Oh my achin' back....

It was September of 2010 when I went to SWAT school. I had waited 10 years to feel like I was ready and to have the opportunity to go. I couldn't have been more excited. On the first day we did the obstacle course. I will never forget hanging off the side of that 10 foot wall right before I dropped down. I was thinking "oh myGod I'm really here, shut up and get back to work, ready? ok drop" and when the lightening bolts of pain shot up my spine when I landed flat on my feet I thought "no worries I'll be fine". 2 days later I couldn't do a jumping jack. The team doc thought it was a disc. He wanted to know if I was still good to go or if I needed to stop. "stop?! STOP?! do you know what I've been through to get here??" I pushed on. Until the half way mark, when I woke up on the cold concrete floor of an building at an outdoor firing range, after we had been up clearing buildings most of the night, and the thought of putting on my vest made me tear up. I had to go. I hung my head in shame all the way home. The doc was right I had herniated two discs in my lower back. After some rest and PT I was good to go back to work....Fast forward 2 years to a long night on the medic. It was late, already I was behind on my paperwork and we get a call for breathing difficulty. We get there and she isn't having breathing difficulty. The cellulitis in her leg hurts and she wants stronger pain meds. Sigh. Here is the problem. She is a robust woman of nearly 500 lbs or more and somehow she can'...
Source: Ridin' the bus - Category: Ambulance Crew Source Type: blogs