Seems Like a Good Day to Call 911 for No Reason...

No Fire
7:11 Got called to a fire, but we were disregarded before arriving. There was no fire.

One Accident, Three Locations
7:46 Got called to a car accident, located about 10 miles away. We got disregarded by other units which had already arrived. The person who called 911 was driving by, so by the time they gave the location, they were several thousand feet down the road, and they just gave that location. Other people called 911 with varying locations depending on where they were when they got through to the 911 ambulance dispatcher. There were a total of about 3 ambulances and 3 fire trucks, dispatched to three different locations.

Sick For Past 3 Days With a Cough
8:42 Responded to the apartment (carpet was pulled up, beer cans and trash were all over the floor) of a 48 y/o WM CO feeling sick for the past 3 days. He had a cough and accompanying chest pain. This patient walked to the stretcher and was transported to the County Disease Collection & DISTRIBUTION Center (the county hospital), where he was treated for having the flu.

Cut Off End of Pinky
10:25 Responded to a day care facility for a 3 y/o HF who had slammed her finger in the door and cut off about 1/8 inch of her pinky...lots of blood. The portion that was cut off was still dangling off her finger by a piece of skin. We arrived just before her mom and dad arrived, and they snatched her up and took off before we could really assess her (uncommon but commendable move by the parents).

House-Call Doctor Request
11:44 Responded to the apartment of a 51 y/o X-Large BF CO slight back pain. She thought she might be having a heart attack. She said she called Ask-a-Nurse, and they told her to call 911 (as they always advise...apparently). She called us because she was hoping we would come out and take a look at her (like a house-call doctor) and let her know if she was ok. When we splained to her that we were not house-call doctors, and that we didn't really know what was wrong with her, she decided that didn't really want to go to the hospital, unless she really had to go...she just wanted us to come out to let her know if she needed to go to the hospital on an ambulance or not. She said someone could take her later, if she felt like she needed to go later. Pt. decided to stay at home. (What happened to calling 911 only when you really need to go to hospital, and you absolutely NEED an ambulance to get there?...life threatening emergencies and stuff?)

Hook in the Arm
13:49 Responded to the home of 69 y/o HF who had slipped and caught her arm on a plant hook. The hook penetrated her arm and exited 2-3" away on the same side. She lost a very small amount of blood. We bandaged her and asked her if she wanted to go with us or with her son, who was planning on following the ambulance. I told her she would not get seen quicker if she arrived by ambulance and that it would be the same as if she went in her son's car. She said, "well...if eet's the same, I'll jeest go in the amblance." She walked past the car, crawled up into to the ambulance, and we transported her to the hospital (without lights and sirens) and her son followed very closely behind us.

Gubment Funded Support Group to the Rescue
15:20 Responded to a gubment-funded support group facility (these facilities get gubment assisted people...old people, handicap people, and any other type of gubment leach that's unemployed...and they offer these group support sessions where these people just hang-out in these groups all day, with a "Counselor" as a form of therapy...and the gubment grants money to these facilities for this therapy). We responded to a 70 y/o BF CO chest pain for 3 days. The support group came to her house to pick her up (with the chest pain), brought her to the facility (likely passing a few hospitals on the way), and called us after she was there for a while. Paramedics found no signs of heart problem. Pt. was transported to the hospital for general sickness.

House Fire.... ..... ..... ..... .....NOT!
18:57 Got called to a house fire. It turns out the people called 911 for a house fire because they had an outlet that shorted out. They received about 12 Fire Department apparatus from a 3-4 mile radius for their shorted-out outlet.

I Think My Blood Sugar is Probably Low
20:36 Responded to the home of a 55 y/o HF CO low blood sugar. She was taking a new type of insulin, and she was worried her blood sugar was too low. As a result of her worry, she also started hyperventilating. Her blood sugar was normal, we got her to breathe normally, and she decided not to go to the hospital on the ambulance.

1 Homeless Guy, 2 Ambulances
21:35 Responded to a homeless person on the street reported to be sick, but we got disregarded by another ambulance who also responded to the same homeless person a block away (another situation of multiple, moving 911 callers giving the wrong location).

300Z vs. Traffic Light
22:59 Responded to a car accident in which an approx. 35 y/o WF, driving a white 300Z mowed down a traffic signal. The 300Z was totaled. I asked her if she needed an ambulance. She said, "I suppose I have to answer a bunch of questions now." I said, "No, just one question...Do you need an ambulance?" She said "No...I don't hurt anywhere." I believed her, and we took off. She appeared to be disappointed in the fact that I didn't ask her a bunch of questions about how it happened and whether or not she was sure she was OK.

High Blood Sugar
2:22 Responded to the home of a 50 y/o HF CO high blood sugar and psych problems. I responded to this same home for the same problems one and 1/2 weeks ago. This time she was trying to strangle another occupant of the house. She walked outside to the ambulance, and we transported her to the county hospital again, with no treatment again (we can't give a person anything for high blood sugar), and her son followed closely behind us again.

Another Day, Another Taxpayer Wasted Dollar

I Want to Go Only if the Wait is Short Enough at the Hospital
6:33 Responded to the apartment of an 18 YO HF CO a stomach ache for the past week. I asked if she lived alone in her apartment, at which time, her husband, who was snug in his bed, rolled over in his bed so I could see him around the corner and said, "No, I'm here." Then he rolled back over, out of sight. The patient wanted us to call all the local hospitals and find out what the wait time would be, because she wanted to go to the one with the shortest wait and didn't want to go to the hospital if she had to wait a long time. We told her that was not in our scope of practice to check hospital wait time. She still thought she needed the ambulance to get to the hospital so she walked down the stairs and out to the ambulance in the parking lot (near her husband's car), and we drove her to the hospital where she was put in the waiting room.

Possibly a Real Heart Attack...Good Thing We Had a Medical Professional on Location
8:15 Responded to the same apartment complex as the last run for a 42 YO WF, sitting on the steps of the apartment complex CO potential heart attack. Pt. had pain in her left, posterior, subclavicular area, which radiated to her left arm. She had the pain for one day, and it was getting worse. It's the same pain she had two years ago when she had a heart attack (finally a legitimate complaint). The best part of this run was when we walked up to the lady, who was accompanied by an apartment maintenance man, and the apartment maintenance man started calling the shots..."I tink chew shud geev her sumdat air"...to which I replied, "good idea, what else should we do"..."I tink chew shud do her blad praysure"..."good idea, we're already doing that, what else do you think we should do"..."I tink chew shud tek her to dee hospeedal." So, we took her to the hospital, as we were directed.

Police Wanted Us to "Check Everyone Out"
14:05 We were called to a Lowe's parking lot by a police officer, the relocation site of a car accident which occurred approximately 3/4 mile away. The police officer wanted us to "check everyone out." I explained that we're not doctors, and we can't really check people out and tell them they're ok or not ok; the only "checking" we can do is asking the questions...Do you feel like you need to go to the hospital?...and...Do you need the ambulance to get there?...questions which HE could have asked. As it turns out, nobody wanted our services.

Ran into Telephone Pole to Avoid Crazy, Irresponsible Stopped Person in Front of Her
14:32 After leaving the previous incident, we saw another car accident, which occurred before we arrived at the previous incident (we saw it on the way to the previous incident; it occurred before 14:05). We decided to stop off at the car accident and see if anyone needed our services. The answer was a resounding "No," but I did get to hear a bystander explain to me that someone just slammed on the brakes in front of her, she couldn't stop in time, so she hit a telephone pole, and then the person responsible for her hitting the pole (the person who applied his brakes in front of her) just took off. So...when we got about a mile away from the accident, we were dispatched back to the accident. Apparently, someone who was driving by decided that they needed an ambulance. We returned to the scene, and they still did not need our services.

Drove Her Car Home So She Could Call 911
17:07 Responded to the home of a 45 YO HF, who had just arrived from work in her car, CO feeling generally sick. We took her blood pressure, checked her pulse, checked breath sounds, and checked blood sugar; but we didn't find anything (imagine that). We explained to her that we did not know if she was ok or not ok (we're not doctors, and we don't know much), and we don't have any medicines to give her for this, but we would be glad to drive her to the hospital in the luxury of a beat-up, germ-infested ambulance, if she wanted (I didn't actually tell her it was beat-up and germ-infested...I'd just figure everyone would already know that). She wisely decided she didn't need our services.

30 Minute Wait for 2 Minute Ride
18:49 Responded to the home of an 85 YO HF CO a COPD flare-up (emphysema). She's on O2 at home, and she has a portable O2 machine. She felt like she was having more trouble breathing than usual. My partner says he just picked her up the other day for the same reason. They lived 1/2 mile from the hospital, but they decided to call 911, wait 10 for us to arrive and wait 15-20 minutes for us to assess her, so she could walk out to the ambulance, and we could drive her 1/2 mile away (2 minute drive), while her sons followed us in their car.

Scared to Be Alone, and a Little Gastric Reflux
20:11 Responded to the Senior Citizens' apartment home of a 76 YO WF CO a little abdominal pain and difficulty breathing. It turns out she has gastric reflux, and she often has abdominal pain, and her breathing difficulty was related to the pain from the gastric reflux (more psychological than physiological). The paramedics were on scene, and they ran an EKG and checked everything they could check. Everything seemed ok, but we don't really know, because we're not doctors. The patient had just moved in to her apartment two nights prior. She was scared last night and had her son stay with her. Tonight she was scared again, her son couldn't come, so she called a friend in the building, complained of breathing problems, and the friend called 911 for her. The Pt. did not want to go to the hospital because she did not like needles. The paramedics talked her into going, even though she didn't want to go (it took 15 minutes to talk her into going), and then they took off and left her with us. On the way, she explained to me that she's not scared to die, which begs the question...

21:30 to 6:30 the next Morning...Good news for me; bad news for you, the taxpayer, who is forced by tyrannical, non-consensual government force, at the point of a gun, to pay for the 911 ambulance service...I got to sleep from 21:30 until 6:30 the next morning while being paid about $21 an hour (including extra pay for speaking spanish to people who want government services but can't speak english).

...Crusty's Back!

911 Ambulance...The First Resort For Flu
7:24 Responded to the assisted care apartment of a 93 Y/O WF, CO breathing problems since earlier this morning, as reported by the nursing home nurse assistants. This pt. had 100% O2 saturation, no chest pain, no apparent heart disrythmia (on an EKG); she has multiple medical problems, takes multiple medications, and she probably has a touch of the flu, like everybody else in this city. Imagine if all the nursing homes called a 911 ambulance every time someone had the flu.

Possessed By Seizure Demons, And What Not.
8:45 Responded to the home of a 27 Y/O 350+ lbs. BM, CO seizures. His roommate/whatever? (also large...about 275 lbs.) called 911 when he thought his buddy/whatever? was having seizures. By the time we had arrived, the Pt. had stopped having seizures, got up, and walked to the bathroom. He didn't want to begin his emergency 911 assessment until he was done going to the bathroom. Pt. was groggy/apparently post-ictal, but he didn't want to go to the hospital, in spite of a valiant award-winning effort by a paramedic to sale the guy on taking an ambulance ride.

Most importantly, after being in the apartment for a few minutes, I began to be barraged with clues to figure out the patient's sexual orientation (a sexual orientation investigation is always a top priority). I noticed there was a Jerry Springer show on T.V., paused on a scene where a guy was claiming to be possessed by gay demons. Also, there was a Collector's Edition copy of Brokeback Mountain on the T.V. stand, and there was a free, circular newspaper on the table, opened to a page with ads for a gay club and gay services. The results aren't back from the lab yet, but I think this chubby black guy is gay...just an interesting fun fact.

Not a Seizure, But Close Enough to Want an Ambulance
10:19 Responded to a party-store warehouse, which is the workplace of a 34 Y/O BF CO seizure-like activity. She thought she was about to have a seizure, because she had not been taking her seizure meds, so she lowered herself to the ground to perform her seizure-like activity. Pt. never lost consciousness, and her hands and arms were still shaking when we arrived at the hospital (possibly anxiety or an act, but not a seizure). Pt. was taken to the hospital with a bad case of the wiggles.

Generally Old Lady
14:46 Responded to the home of a 84 Y/O BF. Her neighbor/niece called us because the patient was talking to her through the door, but she didn't want to open the door. She wanted us to break in and figure out why she wasn't answering the door. My partner entered through the kitchen window (which was not locked) and found the woman on the floor of the living room, among junk everywhere, without any trails. Pt. did not have any complaints; she says she's fine. She was transported to the hospital for being generally old and sick. I just wonder what the niece of this lady (and the 5-8 neighbors, friends and family who were also gathered in front of the house) would have done if there was no such thing as an ambulance...I wonder if she would have been able to crawl through the window, pick up all 90 lbs. of this old woman and take her somewhere to get help...like back to her own house, for example.

Ill
16:59 Responded to the apartment of an 80 Y/O WM, CO lightheadedness and vomiting. Pt. probably had the flu. Pt. was transported to the VA hospital, and his daughter followed us in her vehicle.

High Blood Sugar and a Fever of 97.0
23:19 Responded to the home of a 49 Y/O HF, CO being generally sick and weak, but mostly CO of having a fever. Her family says she's normally weak and incoherent. Pt. could walk, but she wanted to go to the hospital in an ambulance. Her son followed us in his car. We found out she also had extremely high blood sugar (which we don't carry medicine to fix) and a fever of 97 degrees (not a fever).