Ignorance

Especially when it is related to kids, annoys the crap out of me. I don't understand how parents can be so wrapped up in themselves that they just forget to pay attention to those other little humans that they created.

Tonight we went to a "sick call" for a toddler. On scene, family and neighbors were outside literally screaming and yelling while mom was just screaming and pushing a little girl into my partner's arms. The little one was very hot to the touch, pale, mottled, and cyanotic around her lips.

Does anybody know what happened? No.

Has anybody been drinking? Yup, all of the adults (and it seemed like some of the teenagers).

How long has she been this color? About 5 minutes. They actually waited over 5 minutes before calling 911... Long enough for the kid to stop having a grand mal seizure and just start staring upwards (per the kid's grandmother who was the only semi-calm one on scene).

Okay... so a febrile seizure. No biggie, kiddos have them all the time.

Get her in the truck, little oxygen, quite a bit of stimulation since she wasn't breathing as fast as she should have been, and get her undressed. I would just like to say this: if you have cats or dogs in your house, clean up their shit! Don't let your kids play in it or walk in it. That's just disgusting and shows me that you are a lousy parent who doesn't take the time to wipe your child's feet off before you put their shoes on them. (The shoes would have had to be put on by an adult, the kiddo couldn't have tied them or slid them on with how tight they were.)

Dirty clothes I can understand. Wet/dirty diapers I understand. Dried and crusty animal shit on your kid's feet? No I don't understand.

We got a line in her and took her to the nearby pedi facility. She did do better enroute but still wasn't really acting appropriate for age.

Turns out that she was unsteady and "shaky" all day earlier and hadn't been as active as normal. This apparently didn't seem like a big deal until I started asking the grandmother about her activities during the day, after we'd gotten to the hospital. Apparently no adults had "really messed with her" since lunch. It's now 10pm. How can you just "not mess with" a 2 year old for probably 10 hours? That would explain why her diaper was completely soaked with urine to the point where it was only being held up by the pants that she'd been wearing.

I don't understand how some people can just procreate like it is nobody's business but yet there are so many couples that are trying so hard for a baby and can't conceive.

Oh, after we cleared from the hospital. RAD (from quite a few posts back) tells me "they're putting money on that she has croup."

DP: On what basis?

RAD: Well the sudden spike in fever and she was coughing in there.

DP: Yeah, she started coughing when she was crying (this was in the ER) and was sniffling. Her lungs were completely clear and she didn't have any stridor. (One of the first things I checked when I saw how cyanotic she was initially.) She has a really strong cry and doesn't even have the typical barking cough.

RAD: Well the nurses are putting money on it. So's the doc even! I'd put my money on croup.

Note: The doc doesn't impress me. It's the same doc from the status seizure pt I took there a while back.
DP: The nurses didn't say anything about that. All three of them were in the room the whole time with me, the patient, and the grandmother. (Those were the only nurses around that had even seen the patient.) If I had to put money on something, I'd say it was an ear infection.

RAD: Well, she has a high fever though! (It was 104.1F at the ER after we'd already been cooling her and she'd been given APAP enroute.)

DP: Yes, but that isn't really indicative of croup. Croup is normally lower grade fevers and doesn't normally hit suddenly or present with no respiratory symptoms.

RAD rattled on some other ignorant bullshit and I just tuned him out. It was a long ride back to the station.

Buzzzzzzzzz

You know those times when you can't help but laugh? When you're standing there, trying SO very hard to hold it in that you start snorting? This is one of those times.....
We got called out to an elderly female having chest pain. Okay, no big deal.... the firefighters on scene tell us that the pt has a history of anxiety and has been treated for it earlier today at her doctor's office.
When we get on scene (picture a very well-to-do neighborhood), this nice little old lady (LOL) is sitting in her living room, very calm and complaining of generalized chest pain, arm pain, neck pain, leg pain, and head pain x3 months. Okey dokey.
After we've loaded her up in the box and are transporting her to the hospital (it's about a 25-30 minute trip from there depending on the traffic), I start asking her some more questions about her pain.

DP: Have any medications helped your pain?

LOL: No

DP: Has anything else relieved your pain?

LOL: Well, yes. Actually my vibrator helps it feel a lot better.

DP: o-O ummmm really?

LOL: Oh yes, it's just wonderful and it vibrates so good! It helps work out a lot of my tension.

*thinking to myself* Surely she must have mispoken. I'm all for being in touch with your sexuality but this was just plain awkward now.

Of course... since it's awkward, I start to get the giggles.

DP: So could you describe it to me?

LOL: Describe what?

DP: The thing that you said helps you. (I was trying to not embaress her at this point.)

LOL: Oh my vibrator! Well it's about this long (holds hands up about 10" apart) and about this big around (about the size of a 1L bottle of soda). It vibrates really good and you can adjust the speed. Oh! There's heat from it too. That works the best.

DP: Heat? You have a heated vibrator? (at this point, I'm sure she's pulling my leg)

LOL: Oh yes, it's wonderful. My daughter gave it to me for Christmas.

I finally got an idea of what she was trying to say.

DP: Is it also called a back massager?

LOL: Oh yes! That's it... a vibrator or massager thing.

I was trying so hard to not laugh, I started snorting and just couldn't help myself. I swear I would have pissed my pants if I hadn't started laughing. I felt so bad for this poor lady. Here I am, laughing my ass off and she has no clue why. Her transport was uneventful and she did just fine.

Of course, the best part..... telling the receiving RN at the facility what makes her pain better.