What Goes On Behind Closed Doors

   What Goes on Behind Closed Doors

Suzanne Marsh

I sat slouched in the gray metal chair, waiting for the weekly meeting to begin. I had just come off duty and sleep seemed more essential than this meeting. I am a paramedic, based in Temple, Texas. The stillness in the room made me sleepy until Jim Ferguson and his partner Mitch Dawson arrived. We were still waiting on Tom Harrigan, Tom Bishop and Meg Sprocket. I began to doze off, thinking I had at least fifteen minutes to nap. Tom snuck in quietly, then dropped several books on the table. I jumped; the others snickered. My eyes flew open as Tom then sat down. I knew my chances of a nap had vanished and the meeting was about to begin.

Tom, cleared his throat as he began:

“We have had several snake bites recently; we need to review the different types of venomous

snakes in the area. We also need to review the emergency procedures. Rattlers are coming

out of hibernation. I have prepared sheets to help you identify the various snakes.

The Western Diamondback is the easiest to spot, as long as it rattles first. The Coral

snake is the most venomous snake in Texas; it is found in Central Texas. There is a rhyme

that could save your life: “Red and yellow kill a fell, red and black okay Jack. Copperheads

are sluggish but don’t be fooled they are dangerous. The Cottonmouth or Water Moccasin

is a very aggressive/defensive snake, it also bites under water. The main thing to remember

is if you 910 keep the victim as calm as possible, watch for shock, wash the area with

disinfectant soap, remove constrictive clothing or jewelry such as rings. Always be careful

where you walk especially at night. Anyone have anything to add? Meg?”

“Yes, I was on a 910 two days ago, big ole diamondback, we called animal control.”

“Jim?”

“Tom, a couple of years ago, we got a call from Holland, some guy tried to kill a rattler,

it got him pretty badly as I recall.”

“Yes, and if I recall Dick Hickman was bitten also. It damn near killed him. I still don’t

know why he just did not call animal control; they know what to do with snakes better

than we do. Dick’s entire leg swelled, and they had to amputate it to save his life.”

“Good, example of what not to do. Dick, was a great paramedic until he lost his leg.”

The room went silent; Tom’s next topic was dog bites, something very frequent. Tom looked around the room, thus far I was still awake, at least Tom was not boring.

“The main thing to remember in both of these situations is remain calm and keep the patient calm. Snake bites, remember, do not attempt to catch the snake, it will strike when cornered. Call animal control, let them deal with the snake.” Tom did this every year and every year, there have been fifty-four per cent more bites in the last two years. Dog bites are also on the rise, Pit Bulls, are prevalent in most of Texas. These dogs sometimes become very aggressive, meaning call animal control. Get you patient away from the dog if it is applicable.” Tom sat down and took a sip of his coffee. He was done with his segment.

“Moving on, anyone have anything to add.”

Tom Bishop stood up, his seemingly quiet voice began:

“We had a call this morning, that if I had not seen it with my own two eyes I would not

have believed it. A two-year-old girl got a bead stuck up her nose. The mom was frantic,

the dad, was not overly excited, apparently this kid gets into all sorts of things. She is as

cute as a little button. To make a long story short, we arrived and assessed the situation.

The bead was stuck further up than we thought. We placed a call to peds at the hospital.

Laura, the nurse on duty, laughed as she transferred me to pediatrics. The resident on duty

also had a good laugh. He, also had an idea, the best way was to work the bead out by gently

pushing the bead. The child began to cry, the she began to kick, never a good combination.

We, finally succeeded in getting the bead out of her nose. The next call, was another

humdinger: this one a small child, somehow managed to climb up a ladder on the roof

and could not get down. We arrived, mom was in hysterics, screaming at the top of her lungs

for the child to come back down. The child was laughing. I climbed up on the roof and carried

the child to safety. The last call we went on before the meeting was a horrific crash involving

a semi tractor trailer carrying HAZMAT. The car was tailgating the truck, went under the ICC

bumper. We arrived on the scene at 10:00 hours. The car had two passengers and a three year

old child. The driver was DOA, the passenger had a crushed chest, and pregnant. The child,

was screaming in terror. The dry van was hauling syrup for Coca Cola. The fire department

had things pretty much under control. We used the jaws of life to remove the passenger. She

was developing rales, her breathing was labored. She stated she was eight and half months,

she wanted the baby to survive. Knowing there were very few options we called OBGYN.

at the hospital. We were told to immobilize the passenger and transport immediately. We also

used the jaws of life to extract the child. She had numerous cuts and abrasions and a slight

concussion. We finally calmed the child down and transported her also.”

Tom Harrigan, interrupted Tom Bishop:

“Sounds like quite a morning, any news about the mother and baby?”

“Yes, we got a trach tube in before we transported her, she and the baby are

doing as well as can be expected. It was a little boy, weighed in at seven pounds even.”

“Does