Day Two

Time flies when you're having fun...

Dispatch took pity on us after our 24-hour shift and let us sleep for a few hours before sending us out on a call. I didn't get much sleep, but I got enough to function. (Even better was the fact that we got paid for sleeping -- wouldn't have been paid for that if we had gotten that sleep last night!)

We only had two calls during my portion of the shift. I've noticed that lately, the nights have been far busier than the days. It's not a general rule, but it has been true recently, from what I understand.

I got to do paperwork instead of vitals today. I prefer paperwork, to be sure. I still have a lot of trouble getting an accurate blood pressure reading in the moving vehicle -- it's really hard to hear.

Calls:
- Woman who injured her knee after a fall. I felt kind of bad for her -- it was minor enough that when we got to the hospital, they stuck her in triage -- along with the other 100+ people in the waiting room.
- Dementia patient with medical complications. This is the one that scared me -- the person was about 60 years old when diagnosed, and had progressed to unresponsive in just a few years. To me, 60 is still decently young... I was not expecting to see that advanced of a case.

Again, the dementia patients really make me think about what old age will be like. I'm really scared of spending the last few years of my life unresponsive in a bed, unable to control my own bowel movements, unable to communicate with those I love. I can't imagine putting my children or husband through that.

And I can't imagine caring for my parents, were they to encounter the same issues. They're very healthy right now -- I guess in a sense I see them as sort of invincible.