Possum, Weight Loss, and the S&M of EMS

I killed a possum on my drive home from EMT class last night. I am amped up after class each night; just being back in a school-like learning environment is exciting for me, but it is even more invigorating when we are learning about the human body and how to safely care for it. It was 10:15 PM (late for me) and I was driving on a two-lane road, wooded on either side. Then this large, maybe 30 pound possum comes out of the woods on the far side, running on its little, stunted legs. Its hairless rat-tail glistening in my headlights. I braked and swerved but heard and felt that thUMP that only a living thing, full of blood makes when you hit it with your car. This ruined my EMT class buzz. And as soon as the reality made me sad, the irony kicked in.

On another note, please stay slim. We practiced lifting and moving patients last night. I must be able to lift a 250 pound patient strapped to a backboard with my partner. This is very very difficult. Felton and I lifted a 210 pound classmate last night, and then another small woman and I lifted another 200 pound classmate, and I was wupped. The part that is especially discouraging is that 250 pounds isn't much. We heard the stories from our teachers of 300+ pound people. At that weight the stretchers aren't even reliable and you need to call the fire dept and do a patient carry with 4 - 6 people, and that only works if the hallway or stairway is large enough. And of course, obese people are even more likely to need EMS services. So, please please think of the poor EMS staff and what they will need to do to help you if you need it.

Speaking of the 210 pound male classmate I lifted... Before you lift a patient on a backboard you need to secure him. This is sexy, if you are into this kind of thing. There is a securing device called a spider strap. This fully restains your patient and on a backboard using this puts the patient in a full body splint. Lots of velcro and webbing. After my partner and I secured our male classmate, his own partner, another 20-something year-old man, proceeded to start flicking his nose and playfully punching him in the chest. It was all I could do not to ask if he wanted a whip.