I've had a low bio-rhythm lately. On top of that, messed up things have been happening. That leads to a good deal of morbid thinking.
There's a woman at work who's 80 years old. On Friday she got dizzy and collapsed. Having heart problems, she immediately asked us to give her one of her nitro pills. We did, she got better, we sat her in a chair, and she passed the fuck out.
I'm not talking a little faint here, I'm talking swallow her tongue, roll her eyeballs, and then go completely still like she had died. Face was green and everything. We're talking to her, saying "Stay with us! Come back! It'll be ok!" and she's acting all dead. I was pretty freaked out. I mean, I'm no EMT, I'm a friggen dock worker for Christ sakes! If I thought for even one second I could save lives, I'd go flunk a CPR class or something. I have no business giving old women nitro pills and calling them back from the Great White Light.
Anyway, she proceeds to lurch forward spewing vomit in all directions and then to sit up and stare at us like nothing had happened. Being rational individuals (if five people running in circles and screaming around a woman in a wheelchair who looks dead is rational) we called 911. The cops show up with the paddles, she's ok by now and talking to them, and they take her to the ER for observation. Pablo the janitor (I don't think that's his name, but he is Mexican) cleans the puke and the manager tells us all to go back to work. Yeah right.
This whole episode made me realize a few things. First, people are like my car. They run ok most of the time, but you don't always no when they're going to break, and don't open them when they're hot cause then they spew liquid everywhere and you have to wash it away with the hose. Second, you never know what's going to happen next. You could die at any second of any day. That's right, Fuck You optimism. Three, EMT's, medics, and other emergency personnel are way under appreciated and taken for granted. We assumed that as soon as we dialed 911, heroes would come flying through the door seconds later, dropping everything they were doing and coming to our rescue. On Friday they did, but what if they'd been busy? Thank you EMT's. I love you.