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Paramedic Stories, Part XXXIV: The Kid's Not Breathing! (By Dwayne Jackson) by Karen Lynn Vidra, The Texas Tornado
Thursday, June 16, 2005
Rated "PG" by the Author.
A newer member of the paramedic team shares a particular memorable experience in which he helped save the life of a child desperately in need.
I am one of the newer memebers of the Nashville Emergency Medical Service (EMS). I have only been a paramedic for six months or so (but I went through a rigorous training period beforehand).
My name is Dwayne, Dwayne Terrell Jackson, and I have enjoyed my job as a paramedic-in-training (for the most part). One of the more satisfying experiences I have had was also one of the most terrifying, and I firmly believe that the kid we helped save wouldn't be here today hadn't it been for our quick, life-saving action.
The child in question was a little girl who had severe cerebral palsy. She was said to have been thirteen years old (but she looked much closer to six). She was really tiny, and she was severely disabled. She was in a wheelchair when she was awake, and her entire body was affected by the cerebral palsy. Because of the damage to her body, she couldn't really do all that much for herself, and she was prone to seizures and frightening respiratory illnesses that caused her to choke (due to her inability to swallow).
It was during one of these respiratory illnesses in which we were summoned to this particular child's home. It was late at night, and we happened to be at the station when the tones sounded. The call was from a frantic mother who said that her little girl was choking and gasping for air.
Whereupon, we grabbed our gear, raced towards the rescue vehicle, and soon, we were speeding down the road, sirens and lights going full tilt. We were praying that we would make it to the child in time before it was too late. The mother, who was still on the line, said that her child was thirteen, but she had serious special needs, and as you can imagine, she sounded extremely upset.
We arrived on the scene within a few moments. The mother came racing towards the rescue truck, quickly beckoning us to come inside.
"She's in her room!" She said. "Quick, follow me! Oh, it was a bad spell, a very bad spell! She's all blue, and she really looks horrible!"
We found the child lying in her crib. She was on her side, and and her little face was a sickly blue-grey color. Her small eyes were closed, and she looked more dead than alive. When we shook her, to see if we could elicit any form of response from her, she didn't even respond. When we called her name (we learned from the mother that the little girl's name was Jodie), we got the same response: nothing. She just lay there, unmoving.
I picked Jodie up into my arms, quickly cleared out her mouth, and breathed two quick breaths of air into her. Her small chest rose. But she wasn't getting enough air: her color was still poor. I was surprised at how little she weighed: she couldn't have weighed more than thirty pounds at the very most: she was incredibly light. Her palsied limbs resembled skinny sticks, and they dangled loosely as I held her in my arms.
I had my partner get the oxygen equipment ready; we were soon working on the unconscious little girl, forcing oxygen to her still lungs, willing her, pleading with her to wake up, to start breathing again. Pat Moss, my partner, was quickly squeezing the pediatric Ambu bag every few minutes; the bag was attached to a tube that was anchored in place by two pieces of tape adhered to the child's upper lip and cheeks. The endotracheal (ET) tube went down the child's throat to her lungs, and the air from the Ambu bag went down the tube to her lungs, thus, giving her precious oxygen.
As we were working over Jodie, a third paramedic, George "Goose" Guzman, found a vein in the child's fragile arm and quickly started an I.V., and her also pasted EKG leads to her now-exposed chest and got the heart monitor up and running in a matter of a few short moments. The tracing on the monitor screen was irregular, but at least her heart was still beating (for now).
We wired the report back to the hospital (Nashville Memorial, which was the closest hospital to the victim's home), and we gave the doctors and nurses on duty the latest stats about Jodie's condition. It wasn't long afterwards when the ambulance arrived. Soon, Jodie was loaded onto a rolling stretcher bed, and still working over her and breathing for her, we got her to the ambulance, where the attendants quickly loaded her in. We then jumped in and continued our rescue efforts on the child.
After we got to the hospital, Jodie was rushed to a nearby table in the Trauma ward, where the emergency room team soon took over. Jodie was still being attended to, being assisted with her breathing, but her pulse remained active, and that was quite reassuring to all of us.
Meanwhile, the little girl's mother was still waiting in the emergency room waiting area, pacing nervously and praying. She was still obviously very concerned about her little girl. I went over to her and explained that Jodie was now in very good hands, and that they were doing all they could possibly do for her to help her.
It turned out that little Jodie recovered without any incident. But when I first saw her that unforgettable night, I had my doubts because Jodie looked more dead than alive, and at the time, it surely seemed that she had very little chance of pulling through the crisis.
No, Eileen, she wasn't a nurse. I was the medic in the family, and Karen reads anything she can on hospital drama or watches all of the programs on the Learning Channel and health network...she absorbs everything she reads and sees like a sponge and incorperates it into her stories. THAT'S how she does it. :) Plus, me telling her what I went through LOL
Another tense, excellently penned write. Well done!
Are you sure you aren't a nurse?;-) Wonderful write Karen full of tension, keeping the readers attention.You sure can write!;-)
I don't think you get your mail. I wrote to you and Karen, why I'm not answering your calls My friend's place is not far from here ,but when I'm in the mountains I only come home every few days in the morning only,to get clothes etc check messages. She has to come for business, so I come with her. So check your email, please...Eileen
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I am one of the newer memebers of the Nashville Emergency Medical Service (EMS). I have only been a paramedic for six months or so (but I went through a rigorous training period beforehand).
