The 911 System

A panicking parent called 911. Then the panicking parent began to calm down and hung up on 911, thinking the call hadn't completed. The dispatch officer called back three times, but panicking parents' parent, who doesn't really speak or understand English hung up on the dispatch officer. Ouch.

We arrived and the one-year-old child looked and reacted normally. He was like every one-year-old in the world - only mommy and daddy can touch me. Who're all these strangers in the house? What's this thing on my finger? Why am I up at 2200? We checked him and the panicking parents said they'll just take him to the doc tomorrow. Perfect.

If we go back, which is fine, then they go to the hospital. We allow patients one RMA but if we are called back it indicates a problem, so off to the hospital you go! I'm thinking this is one call we won't have again. One-year-old children barf. A fact of life.

I didn't log a singe call in September. Not one. Not even a half. I had no idea. I was crushed. I put in low calls January through April and then I logged 22 calls in May. June was a little low, July better and then 22 calls in August. And I believe this is my first call for October. Ugh. Part of the problem is that I only ride until midnight. I started out riding full shifts for the first year and a half or two years I have had this job, but it was problematic - I have a lot of trouble functioning without a good night's sleep and I went off at 0600 and then had to be in to work at 1200. It was not working out.

Even putting in a half shift has its effects on me. I have had my manager say more than once that I can't come in looking half-dead. I actually have to laugh at him - his approach - when he said, "What's going on with you?" in that tone. I'm not always the sharpest tool in the shed and when people say vague things, I'm really not picking up on what he's trying to tell me. But I find it funny when he does that. Even so, I can appreciate that looking half-dead is a deterrent to effectively doing my job.

But I can't not ride and I wouldn't ride another night - I love the crew I'm with. We mesh very well. When I have Friday off, I do ride the whole night. I wish I could ride the whole night, but without eight hours of sleep, I'm really dead - all the way.

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