I do it for the Suicide (part 2) (634 hits)
Category: NoneRating: 1.37 on 11 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by Misanthropic (View user info) at 2006-01-07 07:29:12 EST
It took me a moment to realise what was happening. The defibrillator kept talking in its electronic voice "check patient", insisting that we do something. My partner checked for a pulse, and after confirming that there was none, I pushed the charge button on the machine.
In the movies and on TV, defibrillation looks really dramatic, with someone diving in with a set of paddles, screaming clear, and giving the patient a boot of around 360 joules of energy as they bounce all over the place. Not so with ours. We use sticky pads, so you don't have to touch the patient, and when the shock is delivered, they only tend to twitch a little bit. Quite boring really.
After the second shock, the rhythm on the ECG screen showed asystole - flatline. Nothing more to be done except CPR and heaps of drugs like adrenaline.
As noted previously, I live in a small mining town in the outback. Our hospital isn't big, and we don't have doctors at the hospital 24/7. With one doctor present, and two nurses, we ambulance persons had to be a bit more hands on. Between my partner and me, we maintained cardiac compressions, and with a bit of guidance, our new recruit breathed for our nearly dead patient. I give him praise for doing a top job, especially considering it was his first ever ambulance tasking.
After what seemed like an hour, another doctor and another nurse arrived. This made the job a bit easier, but not much. The second doctor and nurse started trying to suture up the cut-to-shreds veins, as it was a waste of time trying to refill him with blood if it was going to leak out again. It was scary to see, but leaking from his veins was an opaque orange liquid. He had next to no blood left in him.
My turn to continue compressions, and it didn't take long to get back into the rhythm of things. All was going well, until Tom and his wife arrived at the hospital. I will never forget his face as he looked into the resus ward, to see us working on his son, pressing down on his chest. Tom, being a volunteer ambulance guy himself, knew that things were bleak.
Forty five minutes into CPR, and the doctor got everyone to stop. Watching the ECG, his face lit up. Looking myself, there seemed to be some sort of sinus rhythm there, as ugly looking as it was. He ordered whole blood and more adrenaline to be pumped into the IV. Our new recruit continued with the breathing, as the second doctor organised for the Royal Flying Doctor Service to come and transfer the boy to a major trauma hospital.
The last nurse to arrive took over from new recruit, and both he and I left to prepare our ambulance for patient transfer. My partner stayed back to sort paperwork as I splashed bleach all over the place to clean up any remaining blood. Through the fumes, I felt elated.
Twenty or so minutes later, my partner walked into the station. Not saying too much. He disappeared into the office and onto the phone before coming back to say "He arrested again. The doctor called it five minutes ago. He just didn't want to live. You could see it in his eyes".
A few days later, I was at the police station making a statement about that night. We discussed what had happened - he pulled a safety razor apart and used that. He'd done it before heaps of times. Starting in his bedroom, he placed a chair in the middle of the room, but things didn't work quickly enough, so he moved to the bathroom.
I can only wonder what was going through his head, and why, and how, he could do it, and so violently to himself. I asked if there was a note left, maybe with a bit to explain to his parents why. The police sergeant pulled up the digital photo's of the scene. He enlarged the photo of the not. Written with what looked like the writing of a six year old was "I don't expect a funeral, I do it for the suicide"
User Reviews
Submitted by MandaPanda (user info) at 2006-01-29 17:48:04 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
This was sad.
Submitted by shitfuck (user info) at 2006-01-29 05:49:31 EST (#)
Ranking: -2
I cant red.
Submitted by BranDo (user info) at 2006-01-21 07:44:50 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
RESPECT and hope to read more from you.
Submitted by Banga3386 (user info) at 2006-01-21 07:06:24 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Forgive me if this sounds weird: this would make a great fictional story line, that could go for about 4 chapters if you included all even mundane details. But given that this is a true story, it gives it a haunting and realistically disturbing feel.
Also my hat is off to you. I truly wish I could have the patience and guts to do what you do. Much respect,
Banga
Submitted by Faidel (user info) at 2006-01-08 21:00:07 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
looking forward to reading more of your writing
Submitted by Ditka (user info) at 2006-01-07 18:12:28 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
needs more porn, but nice
Submitted by Entaran (user info) at 2006-01-07 09:53:53 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
West of Melbourne a bit.
Submitted by Davros (user info) at 2006-01-07 07:54:06 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Very good, even though I struggled a little with the jargon.
-Dave
Submitted by Misanthropic (user info) at 2006-01-07 07:44:36 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Northern SA. You?
Submitted by Entaran (user info) at 2006-01-07 07:37:47 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Aussie!
Which town... out near alice or in northern SA?
Submitted by Misanthropic (user info) at 2006-01-07 07:31:46 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Sorry to those who don't get the Australian or medical jargon, and sorry it's not done as a poem