May 16, 2013

The dispatch was for an elderly female, bleeding.  Wow, pretty open ended.  Usually when we get a call dispatched like that it means that I'll be doing direct pressure on body parts one does not really want to touch.

It was updated a minute later as bleeding from a cut foot.  On the road already, we were there in 2 minutes, arriving before the officer.  The front door was locked, as was the side door.  No one was visible in the window and most of the crew went around back to find a way in.  I stayed in front and was the first to lay eyes on our patient when the front door opened.

Let me say that it sucks to get old.  Skin becomes very brittle, bleeding doesn't stop quickly, cardiac issues lead to swelling of the ankles.  What greeted me was a woman with both legs covered in blood from the knees down.  She had started bleeding in the shower and then walked throughout the house.  It looked like a murder scene.

She was just shy of dementia, easily confused and overwhelmed and extremely upset.  With the amount of blood around I could understand why.  It was difficult to get her to sit down to determine where the blood was coming from.  Ultimately, it was a small spot where she may have scratched open a bump or part of a rash.  She was no longer bleeding.

I took a towel and some sterile water and washed her, both legs and both feet, on my knees.  It was one of those experiences that touched me - there I was washing the feet of an elderly woman.  I wish I could explain  my thoughts better but somehow it seemed like a gratifying act of service.

I bandaged her up and washed down the floor surrounding the immediate area.  The driver got a mop out and washed the rest of the floors in 4 rooms.  Then I updated her daughter on the phone, who was distraught and speeding home.  In the end we were able to leave her at home.  She didn't need to go to the hospital and would follow up with her own doctor.

She and the family were so wonderful about expressing their gratitude.

A lot of my fellow EMTs are adrenaline junkies.  They run in and want to be the hero, save a life, scoop and run to the hospital, taking time at a home and actually getting involved a bit is not something that interests them.  Not me (although it is nice to be part of saving a life).  The above story is my favorite kind of call.  We come in to a stranger's house who thinks the world is ending.  We calm them down, clean them up, restore their dignity and in the end, allow they to stay home with peace restored.  I could do that every day.