Tae 1 - Speaking of varicose veins

Speaking of varicose veins, I remember once I was working in lovely Somerville, MA, when I got a call for a "man bleeding." When we got to theaddress, there was no patient to be seen. I was about to clear with dispatch,when my partner said "hey, look on the ground..." There was a large PUDDLE of blood right outside the entrance to the train station. And before you all say "damn your asian eyes", I'd like to add that it was late evening and I was very tired. This was not just a puddle, no - it was a trail of blood, winding down several blocks. I followed the trail on foot, while my partner followed in the truck, while the fire dept. followed in their truck, and the police had gone to the "Dunky's" and told us they would come back. This scene reminded me of one similar in the movie "Roxanne" - where Steve Martin leads the entire fire dept. to a burning building on foot.

Several blocks later, the trail leads to a house. We stop at the front door, and marvel at the puddle that was there (guess the person was looking for his keys). We didn't know WHY the person was bleeding, so we waited for the cops to come back. Then we knocked on the door - no answer. Finally the cops do a "forced entry" - translation: they kicked the door in. More blood trails, leading down a corridor and up several flights of stairs, which finally ends up to a closed door. The police knock, and a male voice answers: "Who's there?" After identifying themselves, they enter. We open the door to find a 50-ish male, with varicose veins on both his legs. He apparently nicked one of them on his ankle while leaving the train station, and didn't feel it. I guess it happens quite often to him. He looks down, and says "not again."

By the way, there was a HUGE puddle of blood near his feet, and a stream of blood shooting out of the vein. For a brief second, this reminded me of a "Monty Python" sketch (you know the one). As I step past him to place a pressure dressing on his leg, I slip on the puddle, and fall on my ass into it. The firefighters (being the compassionate guys they are) start laughing at me. The patient was nice enough to swivel his leg away from me so that now the stream of blood is spraying one of the walls. As my partner and I carried this man down several flights of stairs, the firefighters kept laughing - until they found out that they had to re-trace this patient's path and spray away all the blood on the sidewalk (goddamn rubber-men). They stopped laughing then.

We transport the patient to the hospital, and the nurse at the triage desk looks at me, and says "was he shot?" "No, it's just a varicose vein." "Well, the bleeding must have stopped by now." and she move to unwrap the dressing. "I wouldn't if I were you." "I know what I'm doing." She unwraps the last of the gauze, and lifts the gauze pad.... and a stream of blood shoots out and hits her in the face and chest. It's times like these when I *love* my job.

Anyway, on my way back to the base, I have to sit on several towels, and I feel that cool ooze slowly drying to a sticky mass on my butt. Joy.

- Tae

(Originally posted: Wed, 6 Apr 1994)