squad314
10-20-2007, 05:32 PM
Two nights ago we responded with EMS to a 40 year old man not conscious,barely breathing.When we got on scene,an unsuccessful attempt was made to intubate him (insert a breathing tube).His condition rapidly worsening,and seeing signs of posturing,the decision was made to load him in the ambulance as quickly as possible and get him to hospital.Getting him in the Ambulance proved to be a chore due to the fact that he was 6 foot 4 approximately 300 lbs and completely unresponsive.My crew of 4,the EMS crew of two plus a supervisor managed to get him loaded, and to give you an idea of his size,the doors wouldn't shut until someone lifted his knees to get his feet out of the way.
Fast forward to an hour later at shift change and I check my RR pocket for my knife.a SS ATR PE.....Gone.:( After a quick check of the Engine and the Firehouse,I began to suspect that it went missing in the bedroom of the house we were in earlier.At one point during the lift of our patient,I slid down the side of the bed with my hip to gain leverage.One thing immediately came to mind....in the driveway of this home,I saw a tricycle and other indicators that a child or children lived there.My first fear was that if picked up and opened by a child,.....and given the fact that I keep this knife scary sharp I'm sure you can imagine.:(
This left me with an awkward feeling.....Do I call this home where a loved one is extremely sick and seem intrusive or insensitive?After considering it very briefly I decided that the risk of someone getting hurt far outweighed any other factors.I obtained the phone number from my officers report and called right away.I spoke to a girl of about 12 or 13 and she told me that her Mom had indeed found it on the bed and that she took it to the Hospital.I thanked her very much and asked her to please ask her Mom to call me when she had a moment.At supper time that night,as I arrived back to work for my second night shift,the Mom called and asked if I had gotten the knife.She assumed it belonged to EMS and gave it to security at the Hospital.He assured her that he would pass it on:rolleyes: .I thanked her very much and immediately called security at the Hospital.The individual that I got had relieved the night guys and informed me that they had not passed anything on.Starting to get bad vibes,in my sternest yet polite manner I informed him that I wanted to speak to the guard when he came back on at 8:00.I asked him his name and information and impressed upon him how important this item was to me.Fortunately,at 7:45,the original guy who I spoke to called and told me that he had the knife.Apparently the night guy had neglected to record it being turned in,forgot to put it with the lost items and happened to have it on him when he returned to work.:rolleyes: .The next thing I did was to call one of our guys who moonlights as a Medic and asked him if any of his buddies were on duty that night.An hour later he called me back and told me that one of his friends had picked it up at the Hospital and was going to drop it into the Firehouse in a 1/2 hour.Unfortunately,the EMS guy got a series of runs and didn't get to me.Fortunately however,one of thier calls was with the Engine my buddy was riding and he handed it off to him.He called and asked where we could meet in the morning and it occured to us that one of the guys on his truck lives one street over from me.He gave it to my neighbor who in turn delivered it to me the next day.
*Whew*.....what an ordeal.When I sat and figured it out,in the span of 24 hours,the knife had passed from:
1.Me
2.Patients wife
3.Security guard
4.Security guard #2
5.Medic
6.My Fireman buddy
7.My Fireman neighbor
8.Me.:)
I want to believe that Security Guard #1 really did honestly A. forget to look for EMS to return it, B) record it as turned in, C) put it in the locked lost items storage, D) pass it on to his relief and E) not mention it to anyone until challenged... I want to believe that,I really do.;)
BTW,the man apparently suffered a brain aneurysm.He had surgery early that morning and his prognosis is unclear.
Fast forward to an hour later at shift change and I check my RR pocket for my knife.a SS ATR PE.....Gone.:( After a quick check of the Engine and the Firehouse,I began to suspect that it went missing in the bedroom of the house we were in earlier.At one point during the lift of our patient,I slid down the side of the bed with my hip to gain leverage.One thing immediately came to mind....in the driveway of this home,I saw a tricycle and other indicators that a child or children lived there.My first fear was that if picked up and opened by a child,.....and given the fact that I keep this knife scary sharp I'm sure you can imagine.:(
This left me with an awkward feeling.....Do I call this home where a loved one is extremely sick and seem intrusive or insensitive?After considering it very briefly I decided that the risk of someone getting hurt far outweighed any other factors.I obtained the phone number from my officers report and called right away.I spoke to a girl of about 12 or 13 and she told me that her Mom had indeed found it on the bed and that she took it to the Hospital.I thanked her very much and asked her to please ask her Mom to call me when she had a moment.At supper time that night,as I arrived back to work for my second night shift,the Mom called and asked if I had gotten the knife.She assumed it belonged to EMS and gave it to security at the Hospital.He assured her that he would pass it on:rolleyes: .I thanked her very much and immediately called security at the Hospital.The individual that I got had relieved the night guys and informed me that they had not passed anything on.Starting to get bad vibes,in my sternest yet polite manner I informed him that I wanted to speak to the guard when he came back on at 8:00.I asked him his name and information and impressed upon him how important this item was to me.Fortunately,at 7:45,the original guy who I spoke to called and told me that he had the knife.Apparently the night guy had neglected to record it being turned in,forgot to put it with the lost items and happened to have it on him when he returned to work.:rolleyes: .The next thing I did was to call one of our guys who moonlights as a Medic and asked him if any of his buddies were on duty that night.An hour later he called me back and told me that one of his friends had picked it up at the Hospital and was going to drop it into the Firehouse in a 1/2 hour.Unfortunately,the EMS guy got a series of runs and didn't get to me.Fortunately however,one of thier calls was with the Engine my buddy was riding and he handed it off to him.He called and asked where we could meet in the morning and it occured to us that one of the guys on his truck lives one street over from me.He gave it to my neighbor who in turn delivered it to me the next day.
*Whew*.....what an ordeal.When I sat and figured it out,in the span of 24 hours,the knife had passed from:
1.Me
2.Patients wife
3.Security guard
4.Security guard #2
5.Medic
6.My Fireman buddy
7.My Fireman neighbor
8.Me.:)
I want to believe that Security Guard #1 really did honestly A. forget to look for EMS to return it, B) record it as turned in, C) put it in the locked lost items storage, D) pass it on to his relief and E) not mention it to anyone until challenged... I want to believe that,I really do.;)
BTW,the man apparently suffered a brain aneurysm.He had surgery early that morning and his prognosis is unclear.