Last night was interesting. Keep in mind I have firefighter/paramedic training, and am still a volunteer firefighter. So I stop in at work for a few minutes to see what I have to get done today. I'm sitting in my office chair and looking out my window out to the street. Across the street comes this bigger woman in a motorized wheelchair wearing a long dress. Now, she's sitting in her chair waiting for the light to change. She had pushed the button, and is facing in such a way that she is parallel to the road she wants to cross (instead of facing it). The light turns green, she goes to turn, and her wheel must have just caught a rock the right way ... because she bailed. First reaction is to run over there, so I busted my ass and got over there. Here's where it gets interesting. Do I stabilize her neck? She's in a wheelchair, maybe she's paralyzed. Does she take any medication? Maybe she's going to go into shock. Just how brittle are her bones? She's screaming. She calms down, I make sure her neck is ok. Paramedics have been called, but I know the typical response time in this fucking pathetic town is ~ 3 minutes, if you're lucky (we were a mere minute drive from the hospital if you turn your goddamn lights/sirens on). I know she's going to throw up, so I roll her onto her side. Meanwhile, of course a crowd has formed and of course no one has any sort of first aid that can help me So I reach down and roll her over. My hand on her back moves, my other hand just moves through the air. She has no legs. Just amputated. First thing I'm thinking ... infection. Paramedics arrive, I give them the run down in a matter of seconds and one stands there staring at me like they didn't understand a word I just said, too busy with her hand up her ass I guess. Tell them, listen, that bandage isn't on properly ... worry about infection, the ground isn't exactly hospital-clean. But who cares, throw a board under her, throw her in the back of the bus, and drive to the hospital. Pisses me off ... I stop in this morning and yeah, she's lucky, but she has a minor inection they're trying to deal with. Could have been prevented with a little care and treatment at the scene. That's why I haven't been back to the station since we reponded to my last call - guy on a motorcycle hit by a car, arrive and drive past an arm, another arm, a leg. Guy lived, but he has one leg, a shoulder, and a torso.
