Rescue 1 – Mundane to Amazing

Saturday, 15 September '07

So, I dragged myself out of bed at quarter to five this morning and got ready to ride along with Lt. Michael Morse and FF Ray Thibault on Rescue 1, which is housed on Allens Avenue. I say I dragged myself out of bed – but that really isn’t true. I was excited to be riding with Michael. We had talked about it several times, then as I stated in my last blog, he was injured, so it had to be postponed. We finally had our day, though – and what a day it was. Got to see a bunch of guys I hadn't seen in a while and others I'd seen only last week, but it was quite nice to see all of them.

I arrived at the station at seven this morning, just about the same time as Michael. It was quiet for the first couple of hours, but as per usual, the boys at the station did their morning cleaning. The weather was gross – rainy and depressing, but I was looking forward to the sun coming out in the afternoon. That was what they were claiming on the news, anyway.

We got a call to assist a young man who was having some sort of blood pressure issue, turned out he hadn’t taken his medication today - a “taxi ride”, essentially, to RI Hospital. Our next call was to the scene of a motor vehicle accident on Elmwood Avenue. One of the parties involved was extremely disoriented and it was thought he might have a head injury. Turned out that the man is a regular customer at Borders, where I work. That was somewhat odd. We brought him to RIH to get checked out because he was exhibiting signs of a TIA. We had a couple of calls for pregnant women with abdominal pains, but no babies born on the rescue today – another call for a woman with low blood sugar.

It was fairly quiet after that, until we got a call to Pine Street for a man with a head injury. When we arrived on scene, Engine 3 was already there. I knew two of the people on the Engine – FF Donna Luce and FF Vinny Clemens; the other two guys were fresh out of the academy. There was a palpable difference with this call. Things happen so fast on these runs that I barely know what’s happening until it’s all over. This time, though, there was an extreme sense of urgency. Turns out the guy that we were picking up had fallen down a narrow, cement staircase in the basement of a house. He was unresponsive, but still breathing. When the team brought him out and placed him onto the gurney, I could see that the guy was completely out of it. His arm was falling off the backboard – they had to keep laying it over his stomach. They got him to the rig, got the gurney in and Michael, Ray, Donna and one of the new guys all got into the back of the rescue. I hopped into the front seat to film through the opening. The scene was incredible to me – no one said much, they just each did their job. Ray got the vitals, Donna set up an IV and Ray started the line, Donna got the guy’s blood sugar level, Michael took down all of the information and tried to get the guy’s friend to give some information. He wasn’t much help, so finally Michael gave the patient’s cell phone to the friend and told him to look for a home number. He apparently found it and called the patient’s wife. I filmed as this was happening and it was truly a remarkable sight. Each firefighter did their job and Michael clearly led the team through the whole run.

That having been said let me digress and tell you a little bit about Michael. He is a very laid-back kind of person and does not consider himself to be a “leader” – and maybe he isn’t, in the traditional “barking orders” sense of the word. He just knows what he’s doing and he is probably one of the best EMTs on the job, so people just naturally look to him for guidance. At least that is what I witnessed today.

Now, back to the patient with the head injury – a forty-seven or forty-eight year old male, pupils dilated, unresponsive and (as Michael said) a “cracked melon”. The team had to take every precaution – apparently, they were made aware of the fact that the patient was intoxicated. They did not know whether he had taken any drugs or had a seizure – no idea what had caused the fall. They tried administering a drug that is used on people who have overdosed on illegal drugs to counteract the overdose. If the man responded to the drug, then they would know that he had overdosed. If not, then it was something far more serious. Unfortunately, the man did not respond to the medication. As a precaution, Michael decided to keep two other firefighters in the back of the Rescue with him. Quite often, when a patient has overdosed or been the victim of a head injury, they can awaken and become extremely violent. In a case such as that, they will have other firefighters remain onboard the rescue. This is another reason why an Engine company is dispatched to all Rescue calls. Ray Thibault and Vinny Clemens stayed in the back of the rig with Michael while we transported the patient to RIH. One of the new guys from Engine 3 drove Rescue 1 and Donna and the other new recruit took Engine 3 to the hospital. The patient was brought to the hospital and the whole time we were en route, the patient’s cell phone was ringing.

All I could think was that his wife must not have answered when the friend called her. She was probably trying to call him back.

After he was brought into the ER at RIH, the crew from Engine 3 headed back to quarters and a while after that, Michael and Ray came back out. Michael was telling me what was happening. In the space of less than twenty minutes, Engine 3 had arrived on scene and begun treatment. Rescue 1 arrived and everyone pitched in to get the guy stabilized and rushed to the ER. The ER immediately brought him to the Trauma Unit and the Trauma Team had him intubated and were evaluating him for further treatment.

We arrived back at the station a short time later and I was actually getting ready to leave when we caught another call. There was a woman suffering from complications of diabetes. She had already lost a couple of toes and would probably lose another. We got her to the ER – it was probably less than an hour since we had picked up the guy on Pine Street and Michael emerged from the ER and told me that he was in surgery. They believed that he had a bleed in his brain.

I witnessed something truly remarkable today – the Providence Fire Department’s amazing teamwork. I feel very privileged to have been party to that sight. I feel badly for the patient and his family and I do hope that he recovers and will be all right. His chances of that are much, much higher because of the speed and precision of the work done by the men and women of the PFD.

As amazing as that was, it was just as amazing to me that Michael really doesn’t realize what he and his Brothers and Sisters really do. I showed him part of the film footage from that run and he was amazed, himself. He sat watching it and saying, “wow” through it. He’s so focused on his own duties and has faith in what his fellow firefighters are doing that he has never had the chance to see just how incredibly impressive it really is.

So I also had the privilege of showing one of my Everyday Heroes just why it is that I call him that. With any luck, the others will also see just how incredible their job really is – and so will my audience when this is all said and done. I got something else out of it, too - again, that sense of having been adopted. "Hey, Erin, can you grab that glucometer for me? Thanks." "Hey, would you mind helping us transfer her to the hospital's gurney?" (That was answered with a, "sorry, Cap, I'm not on the job - I'll get Ray for you.") I even saved a c-collar from blowing away in the wind, hauled a bag back to the Rescue, held doors, closed compartments... stupid, maybe, but it was very telling to me. I'm trusted - and that means more than I could ever express in words. I'm proud - VERY proud - to feel that from these people. So thanks for that, Michael and Ray... you made me feel like one of your own.

Michael got a call back – he will be working tonight, as well as tomorrow’s day shift. Who knows if he’ll see home tomorrow evening? The beat goes on, people… never ending – twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Just when you think it’s gonna be all taxi rides and drunks, someone who truly needs you comes along – and you’re THERE for them; on your game, go team go – Bless them all.

My eternal thanks to all who participated today, especially Michael and Ray for dealing with the third wheel. Hope I stayed out of the way… and maybe showed you just how special you really are.