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I Jump Into My Car

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Bee-dee-dee-deep! Bee-dee-dee-deep! I look at the clock: 4:30 AM. I jump into my car and drive to Vital EMS in Worcester for a fourteen-hour shift as an EMT. Upon entering the ambulance, my partner and I are quickly dispatched to the residence of a 50-year-old male for an unknown medical complaint. As we rush to the scene with lights and sirens, I know that it is imperative to remain calm and immediately begin to allocate tasks. Upon arrival, I rush out of the ambulance and seize the first in bag, an oxygen tank, and the defibrillator. We head into the residence and encounter the patient lying on the couch complaining of chest pain and presenting with an inadequate oxygen saturation and increased breathing rate. I immediately realize that …show more content…

As I walked into the room, I met George for the fist time. I noted that he seemed very tired and barely acknowledged my presence when I spoke to him. As I smiled at him and related that everyone will take great care of him, he simply nodded his head and refused to make eye contact with me. After we placed George onto our stretcher, loaded him into the ambulance, and made our way to the dialysis clinic, I had the opportunity to learn more about him. He confided in me that this was the first time that he had been outside in a couple of weeks and he felt estranged from his family because his children lived in another state. As a result, he said he did not interact with other people very often and mostly stayed in his room and watched television. As we spoke about local sports and in particular the Boston Celtics, I established a connection with him and had a wonderful experience talking with him. While waiting with him for his dialysis appointment, we continued to converse and I remember to this day that his face was lit up with a giant and beaming smile. He was ecstatic and had completely shifted his initial isolated and depressed attitude. I was truly astonished at how such a minor action, such as taking the time to listen to what he had to say, resulted in such an immense positive change in his emotional state. As I sat in the back of the ambulance with George after his

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