I had an awesome opportunity yesterday to work on the natan, instead of the basic life support unit. The natan consists of two paramedics and they can use IV's and loads of medication. It was great and I had a lot of fun, but natans don't get as many calls as the BLS ambulances but the more interesting calls.
We had three calls and were out on those calls from around 10am until 3pm (the end of the shift). It was very exhausting.
It was an amazing experience working on an ALS unit because I was able to assist with equipment I have never used before. For example, actually seeing a EKG in practice and having the paramedic explain what it meant (very simplistic wording of course) and explained his process of putting an IV in.
The first two calls weren't very intersting though. The first one was an elderly man who was experiencing severe chest pains, but wasn't having a heart attack or anything extremely life threatening at the moment. And the second call we responded lights and sirens in to a nursing home. The patient was a 75 year old woman who was also experiencing chest pains but wasn't an emergency.
The third call was an interesting one though. We were just leaving the hospital after dropping off the second patient, and we received a call for an unconscious male. I have never been in a vehicle moving that fast and that crazy trying to weave in and out of traffic. Side note: Israeli drivers are insane, but Israeli-ambulance drivers are ridiculously insane. Right before we parked on scene, a first responder on a motor bike showed up and the first responder literally sprinted full speed into the building. That definitely got my adrenaline pumping because I wasn't sure what to expect. Was it going to be a CPR? Or just an unconscious patient? It was very close to being a CPR. The patient was a 90 year old male who was suffering from diabetes, but recently resporatory problems. Very shallow breaths, and weak pulse, but he was alive. However, when we brought him into the ambulance, one of the paramedics told me to continually check his vitals (breathing, pulse, and blood pressure if possible) just in case. He was still unconscious even as we brought him and placed him on a hospital bed.
After my shift, I traveled to Modi'in to visit my cousins at their house and hung out with them all night and then most of today. After, went to the beach!
Another side note: Israel's beaches are perfect. Perfect temperature, perfect atmosphere, and perfect waves.
I have a morning shift tomorrow. Until my next post... Yalla Bye!
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