Being a paramedic is rewarding. There are times when you revive someone whose heart has stopped. You might be able to get someone having a massive heart attack to the hospital and into the cath lab before there is damage to the heart muscle. Some days a baby will be delivered. Occasionally you get to witness the miracle of giving an unconscious diabetic sugar water straight into his/her veins having him/her regain consciousness within seconds. A lot of days, the rewards come from the lonely.
The lonely I am talking about are sometimes homeless, alcoholics, drug addicts, elderly, mental health patients, or even the mother or father of 3 with a full time job and the appearance of a lot of friends. There is nothing that can explain why someone is lonely. Most of the lonely who call for an ambulance are happy just having someone listen to them for a little while. A different person, a smiling face, a shoulder to cry on, or even a hand to hold for a short time can mean all the difference to someone going through an internal struggle. Having an impact on those lives are the real blessings.
I had the privilege of serving a gentleman one day that was poor, alone, and sick. He didn’t want to go to the hospital. He had been there before and they had sent him home after treating him. Unfortunately, home was the studio apartment where he lived alone. The two paramedics on scene called me to help them convince their patient that he really needed to be transported. He had a severely broken leg and was unable to get around on his own. He was covered in urine and faeces. He had food wrappers and empty drinks surrounding his hospital bed that was placed in front of the bathroom door. He had a wheelchair but it didn’t fit into the bathroom. He had a massive hernia, making moving a slow and difficult process. He still did not want to go to the hospital. He told us he had a home health aide coming out next week to help. We knew he couldn’t last in his current condition until the next week. After going through all of his options and the pros and cons of everything, he finally agreed to be transported to the hospital. This gentleman requested transport to the Veterans Affairs hospital. A veteran. Someone who sacrificed for his country was now in need of help in a way I doubt he ever imagined.
Before we transported this veteran, we helped him into the bathroom. One of the paramedics helped clean him. She spent a significant amount of time washing all the faeces and urine from his entire body, including his hair. She was kind and gentle. The other paramedic and I emptied all the trash in his apartment. We cleaned his bed. We replaced soiled sheets with brand new sheets after cleaning the mattress. I walked to the trash chute no less than 4 times, each carrying multiple bags. We cleaned him and his apartment. We knew he wouldn’t be back anytime soon. We wanted him to feel at home and not overwhelmed on his return.
As we moved his wheelchair to the bathroom, helped him sit, and rolled him through his apartment to the stretcher waiting in the hall, I saw a veteran cry. He was so moved that we took the time to clean his apartment. I was just happy I could do a small service for someone who has done a much bigger one for all of us living in the US today.
Oily Minded Medic 