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Kansas Fly Fisher

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Blog Entries posted by Kansas Fly Fisher

  1. Kansas Fly Fisher
    Wow, I can't believe it's been five months since I last posted. Time really does fly. I've had to revamp my thinking regarding the posting. Due to some confidentiality issues I will no longer post a synopsis of our runs. I would still like to post about our runs, I'm just not sure how. Any ideas would be welcome. Let me know if you would like me to continue.

    My family is growing. John and Stephanie are expecting another child. A girl! My daughter, Jacqui, and her husband, Lee, are expecting their first. I can't wait. That will make four grandchildren and a ton of fun to come!

    John has got orders to Japan for three years so that's a bummer. But, It's great that he gets to see the world and his family will be able to go along. Sue, my wife, isn't near as happy about it as I am. That's the mom and grandma in her.

    As for work, I've been moved up to shift supervisor. I'm into my second month of it and it's going real well. One nice benefit is that I no longer move from station to station each month. I get to stay at the HQ station. Not having to pack up and move each month is nice!

    Well that's about it for now. I'll try to post a little faster next time. Take care and be safe.
  2. Kansas Fly Fisher
    This was a good week. The house has finnally returned to normal, or at least as close to normal as we allow it. This past week at work was equally as good. The 16th saw us taking three out of town transfers. Fortunaelty none were real serious. They simply involved taking the patient to a higher care hospital and came between 1:00 in the afternoon and 6:11 that evening. We were back in the station by 10:00 p.m. and slept thru the night. Yea!

    On the 19th we ran two medical emergencies and one car wreck. The first medical emergency came in at 12:34 p.m. and involved an elderly lady that had fallen. No specific injuries but she couldn't remember falling. As we arrived at the ER with her we were notified of a pending call in our town. A quick turn around and we were off for a 67 year old male that was having breathing difficulty. A breathing treatment helped him and as we arrived in the ER he was feeling better and said he was ready to go back home.

    The car wreck came in just before 7 the following morning. A young lady had apparently fainted while driving and rolled her small car at least three times. You could not believe the damage the car sustained. I honestly thought we would be dealing with a very serious patient and put the helicopter on standby. As it turned out, she had crawled out of the car on her own and was sitting in a patrolman's squad car. She was treated and released from the hospital with a minor shoulder injury and one heck of a seatbelt rash! God was her co-pilot that day, and it didn't hurt that she had her seatbelt on!

    The 22nd came and went without a call. My partner and I enjoyed the football championship games and some really good buffalo wings!

    Until next week; buckle up - slow down - and be safe!
  3. Kansas Fly Fisher

    What a Week

    By Kansas Fly Fisher,

    The house has settled down and is almost back to normal. John and his family left on Friday morning to go back to California. That was the last to leave after the holidays. It's back to just Sue and I now; and of course our animals.

    It snowed almost 10" on the 10th. The granddaughers loved it! They played outside almost all day building snowmen and snow angels. Of course, I had to work and missed out on it.

    We had a pretty easy day on the 10th with just two calls. That was okay with us since the weather was so nasty outside. The first came in at 9:18 in the morning. We transferred a 80 year old male to another hospital so he could undergo renal dialysis. This would normally be done locally, but he also had an underlying cardiac problem that prevented it. We got back to the station at just after 1:00 in the afternoon. The next call came in at 5:19 that evening and was another transfer. This time we took a 87 year old female to the same hospital we were at in the morning. This was also for renal dialysis.

    The 11th turned out to be a GREAT day. We found out we were going to be a grandparents again! John and his wife, Stephanie, informed us they are expecting. Maybe we can get a grandson this time. Although it really doesn't matter but a boy would be a good thing.

    The 13th was a very busy day. But what would you expect for a Friday the 13th with a full moon! We took a total of five calls from 10:24 in the morning to 11:50 that night. The day really started out as a bummer for me since the Kids took off for California before I went to work. It was all okay up to the point my 20 month old granddaughter got upset because papa was coming. I can accept the fact that the kids have to leave. Their grown up and have lives of their own. But I'm not to sure about the grandkids leaving. Anyway - our first call was a transfer to an advanced neonatal care and birthing unit. We took a 27 year old female that was 34 weeks into her pregancy and was presenting with symptoms of pre-eclampsia. A dangerous condition for pregnant females. We left the hospital at 12:24 and was immediately called to a hospital in the same town to take a patient back to a rehab center in our town. We finished with that call at 3:22 and was again immediately dispatched to take a 52 year old male from our local cath lab to a cardiac care unit in another town. We finished with that call at 5:00 and was able to get a little down time between calls. At 6:46 p.m. we were dispatched to a 911 hang-up but was cancelled before we got there. Our last call came in at 9:43 p.m. We were sent to intercept another ambulance that was having mechanical problems and was on-scene with a 83 year old female possibily having a heart attack. We were able to relieve her pain finally with some morphine and transported her to a local ER where she was seen. The last we saw of her she was being treated by the ER doctor.

    On a side note - we were almost hit by a car that would not yield the right of way to us as we were going thru an intersection. We saw the car coming and were able to slow down and stop before entering the intersection. At the time we were responding to the intercept call running red lights and sirens (our truck has two distinct sirens sounding at one time). I understand that we are not always seen or heard this was night time and I'm sure the driver saw the lights flashing.

    Well that just about sums up my week. Until next time remember to be safe, buckle up and slow down.
  4. Kansas Fly Fisher
    It's been a good week. The kids have been home and I've spent a lot of time spoiling the granddaughter. One of the finner things in life I must admit. Almost right up there with fly fishing. The weather has turned for the better and we've had some really nice days. It's caused me to turn my thoughts toward the stream and some good fishing. I'm afraid that mother nature is not done with us and we will see her temper soon. Not that I'm against the snow and colder weather, but I've noticed as the age goes up the tolerance to the cold and wet goes down.

    This past week at work has been equally as nice. We ran a total of three calls on the 4th and two on the 7th. The fourth was an interesting shift I must admit. We transferred a 70 year old female to a larger hospital in a nearby city so that she could undergo open heart surgery. It was an uneventful trip and the patient an I visited about our grandchildren on the way over. At 4:27 p.m. we responded to a domestic (a fight between a male and female) out in the county. We were told that the patient was a 15 year old female that had passed out and was now having problems breathing. When we got there it turned out to be a very bad overdose! We gave her some medications to reverse the overdose and she settled down a bit. We took her to the ER where they were able to reverse it completely with time and more medications. At 8:16 p.m. we responded to an 11 year old male that was having seizures. When we got there his foster mom told us he had been "in and out" of seizures for the past 1.5 hours! It turned out he was faking and just trying to get some attention. We got back to our station at 10:25 p.m. and slept thru the night.

    Yesterday, the 7th, we responded to just two calls. A transfer to another hospital for a 67 year old female that had a severe case of sepsis (infection of the blood) came in at 10:19 a.m. For the most part it was an uneventful transfer. Her blood pressure dropped to 80 over 38 at one point but we were able to get it back up without much work. At 3:59 p.m. we responded to a medical emergency in town where a 67 year old male with lung cancer was having difficulty breathing. He was taken to the local ER and was doing well when we last saw him. That was our last call for the day and we slept thru the night again.

    Until next time - be safe, slow down and remember to buckle up!
  5. Kansas Fly Fisher
    January 03, 2005
    It's been a while since I last posted. It's been busy around the house and I just haven't had the time. Our son and his family are home from California and our Daughter and her family just left yesterday to go back to North Dakota. It's been a house full but a very enjoyable time.

    Christmas was very good this year. It was the first time in almost four years that we've had the entire family home.

    To catch up on my work; on December 29th we ran a total of four calls. We transfered a 87 year old female back home from the hospital, we transported a 40 year old to the ER complaining of severe chest pain. This patient had a very extensive history of hear attacks. He had already had four heart attacks and ten stints placed. I believe he was in the middle of having his fifth heart attack. We also responded to two difficulty breathings. One was a 51 year old female that was actually having a panic attack. We calmed her down and got her breathing back under control and she decided to stay home. The other was a 90 year old female that lived alone at home. She was having extreme difficulty breathing with a lot of fluids on the lungs. We gave her some lasix to help get the water off the lungs and transported her to the ER. All in all it was a pretty good shift. We only got up once thru the night at 3:35 am and were back in bed by 5:30 am. The rest of the calls came during the day.

    The beginning of January 1 changed shifts to station 1. This is affectionally referred to as the "vacation station" as there are very few calls and you are almost guaranteed a good nights sleep. My first shift was January 1st, 2006. We responded to two calls. The first one came at 2:05 in the afternoon and was called in as a diabetic emergency. The patient was a 30 year old female with a blood sugar of 19! Her family was able to give her some glucagon before we arrived and her blood sugar was upto 74 when we checked it. She was also starting to talk to us (always a good sign). We transported her to the ER for further evaluation. The last call came 19 minutes after midnight and was a fire standby.

    Since I've changed to the vacation station I will probably not post as often as before since the number of calls are so few and far between. I will try to post weekly as a "week in review." Until next time, remember . . . be safe, slow down, and buckle your seat belts.
  6. Kansas Fly Fisher
    Happy Holidays everyone. We had a pretty uneventful shift and actually got to sleep thru the night again. We responded to a total of 8 calls but none of them turned out that bad. Our first call came in at 7:50 am and was reported as a male complaining of chest pain. Then again at 8:24 we responded to a male with severe hip pain. At 11:35 am we were dispatched to another hip pain. At 3:45 pm we were called to a seizure and at 7:42 pm we responded to a psychotic breakdown. At 9:11 pm we responded to a fight at the American legion and transported one patient for high blood pressure.

    Probably the best call of the shift came in at 11:57 pm when we responded to car wreck. The driver of the vehicle hit a parked van on the side of a residential area road and knocked it into the yard a good three feet. The jeep he was driving turned over on it's side in the middle of the road. It hit the van hard enough that it bent a shock and a leaf spring on the jeep. It also bent the heavy bumper on the corner of the jeep. The driver apparently hit the windshield with his head hard enough to break the windshield and his chest hit the steering wheel hard enough to bend it! The best part of this story is that he was able to get out of the jeep and run from the scene. At last check the police were still looking for him.

    We finished the shift off at 6:23 am with a call to back up another station but was cancelled before we arrived on scene. All in all this was a good shift.

    I hope you all have a safe and very merry Christmas! Until next time; be safe, buckle up and slow down.
  7. Kansas Fly Fisher
    I stayed in town this morning after getting off work at 8 am. The department's Christmas Lunch was today and it wasn't worth the 30 mile trip home just to turn around and come back. So, I decided to stay in town and do some Christmas shopping and of course stop by Starbucks! A little before noon I headed to our headquaters where the meal was to be. Just after I got there station 3 was toned out for a head on collision on the highway. Station 2 responded as the second out unit. The shift supervisor then requested a third ambulance and since I was there, my partner and I responded as well.

    It turned out to be a double fatality. We flew one victim from the scene by helicopter and transported two more. The fatailites turned out to be 15 and 16 year old girls! One was ejected thru the front windshield and the other was in the back seat. The patient that was flown from the scene also came from this car. The other two victims were in there late 20's and are expected to make a full recovery. Both of them had femur fractures (the upper leg) and one had an ankle fracture. One also had a collapsed lung.

    It turned out the car with the young girls in it were in a hurry and tried to pass a semi-tractor trailor and hit the other car head-on. Slow down people! Why risk your life (and that of others) just so you can get there now rather than a few minutes later? What could possibly be worth that type of risk? If it's so important to get there by a certain time then leave a little earlier - or just accept the fact that your going to be late! ALSO; I've said it before and I'll say it a many a time again. WEAR YOUR SEAT BELTS - THEY DO SAVE LIVES!

    Now there are two young girls that won't live up to their potential, that won't realize some goal they had! They (and their families) are going to miss out on so much.

    My heart and prayers go out to these two families and may God bless them each and every day.

    Until next time . . . be save, buckle up, and slow down!
  8. Kansas Fly Fisher
    It's 8am and I'm back on shift for another 24 hours. The day started at 8:49 with a call to the local hospital for an emergency transfer of a 36 year old female that was in active labor. Problem being, she was only 22 weeks along and her water had broke and she was dialated to an 8! We took her lights and sirens to another hospital that was capable of handling this type of labor. We got back to the station just before noon.

    At 2:45 pm we were dispatched to a local beauty salon where a 74 year old female had fallen outside and possible broken her leg. After some morphine her pain level had decreased to the point we could move her and not cause to much discomfort. We transported her to the local ER and the last we saw of her she was on her way to x-ray. Before we could clear the hospital we were sent on another medical emergency across town. This turned out to be the same frequent flyer we transported the last shift. We'll call her Mary Frost (the name has been changed to protect the innocent). Mary was once again complaining of chest pain and difficulty breathing. She was also taken to the local ER for further evaluation.

    It's now 5:15 pm and we're back at the station. Time for some supper and hopefully and uneventful evening and a good nights sleep.

    It's 6:50 pm and we're dispatched to a local assisted living facility for a 89 y.o. male reported to be having chest pain. When we got there it turned out to be a belly ache. The patient told us he had ate too much Christmas candy and cookies. Apparently the staff over reacted. We did convince him to go with us to be checked out just to make sure there were no problems. He reluctantly agreed. We cleared the hospital and were back at our station by 8:45.

    At 10:05 pm we were dispatched to one of our frequent flyers. This time however it turned out to be her daughter that is two months pregnant. We'll call her Jo Prickett (name change). Jo's 17 years old and only two months into her pregancy. Although we haven't responded to many calls for her, she is starting to become a regular. Jo was complaining that her belly was cramping and wanted to go to the hospital. We got back to the station at 11:20 and decided it was bedtime.

    It's now 7:20 am and we slept thru the night. That's a rare occurance at this station. The EMS gods must have felt pitty on us from our last shift. Time to start getting ready for the next shift to take over.

    Until next time - be safe and be happy!
  9. Kansas Fly Fisher
    Started the morning off at about 9:00a when we responded to a medical emergency involving a possible stroke. The male pt was found by his wife and had obvious left side involvement. He was transported to the ER for further care. Remember the early warning signs of a stroke: 1) weakness on one side, 2) difficulty talking, and/or 3) an unsteady walk.

    Then at about 1:00p we responded to a female complaining of chest pain. This turned out to be one of our "frequent flyers." Her chest pain was, and is always, caused by gas which was relieved in the ER with medications. It's now a little after 3p and we're back at our station. It's time to rest and prepare for the evening calls. It's a Saturday night and things are sure to get fired up.

    Yup, it hit the fan as expected. At 9:50p we were dispatched to a medical emergency at one of the local care centers. We had a female patient that was not feeling well. Once we got there we discovered her blood pressure was well below acceptable levels. She was transported to the local ER and at last check was doing better. They admitted her to the hospital for further care.

    We cleared the hospital from the previous call at 11:00p and recieved our next call at 11:17p. Dispatch sent us to a vehicle wreck out in the county. When we pulled up on scene we found a small car had rolled over several times and ejected all four of it's occupants. (NOTE: SEAT BELTS PEOPLE!) We ended up transporting all four patients. All 15 year old kids. We took two in our rig and the second out ambulance took the other two. One boy and three girls. Now why was four 15 year old's driving at this time of night? The injuries included: two bruised ribs and a broken back for the boy, a broken shoulder bone and broken rib for one girl, a broken shoulder bone for another girl, and a broken eye socket for the last girl. All in all they were very lucky!

    As a side bar here: Seat belts DO work! In my years of EMS I have picked up seveal dead bodies from the roads, ditches and sidewalks. I've even cut some bodies from the car itself. But, I have NEVER cut a dead body from a seat belt! Get the hint?

    We cleared the hospital from the wreck at 2:49 am. We were able to crawl into our beds at just about 3:30 in the morning ready for a few hours sleep. But not so, at 4:44 am we recieved a call to go to the hospital and take a patient back to one of the local care facilities. Not because she needed an ambulance to get there, simply because the staff didn't want to get out in the cold and go pick her up! We cleared this call at 5:30 in the morning and crawled back into the rack at just about 6:00. Just in time to get our morning wake up call at 7:00 so that we could finish the shift at 8:00.

    I'm now at another station in our jurisdication working the first half of the shift. When I finish this shift I will have worked 36 hours straight. Here's hoping for an uneventful shift.

    I'm at home now. The extra shift went well. We responded to only call at just before noon. A male in a local nursing home had low blood pressure and needed transported to the ER. We started IV fluids on him and transported.

    Until next time - be safe and be happy!
  10. Kansas Fly Fisher

    Shift in Review

    By Kansas Fly Fisher,

    Got off work this morning. First day back after a week off. We had a pretty good shift. We responded to 3 medical emergencies and one vehicle accident. The medical emergencies were pretty uneventful except for one. We had an 87 year old female in respiratory distress. This one made us work a bit. But after some IV meds the respirations improved and her color came back.

    The car wreck was very minor. We transported one female with an injured knee. She had slid forward in her seat and hit it on the dash boards - WOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED IF SHE HAD HER SEAT BELTS ON (HINT HINT).

    We only had to get up once in the night when we responded to the breathing difficulty call at 3:00 a.m. That's good for the station I'm at this month. Normally you respond to an average of five to six calls and only get about 4 hours of sleep a night. And that's not at one time.

    I'm headed up to the city tomorrow to pick up my niece at the airport. She's coming home for the holidays. She's stationed at Great Lakes with the Navy right now. My daughter's on her way home from North Dakota as I write this. Her and her husband will be home for a couple of weeks. My son, also in the Navy, will be home on the 28th for two weeks.

    Until next time - Be safe and Happy Holidays
  11. Kansas Fly Fisher

    Proud Papa

    By Kansas Fly Fisher,

    This post comes to you from North Dakota where Sue and I have traveled to see our youngest child. It was a very nerve wrecking trip as we left Kansas just as the winter storm moved into SE Kansas. Finally on day 2, just north of Souix City we broke out of the nasty weather and road conditions and was able to relax. Hopefully the weather will hold for the trip back tomorrow.

    Today my daughter, our youngest, graduated from Trinity Bible College in North Dakota. Jacqui and her husband of almost two years are currently living and studing here in Ellendale, North Dakota. She is looking into youth ministries, and Lee is studying towards youth ministries and coaching. As I watched her go across the stage this morning a sense of pride was present.

    I must say that I'm proud of both of our children. Jaqui and Lee are both looking into the ministries. John, our oldest, is in California where he is stationed with the U.S. Navy. He is just recently back from the Gulf where he was assigned to a fixed wing attack squadron. He and his family should be coming home for Christmas and I'm anxious to see him after almost two years.

    Reflecting back today, I realized Sue and I have done well with our children. John is serving his country defending our freedom and helping others to obtain, or keep, their freedom. A very worthy cause. Jacqui is helping others learn the word of our Lord. Also a very noble profession. We can now set back and say "job well done." It's a good thing for a parent to see their children pursing very worthy causes.
  12. Kansas Fly Fisher
    I'm setting here in my warm house looking outside at the ground. There's a small dusting of snow on the ground and they are predicting 3 to 4 inches by tomorrow. Now normally this would be a good thing. You see, I love winter time. I guess I'm still a kid at heart; I like to get outside in the white stuff and just plain play. But tonight, it's a different matter. Tomorrow we leave for North Dakota, and as luck has it the first snow of the season is on the day we will be traveling.

    Our daughter, the youngest of our brood, graduates from college on Friday and we're making the 12+ hour drive up to watch this great accomplishment. What was going to be a fun trip has now changed to worry about road conditions.

    So, a little emergency planning and a small change in plans is in order. We'll be leaving around noon tomorrow and taking it a little slower getting up there. We had planned on leaving after my wife gets off work and driving for a couple of hours to make the trip a little less stressful.

    I'll post again when we get home and let you know how the trip went. Until then, take care and be safe.
  13. Kansas Fly Fisher

    Soap Box

    By Kansas Fly Fisher,

    Good evening, it's time for me to get on my soap box for a bit. As you may be aware, if you've read my first entry, I'm a paramedic in S.E. Kansas. Here's my pet peeve . . . IF YOU SEE THE RED LIGHTS, BEHIND OR IN FRONT OF YOU, PULL OVER TO THE RIGHT AND COME TO A COMPLETE STOP! If you're in emergency services then you understand. If you're not I want you to think about this. What if it's one of your loved ones that were trying to get to? Turn your radio's down (so you can hear the sirens), check your mirrors often (they're there for a reason), and put the cell phone down (no distractions)! The few minutes, or seconds, that we save by not having to slow down to wait and get around you could me the difference between life or death for someone's loved one. Don't try to "beat" us to the intersection, just wait for us to pass and proceed on your marry way. Ok - enough said - thanks for the opportunity to vent.

    Now - for some fishing! My wife and I spent the Thanksgiving weekend at Taneycomo. Fishing was so so up to Sunday morning. Then they turned it on and we had a blast. This was my wife's first trout fishing expedition and it was a great one for her, and me. It's always fun to have a fishing buddy with you to share in the memories. It's even better when it's your best friend. In this case, my wife. Even during the slow times we worked on her casting technique and even got into an impromptu casting competition. We enjoyed being outdoors with each other even if the fishing was slow. This was a great time for Susie (my wife) to learn about the stream, feeding lanes, and trout behavior. With the water so clear we could watch the fish as they reacted to the many food forms available to them. Thank you Lord for the beauty of it all.

    Until next time; Be safe and tight lines to you all.
  14. Kansas Fly Fisher
    November 22, 2005
    I'll start this by letting you know a bit about myself. I'm a paramedic in SE Kansas. We work a 24 hour shift and then have 48 hours off. In my off time I enjoy being outdoors. Fly Fishing and duck hunting are my two favorite outdoor activities. My wife, Sue, and I enjoy camping and fishing. She's just started fly fishing and we're having a great time on the rivers and streams around the area.
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