Toxic

Wait, what do you mean KIDS have superpowers? You should see what happens when I put on my uniform. Seriously, we just got new outerwear and I asked my boss when the capes were coming in!!! Ok, for real though...I remember wanting to be WonderWoman...I think at one point I had myself convinced that I was (even though my mom refused to buy me the underoos that would prove the point!) We all pretended, we all got hurt some way or another....the difference was when we were kids, our parents allowed us to be kids. I'm not sure we needed a study to prove that when kids put on certain outfits they get hurt...like someone said, they're kids...they're going to get hurt regardless of what they put on. On a side note, dont you, as adults (I hate the term 'grown-up') have outifts that make you feel better than others? Power suits that make you feel that you can succeed? Dresses that make you feel cover-model gorgeous? Take those things too far and we can get hurt too...usually not physically, but you see what I mean. We never really lose that knack of pretending we're someone more powerful than who we really are...the difference is that most of us realize at some point that the cellulite on our thighs isn't conducive to the WonderWoman costume, or that our CEO will look at us funny if we're jumping off the table in the middle of a meeting, dressed in our favourite cape....although the look on the faces of the drunks when you whisper "I'm Batman" to them will never cease to amuse..... Tox

Ok, JP, I'm with Wendy...I had a good little chuckle over your sarcasm. Well done. As for stupid-high taxation...well, I'm sure we've seen this in one or twenty threads before. What it comes down to is this: our level of taxation is not the same everywhere. Nor is cost of living. My counterpart VS pays for his apartment what I pay almost in a monthly mortgage payment in a less populated area of the province. But remember there are good things besides free health care: we don't get taxed on our lottery winnings!! Aw come on guys.....I love it here. Besides, as much as I love the sunny southern states, I'm sure the 'right to bear arms' would get me in a whole lot more trouble than it's worth! Tox

At first, I was like WTF? And then I read it again and laughed so loud the nurses came running to make sure I was ok! I needed that. Tox

I learned an interesting acronym (I think that's the right word) from a student of mine many years ago. It's DWIF and it's used to describe what to do when you have to make do with what you've got (or don't got for that matter) and it means Deal With It, F***! On that note, I've had to make unusual use of things for so long I can't recall any specific one thing...every time they give us a bigger ambulance, the service decides we need to put more useless stuff in it... Tox

...when PD meet you at the scene of a non-cardiac call and say 'well yes, he's still breathing...sort of...' ...when your chest pain suddenly turns to you and says 'are you qualified to take final confession?'... ...when dispatch sends you to a pt that has been on the floor for a week...and then adds 'oh, and they're still alive'.... I have done a lot of calls where, after being given your info by dispatch you actually close your eyes and take a deep breath and tell your partner 'please, please just let this not be what I'm thinking...'... Tox

10 years in....and I'm a lifer.(unless I can come up with the $$ to finish my MD) I've worked in places rididulously busy...now I'm in places semi-retirement....some days we do nothing, some days we do lots...just enough to keep it interesting. I have found that the key to not burning out is to a) try not to take work home with you and try to enjoy the people you're working with. You don't have to like them as people, you just have to be able to trust them as a partner. If you can't...there are many many other services out there...keep trying til you find one you like! (or better, one that likes you!) Tox

Any time brammer! For those interested however, the 'judging the human race competition' can be found in and around the 'Saddam is Dead' thread! Tox

Of course, if they had been successfully resuscitated, you wouldn't need to be doing the Heimlich on them, right? That being said, I'm with brian...Heimlich is only used on foreign body obstruction until the point of unconsciousness...then we use chest thrusts (that might have been different when your family member took the course). That being said, the drownings I've had were bloaters and/or unrevivable...so the answer, I think to your question, is a simple no. No success. 8) Tox

Those are SWEET....I need to find me a pair of them there babies......eeek...that was the true me coming out. Sorry. Relish: those boots look nice and they have lots of great features. I say go for it. (not nearly as entertaining as the first reply) Tox

I loved my black Terra Wildesiders....they were tough and durable (they lasted me nearly 6 years of full time work, and some part time stuff on the side), warm, water resistant (no mesh) yet they were narrow enough to fit my feet without all the bulging that I have in my new boots. Right now I have Dakotas on and I dislike them, but they were the only thing I could find in a pinch to fit me....they're really big around the ankles and they bunch, even with insoles. They do have a good grip though.... Tox

Holy cannoli I can't REMEMBER the last time I had a 125lb patient on my scoop stretcher! come to think of it, I can't remember the last time I had a 125lb patient at all! Apparently the patients around here didn't get that memo. Tox

If I recall correctly, the original point of this thread was to retrieve information, not to start a name-calling, judging the human race competition. Far from being a nearly invisible waif, I am also far from the 'beached whale' category. That being said, us in EMS should not be having 'sympathy' for anyone. EMPATHY is what we should be demonstrating. At the very least compassion if you can't relate to what our patients are going through. To answer the original question: 648lb woman...transferred to another facility after multiple surgeries to rid her of her necrotizing fascitis...6 people and we had to take our cot out of service after the call for repairs. Tox

Couple of points here: 1. Most run of the mill motorists are blind and/or deaf when it comes to lights and sirens. Heaven forbid they suddenly notice us when there are, 2 countem 2 vehicles lit up in the intersections. Can you say MAYHEM? 2. Most run of the mill motorists are already sufficiently confused as soon as they put that key in the ignition. Why make it worse? 3. My humble experience in Toronto: most motorists will stop more frequently and willingly for a cab than for an emergency vehicle (with the exception of those crazy fire fighters, bless their souls, they're bigger than everyone). The problem with Toronto, as with other big cities I imagine is that once you get right downtown, ie around the StMikes area, it becomes really really hard to decipher which direction the ORIGINAL siren is coming from, even when you're conditioned as we are to hear them, as the sound has a tendency to reverberate (wow, big word) off all the surrounding buildings. To answer the original question: when I am approached by any other emergency vehicle that is running hot, it doesn't matter if I'm in an ambulance or a fire truck (unless I, too am running hot)I behave like any good motorist should (emphasis on SHOULD) and pull to the right and stop. Tox

I'd love a pair...but they won't ship perfume across the border because it's 'flammable'. What do you think our dear customs agents would say about these? Tox

Great big guys in hockey masks with machetes???? The usual...drugs, alcohol, screaming kids, angry parents...sounds like a party to me! Tox