First 6 months

Insights and experiences from over the past 6 months on a full-time 911/ALS ambulance:

Chinatown
Call to corner of Willie "Woo Woo" Wong playground in Chinatown for the unknown medical aid. Wind up transporting the patient to Chinese Hospital in North Beach/Chinatown, which is the hospital where Bruce Lee was born. Turns out Willie "Woo Woo" Wong was a star basketball player in the 40's despite only being 5'5". I got a kick out of the weird mix of histories all rolled up in one call.

Psychic Paramedic
Somehow in conversation the medic I was working with says that he hadn't had a true seizure patient in a really long time, and he was thinking that we might get one soon. Not 3 minutes later we get dispatched to a vintage clothing store for a woman who had a witnessed seizure. Couple hours later the medic says that he hadn't had a pediatric call in like forever. Five minutes go by, then bang, dispatched for the 1 year old, fever and fainting. Later I say to the medic that he is just about calling the calls before we get them. I tell him that if he calls the next one, he is %100 certified psychic. "Alright" he says, "next call will be a...DOA." Ten minutes or so go by and the we get dispatched to the "man down" south of Market area. We get there and as we're pulling up, the fire department who was on scene a few minutes before us come out and say "Don't worry about it guys. Pt is GOA (trans. Gone On Arrival)." We almost pooped ourselves because GOA sounded so close to DOA. I told him that he was 2 thirds psychic which is really psychic.

Pride Parade
Worked at the parade/afterparty where something like 250,000 people fill into about a 5 by 5 block area where they physically and emotionally destroy themselves with substances, controlled and otherwise. About half that number are of legal drinking age, and about 5-10% of the total party population are displaying at least some level of nudity. After the parade part of the day goes by and the messages of tolerance, love, and equality are championed, the party turns into a sort of Caligula themed rave in the streets surrounding City Hall and the Civic Center plaza. There's sexual orientations displayed that don't really have classifiable terms yet; drunk 16 year old's sharing vodka and Red Bulls with homeless men; urine, vomit, sweat, and blood; NC-17 PDA; violence and theft; friends are stranded by friends; unknowable numbers of druggings, sexual assaults, and STD transmissions; but to not seem like a total downer, there are also thousands of people who look like they are falling in love and having the time of their lives. Working at an event like this, I am allowed to observe all this craziness, but stay completely detached from it all. All my calls that day where basically the same kind of patient: 19 year old female, alcohol poisoning, transported to the hospital where it comes out that they are really 17.

Again, I did some crazy, dangerous driving, learned a whole lot, made some good and bad decisions probably in equal proportions, had some fun, helped some people, and generally tried my best.

PS, the last 6 months was actually 3.5 months because in April I broke my leg playing soccer and spent 2.5 months on the couch high on a painkiller-stool softener speedball. I'm better now, thanks for asking, and I have 6 pins and a plate in my leg so now I feel like Tony Starks.