Beth, Domestic?

So although I've never been the Katie-type with the beautiful quilts and awesome sewing skills, or the Emily-type with the creative costumes and show-stopping props, I feel pretty proud of myself this week. My roommates requested the use of my sewing machine and limited tailoring skills to help them with their Halloween costumes. They had a party to go to and Jake wanted to go as ladybugs. Megan went along with it and I pitched in with the sewing. The final product turned out pretty cute and I was pretty proud of myself! And I think Jake and Megan had fun being ladybugs, too!

And then after I finished their ladybug costumes, I finished a blanket that I've been working on for the last two years. I made it with all my old t-shirts from high school and college that I never wear anymore, but didn't want to get rid of. (I'll try to post a picture of it later.) So even though it doesn't happen very often, I can be domestic! Just don't expect it regularly...

Dying with Grace

Today was not really a good day at work. Or maybe it was.

We were pretty busy when I came in at noon - they were resuscitating someone in room 4, room 2 was a motorcycle trauma, room 3 had been choppered in from the boonies for continuous seizures and I had to go up to triage to tell 17 people that there was still no room in the inn. By 3:00 or so we had finally gotten caught up to the point where we could at least breathe.

And then I got my little old man in room 8. Not really old in the grand scheme of things, though - only 65. He was brought from a nursing home for difficulty breathing. My friend on the ambulance actually responded to the call and did a great job of treating him enroute. He was only able to whisper, but he knew where he was and what day it was. He said he wasn't in pain. I put him on the monitor, drew some blood and did my assessment. The poor man sounded like his lungs were full of water. It was so bad that I couldn't even hear his heart beating over the sounds of his breathing. And I couldn't feel a pulse anywhere - hands, feet, neck. But he was still awake.

Our ER physician called the man's primary care doctor, who made it to the hospital in about 20 minutes. I love this doctor - so caring, mindful of patient's wishes and a genuinly kind man. He stayed in the room with the patient and me for the next half an hour while he quietly passed away.

The man kept squeezing my hand. Strongly at first, then with less and less pressure as his breathing became the focus of his remaining energy. His rhythm slowly decreased on the monitor and his breathing became more shallow. He no longer answered when we called his name.

A friend of his came to wish him goodbye, as this man's children lived out of state and across the country. The doctor contacted his sons and prepared them for the immenent. We put the phone to the dying man's ear and let his children say goodbye. And then there was silence. No heart rhythm on the monitor. No sounds of labored breathing.

As I finished my paperwork and called the funeral home, I was reminded of Grandma and how fast is was when she died. And I remembered the nurse in the hospice room at Holland Hospital and how caring and comforting she was, even though only hours before she had been a total stranger. I felt a lump in my throat as I hugged the lady who came to see him and suddenly my eyes felt like they were under water.

Later I talked to the man's son and signed the papers for all his organs to be donated. This patient's own son had received a liver transplant 10 years ago. The gift of life goes on.

And then I realized that I have the awesome chance to be Grandma's nurse. Monday I delivered a baby and heard his first cry in this world, and today I held a man's hand as his eyes closed for the last time. I've been told by weathered veterans of emergency medicine that after a while you don't care as much anymore. And I've also been told that I still care too much. But that's not a problem for me. I'm learning that death has it's own beauty, and if I get to be the gift of grace for one moment, then it's all worth it.

Ahhh...Winter

As predicted, Denver received a nice batch of freshly made snow last night. And it's still coming down! It always seems amazing to me how it can be 80 degrees one week, barely Autumn and 60 degrees the next week, and then snowing and 30 degrees.

It's pretty much been snowing all day. And it's a wet, heavy snow. There are a lot of trees with branches bent to the ground under the weight and lots of branches in the road that have broken off.

And of course when the weather goes bad so does the health of a lot of people. I haven't quite figured out why that is, but I think it has something to do with O'Toole. Most people follow Murphy's Law, but the medical community has their own special one - O'Toole's Law. Basically O'Toole says that Murphy was an optimist. If something can go wrong, it will. And if more than one thing can go wrong at once, you'd better count on it.

Anyway, today O'Toole was out in full force, probably in cohorts with Jack Frost. I went in to work at noon and got my butt kicked until nine o'clock tonight. 2 cardiac alerts, 2 stroke alerts, 3 GI bleeds, 3 pregnant traumas, 1 delivery, 1 bravo trauma, 1 alpha trauma, 2 PE's, and a trauma CORE. Wow. Lots of running in the ER today!

But by 9:00 we pretty much had things settled down and they let me go home early. Whew! But I feel bad for the night shift, because when the roads freeze it's going to start all over again...

Fall Colors

Cousin Michelle and I have a tradition of hiking the Colorado mountians in search of the best fall colors. Unfortunately, this year we were both so busy that we almost missed it. We took a drive up to Georgetown and Guanellas Pass looking for the Aspens. Pretty much all we found was fog and rain with occasional hail. But then we found a few streams and some trees that still had their leaves. I love Colorado in the Fall!

It was beautiful, but really cold! So we stayed in the car most of the time and got out only for photo opportunities. We saw some big horned sheep and a couple foxes. Unfortunately, the fox was the only one who would sit still.

And tonight it's supposed to snow in Denver 6-12 inches! Looks like winter's starting already. Good thing it'll be back in the 60's by the end of the week. Ahh...I love Colorado!

My "Other" Job

I thought I’d give you all a little taste of my “other” job. The one I actually like…the one that pays me more…the one that I’m going to do full time starting in November. It’s a small team, but it means that we all know each other well and have fun working together. And it kind of makes us elite, or at least we think we are! And look at that rig! It’s the biggest one Rural Metro owns – it’s a duely! Just think, on Thursday I get to learn how to drive that sucker. Look out Aurora! These two are my frequent partners. As of now we work Fridays and Saturdays together. Vicki (right) is probably our most experienced paramedic. She’s worked in the field for 25 years and has a lot of know-how. She’s also the “boss” and runs the administrative side of CCT. And she’s kind of a mom for all of us young’ uns, too. Carrie (left) is probably my favorite EMT because she’s spunky and might even talk more than I do! The three of us have worked together so much that we pretty much know what will happen in any given situation. We know how the others will react and can read minds – that makes it so much easier when the poo hits the fan!

Most days we run anywhere from 4 to 6 calls. Not bad when you figure critical patients have more equipment, more drug drips and more history than most. So it takes an average of 1-2 hours to get them loaded up and transferred to wherever they’re going. However, some days we get nothing. Nada. Zip. Like the other day. Thursday we ran one call. Friday we ran zero. Boring. Luckily our quarters has cable and a comfy couch. And yes, I get paid for sleeping. Pretty cool, huh? But when it’s slow we also do things like go out to eat with certain B-shift EMT’s or shopping (we are the Gumby Girls, after all!). Oh, don’t feel bad for me yet. Last week we had 2 days in a row where we got absolutely pounded and didn’t eat until 8:00 at night. But that’s how it goes when you work the streets. And I don’t mean that in the hooker kind of way. But when it's not busy we do other things - like clean quarters, especially after the boys have been working. Why does it always smell like feet in there? And of course we take good care of our rig. The other day Carrie, Vicki and I spent 2 hours detaling that beast! We even took out all the equipment, the pram and anything that wasn't bolted down. It's amazing how much goo you can find when you're really looking for it. Yuck! Now if only it would stay that way...