Steven Velásquez - Granting "Sirenity"

Your patient is one of the dozens your system will encounter this week who's had an adverse reaction to an opiate ingestion. The patient is revived by law enforcement prior to your arrival with intranasal administration of Naloxone ® (Narcan) , the popular opiate antagonist cited in every news feed in the U.S. The rest of the call is a ground ball, an all too familiar, routine transfer to the local hospital where your patient is likely a frequent consumer of health services. Transferring Care     When your team arrives, there are several ambulances in the ER bays dropping off, picking up, doing the business of their trade. You roll your stretcher inside with your now awake, and visibly annoyed, patient (annoyed because you ruined his high), get him registered, and attempt to give the triage nurse your patient report. A neighboring volunteer EMS agency is also giving report on their patient (completely unrelated incidents) when their "leader" happens to overhear your...

Sitting in our station last night, the local cable channel showed a commercial of an unnamed, regional, academic medical center that is known for excellence in many specialties. We'll call it "Big Hospital X". I felt it was a good piece of marketing, liked the imagery, the aerial views of the facility, the smiling faces of the competent within. It was -- good marketing. In the middle of the night, we responded to a call for a person with chest pain who had consumed an enormous amount of nitroglycerine  (NTG) as in more than five times the prescribed dose, and more importantly, without relief. Some of our most basic training informs us that chest pain that does not respond to nitroglycerine is less likely to be angina and more consistent with someone having a heart attack. Upon arrival we encounter a strong looking, hulk of a man in his early 60's seated at the dining room table. Long story short, he's had heart attacks in the past, has had coronary artery byp...

It's been nine months, since I had my spinal fusion surgery. This procedure is not designed for pain management, it is designed for adding stability to an unstable spine. The reason I had it, is because: My surgeon believed that all else had failed I was still living with unbearable, daily pain, despite high doses of opioids for over two years My surgeon believed if he were to add stability to the area, it would be reasonable to expect there might be subsequent pain relief.  I agreed. Since February, I've been through months of physical therapy. I returned to my teaching job after 12 weeks and my EMS job after seven, long months. I've lost over thirty pounds and have happily had to purchase the first smaller sized clothing since I was a boy.  The article below began as a Facebook post on February 17, 2017. I have since modified it slightly to add more specific detail and correct any errors. This is an account of what I went through immediately after my surger...

October 30, 2017  It has been quite a while since I've paid attention to my blog. A busy life and crossing over from healthcare provider to patient are partially to blame. Sadly, these past two years have been punctuated with indescribable pain, high doses of opiates, one spinal procedure after another, loss of income, and two surgeries to try to ameliorate my pain. Nothing has succeeded. I'm in less pain than I was prior to my last surgery, but in chronic pain nonetheless. In a few weeks I'll have a neural stimulator implanted permanently in my spine that will send my brain something to think about other than the constant pain signal. First steps... Feb. 2017 So that's the story between then and now. Recently, I've received some very strong words of encouragement from people who I hold in the highest regard, people who influence the lives of others, and shape the field I'm so proud to have worked in these past thirty years. "When am I going to r...

Thanksgiving Dinner during WWII As a photographer and paramedic, I have been blessed (sometimes cursed) with the ability to permanently capture the world around me in vivid, exquisite detail, in " History Windows " (pictures). Each profession, I believe, has made me better at the other. Saturday night, I worked with Jamie. It was our first time together though we had known each other for years. The call volume was steady. A little of this, a little of that. Some needed advanced life support and others not. Around 02:30 in the morning, we went to the address of a 92 year old female who was having gastrointestinal discomfort. She had recently been hospitalized for the same and probably would benefit by returning tonight - just not with the care of the paramedics as she was completely stable. I disconnected my equipment and explained to the family that the local EMS agency would be taking their mother back to the hospital. Across the bed from me was the patient's son...

Giving Thanks and Seeing Why Much has occurred recently, some good, some bad, some by design and some by coincidence. All of it has lead to a late November holiday worth truly giving thanks. On Health I've been a diagnosed type II diabetic since my Nicolette was born 20 years ago. The disease has a lot more complexity to it than just managing a euboxic glucose range. Good diabetics go visit their eye doctors annually. I am a good diabetic. By the age of forty I began wearing glasses. Unsure if my vision was declining due to age, diabetes or a combination of, I kept visiting and every so often, he kept changing my prescription. Me, a photographer and avid reader with declining eye sight - go figure. Last year he dropped this bomb on me; " Steve you're developing a cataract in your right eye. We're not going to worry about it unless it begins to affect your vision ." " Cataracts ?!" I yelled. " Cataracts are what my grandparents get !" ...