Code time

So one of the joys of being in the SICU is that I get to carry the code pager. Fortunately for me this means a couple of things. First of all I have a good excuse to ge out of rounds unexpectedly. Secondly I don't actually have to run the code. I could, and sometimes I do if I'm the first one there (don't let us fool you, us surgeons will run a code as well as the next guy, I would just rather not)....but the real joy of being the surgery code pager person is that I put in the line and say goodbye. If you're in the field I'm sure you've had the joy of placing a femoral line during CPR. If you haven't, well let's just say it's a serious treat. My intern likes to come to the codes with me and watch my mad skills at work. I let him tag along for teaching purposes, but that line is really my responsibility so there is no way he's going to touch it....at least not during an emergency. Putting in a line during a code is like trying to tie your shoelaces while jumping on a trampoline. The body is going all over the place, the patient only has a pulse from the CPR, and you are just praying you don't stick yourself.

This week has been a code filled week. Truthfully they have been pretty interesting. One in IR, one in an endoscopy suite, and one in CT (now that bites). But the best was actually outside. I didn't know this but my hospital actually requires us to respond to codes within 200yds of the hospital. So this guy got hit by a car outside the hospital and was thrown into the air like a rag doll. Who shows up with just the firemen there?...well that would be Dr. Me :)

When I was younger I was a firefighter/EMT. It was slightly nostalgic rubbing elbows with my old counterparts. But at the same time it was slightly ridiculous. I had forgotten how much EMTs can do....and for that matter cannot. I think that's one of the reasons I got out of EMS. First of all I never felt like I had a complete picture of the patient and really wished I could see them get better. The second was that I hated going to people's houses. I remember going to one house where the women was passed out in her bathroom, and I could see her through the window. We knocked the door down and went running inside. Her house was filled with newspapers and other clutter. There was a tiny path to the bathroom. When we got in it was obvious she had been dead for over a day. I hated the idea of someone dying at home all alone....it really bothered me. I guess at least now, even though I'm surrounded by the dying, I feel at least like I am either fixing them or preventing pain and suffering.