So, I will be the first to admit that I am spoiled. I am on the ladder truck, which is the promary Special Ops truck in the city. My station also has the only rescue truck based out of it. Translation- rescue runs most of the medical calls and I roll over and go back to sleep. Life is GOOD.

Last shift, I knew things were going to get bad when the rescue crew returned from a call with an old duffer who couldn't breath and refused to go to the hospital. Sure enough, rescue got banged out on a call and ten minutes later so did the ladder. When dispatch advised that we had already been at the residence once that evening, I just KNEW I was gonna get a tube.

We get on scene, the transport unit was almost right behind us and I practically drag my crew inside because I want to get some ALS skills going (yes, I actually wanted to do work. I know, what gives). The gentleman was sitting in his wheel chair telling me in no uncertain terms that his wheel chair was going with him to the hospital. He was talking, so he could breath, right? I make him repeat what his complaint was to get him off the wheel chair issue and he chills out a bit. The transport crew is wondering in and I listen to lung sounds while my crew starts getting vitals ( I love my guys). I listen.....and hear virtually nothing. I look at the transport medic and give a five word report that ends with 'lets get him loaded up before he crashes'.

Now, school has taught us that some patients are stay and play and some are load-n-go. This guy was sweating profusely and ashen- time to GO! The transport EMT slowly carries his equipment to the truck in order to set up a nebulizer. Ok, we can help his partner get the patient onto the stretcher- no problem. Except that the medic is looking at me and ssssllllooowwwwwlllyyyy undoing the straps so that we can load the guy.

I am sometimes impatient. Its a flaw at times and a benefit at others. Smiling, I flip the straps off the stretcher and position the patient's wheel chair next to the stretcher. Now our legless patient starts to show his butt and yells at us to treat him right now. No problem, I'm all for it except I'm trapped about six feet away from my equipment. So, I talk the guy onto the stretcher. Now, all we need to do is strap him in and we are off.

I don't know how many of you have transported legless patients. Obviously, I have not had many occasions to do so myself. No legs means the lower straps on the stretcher don't really do a lot of good. Fortunately, the stretcher had a harness up top, except the guy refused to lean back far enough to let us secure it. I talk him into leaning back into a seated position and just get the harness done when he freaks out and undoes everything.

Now, I know what is fixing to happen. This guy's O2 sat is rapidly going down and his antics are going to kill him faster. I get in this guy's ear and basically tell him that if he doesn't co-operate, we are going to have to give him a very nasty medication that WILL make him stop breathing and we ARE going to shove a plastic tube down his throat. It got his attention, he stopped yelling and complied with treatment. We helped load him up, offered a rider to the transport unit ( an EMT of course, I wanted to go back to bed-just kidding, I offered to go.) and went back home.