0800 (08:00A) My second fire department ride along I was just not looking forward to. Several of my classmates had already done their ride along with *Mean City Fire Department and had nothing good to say about the crews they road with. I think to myself “I’m a pretty likeable person. I bet I can get the guys to warm up to me, I’ll fit in.” Wrong.
I walk into the fire house hoping to see a happy face to greet me. “So are you our ride along today?” “That would be me!” “Come with me.” Hmmm ok. Fire Fighter *Mark Escobar shows me around and introduces me to the guys inside the fire house. As we enter he tells me they had, had a rough night last night and the guys are really tired today. Long story short the Chief was the only nice one and only one who really talked to me throughout the entire shift. He took me under his wing and made me feel somewhat comfortable.
I tried to keep an open mind, the guys are tired from working all night, I would be a little grouchy too. I do my best to talk to them anyway whether they wanted to or not. I think they actually appreciated the fact that they didn’t intimidate me, well that’s what it looked like on the outside but on the inside I felt like I was walking on egg shells for the entire 8 hour shift.
We got in the fire truck and took a trip to Wal-Mart so the guys could get some ingredients they needed for their world famous smothered burritos. I offer to chip in some cash to help pay for lunch, in hopes they would share with me…they say no it’s ok, keep your money. As we walked through the store I could feel all of these eyes following us. These fire fighters were looked at like celebrities. In my previous post I mentioned how all the eyes and the applause felt good while I was walking with the fire fighters, it felt good to feel like I was one of them for the day….however, with Mean City Fire I felt like the third wheel, it was awkward.
0936 (09:36A) As soon as we arrived back at the fire house we received our first call of the day. An elderly woman had just experienced a seizure, full tonic-clonic seizure. Her daughter-in-law was with her during it so the woman never fell or anything. Paramedics arrived just as we did and rushed into the house. It was a small house with tons of nick nacks everywhere and in the kitchen was a visible basket full of medications and a note above saying “ATTENTION PARAMEDICS.” She must have this happen often.
She was lying in the cramped hallway on her daughter-in-law’s lap and had two paramedics around her. “Get over there and take her blood pressure. Here’s the cuff.” One fire fighter says to me. I approach the woman on the floor and say hi to her. One of the paramedics introduces me to her and says “My friend here is going to take your blood pressure ok *Miss Wallace?” I try to slide the cuff on her, I’m pumping it up and wait to hear the first “boom” in my stethoscope. I can’t hear anything. I try again…still nothing. “I’m sorry I can’t hear anything” I tell the fire fighter. “It’s ok, good try though.”
1100 (11:00A) Lunch time. I was told to bring a sack lunch so I bring my chips, an apple and PB&J sandwich to the table to sit with the guys. They are all ready for those famous burritos of theirs. A huge pot of hamburger meat sits on the stove, lettuce, tomatoes, homemade green chili by the truck load, a bowl of cheese, fresh warm tortillas, everything they need and it smells amazing. They wolf them down….never once offered. They pack up the left over’s and go on about their day. Now I’m not saying they should have provided lunch for me but wouldn’t it have been polite to offer at least one burrito?
1326 (01:26P) I’m busy studying in the dark living room while the guys fall asleep in the recliners next to me. I wasn’t going to try to turn on a light because I understood they needed their rest. The tones sound. A fax comes from dispatch stating a pedestrian has been struck by a car in a local shopping center parking lot. I throw all my stuff in my bag and the guys casually sit upright and lace up their boots. I’m thinking let’s go! This is a call hello! I jump in the truck and the guys take their time.
We arrive to find a young kid sitting on the hood of his car speaking with a police officer. I fumble with the jump kit (medical bag) and catch up with the crew inside a small shop where the Pt is being questioned by paramedics already on scene.
Fire fighter Escobar tells the paramedic to let me do the assessment. The Pt was hit while riding his bike. He is diaphoretic (probably only because he was riding his bike), smiling at me and standing. I wonder to myself “shouldn’t he be strapped to a board with a c-collar on?” He is refusing treatment stating he is fine.
I tell him I will just check his pulse and BP really quick. He allows me to do so. I have 5 fire fighters standing behind me and one paramedic beside me, I feel like their eyes are burning holes right through me and I feel the room’s temperature warming up. I place two fingers on the Pt’s radial pulse. It’s rapid and feels inconsistent. I was taught in class when I assess a pulse I should do so for a full minute, I was never taught anything different. The man is talking to me and I am trying not to be rude to him but I am also trying to focus on his pulse.
15 seconds go by and one of the fire fighters behind me asks “What’s the problem?” Great! Now I’ve lost my count for the 10th time and have to start over I think to myself. The paramedic to the side of me has an impatient look on his face. Then 25 seconds have now passed, the Chief says “Just guess and move on.” I feel like a failure. I couldn’t even get the man’s pulse. I check his BP and am unable to hear it. Damn.
The man signs a refusal form and we leave. Back in the truck Escobar asks me what the problem was and why couldn’t I take his basic vitals. I told him I was taught to take a pulse for a full minute, he starts to laugh. “We usually just check it for 6 seconds and add a zero or 15 seconds and times by four.” Thanks. Now I know.
1500 (03:00P) The tones sound again for a fire alarm going off at the hospital. “It’s probably a false alarm. We get these a lot there.” They say to me. So I’m not too excited. We arrive and sure enough, false alarm. 2 hours left and I get to go home. That was the last call of the day.
So my experience wasn’t as enjoyable as the previous fire department I had road with however, Mean City Fire did teach me a valuable lesson…you can’t please them all, no matter how hard you try. It’s up to you to make the best of it though and to take advantage of making mistakes and learning from them, keeping an open mind and understanding sometimes you just have to prove yourself in order to be fully accepted. Press on and don’t let one bad day ruin your dreams.
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