Bringing out the Dead

[EMT001]

"Noelle if you don't shut up I swear to God I won't kill you". -- That is my favorite line from the movie.

If you haven't already, you should watch the movie 'Hospital'. It is from the 1960's or 70's and is absolutely hilarious.

There is one line, when a patient is explaining what he did when he escaped, where he says, "I hit the nurses call button and then went into the hallway." When they ask why he hit the call button, he replies "To ensure a half hour of uninterrupted privacy". -- HAHAHA

[Ace844]

Saving someone's life is like falling in love, the best drug in the world. For days, sometimes weeks afterwards, you walk the street making infinite whatever you see. Once, for weeks I couldn't feel the earth. Everything I touched became light. Horns played in my shoes; flowers fell from my pockets...You wonder if you've become immortal, as if you saved your own life as well. What was once criminal and happenstance suddenly makes sense. God has passed through you, why deny it, that for a moment there, God was you. Our Saturday shift started out with a bang: a gunshot to the chest on a drug deal gone bad. As the shift progressed it just got worse. Heat, humidity, moonlight--all the elements in place for a long weekend. I was good at my job: there were periods when my hands moved with a speed and skill beyond me and my mind worked with a cool authority I had never known. But in the last year I had started to lose that control. Things had turned bad. I hadn't saved anyone for months. I just needed a few slow nights, a week without tragedy followed by a couple of days off.

EMS GARAGE OFFICE--NIGHT

Frank standing on one foot before the desk of CAPTAIN BARNEY, 50, ex-paramedic and lifetime civil servant.

FRANK:: Good morning, Captain.Capt. Barney looks over to MISS WILLIAMS, his secretary, seated at a desk perpendicular to his: CAPT. BARNEY:: What am I going to to do with this guy? (to Frank) Pierce, I was just on the phone with Borough Command. Out of twelve shifts this month, you've been late for nine, sick four and that includes the shift where you came late and went home early. FRANK::I'm sick. That's what I've been telling you. CAPT. BARNEY:: You're killing me, you know that? You got no sick time according to Command. I've been told to terminate. FRANK:: It's okay. I'll just get my things out of the locker. CAPT. BARNEY:: I've never fired anyone in my life. FRANK:: I'm sorry Captain. Don't take it too hard. CAPT. BARNEY:: Nobody tells me to fire anyone. I told them: shove it up the big one. (looks at Miss Williams) Sorry. (back to Frank) I said, you want to fire him, come over and do it yourself. FRANK:: You know they won't do it. It's up to you. You gotta be strong. CAPT. BARNEY:: I feel for you, but we got an emergency here. It's a weekend of full moons. Everyone's called in sick. Larry, Veeber, Stupid Stanley too. We need bodies out there. I had to put Marcus on Twelve Young. You know he's not supposed to work two nights in a row. FRANK:: You swore you'd fire me if I came in late again. CAPT. BARNEY:: I'll fire you tomorrow. Hell, better than that, what was I thinking, how about this. I'll forward you some sick time. A week, two weeks off--how about that? FRANK:: I don't think a week's gonna do it. CAPT. BARNEY I'm sorry, Pierce. (hands Frank keys) You're going out with Marcus. Duty calls. The City needs you. Go out and do mouth to mouth. Go help the people of city of New York.

The Chinese close in five minutes. Beef lo mein. It's been on my mind since I woke. Whatjathink?

FRANK:: I think the moment that food hits your mouth we'll get a job. LARRY:: Turn here. You missed it. The Chink is on 3rd. Some partner you are Frank. I coulda walked there faster. I'm starving and you stop to talk to hookers.You're making me nuts. Is that what you're trying to do, drag me down with you to nutsville? LARRY (slams dashboard) Oh no!--I just remembered. What? I'm so stupid. I had beef lo mein

last night. I can't eat the same thing two nights in a row. It's almost two o'clock, what the hell am I gonna do? What you getting? I'm not hungry. Oh yeah, you don't eat food. I eat. I just haven't had coffee yet. Coffee and whiskey, lucky you ain't dead with that diet. Wait, I've got it. Half fried chicken with fries. Let's go, hurry up. Come on.

Wearily replying to the dreaded voice of RADIO DISPATCHER:: One-Three Zebra. RADIO DISPATCHER Yes, Zebra. You'll be driving to the man who needs no introduction, chronic caller of the year three straight and shooting for number four. The duke of drunk, the king of stink, our most frequent flier, Mr. Oh.

LARRY:: Ten-four. (Frank starts the engine) Don't go. Not this time. FRANK (driving off) Relax, it's a street job, easy except for the smell. We'll just throw him in back and zip over to Mercy--no blood, no dying, that's how I look at it. He's just a drunk. LARRY:: It's not our job to taxi drunks around. FRANK

They'll just keep calling. Someone's gonna die someday causa

that bum, going to have a cardiac and the only medics will be taking care of Mr. Oh. MALE STREET PERSON #1:: His heart stopped and so we did CPR and mouth to mouth for a few minutes...LARRY:: Well your damn lucky you didnt kill him..MALE STREET PERSON #1:: He's bad mister. He ain't eaten nuthin all day, he's seizing and throwing up. LARRY (hand over nose) So what's different about him today? MALE STREET PERSON #1 He says his feet hurt. FRANK::

OOOHHH!! Well why didn't you say so?!! LARRY He's drunk. MALE STREET PERSON #2 He's sick. You gotta help him. LARRY He's fine. He can walk to the hospital. FEMALE STREET PERSON Walk? You crazy? He's in a wheelchair. LARRY Don't start that. I've seen him walk. He walks better than me.