HERBIE1

Well, speaking as a father of 3, I can assure you that regardless of what happens at work, family does come first. In fact, because of what we do, we are acutely aware of how fragile life is, and how important family and friends are. Lives can and do change literally in the blink of an eye, and too often through no fault of our own. Our second family is those we work with. Many times, we spend as many hours with a partner as we do our spouses. Often times we know as much- if not more- about our partners as do their spouses- especially in the case of long term partners. I am intricately involved in the life of my partner, and he in mine. If there is a family issue, we discuss it and ask for advice. You develop a bond and level of trust that is far deeper than a standard work relationship, and think nothing of dropping everything to help him or his family out. It's in our make up to want to fix things- it's what we do. Just food for thought for your character...

Depending on how you want to portray the character, to be accurate, many folks in this business ARE cynical and/or skeptical. It comes with the territory and what we deal with every day. In many ways it is why we are perfectly suited for this field. Speaking for myself, I take very little at face value- I need to see proof. We like facts, signs and symptoms, and concrete evidence, although we also know sometimes those details are hard to come by. As a writer, I'm sure you can also understand the difference between "healthy" cynicism/skepticism, and a lack of compassion. In our business, they are not the same thing.

Sounds like this guy was a ticking time bomb and any one of a number of events could have occurred. Initial thoughts- septicemia- secondary to infectious process in foot? PE? Threw a clot? He was tachycardic initially- due to infectious process? You also noted a pulse ox of 94%- room air or on supplemental o2? Did they do a 12 lead prior to the transfer? Did he have a white count? Was he on any IV meds during the transfer? I would bet that there was nothing you could have done differently, Moby. Let's say he suddenly occluded a coronary artery- your 12 lead may have been completely benign up to that point. Bad things happen to seemingly healthy people, but based on this guy's PMH, anything is possible. I understand your desire to make sure you didn't miss anything, but I suspect this was beyond your control.

Tell me again how you wouldn't care if your state elected a former Grand Wizard of the KKK as governor. The statement above belies your claim of tolerance. Of course the citizens can elect whomever they want, but that also has little to do with a candidate's fitness to hold public office or ability to be an effective leader. It simply means they can fool or bribe enough people to get their votes. Think Obamacare. How many Democrats were dead set against it- for whatever reason- and as soon as they were offered a bribe-ie pork for a pet project, or some future favor- they flipped and threw in their support. Does that sound like a person who is principled and morally centered, or just someone who puts their own political interests first? I understand how politics works, but I have far more respect for someone who stands firm on an issue important to them vs someone who sells out and caves in to political pressure. This is why so many Democrats lost their gigs back in November- either the voters felt these folks had the wrong ideas, or they flipped on what they claimed to support. I may wholeheartedly disagree with the liberal mindset, but I do respect someone who stands up for what they believe in. Edited for clarity...

Gulp. Really? I hope that person does not practice in my area.

Well, I think you should have done a bit of homework before you jumped into a forum such as this- it would have somewhat prepared you as to what to expect. I have no idea what your background is, but most folks in public safety- police, fire, and EMS- are pretty cynical. It's part of the job, but it's also a defense mechanism. Most people have no idea what really goes in in this business, and would be flabbergasted if they knew the truth of what we see and what we do. As such, outsiders who ask pointed questions are looked at with a healthy skepticism. We also tend to be very protective of our own, and if we gave perfectly honest answers to questions about what we do, most folks would not understand the context the of the answers. You see malice, I see an abundance of caution. Nothing personal, I assure you.

Where are my hip waders? It's getting deep in here... I call total BS here. Based on your comments on this board, there is no way I can believe this, but I do agree with your claim that you would not move to such a state.

Wow-You guys are tough! I understand the apprehension and for good reason, but this is a chance to at least offer the facts. What he does with them is out of our control. At least the author seems to be attempting to do it right. Anyone can write anything they want, but he took the time to ask. It doesn't sound like this is a major character, or that EMS is the main focus of the story, just a character he wants to fully flesh out. No harm, no foul IMHO, but you guys do what you want.

I think most folks have good and bad union stories. Years ago my dad was the manager of a building supply warehouse. All Teamsters Union drivers. He received a tip a guy was stealing supplies and delivering them on the side. Knowing that in order to fire a union worker you essentially needed video taped evidence, sworn affidavits from everyone including the pope and endorsed by God, he tried to obtain solid proof on his own before coming forward with the allegations. To make a long story short, the company did a routine audit, and because of the discrepancy in the inventory, he was fired. Another driver stepped up, vouched for my dad, and corroborated that this other employee was in fact stealing. No proof , and the thief had since left the company. No case. Didn't matter- dad was gone. Years later, when I was organizing a union in my company, dad was NOT happy with me- even though he understood my reasons. Point is, whether or not the union is a positive depends on your point of view, the particular company, the union, and the type of business. In other words, blanket, broad brush statements can be wrong, but yes, there are certain commonalities to all of these situations.

Look closely at the Obamacare bill. It just might be in there. The problem is, stupid folk seem to be able to reproduce far too easily. In other words, God does have a sense of humor.

I'd like to think this was a joke, but I know first hand that too many people swim in the shallow end of the gene pool. It also supports one of my favorite sayings: You can't fix stupid.

In a perfect world, you would be absolutely correct. The fact is, WE are the red headed step child here- at least in terms of political clout, funding, and propaganda tools. Of course we have plenty of ammo for a fire fight, we simply do not have the organization, nor the soldiers to mount an offensive. Do I see this changing any time soon? Nope.

Agreed. Money is a bad tangent. Someone working in a rural area- with a low cost of living- can do quite well on their salary there, but if they moved to NYC, making the same pay, would probably end up on food stamps. Nevermind comparing salaries and benefits here in the US vs Canada- it's comparing apples to Buicks.

Most work shoes are made for durability and/or protection, not for comfort or ergonomics. You say that you were injured trying to get in shape for paramedic school, so I assume you have been working as an EMT for some period of time. What shoes are you using now?

This is the issue in a nutshell. The IAFF is not trying to justify their existence per se, but they are looking to keep their funding levels and protect jobs. The only way they can do that is to make a claim that they are best suited to provide EMS. In many cases, we know that is not true, but we simply do not have the political muscle- at least not on a national scale- to mount a defense to that argument..

So if the Grand Wizard of the KKK was elected to the governor's mansion in your state, would you be as magnanimous in your support of his ability to be a fair and effective leader for every citizen of your state?

Over the last few years, there has been a shift in our employment paradigm. Unions came into being because of unscrupulous bosses who took advantage of their workers. Since those days, tons of state and federal regulations and groups have been established to protect the rights of workers, make sure the work place is safe, and that people are paid a fair wage. Minimum wage, OSHA, FSLA, EEOC, etc all protect the worker now. I honestly think that in many places. unions are seeing a decline not only in popularity, but in relevance. As was noted, one of the major reasons for the collapse of GM was the untenable demands that legacy costs placed on the company. In a strong economy, GM could cover those costs, but when things went south, things like obligations to retirees bankrupted the firm. If anyone is familiar with some of the UAW's more outrageous perks,- like paying employees NOT to work, it's not unreasonable to see why the company could not ride out the lousy economy. Are there horrible bosses? Of course. Always will be- even in union shops. As I mentioned earlier, I honestly think that many of the unions- especially those that represent unskilled workers- do more harm than good for their members. In fact, I think in those cases, the unions benefit the employer more than the worker. Because the workers are unskilled, they make little more than minimum wage, yet are still required to pay union dues. Collective bargaining agreements are no longer the iron clad contracts they used to be- just ask the pilots, the UAW, and many other unions who have seen their contracts opened up and decimated. There is also a perception- although inaccurate- that most public sector contracts are lucrative. Yes, many of the higher paid members do have some incredible benefits and pensions, but the rank and file rarely match up to those. We'll see what happens, but I think unions are under attack- even by the Democrats- and how this will shake out remains to be seen.

No, it means when someone is an elected official, they should not pontificate in public about their personal religious beliefs- especially if they mean excluding someone based on those beliefs. I don't care if you are an atheist, Druid, or holy roller who attends church ever morning. Your religion- or lack thereof, your morals, and political party certainly shape what you believe politically, but they also cannot conflict with the job you were elected to do. An elected official takes an oath to uphold the Constitution and the laws of the land. Nowhere does it say you can ignore the ones you do not like or pick and choose who they should apply to.

Lead them to be the best they can be? How exactly does he do that? He's the governor, not their pastor, therapist, personal trainer, or life coach. Is it only possible to be your best if you consider the voters your brothers and sisters? It's irrelevant the origin of a law-whether it be from Zen Buddhists or Druids. His "stance" should be supporting the laws of the state and country, or actively trying to amend those he wants to change. He does not have the luxury- nor do any of us- to ignore the laws we disagree with without paying the price. Last time I checked, legislation does not deal with the religious relationship between the governor and the people and/or their other elected officials. Is there a law that mandates everyone needs to be "brothers and sisters", and if so, what is the penalty if you don't agree with it? What is the price tag for such a law? Any earmarks or pork associated with it?

I've posted this before, but since you asked... It's our generation's defining event- like where were you when JFK was shot, or Pearl Harbor before that. Everyone remembers what they were doing on those days. My son was in 8th grade, I was dropping him off at school. I had a morning radio show on- the usual happy talk, mixed with news and traffic. As we pulled up to the school, the usually glib duo and their news reader suddenly got very serious. I knew immediately it was not a skit. They said that there was an explosion at the WTC- possible hit by a plane or missile. I dropped off my son- he was oblivious at this point. I got home- 5 minutes later and flipped on CNN just as the 2nd plane hit. I simply could not believe what I was seeing. I yelled for my wife to come out of the bedroom- she was getting dressed for work, and they replayed the 2nd strike. To make a long story short, she works at a university and is among tons of high profile targets. I began thinking our city may be next- and apparently we were supposed to be if it were not for the passengers of Flight 93. She wanted to go to work(she is in charge of a bunch of people and wanted to be there to tell them what to do), I advised her against it, but we made contingency plans for our immediate family in case something happened here. I spent the entire day glued to the TV, expecting the worst- if not an emergency recall, but both never came. I am in the flight path of O'hare- 5 minutes away- and every minute or so a plane comes over us. Once all air traffic was grounded, the skies were eerie and quiet. It was one of the scariest things I have ever witnessed- looking up and seeing and hearing absolutely nothing. I debated going to NYC, but I had 2 little girls at home and if something happened here, I needed to be with them. The next day I went to work, and at the time I worked in the worst area of the city- averaged 30 runs in 24 hours. One thing I will never forget is being in a somber mood all day, with occasional fits of anger and disgust when I realized that most of the ghetto folk had no idea their country had been attacked, nor did they even care after we told them. We call it the land that time forgot for a reason- nothing changes 24/7, as long as it does not keep them from getting what they want, it's all good. I take my hat off to anyone who worked on the Pile. The physical, mental, and emotional trauma must be incredible. We all lost brothers and sisters that day, and for awhile, we were also united as a nation. Too bad that did not last.

This isn't about religion, it's about the particulars of what those in that religion believe. Was he elected to govern his entire state, or just the folks he considers to be his "brothers and sisters?"

Interesting article. Thanks, doc. Amazing that it's so cheap- $9/dose? Cripes, hospitals charge that much for an aspirin. LOL

Thanks. Well, they don't call it "practicing" medicine for nothing. LOL I'll let you in on a little secret, Bieber- I don't think you can ever have a "good" answer for every situation, but you come up with the best possible solution, based on what you bring to the table- whether it be first responder or a neurosurgeon. Yes, as we get some time in the business, we may become very comfortable and confident in what we do, but just when you think you've seen every strange situation, something throws us for a loop and we need to come up with a new plan to deal with it. To me, that's the best part of this job-the initial "Aw crap" moments, and then devising a solution to the problem. As you say, there ARE many gray areas, and the most important thing we can have is a tool box to draw from to deal with these things. Education is external and the basis of what we do, experience comes with time, our morals and ethics become more defined as we get older, and we use all these things not only on the job, but in our every day lives as well.

Well the PLACE and audience he made the comments to is certainly appropriate, but just not coming from a sitting governor. Clearly context is important here, but he is ALWAYS the governor- you cannot flip a switch and say- OK, now I am speaking for myself, not as a governor. Do I think this will hurt him? Not at all.

No criticism at all. We keep asking to be respected, to get a seat at the table with the big boys, yet as you say, so many are resistant to do the things necessary to take us to the next level. Sadly, dumbing down is the current trend- in elementary and high schools, colleges, and even specialized areas such as ours. Around here, years ago there was a city college sponsored paramedic program that initially started out as an Associates Degree. It was the only program around that offered a degree, and the only reason I did not attend there is because I already had my Bachelor's Degree. Problem was, they could not get enough minorities through it to graduation. They knocked down some of the requirements(not as many general education classes) and it became a "certificate" program. Same problem. Now it's simply the paramedic program- nothing more, and they can better "help" the students who fall behind. Point is, there are major obstacles in raising the educational requirements to become a provider. In some areas, political considerations are the overriding factor for nearly every such decision. Sad, but such is life.