tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-388986042012-02-16T01:08:00.821-06:00stories from a county HospitalKristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16982716618762295456noreply@blogger.comBlogger141100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38898604.post-91496479610397834592008-09-21T21:26:00.001-05:002008-09-21T21:37:14.385-05:00

Tertiary syphillis...it can morph a 125lb lady into the Hulk

Kristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16982716618762295456noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38898604.post-23208370788260459322008-09-12T10:42:00.004-05:002008-09-12T10:58:44.687-05:00

Chief Complaint:Shortness of breath"I feel like it's hard for me to catch my breath."No kidding. If I had 460 pounds of flesh smothering my 1.4 pound lung, I'd be short of breath too.

Kristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16982716618762295456noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38898604.post-89637634421720465372008-09-10T06:39:00.003-05:002008-09-10T06:46:43.346-05:00

Note to gun owners:When cleaning/loading/checking your firearm, never point the firing end of the gun towards anything you don't mind being blown to bits.Meet Mr. Brilliant, now missing a few "vital" organs. If only he'd known..

Kristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16982716618762295456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38898604.post-27077140764250060802008-09-10T06:28:00.003-05:002008-09-10T06:35:01.402-05:00

Asystole.Several hundred compressions,4 rounds of epi,3 round of atropine,4 runs of V-fib,5 shocks.Normal Sinus Rhythm."Where's his Rolex?"Priceless.

Kristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16982716618762295456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38898604.post-53396136901939141392007-12-04T19:27:00.000-06:002007-12-05T10:34:38.328-06:00

Gang wars happen often enough, and I've seen plenty of their victims, but lately these gang members, or "Family" members seem to be getting younger and younger. The other night a crew brought in one such kid, a 14 year old, whose chest made a nice home for the blade of a knife. He was scared, his face didn't lie. Mom was holding his hand as the cot turned the corner into trauma one, but shortly

Kristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16982716618762295456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38898604.post-13068913634252585652007-11-15T03:17:00.000-06:002007-12-05T10:17:19.581-06:00

Why is it that ER goers these days have such an infatuation with illness and disease? I should count the number of people that present to the ED with complaints such as, "I've had a really bad cough for 6 years, but yesterday when I coughed, my elbow hurt. Am I dying?" When myriad of diagnostics are done, and all tests come back "within normal limits", the doctor returns to the room with

Kristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16982716618762295456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38898604.post-13835950674775781312007-09-29T08:06:00.000-05:002007-12-05T10:39:08.158-06:00

Sometimes in the mad rush of blood, bodies, and body breakdowns, it can be lost, the fact, that is, that these people are just that. They're people. They have lives, or at least they did. They are real people, not just a mvc vs tree. Behind their fractured bones, ruptured organs, and bloody faces, they have normal lives. Their incoming call list: mom, home, dad, Aunt Tina; they have people who

Kristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16982716618762295456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38898604.post-90941073575734562132007-09-06T02:57:00.000-05:002007-09-06T06:13:22.347-05:00

There are myriad of ways to show someone that you love them: Shakespeare wrote about it, Hallmark profits from it, and as February 14th approaches, millions of men seek out ways to show it. Well the other night at the hospital, another of these ways was shown. It was that time of night, about drunk-thirty, people were leaving bars and calling sirened taxis to take them to the hospital. One such

Kristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16982716618762295456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38898604.post-86746847688713336012007-07-13T08:48:00.000-05:002007-07-17T17:40:56.462-05:00

Red is such a fitting color for ambulance lights.Squint your eyes and they look like christmas lights; not glistening on an evergreen tree, but on a sometimes-white, most times muddy, box. Red is a color that can't easily be ignored. It never fails to turn your head: a fellow mall-shopper sporting a bright red blouse, or that flashy red sports car cutting you off. Every life begins with red,

Kristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16982716618762295456noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38898604.post-343094902599688832007-07-12T14:39:00.000-05:002007-12-05T10:46:34.193-06:00

Last night was as busy and hectic as ever. The first several hours of the shift was spent assembly-line style, going from bed to bed clearing patients off backboards, getting labs started, cutting clothes, "does this hurt where I'm pushing." As soon as we had finished the quick routine with one patient, here comes another one. We counted ourselves extremely fortunate when we got patients one at a

Kristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16982716618762295456noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38898604.post-52868765358020872832007-06-13T09:25:00.000-05:002007-06-13T10:35:15.127-05:00

I can't help but wonder at what point did the word "emergency" lose it's emergent status. When did emergency go from "I'm about to die" to "I don't have a PCP."Dictionary.com says this about the word emergency:" e·mer·gen·cy1. a sudden, urgent, usually unexpected occurrence oroccasion requiring immediate action.2. a state, esp. of need for help or relief, created by someunexpected event: a

Kristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16982716618762295456noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38898604.post-7372444890869269472007-06-13T08:34:00.000-05:002007-07-13T08:00:53.676-05:00

Perhaps I have some sort of disorder, perhaps there's never been research done, or an article on PubMed about it, but I believe I have a disorder: I absolutely am in love with my job. It really does make me so happy to be at work. There's always something new to do, or see, even smell. I just love to be there.The other night EMS called to tell us about a GSW to the head that was coming in. I've

Kristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16982716618762295456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38898604.post-6922643056828341732007-06-13T08:17:00.000-05:002007-12-05T10:50:10.260-06:00

Last night was so exhilarating! Within the span of just under two hours, we got in 5 helicopters. I was on the helipad getting one when a co-worker ran up the four flights and told me to take that one down and he'd stay for the one that we could see just past the buildings. It was crazy! This particular patient was brought by PHI (who, by the way has the coolest helicopter ever...loads in the

Kristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16982716618762295456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38898604.post-1174951841530606182007-03-26T19:29:00.000-05:002007-10-01T20:27:17.061-05:00

My mind recalls with great clarity, one distinctly horrific, beautiful night. A picture has been painted in hues of solemnity and gravity that will not soon be erased. I remember the call came in as a level one full arrest, mid-forties male, intubated, CPR in progress. The trauma bay was ready, crash cart ready, step stool at beside. Within minutes the automatic ambulance bay doors opened (

Kristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16982716618762295456noreply@blogger.com1