During my last shift, I had a first in my EMS career and one that I really hadn’t expected. My partner Mike and I were dispatched to one of the downtown churches for an unresponsive patient, unknown if patient was breathing.
As we rolled up on scene, we noticed several people out front doing the “ambulance dance” (you know, waving wildly, jumping up and down and otherwise looking like we’re all in a big game of Whack-A-Mole) and telling us to hurry. I tell Mike to go ahead and bring the stretcher in because I knew that given the setting it would likely be in our best interest to scoop and run.
As I entered the sanctuary I immediately noticed that the patient is, indeed, the pastor. I could hardly hear myself think from all of the people shouting, praying for their beloved pastor. I tried very hard to be respectful and tactful but I had to ask the ones who were around him and praying over him to move. Thankfully they understood and cleared a path for me as Mike brought the stretcher in behind me.
It turns out the good pastor was no longer unresponsive, in fact he seemed very full of the holy ghost if you ask me!
By the time it was all said and done, the patient stated he was speaking and became weak. As he was helped to the ground he said he “went blank” for a few seconds but otherwise he was just weak. Vitals were all normal, the monitor showed sinus tach with no ecotopy and the CBG was well within normal limits. A fluid bolus seemed to help the pastor feel better.
All the while, he was thanking God for my partner and I. In my mind I hadn’t done anything worthy of praise, unless I should receive praise for simply doing my job (and for the record, I don’t think that deserves special recognition) but he was certainly thankful. During the transport I revealed to him that I am also a Christian. This only seemed to help our relationship.
At the ER I was able to check on him after I finished my report. I was greeted by an enthusiastic “my brother!” as I entered the room and he reached out to shake my hand. Thankfully he was fine, save being about a liter low on hydration. A couple of his family members hugged me and thanked me for all of my help.
This was one of those rare good calls that reminded me of why I got into EMS.
I used the word “relationship” intentionally a couple of lines ago because that’s what we should always seek to do in my opinion. We always hear how we should treat our patient as a person but rarely do we think about creating an actual provider-patient relationship as opposed to an acquaintanceship. In my mind this is part of being a good paramedic and providing good customer service (yes, we should always strive for good customer service even in EMS, however that’s another post for another time). It was a good reminder of being a good facilitator of customer service.
By the way, thanks to everyone who has read the “Internal Battles” post where I revealed my battles with anxiety and depression. I was overwhelmed by all of the comments, emails and tweets I received about it. It’s so good to know that I’m not the only one in EMS who has ever had to face this. It’s always nice to be reminded that I’m not alone.
It turns out that none of us are. Ever.
