TRAUMA - Episode 17

[Richard B the EMT]

This is currently a holding pattern, as it is 40 minutes to showtime, and I'll probably do the point by point posting sometime tomorrow morning or early afternoon. Until then, Hey! Let's be careful out there!

[Dustdevil]

I intend to actually see it live this week, instead of having to wait a day to watch it online! Consequently, I should have something up tonight.

The info on the guide says Glenn discusses unusual calls with his colleagues (should be good for a HIPAA violation or two), and Tyler's dad visits, which should be good for epic lulz.

[Richard B the EMT]

What is "Lulz"?

1) Glen is apparently at a writing class, discussing his book.

2) Rabbit is yelling at the traffic ahead of him that is not moving out of the way. Even if not out loud, don't we all do that? (Don't lie, I know you do!)

3) Referencing to the Jackson, MS crew staging too close to the shooting, and Scene Safety, Rabbit and Nancy had a "Save" of their shooting victim, until the gunman followed them to the hospital ambulance dock, and shot him dead on their stretcher. When the black limo pulled up in the ambulance dock, it telegraphed what was to happen. It just reinforces my pessimistic view that there ain't no place safe.

4) Can anyone confirm if San Francisco is a "Safe Haven Law" town? For the uninformed, this means a newborn to 2 week old can be brought to an Emergency Services station or house, questioned only as to any special needs of the baby, and no legal actions taken against whoever brings the baby there. Kind of what happened with the woman dropping the baby off to Glen in front of the station.

5) Unusual paring of Tyler and Nancy doing BVM on the baby to bring up the heart rate, while Glen drove, but I usually don't argue with what works.

6) The blind leading the blind: Rabbit asking Marisa relationship questions?

7) Tyler's dad is in town. Is Tyler going to "Out" himself?

8) Nancy's weirdest call? A violent, self destructive EDP tearing up his own apartment. Standard stuff for most of us, but the EDP turns out to not only be a station-mate, but her future boyfriend, Rabbit! Then he berates her for saving his life in the helicopter crash that killed all aboard except Rabbit, including Nancy's fiancee. It does at least explain why, in a previous episode, Rabbit trashed the closet doors in Nancy's apartment.

9) One punch knockout of Nancy's partner? 2 cops and chemical restraint to temporarily calm down Rabbit? The EMT didn't press charges, due to embarrassment at being knocked out?

10) I need chemical information. Codeine slows down body systems? The "He dead" patient may have also had Mammalian Diving Reflex, even though the water may not have been all that cold.

11) When Tyler's dad announced he had Lymphoma, it was the correct decision, for that moment, not to advise dad that Tyler is gay.

12) Nancy unknowingly blows off the home made dinner with Rabbit to "bond" with the baby she, Tyler and Glen saved. So many rules these EMSers break, and she has her telephone turned off in the hospital?

13) At least she had the decency, on finding out what had transpired, attempted to call Rabbit to apologize.

14) Tyler incorrectly using the radio, as he "Trolls" for calls. AGAIN! At least he caught one.

15) Marisa was married? She goes stereotype "Latin Spitfire" at the "other woman", threatening to kill her, then, as "other woman" runs away and falls down the stairs, Marisa renders aid?

16) See 15. This causes her to sign back up for another tour of duty in the sandbox? While I may joke a lot about Military "Intelligence", the folks in the Pentagon can't be that dumb to allow her back in, so soon, for that reason.

17) I agree with the statement, "Normal ain't what it's cracked up to be."

18) Suspend reality, we got a script here! Would any of us flat out ask a patient questions about someone in the crew's personal relationships?

19) Apparently, the first time Dr Diane saw Glen, her current paramour, he was bringing in a child with more gunshots (14) than he had years of age. She misidentifies him, an EMT, as a Paramedic. At least we know that happens, as us EMTs are either Drivers or Paramedics to the public, as seemingly nobody knows what an EMT is. (Rant over.)

20) Nancy doesn't have to bond anymore with the baby, seems there's at least 10 families want to adopt. Good for "Baby Jane".

21) While Tyler's dad has Lymphoma, they "caught" it in time to treat fully, good prognosis towards full recovery.

22) Dad had suspected Tyler was Gay, but accepts this fact, while saying many from back home wouldn't.

23) Can fog be so invasive through open windows as to prevent rescuers from seeing a large pet python?

24) Glen, again reading from his "book", comments on Nancy. Despite how tough she can be, figuratively, the baby brought Nancy down to her knees.

25) Nancy set off by Glen's revealing the chink in her armor, calmed down by Rabbit. She questions if the two of them can achieve "normalcy".

[JTpaintball70]

On the Codeine thing, I guess it could be possible.Codeine is a narcotic so I'd assume it could slow respirations when too much is taken just like morphine or heroin.

As for the rest of the episode... I'm undecided on what I thought about it.

[Eydawn]

You know what, this show is starting to become pretty entertaining. Of course they're still making mistakes, but they're capturing characters a lot better now than they were before.

Best line ever: "I was gonna let a doctor, or at least someone smarter than Bo, decide that this guy was dead..." That whole sequence just had me ROLLING because I've totally met EMSer's like Bo. TOO FUNNY!!

If you know your partner is a writer, don't go to their readings... you don't want to hear how they write you, because you're just plain not going to like it. That goes for any profession where you've given your coworker permission to write about you...

God, I hate to say it, but I think I like this show... it's got some decent character development going on even if it still isn't totally realistic.

*ducks and waits for the negatives*

Wendy

CO EMT-B

[Aussieaid]

I totally agree with you Eydawn. The medical stuff is still a complete joke but the character development is coming along. And would you believe they didn't even have an MCI in the episode???? Some of the lines were a good insight into the world of and the people of EMS. It's not about the calls but about the people who do the calls!

[JPINFV]

What is "Lulz"?

A bastardization of "LOL."

4) Can anyone confirm if San Francisco is a "Safe Haven Law" town? For the uninformed, this means a newborn to 2 week old can be brought to an Emergency Services station or house, questioned only as to any special needs of the baby, and no legal actions taken against whoever brings the baby there. Kind of what happened with the woman dropping the baby off to Glen in front of the station.

It's called "Safe Surrender" in California and it's state wide.

[Richard B the EMT]

If you know your partner is a writer, don't go to their readings... you don't want to hear how they write you, because you're just plain not going to like it. That goes for any profession where you've given your coworker permission to write about you...

What does that say about most of us? We all seem to do it, even if not in a book.

I have posited that anyone in the EMS, Fire services, or Law Enforcement fields for more than a year were to write an "as it happened" book about the job, the public would still dismiss it as a "couldn't have happened that way" fabrication.

And would you believe they didn't even have an MCI in the episode????

I beg to differ. The call with Rabbit and Nancy, where they saved a multiple gunshot wound patient, only to have a gunman follow them to the ER and shoot him dead, started out as an MCI (Multiple Casualty Incident), consisting of 5 persons shot.

The protocols that I operate under (FDNY EMS Command) have any incident generating 5 or more patients, or the potential for generating 5 or more patients, as an MCI. Breaking it down further, each FDNY EMS ambulance is crewed by either 2 EMTs or 2 Paramedics. On presumption of one personnel for each patient, if a 3rd ambulance is needed, the call is an MCI.

Best line ever: "I was gonna let a doctor, or at least someone smarter than Bo, decide that this guy was dead..." That whole sequence just had me ROLLING because I've totally met EMSer's like Bo. TOO FUNNY!!

"Yup, he dead!"

My problem is, I have had folks sometimes refer to me as a "Bo" like person.

[JPINFV]

If you know your partner is a writer, don't go to their readings... you don't want to hear how they write you, because you're just plain not going to like it. That goes for any profession where you've given your coworker permission to write about you...

Yea, but anyone who watches NCIS knows that the book will eventually make it to the work place.

[JTpaintball70]

Yea, but anyone who watches NCIS knows that the book will eventually make it to the work place.

Ah yes, L.J. Tibbs