"Battalion One to dispatch issue a level one recall for manpower." these words are not often uttered in a department which has multiple mutual aid agreements with other paid departments. This night it would serve as a reminder of the need to place good Pt. care above any drug or piece of technology. While other members of the department dealt with a working fire, myself and three others ran out of the "backup to the backup" ladder truck. On our way to our first call of the early morning, we quickly realized that there were no SCBAs on board. They had been stripped for the HazMat Tech refresher the week before and never replaced. This was a foreshadowing of later events.
Upon our arrival, we found a middle-aged woman lying on the floor complaining of abdominal pain. The patient had just been released from the hospital after receiving a kidney transplant. I opened the medical bag. To my dismay, it was nearly empty. I found a cheap stethoscope, a BP cuff, a penlight, and two bottles of expired sterile water. "What more could go wrong?" I thought to myself. One should never ask that question, both in ones head or aloud. We were then advised that the next closest Medic unit was 84 blocks away. The patient's lower abdominal was rigid and distended, her BP was low and her plus was high. For the next 20 minutes, I talked to her and heard about the amazing life she had led.
By the time the Medic unit had arrived, the patient's vitals had not changed, but her pain was significantly less. As I handed off Pt. Care to the other paramedic, I could not help but marvel about how in a world of modern medicine, a kind word and a listening ear can do so much to help the patient. I hope that I never forget that lesson as I move up the medical ladder. I want to be the practitioner who takes the time to sit down with my patients and listen. Some times the largest lessons come from the smallest gestures.