Murphy

Today tickets for the World Baseball Classic went on sale. It is the first time national teams from all over the world, (the teams will include major leaguers), will play in a world championship tournament. At ten o'clock I bought tickets eight rows behind home plate for the opening round robin in Orlando, Florida that features teams from the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Italy and Australia. I don't even know if I am going to go(the games are in March), but I figure I can sell the tickets if I can't go. The championship tickets didn't go on sale until one for three games in San Diego. I know I can't do both, but if you are even thinking about it, you have to buy the tickets. I think this event will be huge. Some joker on EBay is already selling tickets similar to the ones I bought for $999. I paid $330 for two tickets(6 games each ticket).

Went out and did a call for a child with asthma at a doctor's office. I think it was more pneumonia than asthma(she had a fever and decreased lung sounds on one side with a productive cough), but at any rate, we took the girl to the children's hospital in the city. On the way back I mention I need to get to the base by one to try to buy tickets.

My partner says, "Murphy's law says we'll get a call."

Came back, sat down at the computer. All set to click buy the moment the tickets went on sale for the championship games. I'm looking to get right on the field if possible. This could be awesome. USA with Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds, Japan, Dominican Republic with Pedro Martinez and David Ortiz and Manny Ramierez, Cuba. Historic games. Five minutes before one, the tones go off -- old guy with heart palpitations feeling nauseous. F---! Pardon me.

"Murphy's Law," my partner says.

Off we go lights and sirens. When we get there the guy says he is having heart palpitations and nausea. The 12 lead looks okay. He is a little hypertensive. The palpitations go away before we can record anything unusual on the monitor. We load him up. My partner asks if we should go lights and sirens. I am thinking lights and sirens would be nice timewise so I can get back and buy the tickets, but there is no need to go that way. Non-priority, I say.

I put in an IV and draw blood enroute. I draw up some phenergan to give him, but only when I am ready to inject it do I realize I used one of the new vanishing point syringes that are incompatible with our saline locks. The saline locks won't take a needle and with the vanishing points, you can't take the needle off, the needle "vanishes back into the syringe. I will have to spike a bag and attach it to the saline lock, and then inject the medication through a rubber port in the IV tubing, but we are already close to the hospital, and I haven't even patched the call in yet. I get up to make the call -- the radio is not in my reach from the bench seat, wait a long time for the hospital to come to the phone, give a brief report, but then we just now pulling in, so I never get time to spike the back and give the medicine.

Then just as we pull in to the hospital, he sits up and vomits over everything -- the blankets, the floor, my hand. A mess. He says he feels better. On the monitor I notice some unifocal PVCs -- about twenty in a two minute span. I ask him if he feels any palpitations, he says no. I record a strip for my report.

It takes us awhile to clean up. We don't get back to the barn until almost 3.

There are still tickets left, but they are in the upper deck. I buy them anyway.

Like I said, I don't know if I will be able to go to either set of games, but having the tickets gives me the option.