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....