Cold Beets

I'm sitting here with a small styrofoam box of cold beets that I bought at 11:30 this morning. Of course when I bought them, they were hot. We did six back to back to calls -- a lady with dementia who fell and didn't know why, a lady with a blood sugar of 24, a girl from a doctor's office who recieved some novaciane and felt dizzy and because her pressure went from 110/60 to 90/50, the doctor thought she should go to the ER even though 90/50 is no too low for a girl, particuarly one who has a steady pulse, whose skin is warm and dry and who does not look sick, but hey, he's a doctor, a lady with a bad cough for a couple days, a lady with a very tender abdomen who probably burst a cyst on her pancreous--the only call we went lights and sirens to the hospital, and a man who passed out outside a restaurant, and who I think was dehydrated. The worst part about doing these calls back to back was we'd do the call, drive back to the base, sit down and as soon as my butt hit the chair, they called us again.

We did another call earlier -- responding for a pulled chord at an elderly housing complex. In the all the years i've worked here everytime we have responded to a pulled chord at this complex there has never been a patient, but they keep sending us. No patient again today.

I mentioned I need to be vigilant when I am tired. The lady with the low blood sugar I really didn't want to take to the hospital, but her family wanted her to go, and I didn't fight them other than suggesting maybe we call the patient's doctor and see what he thinks she should do. It turns out she also had pnemonia so it was good she went. The lady with the cough got a breathing treatment at the hospital. I suppose I could have given her one, but she was walking around and talking in full sentences when we got there. Her cough wasn't any worse than mine. Eddie wanted to tech it. If I had teched I probably would have given her the breathing treatment not that she needed it right away. I mean we put her on the stretcher, gave her some oxygen and took her to the hospital. I worked up most of my other patients all the way today, did my job even though I was tired.

I was lucky that the rest of the regular season Red Sox tickets went on sale today and I was able to get tickets to two games before the calls started coming. I would have gotten more, but could never get back to the computer. Now all they have left is standing room. All those calls saved myself some money.

Except for the 90 cents I spent for the beets.

Beet. Beat. I am beat.

I look at my reflection in the window. I have terrible hat head from wearing my hat all day. It was only -10 this morning when I came in. Warmed up to the teens.

I'm going to throw the beets out. I just can't stomach the thought of eating a cold soggy beet.

Working eight hours tomorrow. I can at least sleep a little late. Don't have to go in until 9.

Eight minutes to go till crew change. Please no more calls.