One Save, One Loss, One New

One Save, One Loss, One New
By Miriam Dunn, RRT

The call came in from 911.
The night shift crew had just begun.
"My husband passed out, he's turning blue"
"We're sending out our medic crew".

He had no pulse or respiration,
yet they tried in desperation,
to revive the life where once had been,
an athlete, husband, dad, and friend.

With CPR well underway,
employing skills they use each day,
in an effort to trigger a brand new start,
they gave the epi., straight to the heart.

At first there was nothing, than a tiny blip,
appeared on the narrow paper strip.
He blinked his eyes and squeezed her hand.
Unspoken words she could understand.
They loaded the gurney and took him in,
as his wife gave him a kiss upon his chin.
His life was spared from this heart attack,
and she knew that he would be coming back.

Next, an MVA at Spruce and Tanner,
is what came over the radio scanner.
Multiple victims, a family of four,
is pinned inside by a pushed in door.

They had to use the jaws of life,
to release the bleeding, broken wife.
They inserted a tube and started a line,
knowing she'd heal in a matter of time.

The baby, two, had been taking a nap,
was held safe with the straps across chest and lap.
The medic rocked him tight in her arms,
thanking God he'd been spared any physical harm.

Her partner cut free an eight-year-old then,
with a nasty cut on her pointy chin.
But if you'd like to know the truth,
she was more concerned with her knocked out tooth.
"Daddy, how will the fairy bring me my dime?
What if we aren't home in bed on time?"
The medic held her so she couldn't see,
"Daddy, you didn't answer me."

Back at the base for an hour or two,
a snack from "The Shack", and a push up or two.
They were joking and kidding about who was best,
when one last call put their skills to the test.

They were less than thrilled with just an hour more.
Their shift would be over, they'd be out the door.
But it's not a job that runs 9 to 5.
Not when you're trying to keep folks alive.

This one was tough for the end of the day.
A 36 weeker, could go either way
A footling breech to add interest too!
The first time parents had no clue what to do.
"Now try not to push", the medic said.
"The hardest part is delivering the head".

With his hands deftly used in just the right place,
he was able to maintain the needed air space.
There was room for the cord to come out with no pinch.
He made it look easy, "Yeah, it was a cinch".

They grinned at each other, so glad it was done,
then said to the mother, "Here, meet your son".
As they lay the baby across her chest,
he went back to work to finish the rest.
With that taken care of, they brought them both in,
to be checked over, then sent home again.

When he drove up the drive looking forward to bed,
"How was your night?" is what his wife said.
As he told her the events that happened that night,
of the life that was lost and the one that went right,
how he helped in delivering a difficult birth,
she envisioned God's hands stretched down to the earth.

Miriam Dunn currently works as a Respiratory Therapist at Community Hospital of Lancaster, in Lancaster, PA. She is the mother of four girls and likes to write poetry in her spare time. Valerie thanks Ms. Dunn for allowing her to share a wonderful poem with fellow emergency personnel.