"Taco trucks", and Leftovers



Where did this come from...how long has it been there= EMS Biohazard.



On any given day or night on an ambulance there's always that moment when you tell your partner that you're hungry. Unless you bring your lunch/snacks to work with you (which I am notoriously bad about), you and your partner are about to embark on a decision that could make or break your day.

There is rarely a slow day on the ambulance and we can be anywhere in the County at any given moment. Most of us on the ambulance know our Santa Clara County food geography pretty well, so if you are ever looking for a place to eat, ask a paramedic or EMT.

Indeed, there are many choices out there but when you're in a hurry and it seems the pager is going off every 5 seconds your choice could be impulsive, and unhealthy...and it usually is. 

I took this picture of a muffin in a box at one of our local hospitals the other day. There are a few school's of thought on that muffin....

1. I'm STARVED because I've been running calls for the last 6 hours, and the muffin looks like it's in pretty good shape. Bon appetite.
2. Where did the muffin come from, and how long has it been there.
3. Sure, it was nice of the hospital staff to leave this here for us, but the bottom line is simple. Unless you saw the hospital staff member bring the muffins, it's biohazard.



The reasoning is simple. We in EMS work in shifts, and that muffin may have been played with, experimented on, dropped on the floor (there is no 5 second rule in the hospital) while there for the last 24 hours ...or more. In fact, it may still be sitting at the hospital right now.  Then again, it all depends where on the hungry scale you really are. The scale is measured on a 1-10. 1 being a little hungry and 10 being "Donner Party hungry".

Besides left overs, there are other emergency food sources while on the road. Consider this; you've been running calls for several hours, you're "Donner Party hungry", and you've just dropped off your 7th patient at the hospital when you see it...."It" being that glorious gleaming gem formerly known as "the roach coach".



A glorious gleaming gem.



Nowadays, it's just not politically correct to use the term "roach coach" out loud. It's like calling the garbage man..."the garbage man", somehow that's offensive so we say "waste technician", or "sanitary engineer"...what ever.

Now, we call the "roach coach" the "catering truck", or "Taco truck"...

These big shiny beacons are usually sitting on hospital grounds wafting their fried fumes towards the ambulance bay day or night. They can also be found on any given street corner throughout the county selling killer tacos, burritos, and other great Mexican food.

I don't by any means recommend eating "taco truck" food on any sort of regular basis, but in a pinch when you're big hungry and you've got cash, they've got some greasy goodness for you.

My biggest issue on the road, is that I'm a "burritoholic". Yup, admittedly. I love burritos...chicken ones, with beans, cheese, salsa, (or orange sauce) and avocado. They are my kryptonite. In Santa Clara County, there are SO MANY options if you want a burrito. They're everywhere, easily accessible, and oh so good.

Alas, I try to eat healthy out there most of the time.

The best way to get some food on the road if you don't bring it with you, is to hit a grocery store (time permitting) or a Subway. Healthy food is always lurking out there, you just have to be only a little hungry, and have a few minutes to spare.

If you're in EMS or not, here's to eating better at work. Challenge yourself to to get a healthy lunch at work and home, you'll feel better in all aspects of your life. And remember, if you're looking for a good place to eat, ask a paramedic or an EMT....  



Places we go

In our job, paramedics and EMT's enter places most wouldn't dream of. Strange houses are the most common, and to me the most uncertain. You never know whats going to be on the other side of the door. It could be granny who fell and blew out a hip...or it could be a hoarders house with junk packed to the ceiling where there's only small pathways to get from room to room.  Don't even get me started on smells....that's a story for different day. The other side of the door could also contain someone who wants to hurt you and your team.

We go in to these houses in the middle of the afternoon, or the middle of the night. We enter mansions, or run down shacks...it doesn't matter. I've been in to homeless camps under freeway overpasses, in the bushes, down by the creek, you name it. The list goes on and on...

Yesterday, I got a call to a place many Bay Area residents drive by, but never get to see from the inside. Moffet Field (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moffett_Federal_Airfield) is a landmark known by all who live here. The base is now run by NASA Ames, and when you show up at the gates with lights and sirens on, you are escorted by NASA police to where your call is.  Makes you feel pretty important.

Moffets huge airship hangars can be seen for miles. I took this picture of Hangar 1 from the window of my rig, it is one of the largest hangars in the world. It was used to house rigid airships in the early 20th century. When you get this close to Hangar1 you can't help but be impressed by the sheer size.

The call it turned out, was at a motorcycle police training course on the base. Law enforcement agencies from around the bay area use a lot there to train motorcycle police via obstacle courses set up in cones. Our patient fell off his cycle at low speed and broke his arm. He was obviously in a lot of pain, so I got an IV started and my partner made him feel more comfortable with pain medication.

Our patient was a very good sport, and we were able to joke around with him a bit, and all of his co-workers were giving him a hard time as well. This kind of banter between public service entities is quite common, and when we have to transport "one of our own" we make sure they feel at ease as best we can. It was my turn to drive and my seasoned medic partners turn in the back.

As I attempted to leave the base grounds I made a wrong turn, and ended up having to drive over a bumpy non-paved area to get back to the road where the exit gate was located.

The conversation in the ambulance goes like this...

My partner: "Why are we 4 wheeling the ambulance?"

Me: "I missed the turn to the gate..."

Police Officer with broken arm: "You MISSED the turn?!" (joking)

Me: "Yep, I guess that makes TWO of us.."

My partner and the Officer: "Ohhhh!!" (in stereo)

I love my job....

Out my windows

This last week at work, the weather has been pretty bad. Cold, rainy and windy. It seems like when the weather gets bad, we're always out on the roads and freeways in the rain strapping the unfortunate to  backboards after the inevitable fender bender or spin out.

Time to slow down and pay attention when you're driving in the rain. Maybe let the text message slide 'til you get home.

Getting up and running.

Alright, I'm starting a blog to follow my regular dealings in para medicine. I have worked on a 911 ambulance in Santa Clara County California  for almost 6 1/2 years...5 years as an EMT and a shade over a year as a paramedic. I've had quite a few requests from friends who have been following my pictures, and comments to start a blog to chronicle these things in more depth, so here you go.

What I will be writing about and showing here will be the quirky, interesting, non-interesting, fun, laughable, stories and pictures I encounter on the streets on Santa Clara County. What I won't be sharing here are the ghastly and private things I also encounter as a paramedic on a regular basis. So, if you're looking for that, this isn't the place.

This is meant to be fun, that's the bottom line.

Santa Clara County is a great place to work as a paramedic. We are always busy, with call volumes reaching 300+ per day regularly.  We have an incredible, highly trained work force of EMT's and paramedics here that I'm proud to call my co-workers. Santa Clara County is as culturally diverse an area as anyone could imagine, and that's also one of the reasons why I like working here.

I hope you enjoy the things I share here, please pass along to anyone interested.....