Whistling Past The Graveyard
Another small self imposed backstep.... a pause in which to ruminate, then distract myself with one diversion or another.
Had a little on-the-job incident the other night which, while it played itself out, was alright.... there wasn't any time to do otherwise but act, to do, to sustain this fellow's life. On the inside I was freaked; the seizure so intense he was unable to breathe and foaming at the mouth. On the outside, calm, assuring, snapping off directives, noting time & symptoms. The result of a too quick withdrawal from alcohol and tranquilizers.... nasty. Luckily EMS was there within minutes and I quickly handed off to them.
Back on the job debriefing and de-stressing. Grateful that things turned out alright for him. It could have so easily gone way wrong..... and that is where my head got stuck. 'What if...?' ... it had happened on the bus? .... in a parking lot and not on a lawn .... there had been no one around to help him? .... to summon professional help?
In an effort to not think I immersed myself in reading, in music, in email and internet. And after a time leave 'what if' alone; deal with the reality of our lives. He lives and breathes, he got medical attention and returned briefly to our care. He's in more appropriate hands until he is stable enough to return and complete his stay. Namaste.
We had just a few brief talks over a 24 hour period but he sure knows how to leave an impression on a guy.
Had a little on-the-job incident the other night which, while it played itself out, was alright.... there wasn't any time to do otherwise but act, to do, to sustain this fellow's life. On the inside I was freaked; the seizure so intense he was unable to breathe and foaming at the mouth. On the outside, calm, assuring, snapping off directives, noting time & symptoms. The result of a too quick withdrawal from alcohol and tranquilizers.... nasty. Luckily EMS was there within minutes and I quickly handed off to them.
Back on the job debriefing and de-stressing. Grateful that things turned out alright for him. It could have so easily gone way wrong..... and that is where my head got stuck. 'What if...?' ... it had happened on the bus? .... in a parking lot and not on a lawn .... there had been no one around to help him? .... to summon professional help?
In an effort to not think I immersed myself in reading, in music, in email and internet. And after a time leave 'what if' alone; deal with the reality of our lives. He lives and breathes, he got medical attention and returned briefly to our care. He's in more appropriate hands until he is stable enough to return and complete his stay. Namaste.
We had just a few brief talks over a 24 hour period but he sure knows how to leave an impression on a guy.
posted by Norm at 8/08/2008 03:15:00 AM
2 Comments:
Geeze, I'd say.
I like how you describe the contrast between your inner and outer state during this crisis. The inner dialogue can vary so much from outward appearances, sometimes.
Times like that you're on the bubble and the training takes over.
These sorts of things happen from time to time and it's the randomness and intensity of the incidents that gets to me.
Never let'em see you sweat
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