On the Wings of Karma

Someone decided to switch me out of Urgent Care for 8 of the 12 hours I was supposed to be there. 8 Hours working as helipad tech isn't so bad though, so I refrained from notifying anyone that such a change had been made without my consent (not that it would even matter).

As I peered through squinted eyes in delight at the gorgeous day, feeling the warm breeze wash over my body, I received several patients and met some really cool medics that fly helicoptors for a living.  There was a crazy trauma where a man got his leg caught in a machine that has a threshing mechanism of action; the whole leg was bound with a tourniquet, and when they opened the cardboard encasing it, it was mangled beyond repair.  There is a middle-aged man out there tonight without a leg that had accompanied him his whole life.  

Meanwhile, Urgent Care got slammed. 8 patients at once is already overwhelming, but there were literally 18-20 patients in that waiting room. Whoever wanted a cake-walk shift was definitely mistaken to take this hellish post from me today. (Thank you!!!)

The balmy breeze on top of the helipad tonight lifted my spirits with the dancing lights of the helicoptor.  I watched the patients and their families in the tower across the way stick their faces up close to their windows, watching us working.  I waved and they waved back.  Being outside in that night air is definitely one of the keener sensory pleasures of being a tech.  

S

Evening on the Helipad

I love working on the helipad. I am not there very often, but I always get a rush when I hear "lifestar tech report, lifestar tech report" on the intercom.

Escaping my normal vital-sign/ekg/bathroom duties with my moderately ill patients, I escape to the world above, with a special set of elevator keys and sprint onto the helipad. The weather has been gorgeous lately- though it is humid, it is always balmy and perfect up there.

My first lifestar was an adult trauma patient, who was driving unrestrained on the highway when she crashed. The second was also a trauma- a child, who when vaulting off a trampoline, fell on her head. She subsequently had tonic-clonic seizures at the hospital, requiring her to be intubated. Both patients were transferred very smoothly. It feels good to know that our lifestar medics really know what they are doing.

Watching the lifestar helicopter fly into the glowing sunset is my favorite part, though. As the pitch of the blades escalates, I wait for the note they hit when they start to lift off. Waving, I hope I could experience that, just once, sometime in my life.

S