a little excitement - part 4

Note: Be sure to start with part 1 and read in order.

I walked away, tearing off my gloves, removing the ear muffs, taking out the ear plugs, slipping the sunglasses into my pocket. My heart didn’t stop pounding for another 15 minutes. A friendly face in the crowd came over, Casey, a young pilot I met a few days ago who volunteers in the PAD but who wasn’t in uniform and didn’t participate today. He stood there with me on the edge of the ER as we watched the doctors and nurses and technicians look the guy over, clean him up, poke and prod, unwrap the bandages, obviously assessing the situation and deciding what to do.

Sgt M walked over to see how I felt about it. I told him I felt good, that my heart was still pounding, that the guy was heavier than I expected and that I was walking too fast. He apologized for moving my hands back on the handles (closer to the guy) before we’d started to walk. I didn’t even notice. He said that helps with the weight. I also had the sense or the realization that he and probably at least one other person had walked next to the gurney on either side – to watch over the patient as well as to support the team. And yes, that included supporting me in case the weight was too much, I tripped, or just couldn’t handle it.

As I stood there and looked around, there must’ve been 20 people watching, and another eight involved in patient care. Personnel and volunteers are allowed to come into the ER, to stand close and watch the procedures, to take pictures (but not of the patients’ faces).

I was happy to stand back on the edge and not get too close. I wasn’t sure I wanted to see everything. And I remembered my Dad’s thoughtful advice that I needed to ease into these medical situations, doing just a little at a time. I think bringing a guy in was close enough to the edge for one day.