At the Fort Worth Municipal building, a gathering of AED/CPR survivors. I was told 10 of them; they came with their families, and there were a lot of lay rescuers and EMS, who as usual deserve the credit for a ‘save’, as if they don’t get the heart restarted in the field there’s not a lot we can do in the ER.
I was also told I was involved in the care of 4 of them. Crazy odds.
Two patients knew of me (probably from billing, frankly, none were awake in the ED), and they were 100% neurologically intact. We had nice chats, and I got my photo with both, but as I didn’t ask their permission to post them, I won’t.
Still, wow.
It’s incredibly humbling to have follow-up on a happy ED case, and when it’s neurologically intact CPR survivors, it’s the equivalent of a Moon shot for an ER guy, and today I got four. Four.
(It’s an occupational hazard in the ED that we meet/greet/diagnose/stabilize and disposition, and what that individual patients’ medical future holds we have no idea unless we go out of our way, and we’re busy enough nobody I know goes out of their way to follow up cases).
I am renewed. I’m not a Pollyanna doc (read the blog), but this has my attention: the practice has changed, and it works.
Hallelujah.
Nice!
What a nice event. I hope the lady I shocked on a ferry dock fourteen years ago has had a long and productive life. I’ve always assumed she survived since we had rosc before the fire department arrived and she was breathing on her own when they left.
“I met some CPR survivors today; I was involved with some of them” great post from @gruntdoc http://t.co/BnPgoshwIi
Nice! I’m sure that was in large part due to excellent in hospital care as well, so well done!
What happens when an emergency physician meets 4 CPR survivors whom he has saved? @gruntdoc explains: http://t.co/Rt3cbyWH3B
I met some CPR survivors today; I was involved with some of them http://t.co/ogqg1Pa24n
This is awesome. Congratulations.
I have also gotten to see a patient after we performed CPR. We had a patient on our floor who was walking back from therapy and said, “I don’t feel very good” and proceeded to fall into his recliner and stop breathing. We got him back to his room and performed CPR. We got him back and he was moved to the ICU where he stayed for a week or two. He was transferred back to our floor and would thank everyone who walked into the room for saving him. He came back later to our floor and thanked us again.