What a drag!

Joined
Oct 24, 2002
Messages
47
Get comfortable this is a long one!

I work for the Fire Department as a fireman and paramedic. Early yesterday morning we went on a call for a lady who's heart had stopped. During the course of the call I stuck myself with a dirty needle.:mad: OK not so bad, but come to find out this patient had Hepatitis C. Wait this gets even better. Hep C is transmitted almost exclusively by blood and the city Doc said until we have her blood tested I should take an anti-HIV cocktail...Just in case. Apparently a lot of Hep C patients also have HIV. So now I get to take drugs that make me P&P (poop and puke)! Actually so far so good, I haven't had any problems with the drugs, just a slight upset stomach. I should have the results of her blood test in 4-5 days and hopefully will be able to stop taking the drugs after that. City Doc also said that if I do contract Hep C they have a new drug that has a 98% cure rate. All in all a big bummer, but it could be worse. If she does have HIV that means no unprotected sex with the wife for 6 months :eek: :( I'll let you know how it turns out.

On a lighter side. I have been dealing w/Countycomm.com and they are awesome. They are an internet site for tactical gear and gadgets. Lights, glasses, bags etc. They have great customer service. I ordered a pair of glasses for eye protection (after a patient puked in my face :barf: ) I promptly :barf: on her, just kidding. I did get some in my eyes and it was gross. Vomit has got to be the nastiest thing I have to deal with! IMHO. :grumpy: Anyway to make 2 long stories longer they sent me the glasses right away, they're awesome, slight tint and my partner and I quickly found that we really needed the completely clear ones. After e-mailing Frank at Countycomm asking if they carried clear glasses he e-mailed me right back and said they would get some in, in about a week. A couple weeks later 2 more sets of the clear glasses w/replacement lenses show up on my doorstep with a note stating if I liked him just paypal him the money! I was very impressed. :cool: Check it out countycomm.com if you like gadgets and gear.
 
TM, we'll all be sending good vibes your way that things work out okay. Sucks to try to help someone and find that no good deed goes unpunished. :(
 
Toxic,man that really sucks!I also have the highest regards for your profession and am also glad you are doin it and not me,I wouldnt do it at all.On the lighter side though I would be greatly surprised if you find out you have hep,C and even greater surprised if you contacted HIV.While the chances are there it is unlikely you contracted a disease from one prick especially after you squeezed the blood out of the needle cut and used a topical wash like iodine(which I'm sure you did)Still I would not have sex with the wife until all is confirmed OK just to be safe and to protect the ones you love.Even if you are extremely careful you are in a situation to put yourself at risk in your profession,but still(and we know you know this)be careful because we need guys like you out there and not some of the lousy people you help.That sounds harsh but its true,dont let that one doper ruin your life.
 
TM,

Hope things turn your way with this and I wanted to say also, thanks to you and your fellow paramedics across the country for the dangerous work that you do everyday to save lives of the rest of us and of our loved ones!!!

About 10 days ago, a sub-contractor who used to do some work with me had his eldest son who is a paramedic on LifeFlight out of SLC, UT was the only survivor when the LifeFlight crashed in some very bad weather. He's alive but he's in pretty bad shape and the 2 other crew members died while trying to save the life of people they never really met! Heroes in my book!!

So thanks again and good luck, our prayers ore going out to you.
 
Tox, I'm a FF/EMT-P as well.

First, you're lucky the anti-HIV drugs aren't making you sick, there have been some guys exposed here who begged to quit taking the stuff.

I don't know why you would have to wait 4-5 days for her test results. I'd be choking some results out of somebody. Exposures and the ringer they run you through after really suck, but there was a little humor in mine. I went through a more minor exposure, but they still made two of us get tested. The hospital sent the results to my house. The envelope was stamped in big red letters, "CONFIDENTIAL-HIV TEST RESULTS". I'm only surprised the mailman didn't throw it on the lawn and run away.

As far as the tx. for Hep-C, make sure to get all the info on it before you decide to start. The side effects of the treatment are pretty bad, and it's not a short course.

Hang in there, brother. Contact me by email if you want.
 
Toxic....Good luck!!I hope everything works out for the good!Thanks for the great job you do as fireman/paramedic.
 
Thanks for the support Gentlemen!

It really is nice to hear how much those of us in the civil service are appreciated:) We don't often hear it from those we take care of.

Hunter, I remember hearing about that crash, I'll keep him and his family in my prayers.

Geraldo, nice to meet ya brother! The results are taking so long because the woman died and went to OME and they don't do anything over the weekend. Let me know if you want to trade t-shirts.

I'll be up in Phoenix for the next couple days my daughter is swimming in a big meet, no computers around hope I don't miss the contest!
 
Tox,

I too would like to thank you for your service, and hope all turns out o.k. for you man.

Mike

p.s. I bought the CMG Ultra w/US GOVT marking from Countycomm and received excellent service. I'd buy fro mthem again in a heartbeat.
 
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