gradygirl
TROUBLE
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Last Thursday, my partner and I were on a transfer from the CT Children's Medical Center to the pt's home in Meriden, CT. We got to the house, which was almost at the bottom of a hill with a grade of at least 50 degrees, and found to our (and the pt's mother's) surprise that the entire side walk in front of the house was covered in ice. To make matters worse, the wooden ramp that led from the side walk to the front door had ice covering the first 6-12". The pt. had dislocated her hip, so there was no taking her off the stretcher. My partner was at the foot and was able to walk around some of the ice and step onto the ramp, guiding the stretcher along the same path as much as he could. We got the stretcher all the way on the ramp and I took a big step to clear the ice. I guess I must have hit the edge of the flow because next thing I knew I was laying on my side on the ground, my right hand still holding the stretcher. Everyone freaked out, asking me if I was ok, if I was hurt. I carefully got back up and got onto the ramp, saying that I felt fine because I couldn't feel any pain. We took the pt. inside, carrying her up a flight of stairs to the second floor, and then carried the stretcher down the stairs to the truck, avoiding as much ice as we could.
My partner kept asking me if I was alright, telling me not to pull anything macho. I told him that I was fine, I wasn't in pain. While on our way back to Hartford, he told me to humor him and fill out an incident report when we got off shift in a little over an hour and a half. I told him I would, but that I still felt fine. When we reached Hartford, I started feeling a little twinging in my back, so I told my partner. He pinged the supervisor and advised him of the situation. The super said that as long as I didn't get any worse, we should saty on the road, but that I should complete an IR when I got back. As we drove to our posting location, I notice that each bump hurt more and more, until we were sitting parked and my back hurt. I called the super, saying I wouldn't be able to lift anything that night, and he told me to go to the ED.
By the time I got to the ED, I couldn't even stand up straight or walk correctly. The ER doc said that I had strained some muscles in my back. When I went to the Occ Health doc the next day, he said that I pulled the muscles bilaterally in my lower back and that I had pulled the muscle that runs along the right side of my spine. He gave me a shot of Toradol and a scrip of Naproxen...and light duty until 2/16. No bending, squatting, or lifting anything heavier than 20lb.
Needless to say, I'm pretty bummed out right now. I'm trying to take it easy, but it's amazing how many mundane chores require you to do the things that I'm not supposed to do. :wacko:
Other than my fight with ice, everything here is great. School is rolling along, classes are spectacular, the school squad is buzzing along (I've had some pretty cool calls and am almost a Crew Chief), and work is amazing. I've got a great new guy in my life who is taking very good care of me, especially right now. So yep, that's life here, busy but great.
My partner kept asking me if I was alright, telling me not to pull anything macho. I told him that I was fine, I wasn't in pain. While on our way back to Hartford, he told me to humor him and fill out an incident report when we got off shift in a little over an hour and a half. I told him I would, but that I still felt fine. When we reached Hartford, I started feeling a little twinging in my back, so I told my partner. He pinged the supervisor and advised him of the situation. The super said that as long as I didn't get any worse, we should saty on the road, but that I should complete an IR when I got back. As we drove to our posting location, I notice that each bump hurt more and more, until we were sitting parked and my back hurt. I called the super, saying I wouldn't be able to lift anything that night, and he told me to go to the ED.
By the time I got to the ED, I couldn't even stand up straight or walk correctly. The ER doc said that I had strained some muscles in my back. When I went to the Occ Health doc the next day, he said that I pulled the muscles bilaterally in my lower back and that I had pulled the muscle that runs along the right side of my spine. He gave me a shot of Toradol and a scrip of Naproxen...and light duty until 2/16. No bending, squatting, or lifting anything heavier than 20lb.
Needless to say, I'm pretty bummed out right now. I'm trying to take it easy, but it's amazing how many mundane chores require you to do the things that I'm not supposed to do. :wacko:
Other than my fight with ice, everything here is great. School is rolling along, classes are spectacular, the school squad is buzzing along (I've had some pretty cool calls and am almost a Crew Chief), and work is amazing. I've got a great new guy in my life who is taking very good care of me, especially right now. So yep, that's life here, busy but great.
