tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39531948420037310872024-03-08T05:13:40.446-08:00Mike Rocks SaudiA young U.S. Paramedics journey into Saudi ArabiaParamedic in UAEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10272514557010960136noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953194842003731087.post-72524749631715002322014-05-21T08:30:00.004-07:002014-05-21T08:45:18.573-07:00Check out on my new blogHi Everyone,
Thanks for all the interest in my blog. I have not worked in Saudi Arabia since 2011, but I still get emails from this blog. I will leave "Mike Rocks Saudi" alive as a fond memory and encourage you all to follow me as a Paramedic in UAE at my new blog paramedicinuae.blogspot.comParamedic in UAEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10272514557010960136noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953194842003731087.post-72049566804222119792011-07-21T05:51:00.000-07:002011-07-21T05:59:10.713-07:00The End<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">My boots hit the hot tarmac one last time as I walked away from my Paramedic station. I couldn't help but turn my head and look back one last time as about a million thoughts went racing through my mind. I did not go home that day and the sweltering summer breeze accompanied me as I went for a long walk. I was by myself and just needed some time to reflect. It was all over. 1 year in Saudi Arabia, almost 18 months of keeping this blog and over 21 months since I applied to the SRCA in 2009.</span><br />
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Here is just a taste of how to sum up this adventure. Imagine you had just fallen asleep 15 minutes ago after being awake for 24 hours then suddenly the radio explodes with a request for help, seconds later your inside a car going over 200k an hour with lights and sirens, blowing red lights, going the wrong way down a one way street and just moments later you arrive to world war 3. There are bodies, blood, smoke, and twisted metal everywhere. You hear screams for help all over, no one speaks English and its up to YOU to sort this whole mess out.<br />
A Paramedic's job is to turn Pandamonium in to order, to control your own fears, sadness, adrenaline, and focus on fixing a problem when everyone else around you can not or will not. Then when its all over you return to your station and do the same thing all night, all day, everyday. This has been my life and for every one story I shared with you on here hundreds more went untold.<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> How do I wrap it up in 1 simple blog entry? What started as a small personal blog for a couple close friends and family members quickly spread to many friends, associates and actually paramedics from all over the world. Thank you for all who have followed my blog, emailed, messaged and spoke with me during this amazing adventure. In addition to this also the local citizens of Saudi Arabia who have also sent me messages comments and emails of support and </span>gratitude<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">.</span><br />
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I learned a lot and I mean A LOT about myself both professionally and personally during this entire experience. I have no regrets about coming to Saudi Arabia and working as a Paramedic. It was a good time in my life and I needed a change. I saved some money, gained amazing work experience, the opportunity to meet people from all over the world, and it forced me interact with new and different people I would have normally never met. I lost 30 pounds while here and I am feeling healthier than I have in years. I got to travel and see a new part of the world while I was on this side of the earth including 7 new countries I had never been to. I also feel extremely calm, professional, and proficient in highly stressful and dangerous situations that require critical thinking and decision making as a result of my colossal exposure to insanity here.<br />
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</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">With that said it was not all lolly pop lanes, rainbows, fairy tales and gum drops. It was a major sacrifice for me both at a professional and personal level.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Personal sacrifice: including the freedoms we often take for granted in most of the western world. It really made me appreciate the USA and freedoms I miss like wearing whatever I want, saying whatever I want, my hobbies, the live music I enjoy, pubs, places and activities I normally frequent, bicycling around the city, mingling (its segregated and different here), also having friends that are like minded and have the same interest as myself.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Professional: It was also challenging at work when I was running critical cases back to back on day and night shift suffering from severe sleep deprivation. In </span>addition<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> to this the lack of properly trained medical personal available, my life being in </span>jeopardy<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> to some degree everyday mostly from responding to accidents and other traffic related incidents in this country but also from violent and armed patients, lack of police support or back up, hazardous materials, fires, explosions, and things Paramedics would normally wait to be "secured and safe" before entering in the U.S. but not here. I have been punched, kicked, attacked with a knife, had a gun pulled on me, I have been stuck with dirty needles, Ive been knocked back by an </span>explosion<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">, I have been in 3 </span>separate<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> motor vehicle accidents while responding to </span>emergency's<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> on duty. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">There where days I woke up and hated everything, I just wanted to go home, then there where the days I woke up smiling and really making a </span>difference for people who needed it. I remember being so proud the first time I cardioverted someone by myself, and also feeling so low looking into a fathers eyes as I held his dead 8 year old boy and having to tell him there was nothing I could do to bring him back. I don't remember all there faces but I will always relish the asthma attacks I made it to in time to reverse, the hearts I restarted, The people I brought back from unconsciousness or death, The ones I risked my own safety for in order to rescue them from entrapment, The broken bones I splinted and the medication I gave to ease there pain and suffering. I will also remember staring into some of there eyes as they literally died in front of me and I was the last thing they saw.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">It was an amazing test for myself </span>mentally<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">. I have </span>experienced<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> the highest of high's and lowist of low's while here. I have experienced the absolute extreme's of every emotion possible during this 1 </span>journey than I have in my entire life<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">. 1 simple blog is not nearly enough for me to really express to you this entire </span>experience, merely a glimpse inside of it<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">.</span><br />
The amazing amount of trauma and call volume I have had here is unlike anything except maybe war. In the year I have spent here (most of which at what was once the busist ALS station in Riyadh) I have probably racked up 5 years worth of experience.<br />
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</div>This is my 2nd time working in the middle east and will probably not be my last.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px;">Will miss all my Saudi partners who I am proud to call my friends. I have cycled through four of them in a year.</span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px;">Also thank you to the many other people I have met from Saudi Arabia who have made this a truly humbling experience I wont forget for the rest of my life. It has been an honor and a privilege serving the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. I hope I was able to save some lives or improve the outcomes of some who may not </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 17px;">have had an </span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;">opportunity</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"> otherwise. I typed this out while in a coffee shop in London where I am taking s<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;">ome much needed time off. I will be taking a break and starting some college classes soon in writing in hopes to improve my writing for my next writing project. Then its off to my next Paramedic adventure somewhere in the world. </span></span></span></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The heat from outside hit me like a sack of door knobs as I exited the comfort of our cozy air conditioned ambulance. It was around 115 degrees and windy but the wind felt more like a blow drier on full blast bombarding my face. I was called to a construction site for an accident.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> I began searching through the workers at the building site and it wasn’t long before I found my guy. He had been cut by “something” according to bystanders. (I later found out<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“something” was a power saw)He had no other injuries. He was pale and another worker was holding the patients arm up in the air to help stop the bleeding. I assisted him out of all chaos and heat into the calm quite ambulance for further evaluation. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">After removing the bloody napkin that his friends had used as a bandage I found my first surprise. There was only a bloody stump where his thumb should have been. Pointing out the obvious, I exclaimed “where is this guys thumb?” which was quickly translated into Arabic by my partner. No one was quite sure but all fingers seemed to be pointing in the same general area on the ground some distance away. I ordered his team of co workers out on a special mission. A treasure hunt they would soon not forget. Arm to arm, sifting through the sand searching for a body part. It was not long before one of them was holding my prize up in the air. Ding Ding Ding We have a winner! I thought to myself.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The severed thumb was quickly presented to me moments later. I was now holding it and examining it like gemologist might examine a diamond. It was in pristine condition, almost like it had been surgically removed. I stood there and conitnued examining my precious prize probably longer than I needed to. I thanked my treasuring hunting friend for recovering it and got back to work. Due to the type of cut, time that we recovered the amputated part, and follow up care we gave there is a very good chance that the thumb could be reattached.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I managed to start an IV on the patient and gave him a hefty dose of IV morphine which he was very grateful for. The guy who was hating life and just had his thumb amputated was now smiling thanks to morphine. I love giving morphine to people who really deserve it because you become there new best friend. Anyway, The bleeding had been controlled at this point so I just placed a large bandage over the stump to protect it from infection and also so the patient did not have to look at it. I put the severed thumb in a special sterile bandage and placed it in a container on Ice.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We rushed him and his severed digit to the hospital. Upon our arrival to the emergency department I was giving my hand over report but the pushy triage nurse was not listening much and for some odd reason decided to open the container, “what’s in here?” She said as she started sifting through it, “This guys amputated thumb” I replied. She let out a scream and jumped back then starting yelling at me. I guess she learned patience is a important virtue to have. I gave her thumbs up on the way out the door but I don’t think she appreciated my humor.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>Paramedic in UAEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10272514557010960136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953194842003731087.post-48315067489237514922011-06-19T13:05:00.000-07:002011-06-19T13:11:57.490-07:00The smoking gun<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I jumped over the concrete barrier and slid down an embankment with my trusty trauma bag slung over my shoulder. As I surfed down the dirt and debris in the darkness I thought to myself I was probably going to recover a body, not treat a patient. Covered in dirt I continued sliding down until I reached my patient. At first site it appeared I was to late just as I had thought. He's left leg was severely deformed, he was unconscious, pale, cool, and had blood oozing from his mouth. He had been ejected from the car he was driving and went on quite the journey. The Mechanism of injury and energy transfer was amazing. During impact he busted through the car’s windshield which sent him flying through the air 6+ meters. He managed to clear the concrete road barriers and landed on a steep embankment where he continued his journey, now on land, sliding down several more meters to his final resting place and where I had now managed to find myself beside him. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I checked for a pulse and to my surprise the man regained consciousnesses and looked at me. There was not much room to work and we where wedged in a tight spot. As soon as another united arrived I had them start lowering me down equipment and a backboard. The area he was stuck in was small. There was only adequate room for me to secure him to the backboard, place a neck collar, open his airway, relocate his leg as best I could, and splint the leg to the backboard. I then sent him up the embankment using a human chain to pass the backboard along to the top. Another ALS unit had arrived by now and I took the other Paramedic with me onto the ambulance. The other Paramedic was from South Africa and we began making small talk as we worked on the patient and started IV's.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I took charge of the airway and began suctioning blood and debris from it while the other medic began a head to toe physical exam, which as part of standard procedure includes cutting all the man’s clothes off and palpating down his body. I was pretty focused on the airway and had not been paying much attention to the other medics assessment until he said “Hey Mike I think you better take a look at this” Before I even looked up at him I knew this was not going to be good. Ill be honest though I was in no way prepared for what I was about to encounter.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I turned my head just in time to stare down the barrel of a pistol. The medic and patient both grasping a fully loaded 30 caliber revolver with the barrel pointed in my general direction. It was ready to fire and the patient began to fight us. I dropped the suction equipment and got my hands on it as quickly as possible. The patient was very confused and had a head injury and was not completely aware of what was going on. However he became combative and really wanted to get his hands on that gun. We struggled over it for a few moments until I finally managed to be the one holding the gun. I made sure the trigger was not cocked and kept the barrel pointed to the ground while the south African kept the patient secured to the stretcher. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">There is a wall in the ambulance separating the driver from the back of the patient care compartment. Luckily there is a small window you can slide open. I tapped on the window to summon assistance.The <span style="color: black;"> </span>driver opened it but he sure wasn’t expecting the present I had for him. “ here hold this, be careful its loaded.” I said. He tried saying something but he had already taken the gun before he had time to even see what it was. I had already shut the window before he could make a rebuttal. Once we arrived to the hospital the nurse and security refused to take the gun as part of the patients belongings. Our supervisor arrived and we handed it over to him, along with a large 10 inch knife we found concealed on the patient. We waited until law enforcement arrived and all the proper paper work was filled out. I went back to the hospital the following day to recover some of our equipment that the hospital needed to borrow. I asked the doctor how our patient was. He ended up having a closed head injury, fractured cervical vertebrae, fractured femur, and some internal bleeding but managed to get stabilized fairly quickly and is expected to make a good recovery. I am not sure what became of the weapons, but they are being held in a safe place for him until he is aware, makes a full recovery and does some explaining. <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
</div>Paramedic in UAEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10272514557010960136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953194842003731087.post-34599750864874644702011-05-19T22:29:00.000-07:002011-05-19T22:29:20.373-07:00Curbside Carnage<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">There I sat, like a minister of death praying for war listening to the radio, I waited there hoping and wishing for a case. Our air condition had been broken for 2 days now and I sat in our sweltering hot station wallowing in my own juices due to the fact it was over 100 degrees F outside. A dead mosquito and some grains of sand stuck to my skin and all the energy had been sucked out of me. I just needed a case so I could get out of the station.<br />
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That case finally came at 430am as I lay there in the dark, hot, sweaty and miserable. I jumped at the oppertunity to get out of the hot station and hit the road. I could hear dispatch calling ambulance after ambulance from several stations across the city all to the very case we where just sent on. Update en route to the scene confirmed there was at least 10 people injured including some that where listed as critical. My partner floored it and we flew down the highway. I started playing things out in my head and trying to prepare myself mentally for possible injuries and scene management issues with a large accident.<br />
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Flashing lights, twisted metal, bodies, and a large crowd began to form in the horizon as we approached. We entered the event horizon of this catastrophe and our unit was directed right into the middle of it. The ussual unruly mob of bystanders and on lookers stood in our way. The fire department who where busy cutting entrapped people out of cars had to help create a gap in the crowed as we slowly drove into the middle of this mess, there was no going back now. Time seemed to slow down and there was an erry silence inside the ambulance despite being surrounded by all this mayhem. I looked outside from our almost sound proof window to see people bleeding laying on the ground all over, people crying and screaming walking around with dirt, sut and blood on there faces.We navigated our way right to the middle and stopped. It was almost like a movie watching it from the inside of our unit. The silence I was experiencing from inside was soon broken the moment I cracked the door. It was like the front door opening to an amphibious landing ship full of soldiers at the beaches of Normandy on D day.<br />
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I tuned out all the noise as best I could. I had become accustom to all the chaos around me by now after a year as a self proclaimed flesh mechanic in Riyadh. I grabbed the trauma bag and off I went. I could see other EMT's and Medics arriving and pouring in behind me to help. The first man I came to was bleeding badly from the head and the bone from his leg was sticking out. He had been pulled out of the car into the dirt and had broken glass and sand all over him. He was pale, cool,. clammy in shock and had no palpable radial pulse but was breathing. Another U.S. paramedic arrived as I was assessing the first man. I told him to continue triaging the others while I managed this guy.<br />
I ensured his airyway was clear and we placed a large bulky dressing over his bleed. I got some of the EMT's to help me place a neck collar on him, and package him up on a backboard with some oxygen. Another EMT worked on his broken leg. We started a large IV whilst this was going on and checked for any other injuries. The guy looked like crap and I was not sure if he was going to make it. but there where so many others and there was not much more I could do for him. Time was of the essence. I left him with the EMT's and another Paramedic once he was ready for transport and went to check on the others. A man came up to me with a broken arm begging for help but I had to tell him to wait with other "walking wounded" until we gathered all the people who where unable to walk and critical. I wanted to make sure we did not miss anyone in this mess.<br />
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Like a dysfunctional easter egg hunt I went searching through the vehicles, debris, pieces of flesh, groups of rescue workers and crowd for the injured. We had more than enough resources at the scene now including some doctors and I just wanted to ensure all the critical patients on the scene had been found, stabilized, and transported before we left. I loaded up the last patient that was unable to walk my partner had found. He was showing early signs of shock and had been hit by a car as a pedestrian. I jumped in the ambulance with him and our journey to the hospital began. He got a full work up and was treated for shock. His condition improved en route and he was successfully delivered to a hospital further away from the accident to scene to help distribute the large volume of patients across multiple facility's. Its important to do this during large accidents so one hospital does not become over whelmed and under staffed. I think our guy will be fine.<br />
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I found out later what happened. Apparently only 1 or 2 vehicles had a car accident and the people where transported by ambulance with no problems. However there was such a large crowd of bystanders and onlookers that had stopped to check things out or ran over to help that oncoming traffic hit a group of the bystanders and also caused a car pile up. </div>Paramedic in UAEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10272514557010960136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953194842003731087.post-12060626756598173922011-05-01T13:51:00.000-07:002011-05-01T13:58:03.289-07:00Easy Street<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Silence..... Serenity.... The Sun was shining in the clear blue sky as a gentle breeze swept by. It had been like this for hours now and only the peaceful songs from birds off in the distance could be herd. My apathy was a distant thought as I stepped inside my new home away from home. It was inviting me to have a sit down as I wafted in the pleasant aroma of fresh tea and coffee being made. A smile began to slowly stretch across my face and I conceded to the aroma.<br />
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Mean while outside our sparkling clean ambulance shimmered in the sunlight. It was washed, waxed, armoralled, and detailed daily. Wait, did I say ambulance? Thats right I was at work. But wait this is not the internal burning inferno of hell I normally describe to you.<br />
I took a deep breathe and looked around, had I finally died at work responding to a call and now I had gone to a better place? I had plenty of close calls and it would seem so but that was not the case. I was actually at work at my new station. As I mentioned in an earlier post I was rewarded for all my hard work and was transfered to a new medic station. It was a special duty assignment located in a very high profile and secure area. It was the opposite of my old station in every way. Ive been here for almost a month now. The story's I wrote to you about at my previous station where just the tip of the iceberg of what I actually encountered out there. If I wrote you about every critical case I encountered the past 9 months I would have to write multiple times a day every day... but not now haha.<br />
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The new stations nice, almost to nice for me and I missed my old station sometimes. The chaos, carnage, anarchy, and destruction from my previous duty assignment. Was I crazy, Was I an addreline junky? God I am picky, first I complain about things being to crazy then I complain about them not being crazy enough. However if I liked it or not I needed a change and this was my new duty. I have already found positive attributes of working here, and I am only here until the end of July. I can sleep a few hours on night duty now which is pretty remarkable. I only work with 1 other person and we no longer use another crew for transport, which is better for me. I found now that I try and say good bye to every patient or shake the hand of everyone I deliver to the hospital and personally wish them luck if there conscious... something I never use to do much. I had regained some of the emotions and feelings that make me a human being. However I still had what it took inside me to go back to the insanity and get things done quickly with a strait face.<br />
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In addition to this I did some more community outreach this week and gave another presentation on road safety, this time to the British International School of Riyadh. Ill try and drum up some business for you guys to hear about later this week. I know hearing about other peoples misfortune and listening to exciting experiences is more interesting to read about!<br />
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</div>Paramedic in UAEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10272514557010960136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953194842003731087.post-5598174558591398312011-04-16T00:56:00.000-07:002011-04-16T00:56:51.633-07:00Break a leg<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Just a quick story:<br />
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I can hear the screams through the thick crowd. I do my best to push and shove my way further into the large group of on lookers thats gathered. I continue following a path destruction thats all around me. I begin honing in on the screams until I reach the patient. He does not speak Arabic or English so non of us can communicate with him. However its safe to say he is saying some pretty vulgar things in Hindi. He is laying on the street supine and his leg is severely deformed and in a very unnatural position thats placed his foot next to his head. As he lay there screaming in pain he stairs at his deformed foot just inches from his face. However he is unable to move the extremity and his bones are so broken that there is no structure left to his leg. We feel for a pulse in his foot and of course there is none. The whole leg moves like a gummy worm and requires several of us to support it. 1 sharp piece of broken bone is starting to cut its way out the leg so we must move it very carefully. We can not transport him with his leg in this crazy position and with no pulse so we have to relocate it.<br />
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We give him the maximum start dose of morphine for pain that we can give and also give him another medication to sedate him so he will not be completely aware during the procedure. We carefully relocate the extremity to a neutral inline position and splint it. Its about this time the helicopter lands I send him off with the chopper crew and attend to the other patient who is dead. He lay there in the street surrounded by fruit and vegetables covered in blood. I place some electrodes on his body and run a quick flat line ecg rythem strip to attach to my report then cover the body with a blanket.<br />
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So what happened to these guys? Well from what I gathered someone possibly fell asleep at the wheel and drove there car into an open air street market hitting some fruit and vegetable stands killing the 1 man and injuring the other man with the broken leg.<br />
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</div></div>Paramedic in UAEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10272514557010960136noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953194842003731087.post-10168558040512533582011-03-30T13:38:00.000-07:002011-03-30T13:43:43.266-07:00A twist of events<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #29303b; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">As I mentioned in a previous posting, we have ran so many critical calls that our minds had adapted to our environments. We could do our jobs flawlessly like robots, but at what cost? What about our empathy and caring.... Had we lost some of it or all of it along the way? What about our personal lives? Help others and then help yourself... Sometimes the hardest life to save is your own. As a medic how does one save themselves?</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #29303b; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">I stepped outside my dark hotel room into the bright hallway when I caught the attention of 2 of the other U.S. medics eyes. "jesus, you look like S**t Mike" they exclaimed. I just mumbled agreeably as I made my way outside to hail a taxi and get to work. Dark bags under my blood shot eyes squinted in pain. Off to work... I have now been in country longer than most of other western medics. I am salty and short timing.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #29303b; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"> Upon arrival to the station I dropped my gear inside and went for a walk to the local store. As I walked down the busy dirt road covered in old plastic bags, rusty cans, paper, wrappers, needles, and other random </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #29303b; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">debris I enjoyed the amaturer graffiti that covered every business and every wall around me. Many of the businesses window's where broken and all of them where covered with bars. As I continued my journey for a redbull I observed all the children living in poverty in our neighbored.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #29303b; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> They all had there soccer jerseys on and loved playing soccer, unfortunitly they only had a dirt field and used garbage with stones to mark the field goals. By the looks of there raggedy soccer ball it was unbelievable it still held air. I was based in a very poor neighborhood that taxi drivers refused to go to at night. I serviced the poorest, and busiest area in the city. In addition to that my coverage area expanded for miles outside of my response area due to the shortage of Paramedics and doctors. I never got a break and with back to back day/night shifts I did not sleep. The other american medics could not believe how I did it. Some of them had came for ride a longs with me, one day was enough for them... but no one could believe I had been working this station for 8 months everyday. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #29303b; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I have been working as a rapid response paramedic at the busiest station in Riyadh Saudi Arabia (a city the size of Los Angels) for about 8 months as of writing this. The incredible shortage of Advanced Life Support staff has resulted in severe sleep deprivation, overtime every week, exposure to an incredibly high volume of critical cases, and places my safety in jeopardy on a daily basis in multiple ways, including 2 ambulance accidents I was involved in and a combative patient that I received a dirty needle stick from, a man with a knife that tried to stab me, an explosion that knocked my colleague to the ground, and the list go's on and on. I was not just a medic working a regular job I was fighting a freaking war with the streets of Riyadh.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #29303b; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> The critical cases I see have began to blurr together for me, from explosions, to gun shots, to stabbings, to huge car accidents, people being struck by cars and assaulted, abused, heart attacks, strokes, baby's being born, and many many other things, thats just in the past 2 weeks. Even the medics in Iraq and New York City I have spoke to do not see the kind of volume. I am proud to serve the community I do, and to also have the busiest station, but a break would be nice.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #29303b; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I could deal with our heavy call volume, bad niegorhood, and frequent safety hazards... Sure they run a toll on me, but there where other factors in place. The ambulance crews I use to enjoy working with where switched around and theres been a lot of conflict with the new crews and I. Work has been very stressful lately.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #29303b; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I have been a real train wreck.... BUT today things started looking up.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #29303b; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">As I write this today is my last day at the busiest ALS station in Riyadh. The manager from a brand new station called me today. The station is in a very secure nice area where many high profile patients live. The call volume is much slower and the crews seem great. I was transfered there effective today and I feel great. I will be the first medic at this station and can not wait to start. In addition to this I moved out of the hotel today that I have been living in for the past 8 months and finally got my own apartment on a western compound! </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #29303b; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">It appears I am on easy street now, fate had saved me from burnout. Don't worry Ill still see crazy exciting things to share with you all. Ill make sure of it!</span><br />
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</span></div>Paramedic in UAEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10272514557010960136noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953194842003731087.post-20944483932628814002011-03-17T01:36:00.000-07:002011-03-17T01:36:14.655-07:00My Road safety and Seat belt presentation<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">It gets frustrating over here everyday with all these car accidents and unsafe driving practices. I felt compelled to do some community outreach and gave the below presentation to kids at the american international school last week. I also brought an ambulance down to the school and let the kids check it out. It was my first time doing this so forgive the excess "um's" for the first few minutes of the video. I was a bit nervous.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div>Paramedic in UAEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10272514557010960136noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953194842003731087.post-63673344390575523482011-03-08T08:09:00.000-08:002011-03-15T10:12:48.911-07:001 survivor<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">The Blades from the helicopter had just stopped spinning. A small amount of dust could still be seen in the air as the moon light shined down upon us. It was a beautiful and otherwise quite night on this old rural highway. I did not have much time to take in scenery on the way due to the fact that we had reached speeds of over 210kmh(130mph)<br />
Dispatch suggested we where to far away to take the call, but boy did we prove them wrong.<br />
The sounds of panic around me would occasionally be replaced by shouting in multiple directions. It was dark but my eyes attempted to take in all the pandemonium surrounding me. I started constructing a plan. The helicopter crew and 1 ambulance where already on scene and 2 other ambulances could be herd in the distance responding.<br />
The first thing that caught my eye was the mangled wreckage of what I think use to be a large white van or possibly a small bus. It was impossible to tell any longer through all the twisted wreckage and broken glass. <br />
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Now I am no weatherman, but in my 28 years of watching the news I don't ever recall the meteorologist calling for "a clear day with a chance of falling vehicles". So as we know a mutilated white bus does not just drop from the sky, some one had to be driving it and being as it was some type of large passenger vehicle the chances of there being multiple occupants are high.<br />
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I was about to find out just how high.... As I walked over for a closer look and started scanning the ground I could see the body's everywhere. Several had been covered by blankets, body bags and sheets by the helicopter crew and police that arrived before me. Others remained on display in the position they had died in.<br />
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The police soon ushered me to some of the victims that might have been missed during the initial triage. Somehow some of the victims made it to the other side of a 4 lane highway. Where they ejected, did they crawl there, did someone drag them there? Ill never know. I looked down at the first person I was brought to finding his mouth and eyes wide open as if he was frozen in time screaming. Further assessment revealed he had no pulse, no respirations, and his pupils where fixed and dilated. I assigned one of the police to cover the body with a sheet as I moved on searching for others in the dark. Soon my partner could be herd yelling for me. I came to his side to find another victim, this womans brain had managed to partially come out of her skull, she had no pulse and no respiration so we moved on. The more victims we found the more we had to cover with sheets and blankets until we ran out of things to cover the bodies with.<br />
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I stood there in the dark silently with bodies scattered all around me, crying and screaming surrounded me in the distance. I now noticed the smoking remains of another vehicle that had completely burned up. I did not even realize its presence during my initial scene sizeup. What a mess! I had confirmed everyone was deceased outside I needed to check inside all the ambulances and helicopter to see what was inside. I peered inside the first ambulance to find the helicopter medic preparing to place a breathing tube in a 2 year old child that had been ejected, then I went to the helicopter to find a confused man complaining of backpain being assessed by the flight doctor in training. I was soon summened back to the ambulance to find the helicopter medic doing CPR. The child had gone into cardiac arrest. There was probably no brining him back from a traumatic arrests but since he had a pulse on arrival, he was only 2, and this was a wittnessed arrest we gave him a full workup. 20 minutes of drugs, cardiac monitoring, ventilations, and CPR did nothing<br />
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The helicopter medic had to go back to the chopper and transport the only survivor of the accident. He could not take the child because the helcopter does not take patients that require CPR prior to take off. I sat there in the ambulance with my partner and gazed into the lifeless boy's eyes. I decided to call the code. I told everyone we did a good job and there was nothing more we could. I called online medical control to confirm that we where going to discontinue efforts. To my surprise the doctor on the telephone said no and to continue CPR to the hospital.... He knew there was no bringing the child back but did not want us to just throw the body out of the ambulance back onto the street in front of the bystanders. We where 45 minutes away but I had to follow orders and continue efforts.<br />
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I sat there for 45 minutes taking turns with the EMT's doing chest compressions, monitoring the ecg and ventilating the patient as I pushed drugs every 5 minutes a long the way. We talked about other things on the long trip to the hospital in a a calm casual conversation. We arrived to the hospital and they had a team expecting us. They took over care and also prepared to terminate efforts. The nurse in charge of the team asked me how many more patients they should expect as the hospital staff began prepping things. She said there hospital had been placed on stand by because of the large accident involving so many people. I just told her "there all dead." "there was only one survivor and he was taken to another hospital by helicopter." They just stood around me in silence as one of the other nurses started to cry. It occurred to me later that we had become so accustom to death and ran so many critical calls that our minds had adapted to our environments. We could do our jobs flawlessly like robots, but at what cost? What about our empathy and caring.... Had we lost some of it or all of it along the way?<br />
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There is a dark side to EMS and I do enjoy talking about it sometimes. Doing cpr on a 2 year old child while casually having a conversation with your partner about something unrelated. Stepping out of the car and looking at the dead and injured laying all around you but your heart does not skip a beat, calculating drug dosages as someone lay there dieing while everyone around you is screaming and crying, responding over 130mph(210kmh) while sipping on your lattee as you prepare to enter hell on earth.... We will talk more about the dark side next entry.</div>Paramedic in UAEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10272514557010960136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953194842003731087.post-66358164266718192182011-02-01T07:02:00.000-08:002011-02-02T10:51:33.946-08:00Broken hearts<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Its been a hell of a week. Probably one of the most intense weeks I have ever had. I was working on writing you all a story about a stabbing, an ambulance crash and a 12 year old boy that was hit by a car and unfortunately died. Pronouncing him dead and telling his father was one of the hardest things we had to do in the past couple weeks. However as much as I love sharing with you the dark, depressing, and sad parts of the job, I had a lot of positive things happen this week. Things that made me proud to be Paramedic and people who ALS actually made a difference in. This is a short summery of my 2 Favorite cases from this weeks duty.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">CASE 1: As we pulled up to the house I could I see we where alone. The ambulance had not yet arrived so I grabbed all our Advanced Life Support gear and had my partner grab the BLS gear as well. Our foot steps echoed as my team and I marched up the sidewalk with 50+ pounds of equipment. We where prepared for anything as I opened the front door. Upon entering the house I was led to a makeshift bed in the living room where I found an elderly women unconscious. Further assessment revealed that her airway was patent, respirations where clear, and pulse seemed to be slow. In fact her heart rate was 32. I hooked her up to our cardiac monitor to confirm she was in symptomatic bradycardia. Sometimes certain medications elderly people take such as beta blockers can cause this. Upon further investigation we found out the women did not take beta blockers or any other substances which would cause this. Time was ticking and her condition was getting worse. Her heart was not beating fast enough, which had lead to extremely poor perfusion and loss of consciousness. I had two choices to make. Option A. was to give her a drug called Atropine to try and raise her heart rate. Option B. was I cut her shirt off and placed the pacer/defib pads on her chest to start start pacing her with electricity. Due to the severity of her condition, lack of proper circulation, poor oxygenation to her tissue and the fact that she was unconscious I elected option B. After receiving permission from the family I cut her shirt down the middle and slapped the pads on her bare chest then began programing the monitor. While I worked on this I assigned the rest of the team to start oxygen and inter venous therapy. I adjusted the pacer settings (manually shocking her heart every couple seconds) I dialed the beats per minute to 80 and then started adjusting the mili amps (electricity) until I could see I was receiving capture on the monitor which was around 60 miliamps and began shocking. I could see her body twitch every couple seconds a shock was delivered. I confirmed that our electrical therapy was working by checking her pulse and making sure it matched the 80 beats per minute the monitor said, it did. I was now in control of when the womans heart beat. Our electrical Therapy was working and I continued pacing her until we could reach definitive care. Her skin color and condition improved en route and the receiving facility took over pacing on there machine upon arrival. The woman may need to get a permanent internal pace maker installed. She was lucky her family called 997 when they did and that an ALST crew responded.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">CASE 2: The above case was still fresh in my mind when I got called at 3am for chest pain. I rubbed the crust from my blood shot eyes and reluctantly took my position in the camery. I was trying my best to start the report as we speed down the road towards the call. However I soon felt my stomach sink as I realized we had became airborne, we must have been going about 180 on a strait away when we encountered a small dip in the road. We simply flew over it and hit the ground fairly smoothly considering our speed. Only a few sparks could be seen behind us. I did my best to get back into writing the report which can often be a challenge traveling at these speeds and dealing with the insane driving in this country. Your nerves just become accustom it.<br />
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We finally reached our destination and after retrieving our gear we where lead to our patient. Upon reaching the patient she was siting upright on the sofa, covered by a vail, a concerned look could be seen in her eyes. I have seen the look before... A bittersweet combination of sincerity and fear. I find out shortly that her chief complaint is chest pain. It sounds as though the chest pain is cardiac and she had a heart attack 2 years ago. I quickly give her some chewable aspirin after confirming she has no allergy's to medication. I begin to prepare the cardiac monitor whilst ordering the crew to start an IV line, place high flow oxygen on the patient, and get vital signs. Suddenly one of my team mates who was acquiring vital signs says "Hey Mike, pulse is over 200" "What, double check that, the pulse oxcemitery unit is probably not reading properly." I replied. I finally get the monitor hooked up and find the heart rate to be only 110, which is slightly fast but normal for someone having pain."See, I told yo..... uh....." then I stair at the monitor in silence as I watch the heart rate quickly climb to 210 beats per minute. I recognized this picture perfect rythem on the monitor. We call this "Paroxysmal Supraventricular Tachycardia" or PSVT for short. Essentially what it means is that its like a car racing down the highway with no<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> breaks. Her heart <span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">is beating 3 times as fast as it should, can not keep up at this rate forever and as a result is a less-effective pump, decreasing cardiac output and blood pressure</span> also causing shortness of breathe.</span><br />
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With her cardiac history it can only work this hard for so long... I attempt whats called a vagul manuever on her. This is the least invasive procedure to try first and is easily done by instructing the patient to bare down and hold there breathe, like there having a hell of a bowel movement. Sometimes this can cause stimulation of the vagus nerve slowing down the heart rate. We tried a couple different methods of doing this over several minutes and nothing was working. She was becoming more symptomatic and her heart was now over 210 and climbing. My next step was to try and give her a drug called Adenosine. (Most paramedics have a favorite drug they carry, yeah were weird I know. Anyway just FYI my favorite is Adenosine) Adenosine is an ultra fast acting drug that expires and becomes ineffective just seconds after entering the blood stream. Therefor its imperative to push adenosine hard and fast followed by a large saline flush to shoot it up to the heart as quickly as possible. If done properly the desired effects are obvious. The patient will go flat line (asystole) on the monitor for a second or two. As you can imagine the feeling is pretty intense and this must be explained to the patient ahead of time. Like any drug there are serious risk, especially with those who have special conditions such as WPW.<br />
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As I prepare the adenosine I realize my crew is having a difficult time with the IV. There on there 2nd attempt and not sure if this attempt was successful either. I quickly look at the womens arms and can see she is a difficult stick. I continue preparing the adenosine but now I also must prepare my back up plan. If we are unable to achieve an adequate IV to push the medication quickly enough I have to try and move on to plan B. Plan B in this case is the most invasive procedure called synchronized cardoversion. It means I am going to have to deliver a large shock to the patient with the padals. I was really hoping we could avoid this.<br />
The Adenosine was ready but the IV wasn't. Now I started staring at the defibrillator.... The woman and I gazed at the padals together as if she knew what I was thinking, and then... The IV was completed, and seemed to be running fine. We would soon find out. I grabbed the adenosine and saline that had been drawn up and connected it to her IV. We had one of the crew members explain to her that she was going to feel really bad for a few seconds and to just trust us. With one rapid motion I pushed the drug as hard and as fast as I could, quickly doing the same with the saline right afterworlds. It screamed through her vien on its way to the heart like a runaway roller coaster. We all stood in silence and observed the cardiac monitor. What seemed like a lifetime went by, however in retrospect I am sure it was more like 10 seconds. Her heart rate maintained at 210 and no changes could be noted in her rythem. I was about to prepare a double dose and try again when suddenly the women let out a scream, followed by a moan as her face became extremely pale. I staired at the monitor in awe as I watched her heart stop beating, the heart rate went from 210 to 0 for about 1 second, followed by a large ectopic beat. Holy $%^# I thought! I did this... and then..... a picture perfect Sinus Tach at a rate of 110. Soon afterwards the women no longer had chest pain or chest discomfort. We transported her to the hospital where several of the doctors shook our hands and gazed at the before and after ECG's we had printed off. They congratulated us on a job well done and had smiles on there faces. Many where surprised we converted her on only 6mg of the drug many people require a second double dose. The woman and her family thanked us and now we could go back to our station and await the next case.<br />
</div></div>Paramedic in UAEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10272514557010960136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953194842003731087.post-81398341804050484612011-01-18T04:18:00.000-08:002011-01-19T07:05:59.487-08:00Back on the streets of RiyadhAs the oily combination of rice and chicken from capsa tickled my taste buds the reality set in. I was back in Riyadh. I really needed the vacation I had just returned from and I felt so rejuvenated. I was actually excited to be back on the streets working the very next day. I can only hope that my newfound youthful vigor last. This job can really take a toll on you when you have such a high case load, and no other Paramedics to work with. It was refreshing during the 3 weeks I spent in Europe to have no responsibility. However the lack of responsibility and relaxing days did not last long once I returned.<br />
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It was a chilly winters day here in Riyadh as we blasted through red lights, and swerved around traffic on our way to a case 17. Case 17 is the radio code for "Fainting/Unknown Medical" You never know what to expect, often times it can be a cardiac arrests. I started preparing myself mentally en route for a possible cardiac arrests and the equipment/drugs I would require if my suspicions where correct. However little did I know that my suspicions where wrong and I would soon find out that it would almost cost my partner and I our own lives....<br />
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Upon arrival to the scene we started carrying all the equipment up to the front door of the house in question. Suddenly the door flew open and a women met us begging for help followed by a young man in his early 20's. The man in his early 20's had a pale face, bags under his eyes, and an unexplainable crazy look on his face. Seconds later he started yelling at us in arabic as he sprinted towards myself and the ambulance crew like a zombie from 28 days later. The ambulance crew where running away with fear in there eyes. What a bunch of Mary's my partner and I thought as we stood our ground. I carry powerful Narcotics and Sedatives such as Haldol and Versed we could easily chemically sedate the patient with if we all jumped on him. I couldn't understand why 5 grown men where so scared and since I don't speak Arabic it remained a mystery.<br />
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This mystery was soon solved as the young man charged at me and raised the huge 10 inch knife I did not see prior to this moment. I jumped backwards and raised my arms up to protect myself. I began to quickly retreat while the man continued to charge stopping just a couple feet from me and taking a fighting stance. He held the knife tightly continued to yell at myself and the crew in arabic.I called for police backup and handed the phone and radio to one of the ambulance crew. I had almost made it back to the safety of the camery when I realized we still had 1 crew member back with the patient, my partner! He did not retreat with the rest of us<br />
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My partner was now engaged in a Mexican stand off with an enraged armed Zombie. Both party's took there fighting stances and prepared for battle as I looked on in terror. There was no time for me to draw up a sedative and I started walking back towards my partner and the patient. I was screaming at him to turn around and come back to the camery and ambulance parked outside the house whilst I prepared to fight the patient with him. Finally my partner conceded and returned with me to the ambulance, at which point we had a long discussion on the importance of scene safety. As paramedics we are trained to never enter an unsafe scene however there was no indication this scene was unsafe until it was already to late. Luckily everyone made it out of this situation safely.Paramedic in UAEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10272514557010960136noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953194842003731087.post-57162011136761122452010-12-17T13:15:00.000-08:002010-12-17T13:15:41.646-08:00Home away from HomeCongratulations! You have just won an almost all expenses paid trip (excluding 60SAR taxi fare) to my home away from home in Riyadh, the fabulous, the one, the only,.... station 8!<br />
Yes thats right, youll enjoy such amenities at station 8 as broken counters, broken stove, fridge full of random molds, overflowing garbage, a dirty mattress on the floor to sleep on, and more! <br />
Some say our neighborhood is one of the worst in Riyadh, in fact many taxi drivers wont come here at night, but don't let that fool you! You will be warmly welcomed by the locals as they shout obscenities at you, fight each other with random blunt objects, and spray paint colorful vulgar words on every wall they can find.<br />
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Station 8 can best be described as an episode of MTV cribs for homeless people or buildings that should be condemned. The trash is often overflowing with bloody bandage's, equipment soaked in human tissue, and plenty of used needles. A real all you can eat buffet for the malnourished cats in our neighborhood. The Ferrel feline's feast upon it like vampires on a regular basis. A real treasure trove of random delights lay around the property at station 8 such as, old dirty abandon furniture, piles of wreckage, piles of broken used equipment, abandon scrap people leave, and more! On a windy day the pungent aroma of feces and raw sewage will tickle your nostrils also, secondary to the terrible and old plumbing.<br />
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In all fairness I will say that the station has been cleaned up a lot sense my arrival and we are making a continuing effort to improve it with time. Its a very old station in a very low income area. I should also note that all our medical equipment and supplies used in patient care are kept very clean and stored properly, and that the equipment and ambulances are cleaned and disinfected regularly through out the day.<br />
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Either way I wont be seeing it for the next 3 weeks because I am going on a much needed vacation to Europe. AND TRUST ME I NEED IT! Until then.... See you guys in 3 weeks.Paramedic in UAEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10272514557010960136noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953194842003731087.post-5839998447399182382010-11-30T08:04:00.000-08:002010-11-30T08:15:16.613-08:00Garbage BabyIt was a clear sunny morning, the cool morning breeze blew through my hair as we traveled down the road back to our station. We had just just finished a call where a man was thrown through a glass window during a fight. I was recovering from that call, enjoying the refreshing breeze, and day dreaming about my upcoming vacation when our radio went off. We where dispatched to a case 41. My partner and I scratched our heads in confusion. Whats a case 41, my partner ask? I opened my book of radio codes and flipped to "case 41" all it said was "baby ?." Confused and anxious we speed towards our unknown target, anticipating a number of things, but I would soon find out I was not prepared for our very special discovery.<br />
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As we got closer to the location of the case the police soon joined our response. We followed the police car to the location of the patient. Upon arrival to the scene I got out of the car and looked around, but I saw no patient. It was a quite road surrounded by rubbish and desert. Then the police pointed to a pile of garbage on the side of the road. Ready to explode with anticipation I strolled over to the treasure trove of filth and waste and looked down to find an open bag of garbage. The bag contained what I was expecting, some used tissue, cans of energy drinks, random garbage, and a baby.... WHOA WHOA WHOA, What? Yes I said a baby.<br />
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Assuming the worst I was prepared to possibly start resuscitation efforts when the baby looked up at me and smiled. It let out a coo as it moved around and gazed into my eyes with excitment. Luckily the baby appeared to be ok, in fact I was more scared of it than it was of me. I removed the baby from the garbage and got an OB kit. I carefully placed it on a sterile towel and began to clean all the afterbirth, blood, feces, and garbage off it. As I stimulated the baby to evaluate it further it reacted well. I soon found out the umbilical cord and placenta where still attached. I clamped the cord and severed it from the placenta. I suctioned its airway and wrapped it up in a blanket. The ambulance finally arrived and the baby girl was transported as stable to a local government hospital marked "unknown"<br />
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It wasn't until the ride back to our station I really started thinking about this whole situation. If a bystander would not have found the baby so early in the morning, it surly would have died in the desert heat exposed to the elements like it was. The baby was not left on the doorstep of an ambulance station, hospital, or even grocery store where someone would find it. It was left for dead on the side of the road, tossed along with the daily garbage. Regardless of the evil behind the situation I was happy the baby was ok. Finally a story to share with you that has a fairly happy ending.Paramedic in UAEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10272514557010960136noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953194842003731087.post-63721308046104210602010-11-20T05:30:00.000-08:002010-11-20T05:30:16.498-08:00Overtime Onslaught (Warning Graphic content)I am currently working 70+ hours a week for the month of November at the 2nd busiest station in Riyadh as the sole ALS provider for one of the worst neighborhoods in the city. I also cover a huge surrounding area. Overtime is mandatory and it is currently Hajj Holiday (an annual pilgrimage to Mecca) so most of the doctors and flight medics have been transfered to Mecca and Jeddah leaving a shortage here in Riyadh.<br />
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The rays of sun painfully pierced my eyes as I stepped outside. Bags under my eyes, hair a mess, i struggled to peer through my eye lashes whilst I stumbled towards the fly car. My partner yelled at me to hurry up while I struggled to pull my boots on. I had not shaved or slept well in days. My face could be read like map indicating the lack of sleep, pure chaos and destruction I had witnessed this week. I was a train wreck and it showed, but I wouldn't have had it any other way. I rubbed the water from my eyes and stepped into camery.<br />
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I am called for an early morning motor vehicle accident. I am close to the accident and arrive within 2 minutes after our dispatch. As I step out of our car my eyes open wide, pupils dilate, and I can feel my heart rate increase as my mind takes in the pure carnage that has been bestowed in front of me. I see a trail of twisted wreckage 100 meters long that ends where I am standing. In front of me are the remains of a car that is missing most of the engine compartment. I focus my eyes on the inside of the car where the driver is, but I do not rush to help him. I just stand there staring in amazement. My partner rushes over quickly yelling something and then suddenly stops mid sentence and is now staring in unison with me. Its so quite you could hear a pin drop as we both stair in disbelief at the driver. He's body is in surprisingly good shape considering the accident, but our attention is focused on his head. The top of his skull is missing and the contents inside are missing. He's head had exploded and his skull now resembled an empty fruit bowl. You don't have to be a doctor to realize there is suppose to be a brain inside, but what happened to it? I would soon solve this mystery as I looked up at the ceiling of the vehicle and the inside of the door.... The patient was obviously dead on arrival so I turned my attention now to the wreckage and also searched for other patients. I followed the trail of devastation to try and recreate what had happened. As I followed the wreckage I found another large piece of the patients brain laying on the road. I soon found the culprate near by. The driver had been traveling at a high rate of speed when he drove off the road and took out about 100 meters of a heavy galvanized steel fence. Somewhere along the way one of the fence post impaled his head, passing completely through it causing the end result of what we had seen. The fire department arrives and uses the "jaws of life" to pry apart drivers side door and recover the body. We assist in pulling the driver out and placing a blanket over the body.<br />
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A short time later I receive another call...<br />
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Upon our arrival to the scene I step out of the car and fight my way through a crowd of ruffly 50 people in the middle of the road. I finally reach the middle of the crowed and find a 7 year old boy laying in the road breathing erratically, blood gurgling up from his mouth, unresponsive. We are told he was walking home from school when a car struck him at a high rate of speed. We quickly get him stabilized, and packaged for transport, taking care in protecting his airway and spine.We are only 3 minutes from the hospital so I make the decision to defer any ALS procedures that could waste precious time on the scene. We call this a "load and go." The boy needs definitive care at the hospital as soon as possible and we are very close. I jump into the ambulance to ride in to the hospital and have my camery partner follow us.<br />
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Like a comet in the night we fly down the road. Its difficult for me to hang on in the back of the ambulance as we travel at warp speeds, wheels screeching around every turn. Equipment starts to fall out of compartments and onto my head and the ambulance starts to shake we are going so fast. I do my best to suction the boys airway and start to assist respirations with a bag valve mask and supplemental oxygen while in the ambulance, which has now turned into an earthquake simulator. We arrive at the hospital in under 3 minutes and the boy is taken to the pediatric wing of the ER where they find he has a huge closed skull fracture and bleeding on the brain, amongst other injury's.<br />
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Just another day at the office....Paramedic in UAEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10272514557010960136noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953194842003731087.post-46991214500663892052010-10-15T00:52:00.000-07:002010-10-15T01:24:08.250-07:00My birthday, sorting through death and destruction<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">I lied there, motionless in the dark staring at the ceiling, 8000 miles from home. God, what I would have gave for just a couple hours of sleep. I had been working 2 day shifts followed by 2 night shifts back to back and my insomnia was terrible. I had been awake for over 24 hours and my brain would just not shut off. It was my birthday and I had just turned 28 years old. I was deep in thought that night. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px;">A lot of things where racing through my mind about my own life, but I would have to put those thoughts on hold for later.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px;"> Silence was once again broken by the squelch of the radio, followed by shouts for the en famous Medic-12. Medic 12 was not only my work alias but now also served as my sleep deprived alter ego. I dawned my trusty steed (aka our Toyota camery) My blood shot eyes staired off into the night as I watched the red and blue reflections all around us from our light bar whilst we speed down the highway. Having had no sleep in over 24 hours, they where almost hypnotic. We get an update on the way to the scene that this is a large vehicle accident with multiple patients. The BLS(Basic Life Support) Ambulance on scene is calling for ALS(Advanced Life Support) back up and additional resources.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px;">We finally reach our objective, but I see no vehicles, then I look down the 20 foot embankment to my right and see the body's and vehicles strung out all over the ground. I start making my way down the steep </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px;">embankment. The first body I come up to is motionless, I quickly confirms he is dead and move on to the next person </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px;">several</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px;"> feet away. They are also dead, I continuing moving along searching for every patient I can find in the dark, listening for screams of help. I come across 3 more body's a short distance away. 2 of them appear to be stable and are talking to me, but next to them I find someone motionless. Expecting another dead body I check and the person takes a </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px;">spontaneous</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px;"> breathe. I open his airway and assign some of the BLS crew to start packaging him while I continue to search for more patients. I only find 1 other person and they to are dead. I return to the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px;">unconscious</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px;"> man who took the breath. We strap him to a backboard and load him into the ambulance quickly.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px;">En route to the hospital I begin to suction all the blood from his airway and we assist his ventilations. The EMT's work on getting an IV while I continue to work on the airway. His Oxygen saturation levels are to low and he needs a secure airway. I attempt to intubate him (place a breathing tube into his trachea) But his jaw is clinched. unfortunately my station does not yet have paralytics which I desperately need to give him to unclench his jaw and facilitate passage of the breathing tube. I start to consider alternatives interventions to resolve the problem but we arrive at the hospital quickly. As we wheel him from the ambulance to the ER he go's into cardiac arrest . I say a vulgar word out of frustration and walk away. The ER team decides to work him sense it just happened, but I know you never really successfully resuscitate a traumatic arrests. After several minutes of interventions and 2 rounds of drugs, they discontinue all efforts and call time of death.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px;">I wash up, grab all our gear, have the ED doctor sign our report and head back to the station. I managed to get a little bit of sleep but it did not last long. I would go on multiple calls like this the next 2 nights. Finally I got home and collapsed. I was mentally and physically exhausted and sleep for 15 hours strait.</span></span>Paramedic in UAEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10272514557010960136noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953194842003731087.post-19380315460780165172010-09-26T16:25:00.000-07:002010-09-27T03:09:24.412-07:00GhostBuster my first week as "Medic 12"It was 3 am and as my eyes shut for what I hoped would be a blissful night of dreaming, the radio shattered the silence. "Medic 12 respond to fire" My eyes opened wide as I shot up and jumped into my boots. The call came across as a fire and thats the only information we received. My Basic partner and I hop into our fly car, hit the lights, and speed off into the night. I start going over the burn protocols in my head on the way to the fire. I know I will probably be the only Advanced Life Support unit at the scene, so I want to make sure I have a plan in my head when we arrive. I would soon find out the plan(s) I had where about to go out the window and there was no protocol for the situation I was about to encounter.<br />
We arrive to the scene, fire trucks are everywhere and the firemen are searching for patients inside. The Basic ambulance had the only patient waiting in the back of there ambulance. The patient was a male in his 30's appeared to be unconscious. I administered a sternal rub and he quickly "woke up" staring at me with confusion. Trying to find out whats wrong the patient in often a big challenge here because no one speaks English. My Basic partner is often the only one who can translate and his English is very limited. We get baseline vital signs, pulse ox-cemetery, a blood sugar, and check pupils. Everything is within normal limits. The patient appears to be very confused and is having trouble standing... Aparrently he is saying some very odd things in arabic. I start considering possible causes to his altered mental status and unstable gate. He wasn't near the smoke in the fire, and did not appear to have carbon monoxide poison, Hes pupils and vital signs where normal, his blood sugar was normal, he wasn't having a stroke, I did not smell alcohol, so why was he acting so strange? At this point I found someone who could speak pretty good English. He told me the patient had not slept in 2 days and saw a ghost.....<br />
Apparently "the ghost" made him like this. I tried not to laugh but I could not hold it back, but as I looked around I was the only one laughing. I recommended we see if he had a past medical history, if he took any mind altering substances and he go to the hospital for a physiological evaluation by a physician but thats not what happened.<br />
At this point as a Paramedic I was no longer in charge, but it wasn't a doctor that took over care from me it was a holy elderly man with a large beard. With a Quran in one hand he stood over the patient and began to pray. He started to perform some kind of procedure which I soon found out was like an exorcism This is when I left. I waited near by and talked with a local who spoke English. When I told him what was happening he said, oh yes... He saw a ghost and the holy man is healing him from the powers of the ghost. I said "a ghost, you believe that?" He said "yes, dont people call you in america for ghost?" I said "no... they call the ghost busters."<br />
To make a long story short I wait for my first pre-hopspital exorcism to be completed and released the patient to the ambulance crew for transport to the hospital. I spoke with a local Medical Control doctor later that day and told him the story. He laughed and said yes a local EMT-B called him once for online medical control because of altered mental status. The conversation went something like this.<br />
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EMT: yes hello doctor I have a patient who is acting strangely and the patient says he was possesed by the spirit of a Genie. Please advise, over.<br />
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DR: Sounds like a Psychiatric patient, has the patient taken any drugs or does he have a past medical history?<br />
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EMT: Damnit doctor did you not hear me!? I said the patient is possessed by the spirit of a Genie!<br />
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DR: *Sigh*.... Yes, a Genie... Ok, monitor vital signs and treat any signs or symptoms as you usually would until you arrive the hospital so the Genie can be banished from the patient.<br />
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EMT: Copy that Doctor.<br />
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( for more on Genies check this link <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genie">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genie</a> )<br />
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I saw a lot things my first week including 3 Myocardial Infarctions (heart attacks), Assaults, Motor Vehicle Accidents, Diabetic emergency's, and Respiratory emergency's. I was so busy and had not slept in 24 hours. My body and mind where running on auto pilot. I just wanted a break or a real easy call but the last call of the week was an unstable unconscious person who was extremely hypoxic, tachycardia, had a very low blood sugar, tachypnea, an extremely low oxygenation saturation, with an uncontrolled airway. If left untreated this patient would die soon, from hypoxia if nothing else. The patient had a gag reflex but we needed control of the airway so I inserted a Nasal Airway Adjunct into her nose, then we attached oxygen to a bag valve device and started assisted ventilations. Her o2 saturations started improving immediately and all her vital signs started to improve except of course for her blood glucose level because she needed sugar. Her veins where very difficult to feel and extremely fragile. We attempted 3 IV's with no success to give dextrose, so I gave her a medication I have to mix called Glucogaun which is administered as an injection into the muscle. After I gave her the shot she started to regain consciousness as we arrived at the hospital. we re checked her blood glucose and it was now within normal range. I was soooo tired and worn out but I felt really good about the call. We took an unstable patient, fixed her airway control, fixed her ventilation problem, fixed her hypoxia and 02 saturation, which in return fixed all her other unstable vital signs except the glucose. Then we gave her the shot and fixed that, stabilized her and delivered her safely to the hospital who can continue managing her for the longer term.Paramedic in UAEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10272514557010960136noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953194842003731087.post-79975530674815591452010-09-17T14:20:00.000-07:002010-09-17T14:20:38.088-07:00Getting paid to sit aroundI have been here over 6 weeks now and have only worked the 1 observation shift I wrote about in my last entry. The good news is I am salary and have been getting paid regardless. For some reason it takes people a long time to process in here, in addition to that I got here during Ramadan and Eid holidays. As cool as the concept is of getting paid to sit around, its pretty boring and I hope to hit the streets again soon. I hope to have more exciting news to update everyone on soon. until then......Paramedic in UAEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10272514557010960136noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953194842003731087.post-86268518900339605892010-09-05T15:01:00.000-07:002010-09-05T15:01:42.634-07:00Life is fragile<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;">Yesterday was my first shift, it was </span></span>an orientation shift with another U.S. Paramedic. Our first call was for some one who "fainted." We jumped in the fly car(which is a souped up Toyota Camry modified like a police car) and sped towards our destination. A BLS ambulance was behind us when we left the station but it wasn't long before it was unable to keep up with our fly car and I soon lost sight of it. Our EMT-B driver was one of the more "experienced" ones and I still almost craped my pants as we reached speeds of 118MPH. I looked out the window and everyday objects where just a blur at these speeds. Cars did not pull over for us and sometimes it felt as if we where traveling faster than the sound of our siren before it could warn drivers ahead of us. If it is possible to travel forward in time or through a wormhole I might discover it soon. <div> A lot raced through my mind on the way to the call, and it wasn't so much about the patient. I was a little scared for my own safety. I knew if a car pulled out in front of us, opened a door, changed lanes, or anything happened in our path we where screwed. I thought about statistics, statistics like how Saudi Arabia is #1 in the world for motor vehicle accidents. I thought about how 16 people die everyday in the very city we are now driving 118 MPH hour in. I thought about how ironic it would be if the people sent to save the those people could just as easily become part of the daily statistic here and it wouldn't even make the news. </div><div>I thought about how our driver wasn't wearing a seat belt and how to him and most of the other locals, everything that happens is "gods will." I am sure that comforted him, but let me assure you it did not comfort his atheist human cargo. </div><div>Upon arriving to our destination we where lead into a small room with 2 beds. Our patient was laying on one of the beds and as we went to assess him we noticed something important, he was cold. After checking his skin tone/color, pupils, pulse, and respiratory rate we slapped the EKG patches on him to confirm the obvious... HE WAS DEAD. DOA, Dead on Arrival. In fact he had been dead for so long there was no reason to even attempt resuscitation efforts and we pronounced him dead for the police and gave them a copy of our report.<br />
<div>How funny that we came so close to death ourselves just to reach a corpse. I soon learned that we drove this way to every call, sometimes on the freeway going against traffic in the emergency lane. I saw a lot as the day went on. A man that was scalped with an exposed skull wondering around confused after an accident with a semi truck. We quickly shoved what was left of his scalp back over his skull and wrapped a large trauma dressing around it. As the day stretched on we had several other car accidents resulting in broken arms, shoulders, missing teeth, closed head injury's, open head injury's, burns, and almost anything else you could imagine. We even had a couple shortness of breathe and cardiac calls. This was all on 1 shift. </div><div><br />
</div><div>I am going to be busy and get a lot of amazing experience but things are a lot different here and a lot more dangerous. Life is fragile here, and not just for the patients.</div></div>Paramedic in UAEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10272514557010960136noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953194842003731087.post-78318957802491388822010-08-21T16:32:00.000-07:002010-08-21T16:41:03.992-07:00First Impressions<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><br />
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I have been in country nearly 3 weeks now and let me tell you, its been quite the experience so far. I am still processing into the system here and am waiting for some paper work to clear before I can start work so I have a lot of down time.<br />
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</div><div>Trash: There is no recycling and you simply throw your garbage on the street in many areas. The city has a team of East Indians who patrol around in green jump suites with garbage cans.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Class System: Is very much alive and as a white American male I am almost on top. I have been ushered to the front of several waiting lines.<br />
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Women: Have to be pretty much completely covered up and there is no interacting with them in public really. They also are not allowed to drive here.<br />
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Co-workers: The guys I have met so far have all been cool. I am meeting people from all over the world including, Australia, South Africa, England, Saudi, Egypt, and more.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Driving: Everyday we leave the hotel we place our lives in the hands of drivers who make demolition derby look like a safe driving course. Here are a few examples of what I have witnessed so far off duty around town. Cars stopping in the middle of a 4 lane 1 way street then reversing against traffic over 40 MPH for several city blocks because they missed a turn or exit. Motorcycles driving on sidewalks, cars doing doughnuts in the middle of busy 4 way intersections, cars drifting in and out of traffic at speeds over 100MPH, several car accidents outside our hotel and down the street. Today our emergency support vehicle was rear ended in front of me by a driver at night with no head lights. Everyday 18 people die in this city from car accidents. I asked my taxi driver the other day if he had ever hit a pedestrian and he said yes, 4 over the years which included 1 death. Saudi Arabia is #1 in the world for car crashes and vehicle related deaths, and I can see why. When I do start working it will be a very dangerous job responding to emergency's.</div><div><br />
</div><div>People: Everyone has been nothing but nice so far. What little exposure I have had in country has been positive. All the locals are have been very friendly to me so far, many are happy and excited to see an american. Most speak only a little English, some speak none. I have already picked up several words in Arabic and plan on buying a book so I can communicate a little better with everyone. When you get a crowd together usually someone can speak English, but certainly not everyone. Many of the Saudi Locals wear the traditional thobe and checkered headgear, others dress more western. However there are still strict dress codes enforced in public. I cant wear any of my sleeveless shirts or really tight stretch jeans. I guess Ill invest in some Fred Perry's and braces.... </div><div><br />
</div><div>Food: Still getting use to this part. We have been eating a lot at american restaurants like Apple Bee's, Tony Romas, The outback, TGIF, ect. There is no kitchen in our hotel and its difficult to eat healthy but I am doing my best. The breakfast buffet the hotel gives us is pretty good. We get outside food delivered for lunch and dinner, but often its very bad for you and poor quality. They are working on fixing this for us. The local food is not so bad and consist of humus, kabobs, lamb, strange paste like things, and Shawarma. We have Safeway here so I invested in some weaties and fruit the other day which should help. I also have access to a personal trainer and gym which I plan on utilizing soon. The personal trainer is from the Serbian military and is a professional body builder. He does not speak a word of English, but he is very good at showing you what to do and helping you with fitness goals, so long as your good at charades or have a translator handy.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Well thats all for now I hope all my paper work clears soon so I can start working. I miss all of you back in Portland! </div>Paramedic in UAEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10272514557010960136noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953194842003731087.post-87578456863579032592010-08-11T06:38:00.000-07:002010-08-11T12:30:13.391-07:00Ramadan and my first weekIt has been 1 week sense I have arrived in Riyadh. Ramadan started today which is a Muslim holiday. During Ramadan(which is 1 month long) Muslims can not eat or drink during daylight hours. All restaurants and many shops are closed until dark. Non Muslims may not eat or drink in public, sooo... this is going to be an interesting month.<br />
So far this week I have got to know the other Paramedics, went out to dinner with most of the guys, exploring around the city, visited a couple of our ambulance stations and a helicopter station. Everyone has been very friendly, including the locals. I am meeting people from all over the world. I am still processing in for the next 2-3 weeks before I start work.<br />
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I have been ushered to the front of several waiting lines at hospitals, embassy's, and admin lines simply because I am American. Hopefully this does not go to my head :)<br />
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The hotel I am staying in is nice, but its boring and does not have a kitchen in my room. Its also not within walking distance to much. I am looking into compounds to live on but they are all full with waiting list. Bordem can set in easily when there are no movie theaters, clubs, pubs, dancing, censored Internet, 2 English channels on tv, no interacting with females, and everything closes 5 times a day for prayer.Nothing opens until 4pm because its so hot during the day.. We will see how next week go's.<br />
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Once I get my living situation figured out I can pick up some hobby's to keep myself busy, find some good coffee shops, build a group of friends to do things with, and start going to a gym. I might even get a a big SUV because people drive insane here and gas like 30 cents a gallon.Paramedic in UAEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10272514557010960136noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953194842003731087.post-39896161202373097922010-08-05T21:20:00.000-07:002010-08-05T21:20:40.448-07:00I have arrived in Saudi Arabia Today is my 3rd day in Riyadh. When I first arrived, after being picked up from the airport I was driven to my hotel at speeds of about 90MPH. As we weaved in and out of traffic I looked out the window at a large hurd of camels. Once we reached the hotel I was shown to my room. Its pretty nice and has all marble floors, a 42 inch plasma screen tv, Persian rugs, an oversized California king bed, a huge wardrobe and a really nice living room area with a big couch some nice oversized chairs and large coffee table.<br />
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At this point I met with a couple guys from the SRCA, one of which was wearing the traditional robe and head gear here called a "thobe" I believe. He pointed to the large fruit basket, platter of pastries, bottles of juice, and water that was prepared for me. "Is this to your liking?" "Is everything satisfactory?" he asked. They both explained to me I was welcome here in Saudi Arabia and they where very excited to see me. One of them kept calling me "Mr. Mike Paramedic" which I thought was pretty cool.<br />
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After being properly welcomed they left my room so I could rest after my 24 hour plane ride. A couple hours later my door bell rang, I opened to the door to find room service guys with bow-ties delivering my lunch and also a 2 pound box of dates to snack on. I met with my friend Aaron and the other U.S. Paramedics and 1 UK Paramedic yesterday. So far they all seem like nice guys. There are only about 10 of us right now, and half of them are being transfered to the Helicopter for flight, so that only leaves me and a few other guys as the only ground Paramedic service for a city the size of LA. Hopefully some more guys arrive soon. It is currently the weekend here and I will start processing in within the next couple days.<br />
Ill keep you all up to date often. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.Paramedic in UAEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10272514557010960136noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953194842003731087.post-86545643151832264072010-07-28T22:30:00.000-07:002010-07-28T22:30:40.316-07:00I leave for Saudi Arabia in 5 days.Its been an incredibly long process, baby's have been made in less time.... but after 9 long months I got my flight information. I leave in 5 days! This does not give me much time to take care of business at home. I have been running around like a chicken with its head cut off packing my luggage, laundry, packing storage items, goodwill boxes, trying to sell things on craigslist last minute, trying to find a place to store items I am keeping, finding coverage for my shifts at work and writing my resignation letter, buying modest clothes for KSA, Saying goodbye to my friends, family, and my girlfriend (now ex-girlfriend obviously), I am not sure when I will see them again, when I am coming back to Portland, or if I even am.<br />
The reality of the entire situation is starting to sink in hard. This is going to be a huge change of lifestyle in every possible way imaginable. This blog, along with my life, should begin to get very entraining from this point forward. Wish me luck!Paramedic in UAEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10272514557010960136noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953194842003731087.post-80911856650750862912010-07-24T22:14:00.000-07:002010-07-24T22:14:44.311-07:00Work Visa Approved!I found out a couple days ago that my work visa as approved! They are mailing it to me and I should receive it in the next couple of days. All that is left now is to get my plane tickets! Look out Saudi, here I come!Paramedic in UAEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10272514557010960136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3953194842003731087.post-13033112440566559262010-06-25T23:24:00.000-07:002010-06-25T23:24:51.372-07:00The work visa saga continues<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;">The good news is all my work visa paper worked passed the cultural office. The bad news is my medical report forms where rejected by consulate. The doctor that conducted my physical exam here in Portland has a simplistic stamp. "ROBERT CROUSE M.D." It does not include his licence number and clinical address. For this reason my medical papers where sent back to be corrected and then send back to the consulate for review again. </span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;">Now I have to go down to Oregon Medical Board office on Monday and hand deliver the stuff, fill out a request to verify my doctors licence (to confirm he is a real doctor) and then send it back to the consulate. This is going to delay me at least 1-2 weeks and cost me close to $100 more, which is going to be really hard right now. Well keep on keeping on, right? Ill keep you all up to date.</span></span><br />
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</div>Paramedic in UAEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10272514557010960136noreply@blogger.com1