A Mauling on a Beautiful Summer Day Essay

“Code Blue, ER. Code Blue, ER”. I can still hear that calm, unalarmed voice over the intercom. Seconds later, John Doe, a 50-year-old male, is rushed in through the double doors of the Emergency Room with an EMT pounding on his lifeless chest. Although the medical staff had been preparing for some time, it still appeared like a scramble to resuscitate this man’s life. It was my first shift as a medical scribe; I had no idea what to expect. While paramedics shouted the jargon-filled report, the surrounding chaos was quieted by the physician who maintained the room's composure. The instant the pulse was obtained, I was overcome with a foreign feeling that can only be described as pure exhilaration as if the epinephrine injected into the patient manifested its effects on me.

That day when I returned home from school, my mom’s boyfriend called me asking to speak to my grandmother. Typically, Gus would call my grandmother himself if he wanted to speak with her, which was rare. I found out about my mom going to the hospital from my grandmother after that phone call. The doctor told my family that a stroke afflicted her in the middle of the day. My mom confused the date with her birthday, had trouble getting words out and remembering our family member’s names. The nurse had to take her for walks periodically and exercise her legs and arms because they were weak. Seeing my mother in this condition made me appreciate my mother and everything she does for me tremendously. However, I was terrified for my mother’s health.

After his lunch break, Tom didn’t have long to wait before the paramedics burst in through the swinging double-doors of the ambulance bay wheeling in a young man on a gurney. Edward, a veteran EMT, recited the vital signs to Tom and Dr. Greene as they helped push the gurney into the trauma room,

A new Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) student is dispatched to her first emotionally memorable call. The first dispatch comes thorough as an unresponsive, 30-year-old female, but escalates to a cardiac arrest caused by a heroin overdose. When the crew of two EMTs and one paramedic arrives on scene, the new EMT stands in the doorway, staring at the patient. Her body was stiff from the rigor mortis, her arms and fingers curled in as though she was trying to get warm. Her skin was blue like she had been swimming in ice water for hours. On the day before Thanksgiving in 2016, this woman was found on her bathroom, dead too long to be saved by anyone. This is still the worst call I have ever been on and I will always remember every

“Boys, dinner!” Ma yells. We all bound to the dining room, having barely eaten anything all day. We see the same dinner we have every night, lentil soup, but it never gets old. I guess when we’re this hungry anything tastes good. We say grace and dig in, although we are still a little sad because of Pa’s death. After dinner, we all gather around the radio and listen to the latest news. Then we hit the hay after a long day, ready to do the same thing

It is a warm summer evening at Grady Hospital. It is my first day as an emergency room volunteer. I’m nervous and eager, hoping to see something exciting. However, it is surreally quiet. Suddenly, there is word of an ambulance en route. Minutes later the paramedics burst into the trauma slot pushing a man on a stretcher. His head and face are covered with gauze that is soaked through with dark blood. It is a flurry of well-orchestrated movement as the attendings and residents start to resuscitate him. They pull back the bandages to reveal a deep gash that is bleeding profusely. With much effort his vital signs are stabilized and he begins to regain consciousness. Later, after the excitement had passed, I learned what brought him here. He is diabetic and couldn’t afford to properly manage his condition. He had fainted due to hypoglycemia and hit his head. He had almost lost his life because of the unfortunate financial realities of modern healthcare. In that moment, I came to appreciate the very real cost of disease and the incredible role physicians have in ameliorating it. This formative experience was the beginning of my path to medicine.

The day started off normally. I got to the station early at 0645 and started to talk to some of the guys working. There were a couple guys I just met that day. Then I started to get all my stuff ready for the day. I put all my gear on the ambulance and started on the daily checks for our rig. The daily checks consist of checking the lights and sirens, fluids, and making sure all our supplies are in the compartments and in the bags. As I started going through the monitor bag with the electrocardiogram (EKG), we get a call to a male in his 40’s unresponsive and not breathing. Everyone jumped into the rigs and we rushed off to the scene code three. We were en route to a residence to the south. When we arrived we looked for the address but it did not

The beach exploded with noise as children ran around, playing whatever game their imaginations' could dream of. Toddlers with shovels and pails were building wonderful sand castles with their parents. Some of the other older kids raced around the beach deciding which one was "it", while chuckling to themselves. The sound of yelling "Mine!" and "FREE!" came from the young volleyball players. Children were laughing and playing as the waves came crashing down upon them. Seagulls, squawking and screeching, waiting for someone to chase after them, or feed them. The sun's heat with mixture of the cool wind made a lovely combination. The warm water covered people's feet as they talked and had their own conversations. The ideal weather was perfect

Clipboard and stethoscope in hand, I walked toward the double doors that flashed emergency in bright red letters above. It was my first clinical shift as an EMT student, and first day jitters fluttered around in my stomach. I had no idea what lay ahead of me. However, I was not expecting to witness the fragility of life. About a half an hour into my shift the rapid response alarm blared through the emergency room. I turned to my preceptor and quizzically asked what this meant. “A rapid response is a patient who is in need of immediate medical care and intervention. As an EMT who is part of the rapid response team you will be expected to assist with vitals and chest compressions. Let’s head toward the recess room, and I’ll explain more there.”

A paramedic saved my life when I was nine. I lived in Charlottesville, Virginia; The place of my birth. It wasn’t the best day, I had gotten into an argument with my birthfather. He was threatening to hurt my little brother, and I couldn’t let that happen. So I attacked him with all of my strength. As you can imagine, a nine year old is not very strong. I came out bruised and bloody, with a painful burn on my leg from a cigarette. However, I had accomplished my goal, my brother was safe. My lip and nose were bleeding, and I remember feeling disoriented. I managed to get myself to the kitchen, that’s where the phone was. I hesitated, because it was against the rules to use the phone, but my teacher at school

And then a sharp pain hit my stomach, after a loud bang, and I dropped to the ground. The lights grew dim, and I could faintly hear the sound of footsteps moving away from me. The sirens howled like an angry animal and seemed to grow louder, and then they ceased.

Sirens. Loud, too loud. My head feels fuzzy. The world is spinning. So dizzy. What happened? I remember her swerving, but something still hit us. I don't remember what it was though.

The cold room shivered me from my sleep. My body ached as if I’ve been run over by a truck, but my hands and feet are free. I forced myself to move but couldn’t find the strength, with one last thrust, I jerked myself just enough to loosen the mask from around my face. The clean air helped me regain consciousness as I rolled myself off the bed. I stumbled towards the door and opened it slowly only to be thrown back by a large guard in black tactical gear. Lightly dazed from the impact, I played possum for a moment, so the guard can lower his weapon. When he grabbed me from my arm without hesitation, I forcibly yanked him down and constricted my arm around his neck between my bicep and forearm. Then, I tightly compressed with all my power like an anaconda would squeeze his prey before consumption. Finally, the guard stopped moving around and lost all consciousness. I gave his head one final thrust “Crack!” to confirm he won’t move again. I stripped the armored uniform off the guard to disguise myself so I can escape. When I removed my shirt, I noticed a large gash across my body. The gash was bonded together with a clear compound that felt like flesh. At that moment, I realized they left me for the guard to kill.

When I woke up, I was surprised to find a weird, padded board with red and green stripes on it, wrapped up onto my arm so it would stay. I was told that they could not get my elbow back in and I was transferred to a different hospital. I didn’t enjoy the presence of the people in the second ambulance with me nearly as much as I liked the first two people because, they weren 't nearly as good at comedy. Although, second ambulance made me feel a bit safer because I had already experienced what riding in an ambulance was like. I was familiar with the white interior and the medical equipment with bright red crosses on the cover hanging on the walls. I had already known the pain in my arm as the vehicle bumped into the

It was a bone chilling January night; my mom received a call at about 11:15 PM, a call that changed my life forever. My Aunt June was on the other line. She was crying so hard my mother could barely understand her. Through the sobbing my mom finally understood that Brian, my cousin, had been in a horrible accident and she didn’t know how bad it was. My mother jumped out of the bed after she hung up the phone. She screamed up the stairs at my sister and me; it was a nerve shrilling scream. I could hear fear in her voice. My mom was always yelling at us growing up if we forgot to do something. She would even get us out of bed to finish something that wasn’t done completely. This particular