Saturday, July 22, 2006

Something new

Now I haven't been an ER doc for too long, but you get used to the usual stuff pretty damn quickly. Under thirty with chest pain-either panic attack or cocaine. Big lady with abdominal pain- gallstones. So it was kinda nice the other day to get a suprise. I was hanging out in the trauma bay with the typical MVA when the security gaurd comes running in. "we've got a situation out in the ambulance bay" So I run to grab gloves and run out the doors to see what's up, and by the way, unlike what you see on TV we never go outside. Only in "ER" do the doctors meet the ambulances, it drives me nuts. In runs a nurse with a bloody bundle, and sure enoug it's a newborn baby.
We all run around trying to grab the warmer from whatever dusty corner it's been relegated to and shove the baby inside. With a new baby you have one mission in life. Warm, dry, stimulate. That's it, that is the magic of life. God needs no other help then that. After a heart stopping second the trauma bay is alive with the sound of a brand new human being. It was one of those moments that brings every one, the nurses and the attendings, over for a seconds as we all looked at her. It was kinda neat, we don't get to see pure happiness too much. People die all the time in the trauma suite. I still remember what it was like the first time I called out the time of death of a patient. But it was really cool to see a new baby, a new life. And sure enough she went upstairs to the NICU to get checked out, and the ED once again belonged to the tragedy unstead of the ecstacy. But it was still one of the moments that I'll always remember.

2 comments:

Gregory House, PA-C said...

I like your blog a lot. I had been looking for another good EM one and finally I found it. Hope you find time to update regularly

Gregory House, PA-C said...

I like your blog a lot. I had been looking for another good EM one and finally I found it. Hope you find time to update regularly