akflightmedic

Ok, so I just took receipt of a 2000 F350 Super duty 4x4 ambulance. The way this box is designed, places the main O2 cylinder under the bench seat which is a first for me. This means I now have to turn on the main O2 when I load a patient and remember to shut it off when we offload. Anyways, here is the problem. The O2 has a low pressure alarm that emits this annoying high piercing alarm when ever the main O2 is shut off and the power is turned on to the module. You have to jump in back and hit the silence button and then it is fine, however it is not practical for us to do this every time before responding to a call. We must have the power on while responding or the lights and sirens do not function plus the AC will not be cooling the back. My other option is to leave the main O2 on all the time thereby eliminating the trigger for the alarm, however we have discovered when we leave the main O2 turned on that there is a small leak and we do not wish to deplete our O2 levels as getting tanks refilled is not the easiest task at my current location. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to over ride this alarm or keep it from triggering? Is anyone familiar with this type of setup?

Too bad..thats a shame. Any simple research will show that the cost of those devices are cheaper than 1 (one) single provider back injury involving lost time and rehab.

FIRE FIRE FIRE!!

I have pictures.

I like your topic and while I do agree with Squint, this is what blogs are for...your ground rules make it different. You simply asked for a personal event/story that is not to be commented on, a story which reveals another layer of the onion. You are asking a lot, personal revelation to many strangers...some may comply, I think the majority will not. Regardless, I will share but like Squint said "No honorable mention for me, Sheesh"!! My story had a tremendous impact on my life in various aspects, I will not discuss which ones or how they affect me then and today. For those of you who know me on a personal level, you will understand a lot. I have spoke of this before but never written it out for all to see, so here goes... I was 17 years old and bulletproof, life was good. I had just graduated high school one month prior, was in love with my high school sweetie, and was preparing to move 9 hours away to go to college. I went to the base hospital (shot clinic) to get my allergy shots which I had been receiving for about 3 months at this point. It was lunchtime and the hospital was pretty much vacant. Normally, I used to sneak out cause I hated waiting 15 minutes when I had such important things to do and people to see. I could not sneak out that day cause it was too obvious. I had on my favorite Earth Day t-shirt (with wolves on it), and my sleeveless hooded sweat shirt as an outer layer. I also had a little over $300 in my shorts pocket cause I was planning on leaving that week. The young tech (Norm) gave me my dose and I sat down across from one other person in the waiting room. Norm was a very dark black man and this point will be relevant later. Norm walked out of the room and within a few seconds I thought I was going to die. I had an overwhelming sense of impending doom (yes it is real). My tongue started to itch, my skin was crawling, my entire body just felt weird. I then started to wheeze as well and was barely able to get my inhaler out of my pocket. I tried taking a dose but I dropped it. It was at this point that I made eye contact with the guy across from me and I saw nothing but FEAR in his eyes, he was staring at me with his mouth open and eyes wide. I whispered...get help. He ran out of the room and my mind was racing a million miles an hour. I hurt, I tingled, I itched, I could not breathe. I was bent over in my chair, head hurting, not breathing well and wondering over and over what the fuck is going on? I stood up because I did not think anyone was coming and I knew I was in trouble. As I stood, Norm appeared in the doorway. He literally froze in his tracks. He was walking full speed (maybe running) to the clinic and when he hit the door threshold he froze and rocked forward from momentum but he could not follow. To this day, I remember his face clear as a bell. Because he was so black, all I saw was his eyes, they were massive...it was like in slow motion I watched how huge they got. He stared at me for what seemed an eternity (probably a second), then turn and ran to get the doctor. The doctor appeared, placed an arm around my shoulders and said James try to walk to the stretcher (crash room was 6 feet away). He kept saying, hang in there James, we got you, we will help you...we will take care of you. I stumbled those few feet, sat on the edge of the bed and tried not to panic. For some reason, I focused on my watch. It was a metal band with a clasp type and while they were scurrying all around me, I just focused on removing my watch. I heard the doctor ask for the epi and then I heard him tell Norm to call a code on the over head. My watch fell to the floor as I finally released it and I now thought this was the end. I knew I was no longer breathing and my head hurt. I heard someone walk in the room and ask if this was some kind of drill. Before the doc could answer, I heard "Oh shit"..."call the code overhead again"! At this point I heard lots of voices of people filling the room, my eyes were no longer focused, I do not think they were even open. I then pissed and shit myself as my body emptied my bowels. Then there was nothing but blackness... **After coming off the vent two days later and recovering at home for a week or so, we had a party for the medical folks who saved my life, was a nice story in the paper about me. I did request a copy of the code summary and I still have it here, laminated...Seems I also went into pulseless Vtach but was fixed with a pre cordial thump. It also took 7 attempts to intubate me due to the massive breakfast I had that morning (frosted flakes, cold pizza, ton of milk). For weeks after that, my throat hurt and it was difficult to speak, especially about the event. For years, when I tried telling the story, I would have laryngospasms, voice would get weak and it would be difficult (PTSD anyone?). It took many years before I could candidly speak of that day, but now it is easy..as is everything with time.

eeii.org Offers weekend EVOC every month http://eeii.org/Courses_Offered.html Wrong side of the state...oh well make a short 3 day holiday out of it...see the east coast of Florida!

Just take the EMT course and make your resume more impressive than others...unless you were just looking for a very quick weekend class and time is a factor.

Damn tricky titles... I have nothing to add that has not already been said, but I was more prepared to talk about swinging...

Guys Guys...relax would ya... He had a legitimate question that went unanswered for a few minutes...a lack of planning constituted an emergency for us..(or so he thought). Regardless, welcome to the forum, good luck on your NR test tomorrow and please read all the links provided to you and heed the advice given to you in the other threads. Cheers!

I agree...was merely making an observation as this post came after the influx of accurate answers and him thanking them on the other site. So I was wondering whether he thought those answers were wrong...

Did the other website you posted on not answer all your same questions or did you not trust those who responded to you?

Here is the link http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090723/ap_on_...tal_deportation Short summary: Illegal immigrant with serious injuries post car accident, rehabbed to a 4th grade cognitive level, still paraplegic. Hospital spent over 1 million dollars over 3 year period caring for him. Hospital chartered plane and repatriated him to Guatemala without informing his relatives in either location. His guardian who is also his cousin protested and is now suing the hospital cause the man is now living in Guatemala with his mother in a one room very remote house 12 hours from the nearest major city with no means to call or travel there should his condition worsen. Is this right or wrong? Where do we draw the line with health care? What is our responsibility to illegal immigrants? Is three years enough along with some of the best rehab during that time which almost certainly returned him to the best possible condition he will ever be in again? Do we need to be concerned with the fact that the hospital knowingly sent him to a remote location and will probably decline in health and die soon? The remote location being his normal home (which now is not good enough). Another short recap: He came to the US, made good money doing crappy jobs to provide for his family in Guatemala. He is involved in car accident and becomes paralyzed and mentally impaired. Hospital cares for him and rehabs him for 3 years. Hospital gave him a FREE flight home to be with his family and long term caregivers. Now cousin wants to sue hospital for deporting him. Hmm...

Yes, how christian of you to praise your god for one's death...he is a mighty, all loving and all forgiving one isn't he...

Google the fire department Ruff cause that is who handles it. Palm Beach County FD\\ http://www.pbcfr.org/

Come work in America and see if that holds true for EMS...

Such as janitor, carpenter, plumber, teacher, financial adviser, lawyer,...whoa...almost every career!!

Not sure what you are trying to say about HIPAA, however MJ had nothing to do with it. HIPAA first went before Congress in 1986 to be voted upon. Due to reviews, regulations, contesting, typical governmental bureaucracy, it was not formally released/enacted until 1996.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_michael_jackson AP Source: Michael Jackson dies in LA hospital LOS ANGELES – A person with knowledge of the situation says Michael Jackson has died in Los Angeles. The person, who was not authorized to speak publicly and requested anonymity, says the King of Pop died at age 50 in a Los Angeles hospital.

Give us more information and you will get much better replies. What weather do you want, what scenery do you want? Do you want urban and rural within the same city simply by driving 25 minutes out? What grade level are the boys in order for us to tell you about the schools?

First, it is not abandonment. Second, the quote you used to rant on do not match. The guy said he doesn't see it as a hate crime, he then explained it was a power trip, machismo thing. Did I miss something or did you snip the wrong section to rant about?

Cheers! Maybe at the next gathering over some brews and steaks.

Awww Ruff, I had your back until you made the leap and threw the ACLU in there as well. Two separate organizations with totally different missions. If it were not for the ACLU, there would be many things in my life for the worse due to other people (mainly religious ones) not "shutting up and letting me go on with my life".

casualty evacuation

If I weighed 150lbs, and a sponsor paid me or my corporation $$$ to say I used a product, then I would rant and rave about said product as well. I would even try it of course to remain true to myself. I am loyal to the highest bidder.

Actually, looks more like Wilf after a night out on the town.