The First Moments

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How do you feel when you first arrive on the scene? The first moment, is the hardest for me.

Recently, we dealt with a severe patient.  As we pulled up on scene we knew it was going to be a tough, working call.  It was a traumatic injury, and we had our work cut out for us.  

I find those early moments similar to the moments before a big test, or the moments before a big race (marathon, triathlon, etc.)  It's not as if you don't want to do them, but that first step is the hardest.  For me, the hardest part is touching the patient for the first time.  It's a time clock that I don't want to start.  

The moments during the call go by like a blur.  Sometimes things go well, and sometimes things don't go well, but the worst part is touching the patient for the first time.  It's not knowing if the person is alive or dead.  It's not knowing if they are breathing or not.  It's not knowing if they are warm or cold.  It's not knowing if they are bloody.  The unknown is hard to grasp, but it comes at you like a freight train as soon as you touch the patient, for the first time.  

If any first responder is reading this, don't hesitate to reply back to this post.  Send me a message on Facebook, send me an email, lets talk it out.  

Also, feel free to dig into some other posts about topics like this one.  To the right are Categories that my posts have been broken up in.  Read away!

  

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