Not the way anyone wanted to find out + Sidewalk Monster

Our tones went off for a two car MVA with personal injury. When I got down to the station the chief points me to the second rig, I climb in, and both rigs are out of service in a flash. My rig has me, another EMT (who has lots of experience, is an RN, and is the chief’s wife), and a driver. Neither rig has a medic. The chief’s wife says to me “this one is yours – you just tell us what to do and we’ll do it”. Cool.

We arrive to find a mess. Traffic snarled, fluids all over the road, mangled cars and people everywhere. I jump out and rescue points me to a young woman sitting on the curb. She was the driver of a car that SMACKED a car pulling out of a parking lot. My patient's car had at least 20 inches of deformity in the front and both airbags deployed. As I approach her she looks shaken but has all of her body parts attached and isn’t actively bleeding. ABC's OK. A few quick questions to figure out what happened as my partner holds head stabilization. Collar, board, and into the rig away from prying eyes (a small crowd is forming). Chief complaint is pain in her left arm and upper-left quadrant of her abdomen. Both of these areas show abrasions. Quick trauma evaluation shows no DCAP-BTLS except for the pain and abbrasions on the abdomen, arm and an abrasion on her chin (from the airbag...). CMSx4 both before and after spinal immobilization. Ask about medical history…. She’s 8 weeks pregnant and was on her way to the OB when the accident happened. As she tells us this she starts to freak out. Her family doesn’t know, the father doesn’t know, and she is clearly upset that they are going to find out this way. I try to keep her as calm as possible as we make the 3 minute ride to the hospital.

At the hospital I transferred care, wrote the PCR, got our collar and board back, and we were set to go. As we are driving back to the station our tones get spanked again. 78 y/o f with injuries from a fall. Arrive to find just what was dispatched, with a nice head lac from making contact with the ground. No LOC, no dizziness, blood pressure or cardiac issues (that we can tell…) and no hip or leg injuries. Two chances to collar and board someone in one day. Luckey me. Why, exactly did she fall? She claims she tripped, but I am certain the sidewalk monster grabbed her. So, if you are going to be walking on the sidewalk today, please watch out for the sidewalk monster. That dude can do some damage.

From now until a week from Sunday I am the only EMT on the board from 1800 to 0600 (and most of the days are empty too). Holy cow will I be glad when people return from vacation and the students get back.