by Marty P.
Brice, the perfectionist, walked into Station 51. He would partner with paramedic Roy DeSoto for several shifts while John Gage was on vacation.
He entered the locker room and opened Johnny’s empty locker. As he stored his personal belongings, he glanced down and spied a small book. He gazed at the title: Supplement to the Rule Book. He took a mental inventory. He hadn’t seen any memos or announcements about additions to the Department’s Paramedic Manual. Puzzled, he opened the volume.
He read:
Rule #1: Be gentle.
Rule #2: Convey your caring. Show compassion.
Rule #3: When appropriate, smile at people.
Stunned, he closed the publication, unable to read further. Brice prided himself upon quoting the manual to his colleagues.
It was time for roll call. He returned the book to the locker and closed the door.
"Good morning, gentlemen," Cap greeted the crew. "Guys, you all know Craig Brice."
Just then the klaxons sounded. "Squad 51. Child injured. 11265 Aurora Street, cross street Largemont."
"10-4. KMG 365," Cap radioed as the paramedics prepared to leave the station.
The two men rushed to the scene. They were quickly greeted by a frantic mother, "Hurry, Sarah’s over here!"
"Ma’am, we’re right behind you. Can you tell us what happened?" Roy replied calmly.
"Sarah’s a tomboy. She was climbing a tree and fell," the mother informed the two men as she led them to the backyard.
"Hi Sarah, my name is Craig Brice. The man with me is Roy DeSoto. We’re here to help you," he said with a brief smile.
Roy noted the quick grin but made no comment. He turned to Sarah, "Well young lady, your mom tells us you fell out of a tree."
He bent down and started to take her vitals. Brice began to check her for injuries. "Sarah, does this hurt?" Brice asked as he gently touched her ankle.
"Ow!" She exclaimed.
"I’m sorry, honey," Brice apologized as he reached over and patted her on the shoulder. Roy, who was taking vitals, raised his eyebrows at Brice’s unusual actions.
"Brice, her vitals are: pulse is 80, respirations are 24 and BP is 100/60."
Brice activated the biophone and opened communications with the hospital, "Rampart, this is Squad 51. We have a 7-year-old female who suffered a fall from a tree. She has a fractured right ankle. Her vitals are: pulse is 80, respirations are 24 and BP is 100/60."
"Squad 51, apply splint and transport as soon as possible," Dr. Early ordered.
"10-4 Rampart," Brice acknowledged.
"I’ll get the splint, Brice," Roy told him as he walked to the squad.
"Sarah, we’re going to immobilize your ankle so it doesn’t move around. It will feel better and they’ll put a cast on it at the hospital. You can have everyone sign your cast for you," Brice informed her.
"Mister, will you sign my cast?" Sarah asked shyly.
"If you want me to . . . I will," Brice told her hesitantly.
Roy, who had overheard this conversation, was taken aback. He had never known Brice to be so personable.
The ambulance arrived and Brice gently lifted Sarah onto the gurney. "I’ll ride in with her," he said over his shoulder as he followed the stretcher.
A short time later Roy met Brice at the nurse’s station. "How’s Sarah?" Roy requested.
"Fine, can I check the drug box before we go?" Brice responded and began taking a methodical, alphabetical inventory.
"Maybe I imagined his interactions with Sarah," Roy thought to himself.
"Ready DeSoto? Let’s go," Brice ordered as he gathered the equipment and walked toward the exit.
They returned to the station. Brice slipped into the locker room and removed The Rule Book again. Taking a deep breath, he began to read. It said:
Rule #4: Be careful not to frighten or scare people.
Rule #5: Make people feel comfortable around you.
He quickly closed the book, unwilling to read any additional rules.
Several miles away Myrtle arrived at the grocery store for her weekly shopping expedition. This sprightly, petite lady was in her early seventies. As she pushed her cart in the produce department, a small child in another aisle grabbed several mayonnaise jars and dropped them on the floor. It shattered, creating a slippery mess.
A few minutes later Myrtle sought her favorite salad dressing. She failed to notice the broken jars. Suddenly, she made contact with the gelatinous mix, lost her balance and crashed to the floor. Observant shoppers quickly notified an employee who dialed the operator and requested emergency assistance.
The tones sounded at the station, "Squad 51, woman down. 3909 Wheland Street, cross street, Main."
Brice and Roy hopped into the Squad and were soon on their way to the scene. They efficiently gathered their gear and entered the store.
"Aisle 7," said the store manager, motioning them to follow him.
The two men carefully approached the woman. Glass shards were everywhere.
"Sir, could you put some cardboard on the floor to protect everyone from injury until we are able to move this woman?" Roy asked politely.
Brice turned to their victim with a slight grin. "Hi, my name is Craig Brice, and this other kind gentleman is my partner, Roy DeSoto."
"Ma’am, can you tell me your name?" Brice continued with a gentle smile.
"Brice smiled at victims twice today, hmmm…food for thought," Roy said to himself.
"Sonny, my name is Myrtle Le Beau. I hurt all over," she said sadly.
"Can you describe the pain for us?" Roy requested as he handed the sphygmomanometer and the stethoscope to Brice.
"Well, you can see the glass, it’s causing me pain. I also landed smartly on my hip. Ouch, right where you’re touching me!" She exclaimed as
Roy examined her left hip.
"Roy, her vitals are: pulse is 84, respirations are 18 and blood pressure is 140/88."
Brice turned his attention back to the woman, "Myrtle, we’ll move you as soon as possible. We need to wait for instructions from the hospital. You just hang in there, you’ll be fine."
"Thank you. You are very reassuring, young man," she said.
"That’s my job, ma’am, to help you in any way possible," Brice told her.
"Rampart, we have a female in her early seventies who fell in a grocery store. There were broken mayonnaise jars in the aisle. She has glass embedded in her skin. She may also have a hip injury. We have not been able to determine other injuries because of the glass fragments. Her vitals are pulse is 84, respirations are 18 and blood pressure is 140/88," Roy notified the hospital.
"Squad 51, start an IV with D5W. Place victim on a backboard and transport as soon as possible," Doctor Brackett directed.
"10-4 Rampart," Roy confirmed.
"Myrtle, I don’t want to frighten you at all. We want to put you on a backboard because of your hip pain and in case the fall jostled your back. The IV is just a precaution," Brice informed her.
"Craig, thank you. It really helps me when you explain what you are doing," Myrtle told him gratefully.
"Glad you’re finding it helpful, ma’am," Brice acknowledged. "This will sting a bit," he informed her as he inserted the IV.
The ambulance arrived and the men carefully transferred her to a backboard and placed her on a gurney.
"DeSoto, I’ll go in with her," Brice said, quickly following the ambulance attendants.
Roy followed in the squad. He patiently waited for Brice. In a few minutes Brice exited Exam Room 2. "About ready, DeSoto?" Brice said as he approached him.
"Well, tell me how Ms. Le Beau is," Roy requested.
"Oh, they’re still examining her. She’s headed to X-ray. They’ll verify the severity of hip and back injuries and then remove all the glass. I don’t think any of her injuries are major." The two paramedics had just entered the parking lot. Brice reached out his hand, "DeSoto, can I have the keys? I want to drive."
They returned to the station. The rest of the shift was uneventful.
"See you at the next shift, DeSoto," Brice said as he left the station.
###############
Shortly before the start of the next shift, Brice headed for Johnny’s locker again. He reached in and removed the Supplement, curious to see what else it said. He read:
Rule #6: Practice the above rules until they become second nature.
He slammed the book shut, threw it in the locker and prepared for his work day.
"Good morning gentlemen," Cap welcomed the crew. "We have a busy day ahead of us. As well as normal duties around the station, we will have a tour for school children. Roy, you and Brice will conduct the tour."
##############
Shortly after 8:00 a.m., a small, unleashed dog wandered into the street. In an effort to avoid the dog, the driver swerved directly into an oncoming car. A third automobile plowed into them, also trying to miss the canine.
#############
As Captain Stanley began to check his clipboard the tones sounded: "Station 51, motor vehicle accident at Beverly Boulevard and Main. Time out 0813.
All the men scurried to their vehicles and with sirens blaring, left the station. At the scene were three damaged vehicles.
Station 51 arrived at the scene and Brice approached the closest automobile. He opened the driver’s door and discovered a sixteen-year-old female. "Hi, my name is Craig Brice," he said calmly, visually assessing her condition, "do you hurt anywhere?"
"Oh, look at the car!" She wailed. "My father will kill me!"
"It’s okay, relax. Now, do you hurt anywhere?" Brice requested again.
"My mom said I was too young to drive. I’ll never hear the end of this!" She cried plaintively.
"Look miss, right now my concern is whether you are injured," Brice continued patiently.
"No," she said, moving slowly, "I was wearing my seat belt. I’m all right."
"Let me take your vital signs just to be certain," he replied. After checking her out he informed her, "Everything’s normal, miss."
Brice spotted Vince Howard and turned to the teenager, "This police officer will take your statement. You call me if you need anything."
"Thanks, mister!" The young lady said gratefully.
Brice saw Roy ministering to the driver of the second vehicle and walked to the final car. He saw Chet Kelly and asked, "What do you have?"
"Brice, there’s a woman alone in this station wagon. She seems to be uninjured but she’s trapped and starting to panic."
"How soon can we free her?" Brice said to Captain Stanley.
"Probably about fifteen minutes, Brice." Cap notified him.
Craig Brice glanced in the window and observed the woman hyperventilating. He called to Marco, "Lopez, can we open the back end and I’ll climb into the backseat and see if I can calm her down?"
"Brice, are you sure?" Cap verified.
"Captain, I want to make her feel more comfortable. I can also determine if she has any other injuries," Brice informed him.
Cap assessed the situation and said, "Marco, you heard the man, get the crowbar and open the back of the wagon."
In a few moments, Brice sat in the backseat speaking soothingly to the woman. The firefighters handed him equipment as they prepared to free her.
"Ma’am, what’s your name? I’m Craig Brice," he introduced himself as he took her pulse.
"Mrs…Hod…ges," she responded, taking quick breaths.
"Mrs. Hodges, you need to slow your breathing. Take a deep breath."
"All …right, I’ll…try," she said in a gasping voice.
"Brice, here’s a blanket. Cover her. We’re going to break the windshield and move the steering wheel out of the way," Cap told him.
Brice covered her with the blanket," Mrs. Hodges, don’t be afraid. You’ll be out of here very soon."
In a very short time, Chet and Marco assisted her from the station wagon. Brice joined them. "Mrs. Hodges, here’s a paper bag for you. I want you to place this over your nose and mouth and try to take slow, deep breaths," Brice instructed her.
He examined her and took her vital signs, "Mrs. Hodges, everything appears normal but I’d like you to go to the hospital as a precaution."
Roy met Brice at the squad, "Brice, the third victim is a fifty-year-old male with possible back injuries. I’ve notified Rampart and he’s ready for transport."
"Good, could you contact Rampart about Mrs. Hodges? She was hyperventilating and has improved but I’d like them to give her a clean bill of health. Oh, by the way, the teenager in the sedan is all right," Brice communicated to him. He said with a gentle grin, "Mrs. Hodges, this is Roy DeSoto. He will ride with you in the ambulance. He’ll take good care of you."
Brice gathered up their medical equipment and drove the squad to the hospital. He found Roy DeSoto waiting for him at the nurse’s desk. "Ready, Brice? I replaced our supplies."
"In a minute, DeSoto, I always like to verify that everything’s in order," he replied as he opened the drug box for a systematic survey of the contents. After completing his task he handed the case back to Roy and marched to the exit.
They returned to the station.
##############
"Roy, could you come into my office?" Cap said after the squad returned to the station.
"Sure Cap, what’s up?" Roy requested.
"Roy, have you noticed Brice’s behavior during the last several shifts?" Cap asked. "He seems more personable to the public than I’ve ever seen him."
"Yeah Cap, I have. He’s made no comments to me about it though," Roy informed him.
"I’ve got to find out what’s up with Brice. He’s never exhibited such concern about people before," Roy contemplated.
Several hours later, Roy located his temporary partner in the locker room.
"Brice, I’d like to talk to you," Roy began. "What do you have there?" He asked as he saw Craig studying the thin volume.
"Here Roy," he said as he handed the manual to the paramedic. "Have you seen this Supplement to the Rule Book?"
Roy perused it briefly and started to chuckle. "Brice, I’m not quite sure how to tell you this…" he began to chortle.
"Roy, what’s so humorous?" Brice demanded, confused.
"Have I ever told you about my next door neighbor, Marjy?" Roy told him, gaining control.
"So what’s your point, Roy? " Brice asked, looking at him quizzically.
"Brice, this is Marjy’s book," Roy stated.
"Didn’t you say she was a paramedic?" Brice clarified.
"Not anymore, she’s in a new line of work. She now performs as a clown." Roy informed him.
"You’re kidding!" Brice shook his head in disbelief. "You mean this is a rule book for…clowns?"
"But how did it get into Johnny’s locker?" He continued, still trying to comprehend what Roy had conveyed.
"Marjy was by the other day, and left this behind. Chet put it in Johnny’s locker as a joke," Roy explained. He turned to exit the locker room.
"Uh, Roy," Brice called tentatively after him, "you know, some of these rules really gave me food for thought."
Roy paused, staring at the paramedic. "You think so?" he asked in amazement.
"Yes, I’d like to bring this up at the next paramedics’ meeting. I think it’d be wise to add some of these rules to the manual." Brice stated emphatically.
"Will wonders never cease?" Roy thought to himself, astonished. "Wait until Johnny hears about this!"
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Guest Dispatchers Stories by Marty P.
