Ick, ew

I figured I would get some grossed out comments from my last post! Yup, that is my job. The abnormal is very normal. I don't find it gross, really. The only thing that still bothers me is watching people vomit. Oh, and decomposing body smell. I'm not sure one ever gets over that.
I'm glad we have variety in people, because I could never be a teacher. Or a mortician. Or a garbage collector. Or a doctor. Or an actress (for a job. I like to be on stage but I couldn't handle the lack of job security or the emphasis on aesthetic). But I could be a paramedic, and love it.
And Deb, I'd have loved a transfer like you. The only transfers I like are mom and babe returns, and a maternity transfer is RIGHT up my alley. The transfers I don't like are the boring old people going from boring ward in one hospital to boring ward in another hospital, and we do a LOTTA those. We have a whole transfer fleet of ambulances with regular full time paramedics who CHOOSE to be transfer paramedics who do most of the transfers, but they can't keep up with the demand so the emergency cars wind up picking up the extras. I'm glad you got good care when you were transfered!
And Janet, I know that some brittle diabetics have wonky sugars despite all efforts to control them; this lady is a frequent flyer and I know she doesn't take care of herself because (a) we see her all the time, (b) her husband complains that she won't stop and eat if she's in the middle of something, and (c) she displays an almost willful lack of knowledge regarding diabetic management. We try and educate her regarding protein consumption and refined sugar avoidance but it is a control issue with her, I think. She just doesn't want to be told what to eat or when, or how often to test her sugars (she refuses to test them at all, mostly). So yes, it is possible to have an unstable diabetic who eats well and manages sugars well and is still unstable, but this woman is not one of those. I'm sorry your mom has so much trouble (and I sure hope no paramedic comes along and judges her!)
And yes, I love my job, despite the weird stuff I see.