Extreme Medical Services: Medical Care On The Fringes Of Humanity by Jamie Davis Read Free Book Online

frantically scratching vampire, trying to get as much of the allergen off his skin as possible.
        Dean got the med bag out and unzipped the top. He swabbed the top of the medication vial with an alcohol prep, inserted the needle, and pulled the medication out of the vial. He then turned to the shirtless patient and swabbed his shoulder with another alcohol prep, glanced at the syringe barrel one more time then slowly injected the medication. Gibbie yelped a little. Dean drew out the syringe, snapped the safety cover across the needle and dropped the syringe in the sharps box next to him. Gibbie was already rubbing the injection spot so Dean didn’t need to do that to help hasten absorption into the muscle.  
        Brynne’s voice broke in to his concentration. “What’s next?” she asked him. “Epi’s on board but what else can you do or should you look for.”
        “Okay, right. Uh, sir,” Dean turned to his patient. “Are you having trouble breathing? I mean, do you breath? I’m not familiar with your background.”
        “Do I breath?” the vampire said, astounded, his voice getting higher and more frantic with each word. “Do I breath? Brynne, honey, what have you gotten me into here? You let this know-nothing cretin treat me?”
        Dean flinched at the man’s reaction but in his mind it was a valid question. Vampires actually are dead, aren’t they?
        “Calm down, Gibbie,” she soothed. “It’s only his second shift. He’s on the right track and we got the important medicine in you. You should be feeling better soon.” Brynne turned back to her partner. “Dean, to deal with the histamine release, causing the hives, what should you do now?”
        “Oh, right,” he said. “I need to get an IV started then administer 25 mg IV diphenhydramine.” He glanced at the patient. “I should also consider albuterol/ipratropium inhaler via nebulizer for breathing difficulty, uh if there is any breathing difficulty.”  
        He turned again and began to get out an IV solution bag and tubing. Pulling the tab on the bottom of the 1,000-milliliter bag of saline, he then pushed the hollow plastic spike on the end of the tubing into the exposed tube in the bottom of the bag. He pinched the drip chamber to fill it from the bag as he held it up. Brynne took the bag from him and slipped the hole in the top of the bag’s flap over the metal hook in the ceiling. She stood up and offered him the other seat so he could get better access to start the IV line. Dean shifted to the offered seat, reached over and tied an elastic tourniquet just above Gibbie’s elbow.  
        Brynne spoke up, “His veins are flatter than you’re probably used to. Think ‘dehydrated 80-year-old woman’ and you’ll get the right idea. You’ve got this Dean.”
        Dean started looking for a vein on the back of Gibbie’s hand then worked his way up to the forearm using his eyes and gloved fingertips to palpate for a vessel. He thought he found one he could both see and feel as he lightly pressed down, sensing the spongy feeling of the vein. Wiping the area off with another alcohol prep, he reached over and, looking at the IV box, thought to himself, ‘dehydrated 80-year-old woman,’ huh?  
        Selecting the thinner 22 gauge IV needle he slid the cover off, hovering the tip briefly over the forearm then, at a slight angle, slid the needle with the IV catheter into the arm. He watched the chamber at the base of the needle watching for the flash of blood that signified success and was surprised to see dark red blood fill the small chamber. He hadn’t been sure if vampires had blood in their veins or not. Now he knew. He pressed down on the arm just above the insertion point to stop blood from flowing out of the tubing as he withdrew the needle leaving the hollow plastic catheter in place inside the vein.  
        Brynne handed him the end of the IV tubing she had primed and he attached it to the end