a new beginning with firefighting..
i recently went on my first real call last wednesday.. it was quite the experience and i am forever affected by it.. on wed. i was riding around town with one of our new captains (j.smith).. he was showin me around the parts of felton that felton fire covers.. we made our rounds and he treated to lunch.. after lunch our pagers went off and we rushed back to the station to hop in the engine with the chief and the three of us took off code 3 (lights and sirens).. when we were half way there, net com (our dispatch) told us that CPR was in progress.. capt. smith looked back at me and asked if i'd been through CPR training and i told him yes.. so, he said that when we arrive on scene, he wanted me to take over for the person on scene and begin compressions (chest pumps)..
when we arrived on scene i started to get nervous but kept my cool.. we walked up the driveway and there was a woman on the ground.. the capt. and i repositioned her then continued with the CPR.. i kept the compressions until the paramedics arrived in the ambulance.. it was such a intense period of time because though i am only at the beginning of my firefighting career and training, it was a challenge to not let my emotions affect me.. this woman's life was in the hands of the care givers present..
during CPR we could not get oxygen into her lungs.. we still proceeded with CPR because she didn't have a pulse so the compressions at least circulated the oxygen in her blood for a short time.. the woman had a history of asthma and we found an inhaler on the ground.. it seemed that she had a asthma attack, which closed her airways in her lungs, which prevented her body from getting oxygen.. even though we tried to give her oxygen, her lungs wouldn't take it in..
eventually the medics did get there and gave her some drugs to help the lungs relax and take in the oxygen.. they still couldn't get a pulse so we had to continue with CPR.. i rode with another felton firefighter in the ambulance to do compressions while en-route to the hospital.. while backing up the ambulance so we could turn around and head to the hospital, the driver backed us off the side of the road and got the ambulance stuck with 3 wheels on the ground and the rear-right tire hangin about 2 feet off the drop.. it was pretty scary sitting in the ambulance and all of sudden our back side lookin like it was gonna go off a cliff.. strangely though, when the ambulance went kerplunk, the woman's pulse came back.. that was good at least..
to make an already long story short, we fought for her pulse over and over, losing it then getting it back.. regardless of the hearts activity, it seemed that this woman possibly went way too long without oxygen to her body but most importantly her brain.. i don't know her outcome from the emergency, but statistically it doesn't look good.. "brain death starts to occurs 4-6 minutes after someone experiences cardiac arrest if no CPR and defibrillation occurs during that time".. we were probably on-scene for about 15-20 minutes before the medics got there and gave her the medicine..
all this to say, i gave CPR for the first time and i realize how important of a skill it is.. the american heart association says that 75-80% of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests happen at home.. so, being trained in CPR can really make a difference between life and death for a loved one.. here are some important facts..
*Approximately 95 percent of sudden cardiac arrest victims die before reaching the hospital
*Effective bystander CPR, provided immediately after cardiac arrest, can double a victim’s chance of survival
*Death from sudden cardiac arrest is not inevitable. If more people knew CPR, more lives could be saved
after we finished the call, i talk to the captain about the call.. there were a lot of things that i learned.. the main thing that i thought about is that if this is the line of work i feel called to (which it is), then i am going to experience a career of life and death.. i didn't feel scared of firefighting but rather more drawn to it.. i hope to make a difference in whatever way possible through providing physical and even emotion care to those in need.. it was a new beginning for me.. very proud of those that do this day in day out..
i recently went on my first real call last wednesday.. it was quite the experience and i am forever affected by it.. on wed. i was riding around town with one of our new captains (j.smith).. he was showin me around the parts of felton that felton fire covers.. we made our rounds and he treated to lunch.. after lunch our pagers went off and we rushed back to the station to hop in the engine with the chief and the three of us took off code 3 (lights and sirens).. when we were half way there, net com (our dispatch) told us that CPR was in progress.. capt. smith looked back at me and asked if i'd been through CPR training and i told him yes.. so, he said that when we arrive on scene, he wanted me to take over for the person on scene and begin compressions (chest pumps)..
when we arrived on scene i started to get nervous but kept my cool.. we walked up the driveway and there was a woman on the ground.. the capt. and i repositioned her then continued with the CPR.. i kept the compressions until the paramedics arrived in the ambulance.. it was such a intense period of time because though i am only at the beginning of my firefighting career and training, it was a challenge to not let my emotions affect me.. this woman's life was in the hands of the care givers present..
during CPR we could not get oxygen into her lungs.. we still proceeded with CPR because she didn't have a pulse so the compressions at least circulated the oxygen in her blood for a short time.. the woman had a history of asthma and we found an inhaler on the ground.. it seemed that she had a asthma attack, which closed her airways in her lungs, which prevented her body from getting oxygen.. even though we tried to give her oxygen, her lungs wouldn't take it in..
eventually the medics did get there and gave her some drugs to help the lungs relax and take in the oxygen.. they still couldn't get a pulse so we had to continue with CPR.. i rode with another felton firefighter in the ambulance to do compressions while en-route to the hospital.. while backing up the ambulance so we could turn around and head to the hospital, the driver backed us off the side of the road and got the ambulance stuck with 3 wheels on the ground and the rear-right tire hangin about 2 feet off the drop.. it was pretty scary sitting in the ambulance and all of sudden our back side lookin like it was gonna go off a cliff.. strangely though, when the ambulance went kerplunk, the woman's pulse came back.. that was good at least..
to make an already long story short, we fought for her pulse over and over, losing it then getting it back.. regardless of the hearts activity, it seemed that this woman possibly went way too long without oxygen to her body but most importantly her brain.. i don't know her outcome from the emergency, but statistically it doesn't look good.. "brain death starts to occurs 4-6 minutes after someone experiences cardiac arrest if no CPR and defibrillation occurs during that time".. we were probably on-scene for about 15-20 minutes before the medics got there and gave her the medicine..
all this to say, i gave CPR for the first time and i realize how important of a skill it is.. the american heart association says that 75-80% of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests happen at home.. so, being trained in CPR can really make a difference between life and death for a loved one.. here are some important facts..
*Approximately 95 percent of sudden cardiac arrest victims die before reaching the hospital
*Effective bystander CPR, provided immediately after cardiac arrest, can double a victim’s chance of survival
*Death from sudden cardiac arrest is not inevitable. If more people knew CPR, more lives could be saved
after we finished the call, i talk to the captain about the call.. there were a lot of things that i learned.. the main thing that i thought about is that if this is the line of work i feel called to (which it is), then i am going to experience a career of life and death.. i didn't feel scared of firefighting but rather more drawn to it.. i hope to make a difference in whatever way possible through providing physical and even emotion care to those in need.. it was a new beginning for me.. very proud of those that do this day in day out..
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