Meghan had been back to work on the ambulance for a few weeks when Mitch finally arranged to ride along with the ambulance crew. He’d only be riding for 12 hours, compared to her 24-hour shift, so he opted to drive himself to the station. Meghan had arrived a little earlier and thus was able to welcome him into the station when he arrived. “Yay, you made it!”

He chuckled as he brought in his backpack and a jacket. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world! Where should I put my stuff?”

She gestured to the couch. “Just drop it there for the moment. No one will mess with it. Let’s go to the office for a quick moment. I have a form you need to sign.”

Mitch followed her into the offices and took the clipboard Meghan handed him. He perused the liability waiver form and the HIPPA privacy notices and signed and dated as indicated. He handed the clipboard back to Meghan, and she put them into Brandi’s inbox.

“Now that you’re official, welcome to the world of EMS! I’ll give you the grand tour.” She started towards the living quarters' door but hauled short. “I almost forgot! How do you want people to call you while you’re here? Dr. Branston, Mitch, Dr. Mitch?”

He chuckled. “I’m sure some of you will just stick with Dr. Branston, but I’m fine with Mitch.”

“Ok, Mitch.” Meghan passed through into the living quarters. “Shift actually starts at 7, but most of us start trickling in around 6:30 so we can get all of the checks done and shoot the breeze with the crew getting off.” She stopped by the couch and started pointing out things in the area. “As we work 24s, the station is home-away-from-home. We have our living room, our kitchen, the offices as you just saw, and crew bedrooms. I’ll show you mine when it’s vacated. There’s two bathrooms just off of the offices you came out of, just so you know. Grab your stuff, and I’ll show you the bay.”

Mitch grabbed his jacket and backpack and followed Meghan out into the garage area. Three ambulances and an SUV were parked in the large concrete bay, each in front of a large garage door. Meghan led him towards the middle ambulance. “This will be our chariot for the day. The SUV is the supervisor’s car, although I don’t think Brandi is on duty today. She might pop in to say hi, though. I think I’m working with Stan today. I haven’t worked with him a lot, but he’s a good EMT who’s been on the department for 3 years.” Meghan opened the side door to the patient compartment, flipped on the light switch, and climbed in. “C’mon up, Mitch.”

Mitch climbed into the ambulance and looked around with curiosity. “Wow. You guys manage to carry a lot of stuff!”

Meghan smiled and gestured for the captain’s chair at the head of the cot. “Have a seat. You can stow your stuff behind that seat, out of the way. I need to go grab a checksheet – be right back.” She left, and Mitch stowed his backpack where she indicated, draping his jacket over the seat and sat down.

Meghan soon returned with a clipboard, opening both back doors and climbing in. She sat down on the bench seat and handed the clipboard to him. He saw that it contained a checklist for checking the truck out. “Every morning we do truck check. My EMT will usually check the physical truck – tire pressure, lights, oil level, etc. I check the back of the truck here to see if we have everything ready. He’ll join me to finish when he’s done. So let’s get started, and you’ll familiarize yourself with the rig.”

Meghan started going through the checklist with Mitch, checking the glucometer, the cardiac monitor, various supply compartments, and writing down any stocking needs. “Where do you keep narcotics?” Mitch wondered. Meghan smiled and pulled out a set of keys from her pocket. She held up one of the keys. “Up here is our narc cabinet. Only the medic on duty has the key. Dave was on duty last night. I bugged him for the key when I went for the clipboard.” She unlocked the compartment and pulled out the container. She showed Mitch how they checked the narcotics against the records and talked about their safety precautions before locking everything securely up again.

She glanced at her watch. “Stan should be here by now. I’m going to go check…” Just then, Jerry popped his head in through the side door.

“Hey there, Squirt! Heading out or coming on duty?”

“Coming on. What’re you doing here?” Meghan cocked her head at him.

“Stan called me last night. His daughter has the flu, apparently, so he wanted to see if I would come in.” He shrugged. “I didn’t have anything else to do, so I said why not?”

Meghan smiled. “You’re just a big softy, Jerry.”

He hushed her. “Ssh! Don’t tell anyone, I don’t want my reputation ruined.”

Meghan laughed. “We’ve got the truck checks underway back here. And I should also point out that my brother-in-law is riding with us today.”

Jerry nodded. “Hey there, Dr. Branston.”

Mitch shook Jerry’s hand. “You can call me Mitch if you’d prefer.”

“Whatever you say, Doc.” Jerry moved away and headed to the front of the ambulance. Meghan heard him open the driver’s door and toss something up front that made a large thud.

“He’ll be a good one to watch today, too, Mitch,” Meghan commented. She finished going through the packs and supplies before motioning Mitch to come with her off the ambulance. She led him to an area along the back wall that was lined with supplies.

“Here is where we refill our supplies. If we see something is low or out, then we’ll write that on that clipboard over there,” she gestured towards the board with a pen attached to it, “but otherwise we’ll just go through and get what I’ve gotten written down.” She gathered supplies as Mitch read them off to her. Her arms now full of various fluid bags, IV tubing sets, needles, gauze, and medications, they returned to the ambulance and restocked.

She heard a door slam in the bay and soon two faces peeked in through the back doors. “Hey there Meghan! Who’s your friend?” Cherie climbed up the back grate to sit on the floor of the ambulance.

“You remember my brother-in-law, Dr. Mitch Branston?”

“Oh, yes! Sorry, Dr. Branston. We had an early morning call, and the brain’s a bit fuzzy with faces yet.”

He smiled. “Good to see you again, Cherie.”

Dave raised a hand in greeting but didn’t say anything.

Meghan and Cherie chatted about the previous day’s calls, Dave occasionally interjecting into the conversation. They heard various outside compartments open, be rummaged through, and then slam shut. Jerry eventually joined them, having finished his part of the truck checks.

“Oh! By the way, the fire guys said they wanted to meet up for breakfast this morning, usual time and place.”

Meghan grinned. “Yay! Is Chet on duty today?”

Dave thought for a minute, then nodded. “Yeah, it’s B shift today, so he should be on.”

“Good. I need to rib him for the other shift. Kept treating me like porcelain on a rescue.” Meghan closed the last case and stored it away. Everyone climbed out of the ambulance, shutting the doors, and headed for the living quarters. Dave had already vacated his side of the crew bedrooms, so Meghan headed out to her car and retrieved her bedding and personal items. Meghan gestured for Mitch to follow her and entered the room. She deposited her stuff on the twin bed and gestured to the room.

“The bedrooms are sparse, but that’s okay. We have a bed, nightstand, chair, and TV. Plus, through there is a personal bathroom with a shower.”

Mitch took in the small room and smiled. “Our call rooms are about the same, minus the bathroom.” He followed her back out into the living area. Meghan gestured for him to wait while she headed for the passenger side of the ambulance to deposit her water bottle and her own backpack.

**********

Breakfast was its usual fun affair, and Mitch soon felt at ease amongst the group of emergency personnel. No wonder Meghan always speaks fondly of these breakfast gatherings! He thought to himself. The jokes, ribbing, and laughter flowed around the table as tales were shared, news passed along, and coffee flowed.

Meghan and Jerry finally pushed away from the table, getting ready to leave as others were starting to trickle out. “Ready, Mitch?” He nodded and followed them out the door and back to the rig. Meghan waved goodbye to the B-shift crew as they pulled through the parking lot in their engine.

Mitch climbed into the back of the ambulance and leaned through the breezeway so he could talk with Jerry and Meghan. “Where are we heading?”

“Back to the station, Doc, unless you need to go somewhere,” Jerry replied.

“No, I’m fine. I was just curious.” He stayed twisted in his seat as they traveled, preferring to look through the windshield as they moved forward over looking out the back windows. Jerry drove them back to the station and backed the truck into the bay. He shut the ambulance off, and they headed into the station.

**********

It turned out to be a slow day for them, and Mitch commented on it that afternoon as he chatted with Meghan. “Is this the normal pace for y’all?” He was careful to not use the words slow or quiet, knowing how those jinxes worked in the ER.

Meghan shook her head in amusement. “No, not typically. You must’ve brought the student curse with you, Mitch.”

“Student curse?” he questioned.

“A student shows up to learn and gain experience, and we don’t get calls. Just watch – you leave, and we’ll be busy all night!”

Finally, the tones went off for a 2-vehicle car wreck. They hurried to the ambulance, and Meghan responded to Dispatch as Jerry drove them out of the bay, flipping on the lights and sirens. Meghan leaned towards the breezeway so Mitch could hear her as they drove. “Dispatch says there’s a two-vehicle MVC, unknown injuries. So we could have two patients or more. Depending on who else is responding, either I or the fire Captain will have Incident Command on scene. Stick with me or Jerry. You’re only able to observe. Be careful of sharp metal, glass, etc.” She sat back upright in her seat, talking to Jerry and saying something to Dispatch on the radio.

They parked, and Meghan went around to the side door, opening it and motioning Mitch to follow her. She reached in and grabbed the red medic pack. They could see several people walking around the accident scene, and two police officers were already there, directing traffic and people. Meghan handed Mitch a safety vest and pulled hers on as she headed for the cars.

Mitch followed her as she worked, making contact with person after person, directing some back to their vehicles or to the officers and others over to the sidewalk where Jerry was recording vital signs and checking for injuries. This is a lot more chaotic than I’d ever imagined.

Mitch’s attention was drawn back to Meghan as she stood next to the driver’s door of the second vehicle. He could see her talking to the driver and then yanking on the door unsuccessfully. She hollered to the Fire Captain, and the next thing he saw was the firefighters heading towards the car with giant pneumatic equipment. He watched in awe as they popped the door open and then assisted Meghan in laying the patient down and securing him to a backboard.

“Behind you!” Mitch moved out of the way as Jerry wheeled their cot towards the scene. Fire crews lifted the backboard onto the cot and secured it. He followed them back towards the ambulance and stood outside as they loaded the cot into the ambulance.

“Hop in, Doc,” Jerry instructed, and Mitch headed back towards the captain’s chair as Meghan followed. Jerry and another firefighter entered the compartment, and Mitch watched the flurry of movement as the patient’s clothes were cut, a splint applied, oxygen started and an IV established. “Hand me those EKG patches,” Jerry requested, and Mitch handed him the open package that was sitting on the cabinet next to him. Jerry attached the cardiac monitor, looked at the rhythm and printed off a strip. He handed it to Meghan. “Okay, we’re heading. Probably eight minutes out.” He exited the compartment, shut the back doors, and headed for the driver’s seat.

Mitch soon felt the ambulance begin to move. Meghan glanced at the rhythm strip and handed it to Mitch to hold onto. She continued to keep up a conversation with the patient as she obtained a second set of vital signs and other pertinent bits of information. She moved to stand next to Mitch, hanging on to the grab bars on the ceiling of the cab to steady her. “Excuse me, Mitch.” She reached across him and grabbed the radio mike, turning the channel to reach County Medical ER. She called in the patient report, replaced the mike, and set about checking on her patient again. The ambulance turned a corner and started backing up.

“Grab that oxygen tubing and hook him up to the cot tank,” Meghan instructed, grabbing the cardiac monitor and nestling it in between the patient’s legs. Mitch did as instructed, turning off the on-board oxygen as he did so. Meghan gave him a brief smile and returned her attention to the patient. Jerry opened the double doors.

“Ready?” Meghan nodded. Jerry pushed the cot release bar and brought the cot out of the ambulance, the legs dropping and locking into place. Meghan hopped out of the ambulance, followed by Mitch, and they wheeled their patient into the ER.

Bob met them near the door. “Trauma two.” They wheeled into the trauma room, and the team converged on the patient, transferring him from the ambulance cot to the ER gurney. Mitch listened to Meghan give report. Jerry touched him on the arm and motioned him out of the room.

Jerry led him over to the linen cart, removing the soiled linen and depositing it in the dirty linen hamper. He sprayed the cot down with disinfectant and wiped it down before spreading out clean sheets and putting a clean pillowcase on the disinfected pillow. He set a couple of blankets and a sheet on the cot before heading back to the ambulance, Mitch in tow.

What a mess! Various wrappers littered the floor and bench seat, and Mitch could see a small puddle of blood drying where it had dripped from the IV start. Jerry donned a new pair of gloves and started cleaning, disposing of the trash into the trash can, splashing hydrogen peroxide on the blood puddle, and wiping it up. He then disinfected the entire floor and wiped it down before disinfecting the bench seat and cabinet. Finally, he settled the cot back into the ambulance, warning Mitch to watch his toes. Jerry headed back into the ER, Mitch at his heels. Meghan was at the nurses’ station, finishing up her report and chatting with Bob.

Bob smiled when he saw Mitch. “So, Dr. Branston, did you decide the ER was too much and decide to become a paramedic?”

Mitch chuckled. “You wish! No, Meghan offered for me to ride along a couple of times to get a better idea of what she does.”

“What do you think so far?”

“Pretty intense!”

**********

Mitch managed to get several calls in on his first day riding with Meghan. The small child with asthma was probably the roughest call, but even then the child was doing better by the time they arrived at the hospital.

“Is this a pretty typical representation of your shift?” Mitch asked Meghan as they cleaned up after the call.

“Yeah, I guess you could say that,” Meghan replied. “Summer tends to be more trauma calls, and winter more respiratory calls, as I’m sure you see in the ER. But we’ll have times where there are no calls, and then some are back-to-back.” Just then her pager went off, and she ruefully looked at him before glancing down at the message. “Man down. Nothing else. Get in!” She waited for Mitch to clear the track for the cot and shoved it into place before shutting the back doors. Mitch heard the cab doors open and shut and the engine start up.

Soon they were pulling out of the parking area and racing down the street, lights flashing and siren wailing. Meghan turned to shout down the breezeway. “Man down could be anything from someone who fell, someone who didn’t want to get up from a nap and is pretending to be asleep, to a code. Grab that red pack when we get there, okay?” Mitch waved his acknowledgment, and Meghan turned back in her seat to help direct Jerry to the house.

They pulled into a trailer park on the outskirts of town. Jerry turned the siren off but left the lights on, the lights reflecting off of windows in the darkening sky, as they looked for the correct trailer number. They parked outside the trailer, the fire crew having already arrived on-scene first.

One of the firefighters opened Meghan’s door. “We have one male, mid-60s, fell in the kitchen and couldn’t get back up. We’ve already helped him off the floor and onto the couch. He’s refusing transport.” Meghan nodded at the report.

“Okay, let’s go check him out.” She pulled on her gloves and grabbed the laptop. “Mitch, this one will probably be an AMA.” They made their way up the wooden steps to the small deck and entered the trailer. Mitch observed the shabby interior and equally shabby patient now seated on the couch. The man did refuse to be checked out at the hospital, and after her convincing techniques failed, Meghan obtained a signature on the AMA form.

Saying their goodbyes, they exited the trailer, discovering that it had started misting out. “Oh, great,” Meghan muttered. She started down the stairs, slipping a bit as she went. “Careful, they’re slippery.” She had just stepped onto the ground when she heard a loud thud. She turned just in time to see Mitch go down, hitting his head on the steps.