January 19, 2012

Code Blue

Today was my first full blown code. Young guy had a suspected PE, went into respiratory failure, and shortly after, cardiac arrest. It was horrible. That is all I can say.

The code went smoothly for the most part. Everyone worked very well together. ACLS prepared me for which meds to push, when to push them, when to shock and when not to shock. ACLS prepared me in how to work together with a team, how fast to perform compressions and how to ventilate a person with an ambu bag.

What ACLS did NOT prepare me for was how I would feel during and after the code. ACLS did not prepare me for how physically tiring and hard it was to do effective compressions on a 250lb muscular man for 40 minutes. ACLS did not prepare me for the look of the patients lifeless eyes staring at me from only 2 feet away as I pumped his chest. ACLS did not prepare me for the surreal experience of fighting to save a man's life as a priest performed the Last Rites over the patient. ACLS did not prepare me for the tangible emotion, disbelief, and pain from the family as they watched a short distance away. ACLS did not prepare me for the sorrow I felt when the physician called the code.

It was horrible. That is all I can say.

January 12, 2012

12 Hour Shifts....Bleh

These 12 hour shifts are kicking my ass. It's more like 13 actual hours at work. Then add in about 1 1/2 hours drive time round trip. That makes it 14 1/2 -15 hours dedicated to work including travel time. That leaves 9 hours left in my day. 9 hours left to eat, shower, take care of the dog, and sleep. After 3 working days in a row, I'm beat. I'm too tired to do anything anymore.