A day like any other..

Sad to say, nothing exciting the past few duty days. Stupidity is the norm. We did just go out on a "detail" to pick a poor older lady up off the floor and put her back in a recliner. We get those calls every once and a while, people get down on the floor from a fall, or just slid out of their chair. She wasn't hurt, just couldn't get up. She's a regular, we probably go out to pick her up once a month or so. Odd thing is she's always baby sitting for her grand kids that range in age from 1 year to six. We decided we're not too sure who's baby sitting who. Luckily the older kid knows how to dial 911.

We have several older regulars that either call us when they need help up, or when they're sick, need meds, ect... Some I'm sure are quite capable of living on their own, but some should be in a home if nothing else for their own safety. We just had a guy last day that calls frequently. He's late 60's, weights at least 350, looks like Santa Clause after a 3 week bender. I guess normally he is able to drive, witch is scary on its own. When he calls, it's usually trouble breathing, (COPD), and he's out of his meds. It's always the same story, that his Dr has somehow messed up getting his prescription to the drug store. Anyway, the sad thing about this guy is the way he lives. His house is filthy inside, usually old food containers and leftover food laying all around the kitchen or the chair he sits on in the living room. His clothes look like he's had them on since the last time we were at his house. He has a colostomy bag, that is always leaking. He urinates in his chair/clothes. Without getting too gross, he sits in the same chair all day, and spits. Always the same direction, at the same wall, to the point that the carpet and wall in that one area are covered with phlegm. Every time one of our units goes out to pick him up, they file a Social Services evaluation form on him. The hospital also follows up with a Social Services form. I got a call from the Social Services director from the hospital that we took him to last day, I think because she didn't want us to think they weren't trying. So far, they say he's alert and oriented, he chooses to live the lifestyle that he lives in, doesn't want any type of outside help, and their hands are tied. Just because we feel he's a danger to himself because of the filth he lives in, or that his mental status is questionable because of how he lives, is no reason to intervene . Legally there's nothing they can do. He's not the first guy we've seen where that's the case, nor will he be the last I'm sure. I'm sure that in his mind, if he chose some sort of outside help, it would be the beginning of the end of his independence. So, the cycle goes on... we'll keep picking him up until one day, they'll find him stuck to his chair, dead.

Crazy Never Sleeps

So Mark, my partner, and I are driving back to the station at 2 in the morning. We had just left the hospital after taking in the city's latest shooting victim. We pull up to a stop light and there's a 30's year old guy standing on the corner. He starts waving us through the intersection, telling us to go ahead and drive through, even though the lights red. We tell him we'll go as soon as the light turns green, and he goes into a huge rant about how then it'll be too late because he's waiting on the corner for the "beings" to pick him up and they won't come to get him if we're there.
As we pull away, I look at Mark and say something about how odd it is that someone like that able to be roaming around the streets at 2 in the morning... He looks at me and says "Hey, crazy never sleeps"
When I write my memoirs, that's going to be the title.

So our latest shooting victim was a 19 y/o boy. Shot thru the upper left arm and into his chest, right in the arm pit. Even though there were powder burns around the wound, he says he didn't ever see who shot him.
He's stable, so we get IV's in him and head to the hospital. Once in the trauma room, they do all their x-rays and stuff and find the bullet still lodged in his lung. The area of your chest where your lungs are is surrounded by a "sack" for lack of a better term, and if outside ait is introduced, or your lungs bleed, blood and air build up in this space and can cause the lung to deflate. Since he'd been shot, he had both blood and air built up and the trauma Dr decided to place a chest tube. A chest tube is about as big around as your thumb, goes into your chest about nipple height in your side, and hurts like no other.