All In A Days Work

After today I really think I can say I have seen it all. Today was an interesting day at work. Some how it was like horses went on revenge against man today. Today we had some crazy traumas. Working in an ER of a Level 1 Trauma Center has really changed the way I look at a lot of things, especially about how much every single person takes life for granted. At least until they almost meet their maker.
I did when I was 16, I was closer than I care to ever be again. In fact I was in full cardiac arrest. This is something my mom never told me until last year. She said I was better off not knowing. Her telling me 9 years later, well I kind of thank her for that. But it really has changed my perspective. Even up until the moment I found out I had always known that I almost bit the dust and that was enough to change the way I looked at things. I guess thats maybe why I am in nursing school and working in an emergency room. There is some sort of sick satisfaction I get out of the rush of it, the gore but also the helping. We get the worst of the worst and try to fix them. Some shit is really scary that goes on down there and I am left with stories for a life time.
But back to the beginning of this whole thing. The horses went on revenge day. So today we had a lot of people hurt on horses, hurt real bad. We had a guy riding his motorcycle who hit a horse and carriage, this man was in very rough shape all ribs...broken, blood pressures were unstable, ruptured aorta. I mean this man was on his death bed, I hope he made it out of the OR.
Then we had a man who was riding his horse. His horse decided to throw him off and stomp on his head. I think this guy is going to be ok though. From what I hear and saw he looks like he should be.
Then we had lady on horse, horse gets spooked, horse throws lady off and lands on top of her, crushing her chest and damaging some internal organs. After a short stint in the hospital she should be ok.
Next....lady on horse, horse throws her off. Lady breaks her arm in 2 spots, goes to get up and gets mule kicked by the horse then breaking some ribs.
Thats not even the worst of it. We had a really bad trauma about 10 minutes before my shift ended which of course ended up keeping me there a little later than I had intended. This was a 20 year old girl. She was riding a quad and flew over the handle bars at about 30mph with her face taking the blunt of the impact. She had no helmet on. So imagine that. It was pretty bad, when I see things like this it does from time to time haunt me in my sleep even when I am awake I sit and think about it. Especially at an age like 20. Its so young. I remember being 20 and thinking I had seen it all, done it all and knew it all. Here I am now almost 27 and every day since 20 have seen more, learned more and done more. I really have this image of her stuck in my head and I can not shake it. Mainly because it was the last thing I saw before leaving work
Today was a different day. Usually get get a lot of shootings, stabbings and assaults. Instead today it was a lot of tragic interruptions to peoples lives who were out doing not wrong but enjoying a gorgeous day. Today I was again reminded about how quickly your life can change at the drop of a hat.
It is on days like today that I at times think about turning to the bottle to forget about it, but then I remind myself that after the bottle is gone and I wake up it will still be there, so why bother. Instead I sit down and share the stories. Not to be some sick fuck or to try to make my job seem so crazy but to remind the people I care about, that they should always remember that it can happen to anyone so enjoy what you have.

and to end this quote just seems to fit.

This is from a song by Alexi Murdoch called Breathe

"And all the suffering that you've witnessed
And the hand prints on the wall
They remind you how it's endless
How endlessly you fall"

Good night