What did you do that no one else here has?

[Excesses]

Was in an ambulance taking a H1N1 patient Code 3 from my hospital to another 100 km (60 mi) away where they had specialized dialysis interventions. Myself facing the back doors at the patient head, an ICU nurse to my left beside the door. Two paramedics up front trying to negotiate the busy twisty turning 2 lane mountain pass in the rain. The patient is chemically paralyzed, deeply sedated, in critical condition with a whole Christmas tree full of medications. He has a tracheostomy, and I am ventilating him with a portable ventilator - O2 @100% FiO2 1.0 and PEEP of 15cm H20.
Up front the paramedical are swinging the wheel, jamming the brakes siren on full as we try to manoeuvre the hills, turns and the traffic. Suddenly, the guys curse in unison and we weave to avoid someone who doesn’t know what to do when an ambulance comes up on them on mountain roads.
To my incredulity I watch as the patient rolls to the right, his 375 plus pounds taking the top heavy stretcher to the right, and him to the floor. He lands still strapped to the stretcher in such a way as to flex his head and make the ventilator scream at us in alarm as the unit pressure limits. The legs of the stretcher have the nurse (who weighs 100 lbs soaking wet) pinned in such a way she cannot move to assist me, and the paramedics cannot stop the ambulance with the amount of big vehicle traffic on the hills.
So, the patient cannot breathe because he is chemically paralyzed and the ventilator cannot assist him. His O2 sat is plummeting.
What to do, what to do.....
I reach over to the far side of the stretcher, grab it, kicked out my right leg and somehow managed to yank the patient off the floor, then leverage him back to normal position. The ambulance had just come to a stop as the crew hit a pullout and the ambulance motion may have helped me with the lift.
The patient was 375 lbs and I tore my shoulder, my intercostal muscles and badly damaged my lower back.

Now, care to hear about the time(s) my wife and I have done cpr on a plane or in a pub? LOL!

[Excesses]

I should add the guy survived. I’m still hurting 8 years later. Thank goodness for the disability insurance.

[Stripe34]

Well, yes - tell us about pub CPR vs airplane CPR please :-)

[Forest Grump]

I had 3.5 toes amputated from my left foot. Now I have 4.5 toes on my left foot.

[okmunky]

Originally Posted by Forest Grump

I had 3.5 toes amputated from my left foot. Now I have 4.5 toes on my left foot.

No, no, no. Wrong movie! Forest isn’t a character in the movie, "My Left Foot".

Ok, so you started off with 7? That must have made buying shoes fun. One of the neighborhood kids had 2 thumbs on one hand when I was growing up. Docs were waiting until her bones were bigger before correcting it. I thought it was kewl.

[Forest Grump]

Originally Posted by okmunky

No, no, no. Wrong movie! Forest isn’t a character in the movie, "My Left Foot".

Ok, so you started off with 7? That must have made buying shoes fun. One of the neighborhood kids had 2 thumbs on one hand when I was growing up. Docs were waiting until her bones were bigger before correcting it. I thought it was kewl.

Try that again 3.5 + 4.5 = 8

[CF-104]

Originally Posted by Excesses

Was in an ambulance taking a H1N1 patient Code 3 from my hospital to another 100 km (60 mi) away where they had specialized dialysis interventions. Myself facing the back doors at the patient head, an ICU nurse to my left beside the door. Two paramedics up front trying to negotiate the busy twisty turning 2 lane mountain pass in the rain. The patient is chemically paralyzed, deeply sedated, in critical condition with a whole Christmas tree full of medications. He has a tracheostomy, and I am ventilating him with a portable ventilator - O2 @100% FiO2 1.0 and PEEP of 15cm H20.
Up front the paramedical are swinging the wheel, jamming the brakes siren on full as we try to manoeuvre the hills, turns and the traffic. Suddenly, the guys curse in unison and we weave to avoid someone who doesn’t know what to do when an ambulance comes up on them on mountain roads.
To my incredulity I watch as the patient rolls to the right, his 375 plus pounds taking the top heavy stretcher to the right, and him to the floor. He lands still strapped to the stretcher in such a way as to flex his head and make the ventilator scream at us in alarm as the unit pressure limits. The legs of the stretcher have the nurse (who weighs 100 lbs soaking wet) pinned in such a way she cannot move to assist me, and the paramedics cannot stop the ambulance with the amount of big vehicle traffic on the hills.
So, the patient cannot breathe because he is chemically paralyzed and the ventilator cannot assist him. His O2 sat is plummeting.
What to do, what to do.....
I reach over to the far side of the stretcher, grab it, kicked out my right leg and somehow managed to yank the patient off the floor, then leverage him back to normal position. The ambulance had just come to a stop as the crew hit a pullout and the ambulance motion may have helped me with the lift.
The patient was 375 lbs and I tore my shoulder, my intercostal muscles and badly damaged my lower back.

Now, care to hear about the time(s) my wife and I have done cpr on a plane or in a pub? LOL!

AKA X-medic 73 aka CF104

RESPECT ***** ehhh you don't know Seth G. do you ?

[okmunky]

Originally Posted by Forest Grump

Try that again 3.5 + 4.5 = 8

Oops! But 8 is even better than 7!

[Bahamaniac]

Originally Posted by Forest Grump

I had 3.5 toes amputated from my left foot. Now I have 4.5 toes on my left foot.

We would be twins if it was rour right foot!

[Starbreaker]

I now realize, reading all these great stories, that I have done nothing and wasted my life lo these last 43 years. Thanks.

[Curtis in TX]

Originally Posted by Forest Gump;

I had 3.5 toes amputated from my left foot. Now I have 4.5 toes on my left foot.

Originally Posted by Bahamaniac

We would be twins if it was your right foot!

I'll bet you guys could swim circles around the other kids. But how hard was swimming a straight line?

[okmunky]

Originally Posted by Starbreaker

I now realize, reading all these great stories, that I have done nothing and wasted my life lo these last 43 years. Thanks.

Oh, but you're still quite young in comparison to most of us posting here. Have heart - your time will come. Very few people here set out to do anything unique, unique just sorta happpened when we were around.

[mat]

I survived.

[FL420]

Originally Posted by mat

I survived.

And I am very happy you did. Judging from the plywood headboard I am guessing you were putting yourself in harm's way in service to our country.