"They keep following me, they won't get off my trail"

Today, I spent the better half of my shift sitting at a calltaker's console. I was handed a headset and grabbed a cord and chair, plugged in, and got to eavesdrop.

As I expected, there were a lot of people that called for stupid stuff. I was suprised by just how many hang-up calls there were. We only took a handfull of EMS calls, and only 1 fire call. Quite a few calls from alarm companies, and today seemed to be the day to wreck your car.

One guy that had just been rear-ended kept laughing and was in great spirits. We could hear someone else laughing in the background too. The damage must not have been too severe. Oh, and it was a tow-truck that hit him.

The one call we took that was a fire, was one of multiple calls for the same incident. Another calltaker had already gotten the call from someone else. This person woke up and realized their apartment had smoke in it and that the unit below was quite possibly on fire. I never heard anything later about what exactly was on fire.

There was one call that had me holding my breath....to keep from laughing, that is. A female called in and rambled on for what must have been 10 minutes about these people that keep following her. She talked about how they follow her to work, the store, the post office, even to church. They even walk in the church and go past her, then right out another door! These people following her are even smart enough to have lots of different people in different cars that follow her around in traffic.

We've apparently sent units to her house before for similar problems, the calltaker was looking up the call history for the address given while the lady rambled.

The only thing I can figure is that she has some type of medical issues that need to be addressed. Quite possibly paranoia, or paranoid schizophrenia.

The smartass in me hopes she risks being followed to the store to buy a new roll of reynolds wrap, because her tin foil hat isn't thick enough.

After I came back from lunch, I went back to my usual place at one of the consoles on the other end of the room. It was beyond busy.

When I left to go home this afternoon, we did not have a single ambulance left in the department except for 2 contracted transport units. We were also down to 3 engines, and 4-5 aerials. It was getting crazy at 911 and I was happy to be able to leave when I did.

Funny stuff

Since I promised some funny stuff, let's see what I can remember from recent months to stick in here.



**A few days ago a good friend of mine (and dispatcher for a neighboring department) had to send units to a person who locked herself INSIDE her car, with it running...on accident. And no, the person was neither a blonde or suicidal. (No offense to any blondes that may be reading this).

**Today, one of our ambulances was out at Big City ER with a patient, the backstory doesn't matter. They called in to let us know they'd be out for an extended amount of time. As they were returning to their truck to leave, they noticed the ambulance parked next to theirs was on fire. Being the good little crosstrained firefighters they are, they grabbed the gear off their truck and put out the other one. They simply called to see if we could contact the other company so they could contact their personnel assigned to that unit. Our guys had tried unsuccessfully to find them and wanted to make sure they knew what happened.

I couldn't help but laugh when they told us what happened. I wish I could've heard the company's rep. that answered the phone. My trainer said they seemed pretty out of it.

Who said you never get to fight fire from the box?

**A conversation between myself and a dispatcher while on break...
"One! Tubby, tubby, tubby...Two! Chubby, chubby, chubby."
"This is my rifle, there are many like it but this one is mine!"
"Hey corpral! Go tell mom bring my field knife."
"What would anybody want with a blind dog?"
*insert weird, conscerned dog noise here*

We went on for a minute or 2, then had to stop because our breaks were almost over.

**(One overheard late at night a couple years ago)
"Engine X to radio, Engine X is enroute to ABC hospital."
(Sounding extremely confused) "Engine X, you advised enroute to the hospital?"
"Rescue Z enroute to ABC hospital with Engine X personnel on board."
"See radio? I told ya."

**I once had a patient's family member threaten to file a complaint against me for being racist because I said "ya'll".

Thankfully my partner (who happened to be the same race as the potential complainant), told her that I wasn't racist, I was from Georgia.

I never received any complaint about it.

** Funny things can be heard on the radio when it's accidently keyed up. This is my all-time favorite. And yes, I was there in person when it happened, but no, it was not me. Oh, and this was on a talk-around channel. While recorded somewhere I'm sure, I don't believe it was monitored by radio at the time. If it was, they must've been laughing too hard to do anything about it.

"It's ok, no matter what happens. If I screw up on a fire, it's ok, I'm just a dumbass medic. If I screw up on a medical call, it's ok, I'm just a dumbass fireman."

PT sucks

Today just started out great. Then it went from bad to worse.

I got to sleep late since my hours were pushed back a bit because of my PT appointment. It was nice, it was really nice.

When I got to work, things were busy, but not overly hectic. As time went by, things got busier, as they always do once everyone wakes up and hits the streets. I don't think things got too crazy before I left for my appointment.

Physical Therapy/P.T.
Well, I got there and had to answer a bunch of questions about if I'm able to sleep, what position I sleep in, how bad is my pain, does it radiate anywhere, etc. I also had to demonstrate how much flexibility I have in my neck. Certainly a lot more than a few weeks ago.

The physical terrorist...er...therapist, started me out doing exercises. Her reasoning is that it's been nearly 3 weeks and I have a lot of mobility. Maybe too much I guess.

I had to do a lot of different exercises with weights or the rubber bands. I was hurting pretty bad with each one. You see, I have this little problem I developed in the academy. If you tell me to do something, I'll do it, no matter how much it hurts. I learned I could do more than I thought, and now I push myself really hard. I'm thinking maybe too hard as much as I've been hurting since PT.

At the end, I sat with an ice wrap on for 10 minutes. It didn't help, nor did it really feel good. I was hurting then and I'm hurting now.

When I got back to work, things had gotten busy. I set to work trying to help chase units out of the hospital and update our board we track units on. We were without any transport units 3 times I think I was told while I was at PT/on lunch.

We would be looking good, then suddenly send almost every unit we had out on calls. Next thing you know, one nice sized chunk doesn't have any firetrucks in it. So we spent a while shifting those units around, just keeping up.

Things somewhat slowed and the captain came in and wanted to talk to me.

I understand I'm representing my department and carrying extra responsibility by being at 911, but although I'd like to think I'm being professional, I don't feel the need to be wound up too tight. The job I'm training for is serious business and I've had my eyes opened to what goes on, especially when the computer system crashes. I just can't understand why I'm supposed to basically just sit there and keep my mouth shut.

I want to build a good working relationship with these dispatchers. I have no choice but to count on them when I'm in the field and need help, I want them to be able to count on me for as much help as I can give them while I'm in the 911 center.

I was told that I wander around too much and that I'm not able to focus.

I have no idea where the wandering around thing came from. The lady I train with the first half of the week has no complaints about my performance. I know because she's told me so. She's been showing me the computer commands and allowing me to somewhat suggest what unit to move and where to put them, and if her choice is different, she's explaining why. The only time I leave the console is when I take my lunch break, or to hit the restrooms. The only exceptions being standing up to lean on the short divider to ask a question or relay some kind of information to 1 of the 2 dispatchers assigned to the channels I'm monitoring. The other exception being that I've walked around to the other dispatcher's side a couple of times. Of course, she/he is the one actually dispatching the calls and I'm curious how the system works, where they go to find the comments they read over the air, and how they actually assign units to the call/put the call on the unit's screen. I'm not only curious about it, but I feel it's part of my job in a way.

As for the lady I train with the 2nd half of the week, if anybody wanders around, it's her. Many times I'm sitting at the console and she wanders over to the far side of the room to chat with one of the calltakers. I'm not supposed to be answering the phones or really doing anything more than moving magnets on a board. Yet she leaves me alone and is reluctant to come back over when the phones start ringing. I'm certainly not saying she doesn't do her job, because I've seen her work. I just don't feel like she's really teaching me anything. Sometimes, I just feel like I'm only there to move the magnets for her, because she never seems to keep up with them. I guess she's just a lot more lax about things.

I shouldn't be so irked by this whole thing, but it's just been gnawing at me all day.

Just kind of maintaining at work right now. I spent a couple hours yesterday doing menial tasks for the captain. Honestly, it was all BS busy-work. I hate that kind of crap. I didn't really have any other options though, so I sat down and did the stuff I was tasked with.

While I was working away, I was able to listen in while someone reviewed 911 tapes of critical calls. It's really neat to listen to that stuff when you're not used to ever hearing it. I'm not officially trained on the CAD, and I'm certainly not familiar with the protocol cards for medical 911 calls, but even I knew what questions should be asked when. Like I said, it was neat to hear the tapes when you never get that opportunity.

The past few days, I've been really making an effort to learn the dispatcher's names. Well, more like their last names, because that's what shows up in the field. I want to be able to recognize the people I've become friends with for when I go back out onto the streets. And yes, I'll admit I like some more than others, but I'm getting along fine with everyone.

*********************************************

In other news...

I think I've finally finished running the gambit of emotions associated with my accident.

I was scared shitless when it happened and for the first few days.

I started getting mad on the 3rd or 4th day I think. Mad at the driver for not setting the TPM or watching the pressure better. Mad at my captain for not backing me on the line, even though I know it wasn't really necessary. Mad at myself for not being better prepared for a pressure spike.

Then I started feeling helpless and hating myself. I realized there was absolutely nothing I could've done differently to prevent my accident. The pain I dealt with, even while medicated, made me want to just cry. I hate pills, I hate taking pills. I suddenly realized I was watching the clock until my next dose. I turned into a pill-popper in my mind, and even though it helped with the pain, I still hate myself for it a bit. I finally had a complete breakdown. I sat, and I cried. I cried like a little bitch, but afterwards, I felt better and was still upset, but able to live with myself.

Finally, I've started to heal, physically, mentally, and emotionally. I'm finally at the point where I can turn my head, touch my chin to my chest, and do all the other things I only dreamed of a few weeks ago. I still have a knot of tensed muscles on the right side of my neck. In 12 short hours I'll be at my physical therapy appointment. I'm both looking forward to it, and scared to death all over again. I don't know what they'll do to me. The dr originally mentioned massage and traction. I'm not so sure about the traction part, but the massage sounds heavenly. I guess the ultimate question is will they be able to work out the knot, and will I hurt again because of whatever they do?

I want nothing more than to get back on the streets, back to my normal work-week. I've just got this sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach that I won't be allowed back to work until the knot is gone.

Getting to work at radio/911 has been a blast and no matter what happens, I'm really glad I was afforded the opportunity, I just want my life to get back to normal. Well, as normal as it was before the accident.

More than anything else, I need to get out of my house again. I've been either in so much pain/medicated and unable to drive, or just feeling sorry for myself and haven't really gone anywhere other than work. I've been afraid to go ride my horse because of my neck and I really miss him right now. I *was* trying to finally get myself motivated to run on a regular basis, but again, haven't because of my neck. The last thing I wanna do is aggravate this injury before it can heal all the way.




I'll try to relay some funny stuff next time I post. I don't really like being so serious all the time. I'd rather be watching Jeff Dunham or having another quoting war with one of the dispatchers. I finally found someone who can match me with Full Metal Jacket AND Major Payne quotes. Dear god it was hilarious.

Sad/Busy day at work

Today was flat out crazy at work. I was there before 0630 and we still had 5 units out on a fire from overnight. By 0830, we had 2 working fires, and one of those went 2 alarms, and there were reports of people trapped inside.

The big fire came in on a transfer from the big city FD. They only wanted us to send our ambulances, then tried to dump the whole thing on us, even though it was across the line and on them. We sent a full response just in case.

The first unit that went onscene told us to start a 2nd alarm.

As we're pulling units for the 2nd alarm, another fire comes in. In the comments, the caller advised that there's flames through the roof, but the house is known to be vacant.

We manage to scramble all the units needed for both calls, and started shifting our remaining units for coverage of territories.

Meanwhile, the amount of EMS calls explodes thanks to the rain and/or whatever. So we're having to post our ambulances and we're constantly shifting them around as well. That went on all day long, with only 3 units available in the entire department more than once.

We ended up calling 2 neighboring departments (not big city FD) for mutual aid. We needed help covering our stations. Only 1 of the units that came to help had to run a call. Their radios aren't compatible with ours either, so we had to call them on the cell phone and give them all dispatch info, plus directions.

At the large fire, there ended up being 12 units damaged, and the Red Cross was called to take care of the 61 people that were displaced. One of our ambulances took a toddler and father to the hospital for smoke inhalation, and the toddler had some burns. The mother and another child died in the fire.


There is a video, but in an attempt to somewhat protect my anonymity and where I work, I'm not going to imbed it. Sorry folks.

Drugs are bad, Pills suck too

Semi-short post cause I'm hurting some and drugs are starting to kick in so I'm getting real sleepy, real fast. Notice I use the terms drugs and meds interchangeably.

Yesterday was a pretty good day. Learned a lil bit about our CAD program, and how EMS calls are entered. Sat in on a calltaker position for a little while, didn't get to hear anything overly interesting. Still got to hear a few calls about either small child got the phone, or wrong number. How the hell do you dial 911 on accident??

Today, my neck was stiff when I woke up, I've been able to make it to work the other mornings before it got too stiff. I'm now allowed to pull up calls before/as they're dispatched, as well as put units available if they don't update their own status on the computers. Not allowed to answer the phones or nextel,or make reccomendations for calls, but I can call units on nextel and stations on the fire phone.

I think I did really good keeping the magnetic board current today too. No thanks to all the units that went available over the computers only. I had to keep checking the available lists. Also had a few units go out of service without telling anybody until we assigned them a call.

I left a little bit early to go have a new ID card made. The person blew me off and told a lie. I stood outside their door for 30 minutes for nothing. Keep in mind, the longer I stand, the more my neck hurts. When I finally left (without my new ID), I was in so much pain I sat in my car and had a little cry. I have a high tolerance for pain and I was really hurting.

I think I set a record time getting home so I could take my meds. I hate pills, I hate taking pills, but I really hate hurting that bad. I took the full dosages of all my meds (have a 1-2 pill option for one of them) and tried to calm down and chill out. The drugs finally kicked in and I was finally feeling pretty numb to the pain.

I can tell the pain meds are kinda worn off a bit now, my neck is achy again, but not as bad as earlier thank god. The muscle relaxer and anti-inflammatory are going strong though. I'm sleepy as hell and have been since 30 minutes after taking all those meds earlier.

Time to call it a night.

Light duty

Got my light duty assignment this morning, and actually got what I wanted. Well, other than not needing to be on light duty.

I'll be sitting in at radio for the next month, helping keep coverage all over the department, and doing whatever other tasks they can teach me.

Beats the hell out of being surrounded by brass any day.

Of course, the 5 day work week sucks, but I guess that's just more motivation to get better faster.

Update on me

I went to the Dr today about my neck. 1 hour, a physical exam, and 2 xrays later, we find that the muscles in my neck are so spazmed that my neck is almost perfectly straight. Normally, your neck should have a gentle curve backwards.

I was given 3 prescriptions, and put on light duty for at least 4 weeks, with an order for physical therapy 2-3 times each week. Dr said if I feel ready to go back to work before 4 weeks have passed that I can come back and he'll release me.

Fuck.

My luck with tickets

I tend to follow more police blogs than fire or medical blogs. I think a large part of the reasoning is that I'm already a firefighter and EMT, and it's fun hearing war stories from my brothers in blue.

That being said, a couple of the blogs I follow mention quite often how attitude gets you everywhere, or how some have a sense of entitlement. I'm a firm believer about the attitude thing. Any time I have to transport, I am fully justified in starting an IV so the hospital can have access if they need it. (Nevermind the fact that even on traumas, they tend to ignore our lines and look for their own anyways.) I've had more than one person end up with IV access not because they really needed it, but because they gave me an excuse to want to stick a needle in their arm. Normally, it's my at discretion to gain access on those cases or not.

Anyways, my reason for writing this post is to relay my experiences with the police. I've had the unfortunate pleasure of their company 3 times.

It's December 23rd and I've had a long day. I attended the funeral of an officer killed in the line of duty. I spent the remainder of the day with my friend, he was friends with the officer and, of course, quite upset.

It's now 1115pm and I'm headed home. I've got to be up by 5am to get ready for work and I still have to wash my uniforms. I'm cruising down the expressway, jamming away to Life is a Highway by Rascall Flatts, not really paying attention to anything other than the song and maintaining my lane.

As I'm cruising along, I see a car parked in the grassy median to my left. I clearly remember thinking "fuck, cop" and looking at my speed. Just as I was passing him, his brake lights lit up as he was no doubt putting the car into gear. I merged over to the right, hit my hazards, and went up a little farther than normal to get into the nice, large gore area near an exit ramp. I stopped my car, put it into park, rolled down the windows on both sides, and turned on my interior lights.

The trooper (dang, busted by a state cop) was very polite. He asked the usual questions about why I was stopped, why the hurry, etc. I responded that I didn't realize I was speeding until I saw him and looked at my speed, and that I was trying to get home to do laundry and such before work in the morning. He also asked about where I worked, I do have a firefighter's plate on my car.

I didn't volunteer my employment, nor did I ask for a break. The trooper said he'd be back in just a moment to get me on my way. When he returned, I saw the large clipboard and knew I was going to tote one. 87 in a 60.

I pressed hard for my 5 copies, sadly enough, I had a bit of a smile. The trooper was very nice, I had no reason to be a bitch to him.

I did go to court, but not to contest the ticket really. I just didn't want my insurance to go up. I'd come directly from the station after shift change and one of the clerks pulled me aside. I told her I was there for a speeding ticket and just didn't want my insurance to nail me. She offerred to drop the ticket from 17 over, to 14 over if I'd pay it that day. I gladly coughed up the $175 and was on my merry little way.
******************************************
On a weekend morning, around 655, I get the call to go fill in at another station on the opposite end of the county. Our shift change is at 7. I quickly loaded up my bed roll and gear and hit the road.

As I'm cruising, I see another cop sitting on the right median running LIDAR. I saw him throw the gun into the seat beside him and knew I was the target since I was cruising a bit faster than the cars around me. As with before, I pulled over and waited.

"Lil City PD" is known for being traffic nazis. Just 2 weeks prior they caught my mom speeding. This is the same Lil City PD I'm working with now.

The officer strode up to my window and started to ask the usual, than stopped himself and asked if I worked for "county."

I responded yes, and that I was being sent from "down there" to "up here" to fill in at another station. Our shift change is at 7 and someone couldn't go home until I got there to relieve him.

The officer looked at his watch (time is about 0725), and told me to try and slow it down some, then turned and walked back to his patrol car.

I was in shock! Those guys have the stigma of never letting anyone go and I just got cut loose with a verbal warning!

I stammered out a thank you and continued on my way. Even the guys at the station were in awe when I told them.
**********************************
Back in July of '08, I was driving to Pittsburg for a long weekend with friends. Somewhere on I-77 in Virginia, there are these very long tunnels that take you right through the heart of a mountain. Having never been through anything like that, not to mention being a visitor to this state, I was looking around at the scenery as much as at the road.

As I exited the first tunnel, there was a sherrif's deputy parked to the left, obviously checking speeds. He started my way so I, once again, pulled over and waited.

At my window, here's how it went as best I can remember...

Deputy: Do you know how fast you were going?
Me: Obviously too fast, around 75 (I think).
Deputy: 76. And do you know what the speed limit is?
Me: 65
Deputy: When you exit that tunnel, the speed is still 55. *points just up the road* It changes back to 65 up there.
Me: *wide eyed* Oh crap.
Deputy: Is there a reason you were driving so fast?
Me: No Sir. I've never seen a tunnel like that and was enjoying it and not paying enough attention. We don't have anything like that in Georgia.

He was laughing as he took my license and other info.

When he returned to my car, he had his amazingly large ticket book on the clipboard. He explained that he hated writing anyone in public safety a ticket, but I was going too far over the limit to be ignored. However, since I was out of state as well, he wrote me for 76 in a 65.

Of course I thanked him for giving me some kind of break on that. After he explained the ways to pay off or contest the ticket, we chatted for a few minutes. We compared a few silly things about departments (I know a lot about my county's PD), laughing about the difference in size of the tickets.

Before parting ways, he told me there was at least 1 more tunnel a few miles up the road. I thanked him again, and we were each on our merry ways after a "have a nice day" was exchanged.
******************

So there you have it. I've been pulled over 3 times, and I earned it all 3. I was cited and later had the speed reduced, let go, and cited with reduced speed onscene.

I'm not going to lie, I still speed. I try to "go with the flow of traffic" and sometimes I go a little bit faster. If I happen to fall into another officer's sights, so be it. The difference is, I use my turn signal when changing lanes, I stay in my lane without weaving, and I try to avoid any other things to draw attention to myself. I also keep my tag and insurance current, and all the lights on my car work. If I get caught doing something wrong, I'll still be just as nice to the officer, and if I get a ticket, I'll pay it off like the good lil citizen I try to be.

Just wasn't my day

Got called out to a kid that fell. The mom is picking herself up off the ice when we pulled up. The patient was inside the house already. Mom meets us near street level and says to follow her, so we do.

See that lovely waterfall thing to the left of the driveway? She apparently thought it'd be a good idea to turn it on yesterday. The driveway is obviously iced over, as is half the yard.

I had the EMS bag on my right shoulder and as I was stepping from the yard onto the driveway, my left foot shot out from under me. I landed hard on my left hip, on top of my radio. I also slammed my left wrist into the ground trying to break my fall. I slid at least 10' down the driveway.

I managed to pick myself up and get up the hill and deal with the patient.

Back at the station, I was in enough pain I decided to go on and fill out OJI (on-the-job injury) paperwork.

I got clearance from risk management to see a doctor, and was at the dr's office by 11.

4 X-rays, 1 wrist brace, and a very cool doctor later, I was on my way back to the station. I didn't break/fracture/sprain anything, I'm just bruised and achy.

THEN......



Took this right before I grabbed the nozzle and walked up to the front of the compactor. I had the nozzle over my right shoulder, it has a pistol-grip so I wasn't really holding it, it was hooked into me. Had my arms draped over the other part of the nozzle to aim it down into the compactor.

We ran out of tank water on the quint so I had to stand back and wait until they had hydrant water. When we got water, I opened the line back up halfway and stepped back up to the compactor. I only opened it halfway because there was a lot of pressure on the line and I was waiting on the driver to adjust for the extra pressure from the hydrant.

Once the pressure was adjusted, I opened the line up all the way and resumed my former stance, both hands over the nozzle angling it down.

What I didn't know, was that the driver was refilling the tank on the truck. When it was full, he closed the refill valve, inadvertently sending all the extra pressure down my line.

I remember feeling the extra pressure hitting, and trying to reach for the bale to close the nozzle. I woke up flat on my back with the guys standing over me. My captain asked if I was ok and I asked to just lay there for a minute. He called radio and asked for a couple more units, and told them that there was a firefighter down.

The first unit arrived and got me backboarded and collared (our backboard was used and not replaced by the other shift's crew).

The ambulance arrived shortly and I was loaded into it and transported to the ER. They ran me in lights and siren, much to my suprise, especially at 1am.

The ER put me into a trauma room and got me off the backboard very quickly. Normally, I wouldn't complain about that, but my neck and head hurt so bad, I was worried. My neck still hurts a lot. They didn't do any x-rays or CT scans or anything, even though I'm missing part of what happened. They gave me narcotics, but I forget what they were now.

My battalion chief was there, and was going to take me back to the station when the hospital released me. I was sent home of course, and am off on OJI next shift.


I have a killer headache and my neck feels stiff. My hip hurts worse than anything else. I don't know how I landed to know if I hit it when I fell, or if it's just from busting my ass on the icy driveway yesterday morning. Either way, I have a nasty bruise from the radio from that one.

And now, I'm gonna go take the drugs I was given and goof off online till I pass out asleep.

Running

I went running Saturday with a friend and her fiance. I'm not sure of the distance because the trails weren't marked out. It was mostly dodging roots and rocks, while going up hills. I'd guess around 2 miles, plus another mile up the side of the mountain.

We were at Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park. According to their website, there's 16 miles of trails. I'm not exactly sure which trails we were on to figure the miles, but it's listed as 1 mile from the visitor's center to the top of the mountain. Let me tell you, it's a very steep climb. I feel bad for the people that had to haul all the gravel the trail is paved with up the mountain.

After the run, compared to my brilliant 2 mile attempt I wrote about recently, I wasn't all that sore. The only thing that really hurt at all were the muscles on top of my shoulders (traps.).

If it hadn't rained all day today I probably would've tried to find somewhere closer to home to run. There's a high school track nearby that's a possibility after school hours. I can't stand running on treadmills. I need the feeling of accomplishment from seeing the scenery change around me. I also don't trust the distance, seems I can never run as far on a track as I can on a treadmill.

I'm not even going to try to keep track of weight or sizes lost. My goal is to get into better shape and look good in any outfit. If I lose weight, fine. If I maintain my weight but convert fat into muscle, that's fine too.