Today is Such a Beautiful Day for a Cardiopulmonary Arrest
By Dr. 99
I sit here in the middle of a park. Seventy degrees out and a slight breeze. A faint trace of a cloud in the sky above. Parents arriving with their small children to exert themselves on the playground. Everywhere I look there are smiles. I can’t think of a more beautiful day for a cardiopulmonary arrest.
I love people watching. I look around and wonder: who are these people? from where did they come? where are they going? Most of all I wonder which one of them will collapse to the ground and be the center of what will become a scene. I wouldn’t mind if that person we code collapse right by the water fountain, out in the sun. Actually, I take that back. Maybe if he or she collapses by those benches over there, at least that would afford the code team some shade.
It’s a shame that the person can’t appreciate the fresh air outside now that we’re breathing for him now. But that’s all right: we’ll take those breaths instead and tell him about it later, if he survives that is.
The crash cart and the medications inside take on a whole new personality when out in broad daylight. I wonder why we don’t run more Code Blues outside under blue skies. Why would want to code a person inside on a lovely day like this?!
Out of the corner of my eye, I see a pack of runners, and it makes me wonder: who is working up more of a sweat, the runners or the group of us performing high-quality chest compressions? I guess it depends how long they run, how long our code goes. The thing about a pitch-perfect day like today is that it’s warm enough to make you break a sweat, but the breeze cools you off just fine. I like that.
I love seeing so many people outside, even if it’s because they’re forming a wall five-people deep trying to figure out if we’re succeeding in our resuscitation efforts. I love hearing the birds chirp, though they’re hard to make out with the ambulance sirens approaching. I feel bad drowning out the children’s laughter with our cries for more epinephrine.
My oh my, now that I think of it, it’s such a beautiful day for bicarb.
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