I’ve gone on a few more calls, some trauma but mostly medical. Last week I had my first stroke call. And there is no way to say this without sounding crass and maybe even downright cruel…
It was frigging cool.
Ok, now let me explain. It’s one thing to talk about facial drop and arm drift and weak grips and to see photos in books and to have someone act it out for you. It’s something else entirely to see it happening in front of you. To see someone’s pupils constrict and dilate at different rates. To hear someone talking around a tongue that is half numb. To watch half of their face change in front of your eyes. To hold their hands and see them concentrating to squeeze, and only feel one hand move.
The lady was very calm, and had been through this before. She made every effort to do what we asked and the family was right there with any help we needed. It was almost as if they had done this so many times before, and there was no fear from the patient. Which meant that I was able to see it happening without having to handle the emotional parts as well.
And that also sounds mean – I wasn’t ignoring her, but we were able to talk quietly without there being panic in the mix.
The whole acceptance aspect of this call meant that I was able to see all the signs and symptoms manifesting in front of me. And honestly, there is a lot you just can’t learn from a book.
I’ve done a few serious calls over the past month, again mostly medical, but one trauma stands out. Right after I had surgery, we got a call for a guy who had fallen off a ladder, and there was a lot of back pain. Add to that driving on a dirt road, in Maine, in the spring, over potholes and patches of ice, and this poor guy was just not having the time of his life. And nothing makes a traumatic back pain call more fun than 20 minutes on a backboard… if their back isn’t hurting before we show up, it will be by the time we unload!
The thing that I recall most from that call is not carrying a big guy through a foot of mud, nor learning the joys of self-administrative nitrous.
No, the thing I remember most is telling him to stop apologizing for swearing, and that if he would ever have a free pass to cuss like a sailor, this was it.
You may not remember our discussion at your shop (maybe it was your shop), but my husband and I came in and I got some sock yarn in Jan 08. The main thing is, you told me about ravelry, and I am totally hooked. My “handle” is athing4string, and I always wanted to thank you, but by the time the name of your shop came back to me, I found the website down.
See ya. Glad you are having fun in your “new” career.
I am currently helping a former customer of my defunct yarn shop, open a new one in Fairhope, AL. Fun to work there, but not own it.
Heidi