Report From Ladder Company 40 Day 127

Hi Team.

I just want to start by thanking you all for the tremendous support you have been and continue to be during this hard time I am going through.  I cannot say enough how much I appreciate the outpouring of love and support.  I am SO blessed.

Today was a little better day.  I was a zombie for the better part of the day because I had only about 2 1/2 hour sleep.  I drank 2 1/2 quarts of water and tea today and I was very active at work!  That makes me 3 for 3!  I guess I had better figure out how to sleep under stress or I'll never make it as a paramedic!  Today was an extra long day at work so after the first few hours I was really wide awake and doing much better than the beginning of the shift.  When one works with kids it is kind of a sink or swim kind of deal.  Either I had to pull some strength out of my pocket and get it together or I'd have been eaten alive!  I chose not to get eaten! 

My assistant (the rock of my staff) was out and will be all week because her grandmother is very ill.  My substitute is a wonderfully nice person but pretty much useless.  She takes no initiative and when given directions and asked if she needs clarification or assistance with anything she says no.  She talks as though she understands what is expected and then does nothing!  I'd almost rather be a staff person short and over the legal ratio of staff/kids than have to deal with that.  The kids are always rowdy and squirrelly when they get out of school early so that can be challenging and today was no exception.  On top of it, one of my 4th grade boys really slammed his thumb in the door (heavy metal school doors).  He had a small cut or puncture, hard to tell which, on the outer thumb next to the thumbnail and it stubbornly bled.  I applied pressure for about two minutes and checked it but it didn't stop.  It finally took about 10 minutes of pressure and elevation to stop it.  It wasn't a lot of blood but it didn't want to stop.  He got upset and started to get nauseated and a stomach ache, pale and generally not looking so hot about the time I got the bleeding stopped and a bandage on his thumb so I took him inside and had him lie down, elevated his feet, kept him warm,  I got an ice pack for his thumb and I talked to him as I monitored him for the next 10 minutes.  While I dealt with the minor medical emergency my childcare program fell apart and my teacher and the sub did not communicate or effectively handle the 28 kids that were there.  Now the teacher is a good teacher and works wonderfully well with me ordinarily, but she was trying to deal with the group with the sub as her back up and nothing was happening.  I could see it all falling apart but I could not leave the inured boy.  It was very frustrating.

After monitoring the boy for 10 minutes he seemed to be doing better.  His color was back, he was talking and animated but still not his usual self and he insisted that his stomach still really hurt and he felt like he would be sick.  At this point I managed to get the staff to get all the kids inside from the playground so we were all in the cafeteria.  I had the injured boy away from the group and mostly out of site of the kids.  He was visible enough that I could monitor him while assisting my staff in getting control of the group again, which I did.  Within the next 10 minutes, my injured boy was smiling most of the time he was talking and he was telling me about his dad's previous injuries of having impaled his arm with some part of a broken bicycle one time.  I figured this kid would be okay now.  Somehow during all of this I had called my boss to inform her of the situation and called the kids' parents.  Sadly, mom's work phone went straight to voicemail and the home phone and dad's cell phone, (which were supposed to be emergency back up numbers) gave me a recording of having been disconnected!  It was another 40 minutes before his mom called me back and I filled her in.  I let her speak to him and it was decided that his dad would come and get him and they would go home.  By the time he got picked up he was complaining to dad that he wanted to stay and have a corn dog for snack!  It was a very long day!

Once home for the evening I discoveredt that My grandpa's service will be on Monday so I will be taking the train Saturday to the station nearest my brother and will stay with him for the weekend.  My husband will drive down on Monday, attend the services and bring us both home. I also found out, however, that my sister, whom I haven't seen in probably 10 years, will be coming from Nebraska and staying with my mom for a week -a mile from my home.  I am so excited and happy that I will get to see her.  My mom is happy that she will have all her children in one place for the first time in decades!

As I said, I am doing a bit better for now.  I'll try to keep current here as much as possible.

Stay safe.

Hotflash out.