June 16, 2005
Air Jordan XX
Ed note: Once again a (very brief) story from D_ that doesn't involve life on duty. But it does involve two topics we love: one-legged people and Air Jordans.
I was walking to the metro the other day on the way to work and passed by this homeless guy I always see out there.
He was asking for change -- didn't have any for him that morning -- and I come to notice he's wearing a brand new Air Jordan (Jordan XX, in this case the black ones) on his one foot. What?
It got better. Sitting next to him was the shoe that completed the pair, with a sign:
For Sale
Brand New
Never Worn
I was sorely tempted. Should have at least asked him how much. He'd have to throw in the sign in the deal.
Posted by Rock Heals at 03:00 AM
April 20, 2005
I wasn't even on the clock...
D., as told to Rock Heals
So, I’m walking to my car and this homeless guy on the street stops me -- Hey, are you a doctor? (I was wearing my EMT shirt.)
Well, no. Not --
He didn’t really register what all I was saying -- he was onto his next sentence before I’d answered -- Can you look at something for me?
He was already bending down a little -- then he pulls his pant leg up and... Christ!
His leg was black. Not gangrene -- beyond that. (Ed note: don’t type “gangrene” into Google Images.) But more than anything it stank. I mean stank. It had gone through infection, through early gangrene with all its beautiful colors, through later gangrene where things turn chalky white, through gross, to just DEAD. I’ve seen things, but never have I smelled anything like this.
I tried to keep the all-pro face -- but it was clear that I was disgusted. I reflexively turned away with my hand over my nose and mouth.
After a moment passed, I was back and started asking him how it happened (heroin addict, injecting into a vein, vein collapses, keeps on injecting into the developing sore, straight up WRONG -- I’m piecing that together from a mess of an explanation), how long it was like this (2 weeks in that condition -- so it’d been dying for like a month), did it hurt (yeah, and it was “a little bit squishy”) and so on.
He asked me if it would go away. Now, mind you, this wasn’t going away. What was going away was his leg up to the knee. But this guy was straight-out thug and I wasn’t about to give him the good news.
Man you gotta see a doctor about that. And I’m just a student. You should go to the hospital and get that looked at right away.
We were walking along and happened upon some cops at this point, who more or less took over the situation and got the guy out of there.
Crazy.
POSTSCRIPT, three weeks later: I see the dude hanging out on the street, no leg to the knee and out-of-his-mind high.
Also in Week 6
Katamari Damacy: Tetris 2004? (a review)
Previously on Rock Heals
Week 5: Yankees In Last! (But so are the Sox) with a short play from Brian Calandra and a recipe
Week 4: Perdue, the Pope and Bellows. Oh my! with 911 Diaries, Mike Grau, and music from Mina GP
Week 3 Waits Patiently for Spring Weather with a comic from John Shanchuk
Week 2 In the Time or Rock Heals with poetry from Justin Sirois; and
Week 1 Where it All Began with poetry from Mark Wallace
Posted by Rock Heals at 12:20 AM
April 06, 2005
911 Diaries: Blood Mystery
D., as told to Rock Heals
We’re called to the seen late on a Saturday -- your typical apartment complex. It’s an old woman (most everyone we deal with is old -- it goes with the work) who called 911 when her husband fell in the bathroom, and was bleeding.
That didn’t quite prepare us for what we arrived to.
The bathroom was covered in blood -- all over the shower tile, up the walls, the ceiling, and of course everywhere on the floor. Real horror-show stuff.
The gentleman in question is conscious, but a little woozy, as to be expected after losing all this blood. He isn’t complaining of any pain and is explaining to us that he doesn’t need to go to the hospital. Quick inspection doesn’t tip us off on where all this blood is coming from -- he’s covered from head to toe, but no obvious gushing.
We know he needs to go in, but we can’t force him to go under these conditions, believe it or not. So we need to convince him. My partner and I stand him up real fast -- he’s old, and low on blood, so of course he faints immediately. Unconscious patient? He’s gotta go in. The rules are the rules.
We load him up and take him in. To make a long story short, they hose him off in the emergency room and the only injury they can find is a small cut in his ankle.
There is no fucking way all that blood came from his ankle. His wife was there. We’d checked with neighbors while we were there, nobody seemed to be missing. Some shady stuff -- we reported it to the on-duty officer. Sounds like some Goodfellas type shit is going down in Bethesda.
911 Diaries, the Backstory
Soon after meeting D_, Rock Heals was treated to story after amazing story on what happens out there in the DC EMT scene. It’s some crazy living out there -- I imagine you’d hear the same or worse from the Metro PD… Consider this your chance to do all the rubbernecking you need to -- cuz when you rubberneck on the road your next, or just making my commute that much slower and pissing me off.
Some of the stories will be recent, some old, but all good. All good. Some whack shit is going on out there in your backyard. Every day.
Also in Week 4
Unabomber Haiku, Mike Grau
The Alphabet Song, Mina GP
Also on Rock Heals
Week 6 Is Habit Forming with another episode of 911 Diaries and a review
Week 5: Yankees In Last! (But so are the Sox) with a short play from Brian Calandra and a recipe
Week 3 Waits Patiently for Spring Weather with a comic from John Shanchuk
Week 2 In the Time or Rock Heals with poetry from Justin Sirois; and
Week 1 Where it All Began with poetry from Mark Wallace
Posted by Rock Heals at 12:10 AM