Until college, I would not have considered myself an outgoing person. I was perfectly adequate. I was not the life of the party neither did I have fun stories to tell or make people laugh. I became more outgoing partly because I grew up a bit and became more confident but also because I forced myself into a lot of situations that seemed intimidating and did many things on my own. Now I'm the elected social chair of our small group (don't laugh, we like it) and I don't find myself uncomfortable in social situations (save a few, especially if there's a boy I have a crush on. Then I shut up completely). Generally I could talk to a wall and it would like me back.
Now people sit and listen intently and, can you believe it, laugh at my stories! Who would have thought I'd see such a day. Mostly it's because I have a cool job and see ridiculous things. But it's been a new change for me so thanks for laughing guys.
In no particular order....
Crack does more than kill your brain cells.
Gangsta comes in, high as a kite, complaining of a headache. Because it's not a life-threatening injury he doesn't get immediate treatment but waits in a room to be seen by the physician. Some time later a nurse comes in and sees him unconscious with a pool of blood behind his head. So naturally, everyone freaks out, takes him to CT, etc and guess what they find... I know you're waiting on the edge of your seat... Gangsta buddy here has a bullet in his brain! Apparently he was so doped up on crack that he didn't notice he'd been shot in the head. Not really sure how you miss that one...but he landed himself an emergency craniotomy and all expense paid trip to the ICU, complete with restraints and a draining device in his head called a ventriculostomy. Spin the wheel again and see if you get the corvette.
This one was horribly sad and I wish I had never seen it. A middle school aged kid went out to ride 4 wheelers with his dad, like many children do everyday. He had a helmet on and everything. But somehow he took a terrible spill, helmet came off, and he bashed in his brain. After he was delivered from the chopper, they rolled him in and you could see his brain. His skull had been destroyed in one area and I could see the inside. It's cool on a cadaver, not cool on a child.
You thought leeches were a thing of the past huh, along with bloodletting and casting magic spells on people with rabbit's feet. You have been misinformed sir. A young cattle rancher was practicing his roping with a calf, got the rope caught around his thumb, and took it right off. He did get the calf, in case you were curious. So in a valiant attempt to re-attach his thumb, they put leeches on it to improve the circulation and hopefully the thumb would heal back together. So you walk into the med room, open the fridge to look for some jello and hello! there's leeches, not to be confused with the juice or ensure. Just another reason why you should always check expiration dates.
Last one. A young girl is driving down the road, gets hit, runs off the road into a yard, and ends up with a 2X4 from a fence through her neck. THROUGH HER NECK. Because the paramedics can't just take it out, they have to saw off both ends and bring her to the hospital with a part of the wood still in her. (Obviously I did not personally see this but I read the chart so shut up). They take her straight to the operating room and remove the 2X4. At a cost. Her spine was so destroyed from the injury that she became a quadraplegic. I had her as a patient one day and she was the sweetest thing. Most of the time, quad patients are not the most fun and you can't blame them because their life was drastically changed forever. I'd be in a pretty bad mood, no doubt. She was younger than me. Talk about a reality check. You better believe I drove carefully on the way home.
There you go. Snippets of my crazy life. Lessons: drive carefully, flush that crack down the toilet, and call your mom to tell her you love her. Always wear a helmet and a seat belt. Figure out what you think about God. If you want to chat about it, let me know and I'd love to talk with you. Kiss your kids before you leave for work. Always put the safety on. Never go to bed angry. Don't drink and drive. At the end of the day, sometimes things just happen despite what you do to prevent it. But my kids have no chance. Not even sure if I'll let them play baseball. At least I've got some time to decide on that one.
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