Command

Busy day in the city, but a good day. It was one of those days where I just felt in command of my job and work. Whether is was calming down a pscyh, treating a chest pain, handling an asthma, or for that matter just knowing the best way to get from one part of town to the next, everything went well. I have days where I fumble all day long. Today was just smooth.

We went to the lockup for a psycho junkie who was bouncing off the wall. She was simultaneously in withdrawl and in a rage against the officer who had arrested her. She was fighting and punching and spitting, but it was like her punches weren't landing on me nor her spit, and I was able to get her down on the stretcher easily and held her almost with my voice while the cops shackled her. Then she started going nuts again. This one cop was really pissing her off. I don’t know what it was between the two of them other than he had arrested her.

In the ambulance, she was trying to pull her hand out of the cuff and was trying to bit herself. I gave her some Ativan and Haldol IM so she wouldn't hurt herself, and she calmed right down.

We went into the ER and they had five or six security guards along with the cop there. Everyone was like “where's the psych?” There was just a quiet girl on the stretcher, but then she saw them, roused quickly and started going nuts again. I tried to talk her down some, and got most of the guards away.

Then once we got her in the room, and restrained on the the ER bed, and the cop out of the room, she slept like a baby.

Later we got called for a girl with post traumatic stress disorder, who was flipping out over an incident that reminded eher of when she was raped. The cop said she didn't want to talk to anyone. Some bystander had taken to her aid and wasn't letting anyone talk to her. I went right in and calmed her down, explained how going to the ER was the best thing, and I could get her help there. Worked like a charm. She told me how nice I was and thanked me.

Seven calls all told, a seizure, a chest pain, an asthma, three anxieties and a detox.