When should I go back??

[MO_EMT_Girl]

Ok, so I was just finishing my EMT course when I was hit from behind by a guy who wasn't paying attention. He was going 40mph, I was at a dead stop at a light. Needless to say I had the worst case of whiplash and my C-spine was actually off an inch and a half. I kept at studying for my licence and got both nationally registered and state registered. Problem is the accident was three and a half months ago and I am not sure when to start up again. I have someone waiting for my application because I was pretty much offered the job already but I don't want to injury myself before I even get going. I plan to stay a basic for a year before going to medic school and I really have a passion for this field. I am going to physical therapy once a week, and I am closing out my case with the chiropractor and the massage therapist. I was going to each of them three times a week at one point. I am torn between the fact that I need a job bc of insurance and wanting to go into the field I love. I don't know if that job will wait for me much longer... help!

[Richard B the EMT]

I would suggest consulting your personal physician, and your therapist/physician, and ask for guidance. Remember, the physical side of EMS involves lifting, carrying, and physical stresses of your own body, let alone using it to do CPR on another person's body.

Whatever the results, follow the recommendations, so if your doctor says, "Don't do that," then don't do that.

Don't quit the therapy until the doctors agree you've gotten as much benefits from it as you are going to get, the benefits expire, or are expended.

Get written copies of any and all medical reports on your case, and treatment

I also hope that the person who hit you, or their insurance company, is paying for your rehabilitation and therapy.

As you didn't yet have the job, I have no idea if you could sue for potential lost wages from that job. On that, you might want to talk to a lawyer.

[pacman]

Needless to say I had the worst case of whiplash and my C-spine was actually off an inch and a half. have a passion for this field.

I am going to physical therapy once a week, and I am closing out my case with the chiropractor and the massage therapist. I was going to each of them three times a week at one point.

It sounds like you sustained fairly serious injuries there. You're 19 years old and are way too young to further damage your back. Consult with your doctor and your physical therapist and see what they have to say. EMS is a physically demanding job that can take a toll on a healthy back so just imagine an injured one. Think about lifting people down a flight a stairs on stairchairs, transferring 200 + pound patients onto hospital beds, performing CPR for what seems like an endless amount of time, or simply bending over to get an assesment from a child. Its rough out there!

Make sure you get the full benefits from the insurance company so you can get back to the way you were before.

I can understand the urge to go out there in the field. We've all been there. However, make sure you're healthy enough to stay in the field for a long time by preserving your back.

[MO_EMT_Girl]

Thanks for the advice. I agree with you guys 100% I pretty much needed to hear it come from someone else. I had forgotten how much CPR can strain you back, very good point, I was all caught up in the lifting aspect. I'll hold off for a couple more weeks and talk to my doc

[Dustdevil]

Problem is the accident was three and a half months ago and I am not sure when to start up again. I have someone waiting for my application because I was pretty much offered the job already but I don't want to injury myself before I even get going. I plan to stay a basic for a year before going to medic school and I really have a passion for this field.

The answer is three-fold:

• 1. When your MEDICAL doctor clears you.

2. When you feel physically one-hundred percent.

2. When you have finished paramedic school.

• Not a moment sooner.

If you truly have a passion for the field, get serious and do it right. Go straight to medic school, get an education, and start off as a true team member. Forget all the loser idiots who told you basic experience was important first. It's not. Keep your day job and stay in school.

As for not knowing how long they will hold that job for you, it will always be there. EMTs leave EMS constantly because, quite frankly, EMS sucks as a job. There will always be an opening just around the corner. Even more so if you are a paramedic. Don't worry about it.

Good luck.

[MO_EMT_Girl]

Ok, I went to the doctor today because my back has been bothering me A LOT more lately. He was awesome and knew exactly what he was talking about (which hasn't been happening too much lately) He basically voiced what I had pretty much already figured out but needed to hear. I have a bulging disc. Great. My take is that I am having a lot of pain from it so it must be pressing on a nerve. I am getting incredibly frustrated with all of this. My job demands very little of me physically, and the shifts are only five hours long, but by the end of the night I am in so much pain that it makes me nauseous. I cant sleep and have become quite iritable. I can't go back to school because I missed registration and I can't afford it anyway. So I guess I am just venting but I don't know what else to do. I feel that I have exhausted all of my options.

[THEBEAR]

Your very young and have plenty of time to get in the field. Make your health your top priority, you'll need it in this field. It may seem like an opportunity is slipping away but you have youth on your side and you never know what future oppurnunities lie ahead. Get well!

[MO_EMT_Girl]

Just another update. I received my MRI results yesterday and I have a pretty bad herniated disc. It is my L4/L5 disc. I wanted to know if anyone had ever dealt with this before. I have a consult with a neuro surgeon on the 10th but I am trying to figure out all of my options. We'll see. I am pretty much taking a while off and instead of getting a year's experience before medic school, I am going straight in. School starts the fall of next year, if I even get in.