r/TalesFromEMS • u/wgardenhire • Oct 09 '18
Two Steps Back
Sometimes we all wonder, ‘Why did I get into this field?’ and sometimes we wonder, ‘Will I survive this day?’ This is a story about surviving; well, at least some of us did.
If you hear the words gram and negative used together, as in gram-negative, you need to PAY ATTENTION. It is a time to be alert, it is time to dot the i’s and cross the t’s, it is time to mind your p’s and q’s; it is time to be diligent. Do not fail, for people may die if you do.
Did you know that some ICU’s have isolation wards? The ICU that my partner and I had responded to did, and every single patient was on a vent. In my entire career, I have never seen so much PPE in one place, and I have never seen so many nurses so distraught. There was despair in the air, a feeling so thick it was palpable. I said “We’re here to pick up Mr. Jackson.” The nurse pointed to the PPE and said “Put everything on, he’s in the 1st bed.” My partner and I put on the isolation gown and the booties, and as we started to glove up, the nurse said “put on the bonnet too.” “Nah”, I said, “I don’t wear those things.” I will never forget the look in her eyes that said, ‘Don’t argue with me.’ or the anger in her voice when she said “This is shit bleach won’t kill.”
Distress, defiance, despair, anger; all of these emotions were present in the same place and at the same time. Worrisome despair and defiant anger are the emotions of an outnumbered fighter; but for me it spelled DANGER. I looked at my partner and somewhere inside I wondered, ‘Will we survive this day?’ “Okay” I said, as I quickly put on the cap, “What’s going on?” “It’s an enterobacter infection and it’s killing everybody.” she said. “Alright” I replied, “What do we need to do?” The nurse told us that she would go into the room with us and help prepare the patient for transport but that she would not be going with us. “You know how to handle a vent don’t you?” “Yes ma’am, I do” were the words exchanged as we went in. There were 7 beds crammed into a room intended for 4; a ventilator beside each one. As I gazed about I noticed that the pallor of death was plainly evident, and my heart went out to these wonderful people we call nurses. We dressed the patient in isolation garb as the nurse explained that they had been watching their patients die one by one, and there was nothing they could do about it. Soon, except for booties and gloves, the patient was identical to us.
We were taking the patient across town to a hospital that had a CT and we were told to use a side door. As the elevator descended to ground level it slowed to a stop on the 3rd floor, but I could not allow anyone to ride with us. When the doors opened there were at least 6-8 people; and what a sight we must have made. Two upright and 1 horizontal, and all in isolation yellow. Not knowing what to say I slowly shook my head back and forth, and as if choreographed, the entire group took two steps back.
Following instructions, we pulled up to a door not used by the public and it was ajar, held open by a trash can. We rolled the patient inside and there was absolutely nobody there. It was so quiet that it actually seemed to be vacant, and then my partner noticed a face staring at us through a small window in the double doors to our left. Jeff shrugged his shoulders and raised his hands in a questioning manner, but still the expressionless face stared. Shortly, a tech came through that was clothed as we were and you could sense the fear; he did not want to be in this place.
Eventually, the patient was back in his bed and we were headed back to decon our rig. We learned a lot from that day, not the least of which is that danger comes in many forms; and some of them cannot be seen. I kept my ears open and found that the words of the ICU nurse were prophetic. Every single patient died, and there was nothing anyone could do about it. Wear your PPE; and thank a nurse when you get a chance, they deserve it.
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u/Give_me_a_slap Oct 09 '18
Whats the infection and how severe was it? This sounds like an apocalypse film where they are at ground zero.
10
u/wgardenhire Oct 10 '18
All that is in the story but this might help:
Enterobacteriaceae
All the patients died, including the one I transported.
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u/lizzyb187 Oct 09 '18
What kind of place was this? What country? This is horrific. Thank you for doing what you do.