* A little note in the state of Missouri the radio codes used in the area I worked and will make referance to is as follows:
10-50 J1 no injury accident, 10-50 J2 injury accident, 10-50 J3 accident with road blocked, 10-50 J4 fatality accident.
10-70 fire, 10-23 arrived on scene, 10-8 back in service. Also all cardic arrest will be refered to Code Blue or just Code for short.
CALL: 10-50 J2 Rollover one vehical 1 mile north of Hwy 142 on 67 Hwy. When we arrived on scene found small pickup truck over turned in large ditch. We was meet by a lady and her young son of about 9 yeasr old. She said that they had only a few scratches and they was fine. I asked what all had happened me and my partner did check both out and they was fine. She said that the large metal object on side of road had fell of back of pickup she swerved to miss it and 18 wheeler was coming head on so she hit loose gravel on side of highway to miss the truck. Lost traction and flipped in ditch. I asked if she was wearing seat belt she said no thank God because if she was they both would have possibly been killed. She said she grabbed her son and layed on top of him while holding seat when truck flipped. The top of truck was crushed and I had to agree with her this time she was lucky not to have been wearing it. ***** Seat Belts Do Save Lives**** but sometimes in rare times like this not having one was the life saver. We waited till Hwy Patrol arrived and took over had release forms signed and returned to base. ** NOTE- I have only cutt 1 seatbelt off a dead guy and more than can count off live persons. Please continue and ALWAYS wear seat belts. Not only does it save lives but in Missouri its the LAW!! I just wanted you to know of this one happy ending.
CALL: This call is when worked for first ambulance service. Me and a female parnter was assigned a transport from a local hospital to a hopital in St.Louis Mo. Pt. was a male mental pt that did not want to go. Before we left local hopital pt was restrained by leather retraints on wrist and ankles to stretcher. We got pt loaded into unit with help he was fighting bad took help getting him in unit. I worked the back female driving. We told our hospitial we was enroute St.Louis about 8 miles from hospital things got very bad!!He came out of his wrist restraints (this type of restraight if put on proplerly is almost impossible to get out of). I hollared at partner needed help in back she pulled to side of raod by now i was fighting him hard trying to hold him down he was coming off strechter. She opened back doors slammed them shut ran to front jumped in. I heared he yell hang on siren came on we started moving SHe got on radio called hospital "LLH THIS IS MEDIC 2 COMING IN HOT PT OUT OF RESTRAINTS FRED HAS A FIGHT ON HIS HANDS NEED HELP NEED HELP!!!" "10-4 MEDIC 2" We arrived 3 min later when back door opened they pulled us out i was basicly on top of him. It took eight of us to rerestrain him idiots at other hospital put ankle restraints on wrist is why he got out after getting him back down and insureing it would not happen again we pulled back out. It was a load ride till he finlay learnt he was not getting loose again. We arrived at other hospital 3 hors later. In reception the reeceptionest wanted him took out of restraints and placed in wheel chair. I said "no you do not" and she said "yes i do" I said "here is the keys you do it but if your smart you will call for help" She called and a guy came down lead us to room it took hole team to transferr him to there bed they gave asked if they could give us replacement restraints they did not want to remove those. We wrote reports and left.
CALL: (Me and Mike worked this one telling this story on him.) Call came from MO Highway Patrol late in the night. 10-50 J2 J3 possible J4 tractor trailer involved MO-Ark state line. Ambulances from Poplar Bluff already enroute. We had 7 to 8 min ETA. Upon our arrival we seen a two door car rammed up under the rear doors of trailer upto the front glass. We started to take over control of seen and move bystanders back so we could get to patients. We heared more incoming sirens from south. Corning Ark ambulance had heared call responding also to see if they can assit. We find the driver has very weak pulse and passinger in car is dead or J4. More sirens from north now. Medic and Fire and Rescue from Poplar Bluff pulling up. Along With MHP. We give size up both trapped in vichile one dead other almost. We have rescue to sart cutting driver out but first some one has to go in to moniter driver Mike went in over the passinger only way in. Sometimes this is a must. During extracation of driver we all very busy bandageing and packageing pt with KED and then to back board C-Collar everything needed. Strong smell of alcohol in car and on drivers breath.Driver is out finaly took awhile. He is placed in medic unit for tansport to hostipal in PB. It is decided that me and mike will transport J4 to same hospital. Corning crew helps us with task of removeing body from the car and placing it in body bag and putting it on strecther. After body is loaded we speak with trooper he informs us that a witness had seen it happens and had followed the two from a bar on the highway said they never slowed down when truck infront of them was turning into truck stop. We then transported the body to the hospital 36 miles away. As normal practice in this situtaion so vehicals behind you can not see in back glass you turn off inside lights in pt compartment. About half way to Poplar Bluff MIke who is sitting up front with me turns and looks at me then flips on light in back and turns it back off real quick. I said "Is He moving " and cracked up laughing at Mike. He said " NO! Hey its the first time I ever had to do something like that and it just hit me I was on top of a dead body" I was laughing so hard then he started laughing to. Good stress relief I never let him live that down. We arrived at hospital took Body to the back and went into er to fill out reports. (If you have not seen my picture page yet me and mike worked alot together and had become good friends).It is always sad when some one dies in a auto accident but this time unlike many a drunk driver did not kill some innocent person due to there drunking state. I have seen that two many times. Stories about that to come.
CALL: Lady choking 4 blocks away from the sleeping quarters. We arrived on scene in about 2 min since we was asleep when call came in at 3:00 am. Upon entering home we found a elderly white female sitting at table you could hear her trying to breathe from the door. Her lungs was filled with fluid. I had husband grab all meds while my pardner checked vitals I ran for streatcher. We rapid got her back in unit. I told husband take his time getting to hospital we would take good care of her. And that another unit from Poplar Bluff would meet us enroute to hospital due to needing help. He said ok. The patient keeped saying "I am gonna die" repeatedly. I took her hand and said "Hun you got the best crew here with you we are not gonna let you die." After getting her loaded and getting in drivers seat and got on radio. " NN Ambulance is needing paramedic assit have on board 80 y/o white female lungs are filled hold on." " Be advised parnter just yelled we have a CODE BLUE repeating CODE BLUE!!" We was one block from the house. " 10-4 NN we copy full code medic enroute" One mile out of town "NN to medic be advised we have a pulse" "10-4 NN". One more mile " FULL CODE AGAIN". This happened 3 times before medic met us on side of road. By the time she was placed in ICU she was trying to pull out the endotracheal tube (ET Tube)this is a tube medics other trained personal place in the trachea or the airway which allows us to breathe. This is not something a emt can use because of the speacilized training involved. GREAT NEWS !!!! One month later seen this lady raking leaves in her front yard. This is what makes every thing that happens in the field worth it. To see living Proof of a life you held in your hands survive.
CALL: This call came in arround midnight one night. I took call. Person hit by train in next town still alive. Myself and partner while enroute called the nearest hospital for paramedic back up, new this one was going to need it. 2 miles out seen flashing lights at railcrossing train still there. Told pardner we better hope they are on this side or we got problems. I notified hositial that train was still on tracks at this time 1 min out. 10-23 on scene. Train personal ran up to us he is on the other side bad shape. I asked how long till could move trian he said 10 15 min another one coming thru in about 6 min. Told partner find way arround. Quickly grabbed jump bags and took off down tracks. Train personal lead way to pt. Up on arrivel at pt oberserved black male in teens laying on ground about 20 feet from tracks on gravel road. Pt was breathing and had week pulse at this time. Took set of vitals do not remmber what they was. Not great! Placed pt on oxygen mask called non-rebreather which has a bag attached to the mask to give high volume amount of oxygen. At this time with light i had no signs of large blood loss. Asked bystanders how he got there was he thrown this distance. They said no they had moved him off tracks for his safety due to other train. I thought ok first injurys maybe worsened. Started to bandage and control what bleeding found. Pt was laying on his right side did not move him. Did not have spinal immobleization on hand yet. Here comes partner good. Flagged them to park where food lights would help us see better. Train was moveing now. Stopped just down tracks clearing inttersection. I told partner stay with him while i update unit enroute. This was radio report:"NN ambulance to responding medic we have a black male 16 y/o was standing on tracks hit lower half of body threw about 10 feet in air. Pt is awake but sluggish Vitals as follows: (don't remmber) Pt found lieing on right side no major blood loss at this time has not been moved since bystaynders moved to this location. Have pt on non rebreather at 15 Litters of O2 at this time what is your ETA?" "We are 5 min out" "Waiting on your arrival" Back to PT they are 5 min out hear there siren now. They pull up medic does his assesment "OK lets package and go" We placed cervical collar and back board on pt secured him. Placed pt on strecther in our unit. As myself and medic climbed in I noticed right leg on his pants getting very red and wett. I grabbed siccors ripped pants leg to waist "WE HAVE A BLEEDER" "Grab me a pad" Medic grabbed Abdominal Pad which is just like a females pad. I placed it on the wound "give me two more" I spent the next 20 min on holding the pt leg trying to control bleeding medic said no not taking time to put MAST trousers on.(MAST stands for Medical Anti-Shock Trousers the help push all blood in body from leggs toward vital organs of the body). When we arrived at hospital first thing said by doctor why is this pt not in MAST I looked at medic and let him answer that one. Pt was taken to surgery after Mast was applied by er perosnal. From what I have heard he lives in another city andhad been drinking and wanted to play chicken with train. HE LOST !!!! I have heared that he did make it but is paralized from waist down due to when train hit him. (Note: the medic was very busy trying to start iv's and things just two if us in the back some times in this profession you have to make a decsion to fit what is going on. There is nothing textbook about saving a life in the field. Every sitution is differant and you must be able to fit it and handle it.)CALL: 10-50 J2 with field on fire 1 mile out side of town on route H 2 vehilces involved also J3. Arrived 10-23 2 minutes later heavy smoke from field fire was pointed to a truck on the side of the road told older female inside not good condition. She had been removed from her vehicle before our arrival. I went to tend to her partner went to check on other subject in the vehicle and find the other persons involved in other car. This was a low speed head on colision. Accident turned into a J4 due to the other person in the car with the older lady her husband had passed away. It was belived from interviews with wittness at scene that he had had a heartattack and died before the accident happened and that is why he crossed the centerline. Wife was transported to hospital and told there about her husband's death due to serious of her injurys. Husband was 76 wife 74.
CALL: Motorcycle hit by 18 wheeler number 3 ditch on Hwy 142, 3 miles out side of town. 10-23 in 5 minutes. Upon arrival scene very large box in middle of road. Was being flagged down by subject at scene. He ran up to us told us the man was under box nothing could be done for him all the wheels on one side of truck had went over him. Me and my parnter went up and removed box from subject he was crushed head to toe. (head had exploded on contact) we covered up the male with a sheet and looked for id. Witnesses stated he had stubbled out in front of truck while picking up cans on side of Hwy. Man was 79 years old, the days was mid summer temp arround 90 degrees. Subject got over heated while walking lost balance and fell out in the road. Nothing truck driver could do to avoid the accident. County Coroner called to scene he transported the body.
CALL: Shooting in town next to ours 6 miles away. This was in Janurary good snow on ground roads very slick. Bad road conditions we had 10 min ETA . Law Enforcement was 30 miles away 35 min ETA.(Now this is the sitution a shooting in which is a hostile unknown shooter still in area maybe at scene have at least one person shot condition unknown.) The decision on way to scene to go in our stay out till Law Enforcement secures the scene. ( Scene safety #1 in EMS work can not save a life if you are dead.) It was decided we would wait Law Enforcement 20 min out we crossed the main Hwy 67 Sat there with lights on waiting. I felt real bad knowing some one needs help but MUST wait for the Law Enforcement. All of a sudden a pickup came flying up to us from the scene (we are 3/4 of a mile from the scene). Black Male got out of truck asked why we was not going in there they needed our help NOW 2 females 1 shot in the face. I told him I can not go in till law enforcement arrives and tells me it is safe. He said hes gone i seen him run from the area and he is being chased by 2 young men. I asked for description of him one was given I radioed County Law Enforcement gave them desciption and direction of travel of suspect. And I was going in to scene. Upon arrivel I asked first person I seen what suspected looked like and where he was was givin same info. this again confirmed with law enforce ment. Went in partner tended to the patients while I returned to our unit and called in too local hosipitial 30 miles away requested responce of 2 ALS (Advanced Life Support) Units had 2 black females about 20 to 30 years old critical condions mutiple gunshots wounds face and chest area. Also request Helicopter to be called due to the serious of injury and time involed in there response due to 50 min eta. Both Ladys lived suspect was arrested with in the hour at another hospital in the city.
This is just a few calls more to come as I can. I hope now you have some idea of what EMS personal do for the sick and injured.
