Memorial Day at the Beach....with Bob!

M O V E

The day started off with the pyxis upgrade throughout the department.  Pyxis reps, pharmacy techs, pharmacists, etc were all over the department.  Way too congested at 0700.  They went in to replace the pyxis in room 3 and I had told them that if we need to use that room they would have to move out quickly. 

When in Charge, we get numerous calls for an 'unresponsive' patient at the front door.  I turned around and saw Diane and told her to come with me.  We went to the front door of the ER and there is a mini-van with a man sitting in the passenger seat who was slumped over into the drivers seat, the driver, a woman, was standing by her door, screaming.  Diane went around to the drivers side and I yelled at Diane to push the patient up.  From his neck up was blue...not good!  As a went to find a pulse, there was none.  The woman had moved to my side of the mini-van, as she was talking on the phone, I asked her what had happened and then screamed at Gilberto to get me a stretcher.  A stretcher was brought out, and I screamed at the lady to move out of the way and get off the phone.  It took everything we had to get the man out of the car.  The doors didn't open all the way and Gilberto was the biggest person we had out there.  We finally got him on the stretcher, I jumped on top of him, started chest compressions, Diane threw up the side-rails and Gilberto went briskly through the front of the ER.  Before we hit the doors, I had screamed "I need a doc",

As we came through the front door, there were people running from Room 3, Dot was attempting to get the Room 3 stretcher out, as we rounded the room trying to get in.  Dr. Casey came in and we proceeded in working the code.

Little did I know in the last 2 minutes, what had actually happened until much later:

Jo was on the 3-run and when she heard me yell, she knew something was coming and told the people in room 3 'you guys have to get out, move!'.  Dr. Casey, who was talking to MLP at the time, told me later, there are certain people that when they yell for help, you just know..... Jo then proceeded to tell me that the Pyxis rep and the Pharmacy Director came out of Room 3 and then the 'shock' factor hit, as Gilberto rounded the corner, his back-side bumped them as they bumped into each other trying to get out of the way.  I guess what was so funny was Jo telling me later "yeah, I walked by, they were on the floor, and I said 'yep, they're still breathing' and she kept on going to Room 3!  If you know Jo, you can picture exactly how she looked!  Mind you, her heartrate never got above 42! ha ha

All I saw were the whites of their eyes as we rounded the corner.  It was the 'shock' and don't know what to do feeling.  It all happened so fast, but later reflected on the events outside of the patient, it was freaking hilarious.



All I could think of was Bambi on a frozen pond.  It was bodies flailing everywhere.  And, again, remember this all happened in a matter of seconds.  But thinking about it for days, made me laugh.



The pyxis rep actually ended up with a tibia plateau fracture and is out of work for 3 months.  Thats not good, but it is an ER and E M E R G E N C I E S do happen, sometimes life-or-death emergencies.  I love the people I work with and aside from the fracture, and the patient outcome, my co-workers ROCKED!

Bob, was there in spirit!  So we had to get a picture to attempt to replicate our lovely morning!  And this all before 1000.

Final Cookout Day....

That about says it all.  Emergency Services peeps never get the kudos they deserve.  But we love celebrating and trying to let some of them know how much we do appreciate them.

The ice and water came up..so as Shae is pushing it out...O V E R it goes, ice and all.  I came upon them trying to get the ice back in the cooler.....

Yep, with a bedpan.  Don't worry...EMS peeps don't care.

And of course, you would know that Trey would some how be involved.  And notice...with a smile on his face.

So I go to light the grill and this is what happens.  I call Trey...does he answer?  NO!  I am expecting that the Fire Department, who is stationed at the other entrance to the hospital will be pulling up any minute.....Using our female abilities, I shut the grill off, Shae poked a hole in a water bottle and we continued to squirt the flames until they were OUT!  Then we cleaned off the grill plates and that seemed to do the trick!

My cruise partner Beth showed up.  Yep, all-girls cruise....September...bring it on!~  And I haven't even met the hubs yet!  Well, officially!  But thats coming!

Caili...our Paramedic that doubles as a ER Tech.  The staff LOVE her...they actually want to clone her.  Guess that means she'll pass her 90-day eval, huh?

Yep, you can say that they love us.  The patients and the crews.  And we love them!

For the dinner crew, Carolina was on the schedule to cook with me but a no-show, so Em came and helped.  She hates this pic by the way....But she makes a mean burger and dog!

She doesn't like this pic either.  We ended up cooking everything we had with minimal leftovers for staff.  It had been a great three days.  EMS was happy, they enjoyed coming by.  And staff was great to fill in and help out.

The antics never stop, as you can see.  Of course Nathan didn't eat.  Thats NOT ketchup on his mouth or shirt.  Staff cannot eat the EMS food.

Cherine again, decided to come by for seconds!  Yeah!  My roomie for Ecuador.  Allison is in for a big surprise! ha ha

Bring on the smoker....oh....and Trey!

Tuesdays food of choice was smoke bbq, hamburgers and hot dogs.  Shae bought 4 pork shoulders and Trey estimated that they were going to need to smoke 5-6 hours.  He got there early and started on the first two.  The smell lingered everywhere.

It seems the word was out and that Rex was cooking, because the EMS traffic sure picked up as the week went on.  The BBQ was a huge hit and so was Bob.  He was on scene to ensure that Trey didn't blow anythiing up.

Of course, until I saw him in this apron.  Then, I about blew him up.  NC State?  Really Trey?  I mean I know you are from Johnston County, but please....

We love our EMS peeps!  I think the relationship has improved and EMS truly love coming to Rex.  Our EMS Liason Shae (who is my hero, in case you didn't know) works very hard and addresses any issues from our end or theirs, and I think that really helps in building a positive relationship.

I left the carving, cutting to Trey.  Luckily, he made it through without any arterial spray of any kind.

Ok...on to dinner.  Mary came to help me cook for the dinner crew.  The pork was smoking and obviously so were we. ha ha... Again, we ran through so  much food, which is good.  We had a much heavier turn out  this year.  Which is great!

Nick...Nick...Nick.... Nick is usually stationed on the other side of the county so I was surprised to see him here.  Who cares!  Just put a ring on Sarah's finger, now, will ya?  Just kidding, but had to get that plug in there!

Chris came and helped me cook last year!  This year, obviously he is working...but for some reason he kept ending up at Rex.  Thats ok...we like him.

Needless to say, thats his wife Allison.  Who doubles as a paramedic at times.  She obviously doesn't get out much, huh?

Then there was Cherine.  Who waited for her sister to show up because she was afraid to come and eat.  Well, until she saw Bob and then she didn't care!  It was a great Tuesday.

We LOVE EMS Week....

So first things, first!  Figuring out how to light an infrared grill!  The department bought a grill and Trey picked out a pretty good one!  We forgot we had to 'season' the grill first, so Jean took care of that.  Lighting the grill was a different story!  With gas, we didn't necessarily want to blow ourselves us, so Shae did take a look at the directions! ha ha

Needless to say, we got the grill lit and the cookout had officially began for Monday.  It was a crazy day and I ended up covering the front of the department for lunch, but all EMS crews that stopped by definately got fed.  They enjoy this week as much as we do!  They deserve it!

My newest addition.....

Here's the story.... About 18 months ago I searched for a black/black/black Audi TT.  Couldn't find that combination ANYWHERE.  Even searching the entire country, nothing.  I searched for about 6 months off and on and then gave up.  On Friday, May 6 for some reason I got back on the computer and searched again...and low and behold there was the one I wanted in Richmond, Virginia.  Really?  Could it be? 

That Sunday was Mothers Day and Diane, the girls and I went to the beach and I told her about the car and was really thinking about calling the credit union to see what I could work out.  I currently spend about $500 a month in gas for the Durango.  I love the Durango and don't want to get rid of it.  But needed something a bit more 'practical' from a gas mileage stand point.  And being that Allison will be driving in less than 6 months, we were going to need a second car.  Yes, I could have looked for a bigger car or a 4-door but I wanted something for me for a change.

So Monday I called the credit union and within 24 hours, they said 'its yours'.  I had emailed the dealership initially to ask about the car.  Pulled the CarFax report and had all my questions answered.  So after the credit union called and I called Michael Fetty it was now trying to figure out when I could actually go get the car.  Richmond was over a 2 hour drive.

Carolina came in to cover Charge for me on Friday, May 13 at 1500 so I could get on the road.  Murph went with Allison and me for the roadtrip.  We found the dealership with no problem.  They had the car ready and we were in and out in under an hour.  Allison sat at the table with me and there was this badger animal on the desk.  We found out that it was from Johnson Automotive Group in Raleigh.  Little did I know what happened when I went the bathroom.  Allison wanted to know what the badger did, so after Michael stepped away from his desk, she pushed the button....it was actually pretty loud per Allison and so she turned him back off, but then Michael walked by and said 'a wiggle wiggle womp' in the badger voice.  So after I got back and she tells me the story...we had to listen to the badger.....Ill put the video at the end of this post.  Its hilarious.  So now Allison's saying is 'a wiggle wiggle womp'.  Guess you had to be there.

Michael Fetty and me after handing me the keys.  Its officially MINE!All week Elaine was giddy with excitement for me.  It hadn't hit me all week.  And even standing there with the keys, it still hadn't hit me.

Its so pretty.  Its Certified.  Still under warranty.  Excellent condition.  And its MINE!  So we left the dealership and headed to stop and eat dinner before heading back to Raleigh.  Now the Elaine Marshall giddiness was starting to hit.  I couldn't believe it was my car.  Luckily for Allison, Applebee's was only a mile down the road.  After we ate and got back on the road, I think for 90 minutes I kept saying, I can't believe this is  my car.  And I had a great time with Allison.

We brought the Durango to the house and then I took Murph home.  When I got back home it was close to 0100 and after parking the car and walking in the house, I looked back and said again, "I can't believe that is my car."  Wow.  What an incredible day.

Lauren had spent the weekend at Rods.  So Sunday she was ready to come home so I said, Ill pick you up in the Durango.  Needless to say, when I pulled up her displeasure in thinking that I was picking her up in the Durango quickly went away.  Rod validated that after I said that to her, she was upset the entire time.  Of course, she wanted the top down and was giddy with excitement as well the whole way home.  Then when we got there, she had her 50 snaps of pictures photo shoot in the driveway.  ha ha.  The Elaine Marshall giddiness is contagious.

It is absolutely beautiful.  I LOVE it and it was crazy that within a week of seeing it that it was in my driveway and mine.  The dealership completed the paperwork so I am waiting on the permanent tags, then Ill have to order my UNC tag.  But until then, we must keep the temp tags on.

1705 Prime....

In preparation for this years End of Year Celebration, we always start looking at restaurants and venues in April/May and get a confirmed location by June.  This year Rafel and Gilberto are heading up the search.  Rafel had brought up 1705 Prime which is the location that he had his wedding reception.  It used to be a restaurant/bar but has closed and now they rent out space and also house their catering company there.  The owners actually own a few other spots in Raleigh.  I asked Rafel if we could go for a food 'tasting' wihle we discussed options for that venue.  When he called they actually schedule tastings once a month and its totally free-beer, wine, drinks, and food.  So we put our names down and tonight was the night.

The food was incredible.  They had so much, that most of us didn't even have enough room to 'sample' all of it.  That was all of us EXCEPT Gilberto.  He definately ate like a King.

Even on his second plate full.  It was still good.

Very nice place.  Not really sure one total number.  The main room seats around 130.  We had close to 150 last year.  So not sure how thats going to work.  But we will work the numbers and see.

Everyone seemed to filter out after dinner and dessert.  We took some pics outside, but Gilberto was having trouble with the auto-focus camera.  So I had to show him, how to take a picture......

Not too bad.  They clean up pretty well, huh?  They are really taking an active role in the party planning this year.  I can't wait to see how it all turns out.  For some reason, I don't think Ill have to worry!

This picture turned out pretty good.  Im not sure why everyone wanted to stand behind me.  I felt like they had put a sign in front of me....

Rafel is such a great guy.  I have learned more about him in the last month, than I have the entire time he's worked here.  Somethings I have learned I can't post.  We will just leave it at that.

Renee can sure take pictures with an auto-focus camera. ha ha... Actually she was showing Gilberto exactly HOW to do it.

Ok, Renee, I think he gets it now.  Enough with the pics!

We do clean up well, especially after working 12 hours.  But dinner was great the food was totally awesome.  Great company and learned of another option for the End of Year Celebration.