I hope everyone had a great thanksgiving yesterday.

I spent the first half of my day sleeping, recovering from my shift. Later, it was off to enjoy the festivities at my brother's house.

The shift started out early, and with a patient that had us wondering about the weight rating of some of our equipment. I don't think people over a certain weight, especially those with medical problems affecting their ability to walk, should be allowed to live anywhere other than the ground floor unless there's an elevator.

An extremely rare occurence happened when a frequent flier kicked us out and refused transport. Sad thing is, they probably actually needed to go this time.

Another frequent flier called and was indeed needing transport. Once on the monitor, it was very obvious that her pacemaker had a good capture and was pacing her. Her only complaint was related to breathing, even though her oxygen levels were in normal limits.

The only other call of any real interest had us awake at crazy hours. The call came in as an accident with injuries and entrapment. Strangely enough, the address was on a residential street, so we assumed it must have been where the street intersected with the main drag. We were wrong.

At retard-o'clock, a 20 year old was driving her SUV home from a party, drunk. She made it all the way into the very back of this neighborhood before jumping a curb and driving across a large front yard. But she didn't stop there. She drove through the homeowner's small sedan, spinning it over 90 degrees and sending it into a tree, then she continued across what has to be the largest cul-de-sac I've seen, jumping the curb, and finally coming to rest after striking a fire hydrant and tree.

Of course, she was fine, not a single scratch and she refused to even let us check her vitals.

The officers asked her if she'd been drinking, and she innitially lied "no". She later changed her story to say that she'd just come from a party. Here, the legal drinking limit is .08, but it's .02 for underage. With her being 20, we were positive she was screwed. We were right.

Once the DUI task force officer arrived, he chatted with her for a few minutes in front of his vehicle (camera rolling, no doubt), then hooked her up. No roadside sobriety tests, no mini-breathalyzer, not even so much as a nystagmus check. She was toasted.

Earlier, when she walked over to her car from where we were at, she tottered over to the side and nearly ran into the back corner of my ambulance. It's not like we were the least bit suprised to see the cuffs go on.


As expected, we didn't get much sleep. Our last call ensured that we'd be late getting offduty. Oh well, it happens I guess.

I'm just happy to finally be back where I want to be, and getting the experience I need (no thanks to the command staff I begged for a transfer well over 6 months ago). I have a great crew, and the guys are really settling down and starting to pick on me when we all start ragging on each other. They seemed hesitant at first, but I don't blame them, so many females are ever-ready to roll paperwork. I guess that's why I don't like working with other girls either.

I'm in a fair rotation between the engine and the ambulance. Both units usually get hammered at night, especially the ambulance. It sucks, but I don't really mind right now because this is where I'd rather be. I know the area better from working a few years there. I know what to expect from most of the patients. I know which buildings are nothing but a tinderbox, and which one's are death traps (in a few cases, even if they aren't on fire).

I still have a lot to learn, and I'm a bit rusty on the territory. I just have such a better grasp on things here and it gives me the confidence in my own knowledge that I was lacking at the station I spent the last year at.