Parking Lot Code....

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Specializes in SICU, EMS, Home Health, School Nursing.

I just had to share my experience from this evening with you all! I was talking to my mom this evening and she invited me to come to dinner with them at Cracker Barrel, and since I wasn't doing anything, I figure why not? I met my family at Cracker Barrel and on the way in, I passed one of the guys I work with on the fire department there eating with his family. So we all said hi and went on our way to eat dinner. After they got done eating, in comes another girl I know from the fire department... she was working for a private ambulance that day, so they were their with their squad.

A few minutes later I see people running around in the parking lot and someone running with an ambu bag. My dad is a paramedic, so him and I jump up and run out to see what is going on and the guy I know from the fire department says "I don't think my grandma is breathing." It turns out she was in full arrest! We pulled her out of the car and one person started chest compressions while I was bagging. We ended up having her intubated and everything before the second ambulance got there.

It was just amazing to see how God had put us all in the right place at the right time to help her!! Going to Cracker Barrel was a spur of the moment choice for me and the people I know from the private ambulance had actually started out somewhere else, got toned out and then didn't feel like going back to the same place so they came to Cracker Barrel. Having the private ambulance there gave us access to all kinds of medical equipment and then with all of the trained staff there, we were able to intervene quickly.

I drove the family up to the hospital and the staff told me they had a heart rhythm back and were just trying to stabilize her. Things were looking good when I left. Even though I am an ICU nurse/EMT and I do things like that every day, it is just different when it is out in the community and you are not in your normal element. The family kept thanking us and apologizing for cutting our dinner short, but I told them, that if it was my grandma, I would want them to do the same thing.

As nurses, we are never truly "off duty", yes we may be off the clock, but we should always be available to help if the need arises.

Specializes in PICU.

That's wonderful that you were all there, able to help save your friend's GM. Definitely not by chance. :)

Specializes in EMS, ER, GI, PCU/Telemetry.

it's amazing how God puts us in the place where we are meant to be at the right time. i'm glad your friend's grandma is ok! good job :)

Specializes in LTC.

Wow. It's amazing the way things work out sometimes.

Specializes in LTC.

Good job! God works in mysterious ways.......

Specializes in private duty/home health, med/surg.

What an awesome story! How fortunate this woman was that the right people were there at her worst moment!

Specializes in CCRN, ICU, ER, MS, WCC, PICC RN.

Good job! I keep waiting for something like that to happen to me ... I seem to have that luck. Never by accident.

Wow, isn't God wonderful ... thank you for being who you are. It's so refreshing to know that good people are still out there in today's day and age.

This is so wonderful, that I just have to share a story as well. My mom's very good friend had an aneurysm while she was driving and she spun out. Low and behold, an off duty fireman was right behind her and behind him was an RN. They both saved her life. She ended up being in a colma for three weeks, and had two other aneurysms that they found and repaired. Needless to say, she is alive and well today thanks to people like you who are selfless in and out of work. Thank you, and I hope if I ever were in danger, I would have people like you there to help me.

Specializes in MED SURG/ PSY.

i hope to be a good nurse like u one day :nurse::nurse::nurse::yeah:

Specializes in Flight Nurse, Pedi CICU, IR, Adult CTICU.

LOL! I initially expected this thread to be about Parking Lot Ettiquette!

As a former flight nurse and paramedic, I have encountered similar situations, and sometimes I just wondered the statistical or karmic chance that these things happened.

Specializes in SICU, EMS, Home Health, School Nursing.
LOL! I initially expected this thread to be about Parking Lot Ettiquette!

As a former flight nurse and paramedic, I have encountered similar situations, and sometimes I just wondered the statistical or karmic chance that these things happened.

They tease me at work about that... About 2 years ago, I had a lady code in the cafeteria and I was the only nurse there. About a year ago one of my friends little boy hit his head and had a grand mal seizure and we have had 2 people go down at church within the last 2 years!?! Luckily the people at church had just passed out and it was nothing major. I know of nurses that have never had situations in where they have had to call 911, code a person, etc outside of the hospital, but in the last 3 years I have had it happen to me 5 times!?! My dad is a paramedic and he has things happen a lot too and we have noticed that they tend to happen even more when we are out somewhere together. My mom always tells us that she can't take us anywhere.

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