Part 2...And for the parting shot

I may have embarked on uncharted territory with this one. After much thought and research as to fulfilling my EMT re-cert requirements, I have concluded that the only answer is to become a Dominican Republic volunteer firewoman. Requirements of: two pictures, a passport and cell number, my address (which consisted of just my street name since house numbers are inexistent), and a sentence stating my interest in volunteering. I handed those in and became an official DR EMT. I had to laugh when I turned it all in. In fact, I haven’t stopped laughing since I started volunteering. I hit my third Saturday and each week takes it to a whole new level of absurdity. Day one highlights: I learned how to play Dominican dominos. I got invited to be the fire department’s honored guest at Jarabacoa’s 150th anniversary celebration. I went inside both ambulances and was shown the one first aid kit with packages opened and unsterile. I was also shown that they DO have a C-collar (for head traumas…see below)

Day two highlights: Practiced proper saluting for a good 20 minutes with the fire boys (12 year olds training to be firemen and then me). The 20 mins. because I guess I just couldn’t figure out the correct contact of the index finger and corner of the eye. They also practice saying something like ‘yes Capitan, your most excellent honorableness, please, let me wash your motorcycle, and your wife’s motorcycle, and then the fire truck and the ambulance…’, at least that’s what I made up in my mind as they slurred every possible word into one big run on sentence and then asked me if I got it. I stared at them for a good minute with wide eyes and a little smile and then had a good laugh right then and there. Also we practiced unrolling fire hoses…and were getting ready to practice marching when I was called away to go on a run. We arrived on the scene of a man who had fallen off his motorcycle with obvious head trauma. Now typically this would mean C-spine immobilization, checking his heart & breathing rate, BP, dressing wounds etc. Well here in the DR we bypass all that…it’s better to grab him by his arms and legs, dump him on the gurney and run off to the hospital. He’ll be fine for the 5 minute ride and they can do all the rest at the hospital. So the guy wasn’t too bad, so this wasn’t too much of a problem, until we backed up to the emergency room door and couldn’t get the ambulance door open to wheel him out. So the guy I was with made Mr. Head Trauma get up, walk out the passenger side door and hop into the hospital…leaving bloody footprints behind. Oh, and I’m pretty sure the clean up was one swipe with a paper towel.

The second call was to transport a patient to the trauma center 45 minutes down the mountain. It was another head trauma patient, practically dropping off on us…as for monitoring the patient, I mentioned that maybe we should check to see if he was still conscious (luckily he was). The 45 minute ride was one continuous jerk back and forth...between speeding up to 60mph to screeching to almost a halt when nobody would pull over on the road. Unfortunately the head trauma victim had to feel the brunt of this without any spinal immobilization. At least at the hospital we were able to hose off the gurney pad with water. Much more effective. And the conversation for the way back up the hill was how the EMT got his training (his friend in the hospital showed him some stuff) and if I had a novio (boyfriend). Wow, what a day. Day three highlights: Nothing could really top day 2, and I really only stopped in for an hour on my third trip to the Fire Dept…It was then that I realized that I was in the newly formed class to become an actually fireman…I sat in for about 10 mins, watched some salutes, and then got a better show of the ambulance by the other city EMT who knows that you actually should use a C-collar when there is a head trauma. At least half of the week’s patients have a better chance of making it. But even still, the bottom line: don’t get hurt.