Thursday, January 8, 2009

On a Hike

A while back we got our Chief and our new Paramedic coordinator to go out on a wild land hike with us. We took them on our normal hike which is fairly strenuous. They both managed to make it to the top of the mountain with me and Chris but were almost completely spent. Just as the last of us reached the summit we were toned out for a medical aid. Chris and I said that we'd take it since we were the only ones in any condition to run the mile back to the engine. We took off in a down hill sprint and barely kept on our feet but we were responding to the call 5 minutes later.

Once we got on scene we found a familiar patient. The gentleman has a problem with passing out. His blood pressure fluctuates and when it dips, so does he. By the time that we got there he was a little more out of it than I remember but he was talking to us. I asked the wife if this was normal for him lately since he does have dementia and she told me that he was deteriorating mentally very rapidly. We put him on some oxygen, checked his vitals and blood sugar levels, and waited for the ambulance. Just under 30 minutes after we received the call our paramedic coordinator and Chief got to the brush engine and went back to normal response. Good thing we didn't wait for them.

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