It was a lousy ending to an
already bad day.
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New! 01/05/11
Third Time's a Charm
By Audrey W.
It was a lousy ending to an already bad day. John Gage stared up at the ceiling of the ambulance, an oxygen mask over his nose and mouth, as he was rushed to Rampart General Hospital. It was his third trip of the day as a victim, only the other times hadn’t required he be on a stretcher, nor were the main reason the ambulance was in use.
First there was the over zealous dog at one of the addresses they’d been sent to on a rescue. The friendly slobbery Saint Bernard had jumped up to put his front paws on the dark-haired paramedic’s chest, only to accidentally push him over in the process. Johnny was slammed to the grassy ground along with the biophone that was in his hand, the dog on top of him. The landing knocked the wind out of him and left his right side hurting. Johnny rode in the ambulance with the original victim, also a dog-related injury, and x-rays at the hospital revealed no fractured ribs.
Then there was the basketball court rescue. An over zealous basketball player had managed to shatter the glass backboard with a slam dunk move, bringing the debris down on another player. Somehow while escorting the victim out on a stretcher, Johnny managed to step on a hand towel and found himself on his bottom on the hard surface of the floor. It was better than landing on his back, since his head likely would have hit the surface as well. But the then gimpy paramedic had to gingerly climb into the ambulance with the victim. There was no x-ray that time, however he figured he’d have one hell of a bruise.
As the saying goes, ‘third time’s a charm’, and this last time he’d hit the ‘jackpot’. Johnny glanced at his partner, Roy DeSoto, who was escorting him to the hospital. Chet Kelly, a fellow crewman, was following the ambulance in their squad.
Johnny lifted the oxygen mask. “Roy. . .” He could hear the raspiness in his own voice.
The older man took the mask from his grasp and settled it back in place.
“Leave that on. You need it.”
He sure did. He couldn’t argue with that.
Yes, it was definitely a lousy way to end the day. An over zealous young cook had tried to surprise her husband with a four-course meal for dinner, only to start the house on fire in the process. He’d barely escaped from the home, a towel wrapped around his waist since he’d been in the shower. She’d gotten out as well, but their cat? Not so lucky.
Johnny and Roy braved the flames to search for the pet. It was when Johnny found it and took off his air mask to give the cat some clean air that matters grew worse. The toxins in the smoke were very strong and Gage found himself woozy by the time they reached the outdoors. The intense heat from within hadn’t helped.
As they continued on in the ambulance, the not-so-zealous paramedic closed his eyes. At least tomorrow would be a new day.
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New! 01/05/11
“Sore Losers”
By Ross
It was a lousy ending to an already bad day.
Their ‘possible heart attack’ victim didn’t make it.
In fact, of the many medical emergencies Squad 51 had been summoned to so far that shift, paramedics John Gage and Roy DeSoto had yet to save a single life.
The discouraged pair returned to their fire station and climbed wearily out of their rescue truck.
Captain Hank Stanley and his engine crew were just sitting down to dine.
The four famished firemen watched wordlessly as their long-faced friends dragged themselves into the day room. They continued watching as the pair stepped right on past their places at the kitchen table and up to the coffee-maker.
If Chet Kelly had had the slightest inkling as to just how shitty the paramedics’ shift was going, he probably wouldn’t have paused in his plate loading to inquire about their last call. “So-o…How’d it go?”
John exhaled a resigned sigh and glanced up from his steaming mug. “The guy was dead when we got there,” he bitterly replied. “He remained dead, following a full fifteen minutes of drugs, definitive care and counter-shocks. In spite of the 25 minutes of CPR that was performed—flawlessly—in the back of a speeding ambulance, the victim was dead upon arrival. The patient was still dead, when we left the hospi—”
“—All right, already!” Kelly unconditionally surrendered. “We get the picture! Sheesh, Gage! Sometimes, you can be unbelievably morbid.”
Roy raised his deeply troubled gaze from his own steaming cup. “So can this job,” he sadly summed up and traded an extremely glum glance with his equally bummed partner.
Suddenly, the claxons sounded.
“Squad 51…”
The two men set their untouched mugs down on the counter and then went trotting off in the direction of their recently vacated rescue vehicle.
“We got it, Cap!” Johnny shouted back over his shoulder.
Hopefully, their evening wouldn’t end on as miserable a note as their day had.
The End
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