Night Shift and popping "Bu's"

Chris and I picked up a night shift together and it was nice. 

We started out the shift with an emergency transfer.  A lady had a sub-arachnoid hemorrhage (fancy talk for a bleed inside the head) and an AMI (Acute Myocardial Infarction, fancy talk for a heart attack.)  She was a bit of a nag... "I want this, I want that, give me this, what's with all the bumps, can't you drive?"  Sometimes, holding your tounge is the hardest thing...

Then, we went to an after hour's clinic, 12 minutes before they were set to close.... suspicious, yes, very suspicious. She was an anxiety case, wowza.  She has a history of ulcers and says it feels like another ulcer.  Pretty Straight forward.  The part that bugs me is, "I've been out of my ativan for a week and my prilosec for a 3 weeks."  (I'm having a hard time with people who choose not to manage their conditions, then call the ambulance when the flare up's happen due to their ill management of those conditions, but I'm sure I will probably rant about this another day, but anyway.) Well... you say your tummy hurts, ok.  You are saying you are vomiting, ok.  Now show me.  Most people with ABD pain, present in a certain way.  She wasn't, and I didn't see any vomiting or evidence of vomiting either.  But... the blessing here, is that as soon as she was on our cot, she her anxiety was mostly resolved... At least I could do that for her.

After a short nap... Chris's pt was a man who was drinking all night, met the fire department at the door with a gun, and said he was having a "really fast heart rate."  Mmmk, well, let's hook you up to the monitor and take a look.... So, we did. Whoa! Sinus at 230.  Sucks for you bud, but awesome for us that we finally have a pt who actually need's an ambulance.  Started a line on scene, and his rate went to 130 and maintained there.... got him to the cot, then off to the hospital.

After another little nap, we got another call... En route, we were bumping along and all of a sudden, we hear a big POP!  and the Bu (amBUlance) coasted to a halt.  We called dispatch and let them know we weren't going to make it.  They sent another unit, and we called Sup for answer's.  We turned the truck and power off, then restarted, it went well... Now we could manage speeds of 30mph!  Yahoo!!  We limped back to 41 and ended our shift.

Now, I'm sure if you have never met me, or don't know anything about EMS, this post will probably have some upsetting points.  Now let me explain.....

• Pt #1 - If you are still nagging about every detail, you are not very sick. Think about it.  (Yes, I understand that this lady was very sick, but have some humility.  I can't fix the bumps in the road, and there are too many to avoid them all, still upset?  Contact your local government to fix the roads, and be prepared for a tax hike.)
• Next Pt... Doctor's write you prescriptions and send you home for a reason.  They can't manage every detail of your life, so they give you the tools to manage your chronic (long term) conditions at home, so that you can still live your life.  Now, doc did his job getting you the prescription, now it's your turn to be an adult and take care of yourself.  An ambulance ride to the hospital is not an acceptable way of getting your prescriptions refilled.
• Fast heart rate man... Please don't call 911, then pull a gun when you have a knock at your door.  You called for help, remember? 

In closing, when I was in Paramedic School, a very wise man told me that, "Everyone has their limits, thing's that aren't an emergency for you or I, might be an event that throws these people into a state of emergency."  Well, Mr. Lee Thomas, I haven't forgotten, and I'm trying to keep all of the things that you taught me in mind... So, to the public:  I understand, however, there are some things that aren't emergencies to anyone.  So, please, think for a moment.