Ambulance or Take Yourself?

[CathrynRose]

Last night a house a few doors down from us must have called an ambulance. Because at 3.30 in the morning, the lights (and Charley) awoke us to the commotion outside.

My husband and I eyeballed out the window watching the woman on the stretcher, sitting up and her husband by her side. About 1/2 or so passed, and they finally left with her in the ambulance, her husband following in his truck. We ate chocolate while peering out the window (why is chocolate so good in the middle of the night? )

I don't know what happened. But his truck is back in the driveway, as of this morning 7.30-ish.

This is the thing, though - we live within walking distance to the hospital. We're ridiculously close. I've thought to myself (being a hypochondriac) that if something happened, I'd take myself to the hospital. And in this case - she wouldn't even have to have taken herself - her husband was there.

Now granted, I don't know what happened. But there were no police, so I assume no domestic issues. And we're SO CLOSE to the hospital - it would take longer to call 911 - and wait for the ambulance, than to just go! Like I said - walking distance.

Seemed weird. Would you call an ambulance?

 

[SpecialK]

Maybe they were thinking that ambulance arrivals get a higher priority at the ER and they could avoid sitting there for 5 or 6 hous, especially if your local hosp. is a trauma cntr.

 

[ksjayhawks]

It would depend on what was wrong--could I get in/out of a vehicle on my own; what something else wrong before she left the house--seizure, fell, etc.

 

[CathrynRose]

I mean, everyone is right - I don't know what happened. The ambulance could have been called in panic mode - who knows.

I just think it would have been quicker, not to. I dunno.

 

[mamamary]

Maybe they were thinking that ambulance arrivals get a higher priority at the ER and they could avoid sitting there for 5 or 6 hous, especially if your local hosp. is a trauma cntr.

This is what I was thinking. I've only ever called an ambulance once when my dad was here. He wasn't feeling well (kidney issues) but he didn't want to let on but by then he was in so much pain he couldn't even walk. Maybe this person was in so much pain????? I know when I had kidney pain I could barely walk but a few hours later when the stone passed I was perfectly fine. Maybe is was something like that.

 

[TheZue]

It might be quicker to GET there, but once you are there you have to go through the waiting room. Here if you go by ambulance you skip that step. So that wait for the ambulance can save a ton of time, and if it's urgent that's really important.

 

[Darcy03231]

In an real emergency it doesn't matter whether you arrive by ambulance or car. DD was 5 and had a seizure (never had one before). Hospital was a block from my house at the time. I loaded her in the car and off we went. There was no hesitation by the ER staff. We completely bypassed anytime type of wait and were admitted immediately. Her Dr. met us there and she ended up staying for a couple of days.

 

[Janet Hill]

We live within walking distance of a hospital and I had to call an ambulance to take my husband to the hospital and he was sitting up when the took him out of here. I had no choice.

He's a type 1 diabetic and he got a new pump and apparently he got distracted when he was programming it and OD himself on insulin overnight ( he had the pump for 10 years so it wasn't like he was a novice). I awoke when I heard him moaning and gurgling. I immediately recognized what was wrong and got the glucogen and injected him; however, it didn't do the trick. Why because he wasn't paying attention and the stupid thing had expired 4 years previous. He was passed out so I couldn't give him anything to eat or drink. I couldn't have carried him down the stairs and to the car. I called an ambulance. They came and gave him an IV. Within, minutes he was semi-conscious but since he wasn't lucid he couldn't refuse medical treatment so they took him off to the hospital sitting up looking somewhat dazed.

What a night. The house just happened to be a mess and my husband was naked IYKWIM. I was embarrassed to say the least.

 

[Disney Doll]

Depends on what was wrong.

Walking or driving yourself could lead to more problems...I picture passing out while walking along on the road and laying there till someone notices you or passiing out while driving & what difficulties THAT could cause, or even while someone else is driving and then they panic and the difficulties THAT could cause and so on.

My theory is "when in doubt, call an ambulance".

 

[welovedisneyx4]

Maybe they were thinking that ambulance arrivals get a higher priority at the ER and they could avoid sitting there for 5 or 6 hous, especially if your local hosp. is a trauma cntr.

That would be a consideration. When DS (who is diabetic), had a seizure due to low blood sugar a couple of years ago, we called 911. (It was the 1st time-and only, so far-that he has had a seizure) Anyway, he was awake and doing much better by the time the ambulance got there. They said we could take him to the ER ourselves, or they could take him in the ambulance. They said specificly that he would get much higher priority coming in through them over us just bringing him in. Also, we were worried about him having another seizure on the way to the hospital.

Granted, we don't live close to the hospital, but it would have only taken about 10 minutes to get there in the middle of the night.

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

Maybe she fell and shouldn't be moved until she was checked out. When DS got hurt at a soccer game a couple of years ago, he spent a lot of time on the field waiting for the ambulance and being checked out and put in a neck/back brace before transport. Who knows.

 

[welovedisneyx4]

What a night. The house just happened to be a mess and my husband was naked IYKWIM. I was embarrassed to say the least.

I don't worry about the naked part w/ DS b/c he always wears PJ's, but I do worry about the house being dirty and also I try to make sure the kids pick up their toys on the front walk and from in front of the front door just for that reason. I could just see the paramedics needing to tend to themselves for falling over a skateboard, bike, etc. when they were trying to get into our house! LOL!!

 

[Dan Murphy]

When I had my heart issues some weeks back, I was ready to call 911, but opted for Marie taking me. We live about 15 minutes from local hospital, Lutheran General, which is also a regional trauma hospital. When I was having breathing issues, I was within moments of doing 911, but then seemed to get my breath back and continued with Marie driving me idea.

With son Vince a FF/paramed and DIL, Katlyn, an ER nurse, both have always recommended, when in doubt, call 911. I did not follow their recommendations, LOL.

I do know however, that when I walked into the ER, while Marie was parking the car, as soon as I mentioned 'heart' I was escorted into the triage area in seconds and had a 12 lead on me before Marie could make it to the ER area, about 2 minutes after she dropped me at the door.

I guess it is always a tough call, though I do know had I been alone then, I would have called 911. As DD mentioned above, even a driver could get panicked if the passenger/patient was having something awful happening, seizure, bleeding, lord knows what, while in transport. Trained medical folks, like son and DIL mentioned above, routinely deal with that stuff on a day to day basis and are not nearly as emotionally involved.

I do hope she is okay.

 

[RN4Babies]

Depends on what was wrong.

Walking or driving yourself could lead to more problems...I picture passing out while walking along on the road and laying there till someone notices you or passiing out while driving & what difficulties THAT could cause, or even while someone else is driving and then they panic and the difficulties THAT could cause and so on.

My theory is "when in doubt, call an ambulance".

ITA. The ER where my ex works has people who show up on their own because of chest pain. If it's a heart attack, the paramedics/EMT's have the monitoring equipment, medication, paddles etc. to treat you either at home or in transit to the hospital. Im an RN, I live less than a mile from a large trauma hospital and a large pediatric hospital, but if it's something like an insulin overdose/changed level of consciousness or alertness/chest pain/shortness of breath, I'm calling 911 every time.

 

[taximomfor4]

Depends on lots of things. For certain things (chest pain, difficulty breathing...where 2 minutes can make a life-altering difference) I might go by ambulance. There are emergency meds that the medics can give, on orders from the ER, while en route. My dd, at 8 yrs old, got croup. Great difficulty breathing. The paramedics gave her oxygen in the ambulance on the way, and a breathing treatment. She arrived in her exam room at the ER already on the oxygen, so had a head start in treating her hypoxia.

Chest pain, same thing. I don't have a defibrillator in my car (and couldn't use it on my passenger while driving to the ER anyway.) There are just some conditions that it might be best to be in an ambulance if things get bad quickly.

I don't know your neighbor, of course, but middle-of-the-night things are commonly chest pain/other possible heart attack symptoms.

 

[CathrynRose]

Everyone's right - I don't know what happened.

But this was my thought - the fire station is further from our house, than the hospital. So, if it were chest pains, breathing, I really, really think it would be quicker to drive there. No, not think - I know.

I understand medical equipment, etc being in the ambulance - but again, you have to wait for the ambulance.

I dont know. I think that's why I asked. It seemed strange to me.

Like many PP's said - perhaps the hubby was paniced, too.

 

[RN4Babies]

Everyone's right - I don't know what happened.

But this was my thought - the fire station is further from our house, than the hospital. So, if it were chest pains, breathing, I really, really think it would be quicker to drive there. No, not think - I know.

I understand medical equipment, etc being in the ambulance - but again, you have to wait for the ambulance.

I dont know. I think that's why I asked. It seemed strange to me.

Like many PP's said - perhaps the hubby was paniced, too.

If it's something like a heart attack, sitting and waiting keeps your blood pressure and pulse lower than the physical effort it takes to get into a car, driving to the hospital, getting out of the car and walking into the ER.

 

[mickeyboat]

My FIL has had a couple of bouts of distended bowels this year. The first time he called DH in the middle of the night and then the ambulance. The second time he called me at work, and I called the ambulance. The third time he called me at work and I decided to drive him - no chest pains, blood pressure was fine, he was able to easily walk to the car.

BIG MISTAKE!

FIL was o.k. when we left the house for the 10 minute drive to the hospital, but had a full-blown panic attack in the car on the way. I ended up driving very dangerously because he was certain he was having a heart attack and was going to die before we got to the hospital. I was distracted and stressed - and it was a dangerous situation all around.

I absolutely will not do that again. I put myself in danger and could have made my children orphans and my husband a widow. The ambulance is the best bet.

 

[freckles and boo]

I live six blocks from one hospital (LCOM) and a mile and a half from another (Christ). We have had the pleasure of visiting both ERs, but prefer Christ, especially for the kids because they have a pediatric ER and separate waiting area. The closest hospital isn't always the first choice. As others have pointed out, there are many reasons to call for an ambulance.

 

[swandiverpatt]

I had a bad reaction to a new medication -- woke me up in the middle of the night and I didn't know what was going on, but knew I needed to looked at immediately.

I had DH call 911 -- he offered to drive me to the hospital (about 5 miles from the house), but I wanted someone to look at and evaluate me ASAP. We now know how long it takes an ambulance to get to our house (not long at all).

I was so out of it, I only saw the paramedic that was asking me questions right in my face, working on me, putting an IV in, etc. My DD said there were some cute firemen there, but I didn't even see them.

Nope, when in doubt, call 911.