37M - Chest infection, living rough he wouldn't have managed too Long with a 39.9 Celsius temp.

And then he dropped me at my station and drove home to his.

Be Excellent to Each Other and See You at the Big One!

Taz

Back to normal.

I seen to be getting my brain around the differences in this electronic case sheet and even to the point where I can get the data at the end of the day to record it for you guys.

31M - Decreased LOC in a building underground car park driveway. Admits to heroin and Xanax use, transport  1) to remove from public view and 2) he can't remove himself because he's so trashed. Sparks up a little at triage, makes comments about my parentage and leaves much to everyone relief.
31M - ? Fallen down stairs one block behind the hospital! Same genius, no fall just a scrap along his face from the wall he fell asleep against. Deeper into the drugged state and stayed there for eight hours in a corridor bed.
24M - New in town and has many social issues and the Men's Hostel requested a psych evaluation before allowing him to stay. We could see that surprisingly he was a new genuine case that really needed help.
69F - Another aged victim claimed by the dreaded escalator! Sore knee and a swollen elbow but was shaken and requested hospital for a checkup.
29F - From overseas today and ill, my thoughts she has brought a bug with her,
55M - Community Mental Health staff member called for this dude. Easy to recognise symptoms before he slipped into psychosis and he had them.
32F - Gastro symptoms and was unable to cope at home and wanted hospital.
84F - FAS.
6M - Accidentally pulled out his feeding tube.
13F - FAS.



Be Excellent to Each Other and See You at the Big One!

Taz

I am back!

The holiday's are over and I have returned to work.

But Jesus I'm under the hammer at the moment.

Work always change stuff when you go on leave!
We got back from our trip the afternoon before I went back to work!
Uni assignments just seem to keep on popping up!
Our sector is the last to switch from a paper Patient Health Care Record to an electronic. I did my compulsory on your own time six hour training the second day of leave so I have forgotten a lot and it is not designed to make my job easier. It's to collect data and statistics.

The work I have done in the last four shifts isn't worth recording and that's the other thing as I signed the case sheets at the end of a shift I wrote them down in my little book but this system produces one copy for the hospital. I can produce another but they're five pages long.

So I have to find some decent work and develop a system whereby I can record the jobs, and remember to breath and laugh occasionally.

So I'm alive but busy.


Be Excellent to Each Other and See You at the Big One!

Taz