Tags
'Code Blue', 'Code White', 'Right Place At the Right Time', 911, B/P, CPR, EMT's, ER, firemen, pulse, pulse ox, seizure
‘Right Place At the Right Time’
Today while at Walmart they announced a ‘Code White’ at Photo Department. From being a nurse I know ‘Code Blue’ means that someones heart has stopped. I seen a few employees run past.
Then they frantically announced if there was a nurse or anyone that knew CPR could you please come to the Photo Department! I said to my daughter, Sara “I have to go”..so I hurried back.
There was a older lady laying on a bench with an older man leaning down holding her hand and talking to her..lightly smacking her face. All the employees were just standing there. She was ashen in color sweating and a lot of drool running from her mouth!
Brought me back to me October 6, 2012. The evening my husband, Jake was having having a heart attack in the car!
I felt for a pulse which was very hard to find and fleeting and her breathing was shallow. I asked an employee if anyone had called 911 and she said yes someone had.
I noticed her back was slightly arched, her arms and legs were slightly bent and very stiff and her eyes would open, roll around and close again. I told the man..her husband..I was a former nurse and asked if she was having a seizure..he said ‘Yes’.
We kept holding and rubbing her hands and talking to her and her body began to relax. I was asking him questions…he she has been having seizures for 15 years and is on medication. I asked if she had fallen and hit her head and he said ‘No’ that they were standing beside the bench when it started and he was able to lower her down onto it.
She would look up at him now and then and smile but still wasn’t coherent. After a little while she able to talk a little bit.
He told me he didn’t want to take her to the ER because her Dr has told him not to because there isn’t anything they can do unless she has fallen and gotten hurt. I asked him if he wanted someone to get a wheelchair so when he was ready he could take her to the car and he said yes. So an employee brought one back. She finally was talking a little bit.
After a bit several young men showed up with bags and started to talk to them. She still wasn’t able to answer most questions. The one said they were firemen and told the husband the ambulance was outside and when those guys came in they would transfer her to the hospital. He told them he wasn’t taking her to the hospital. The guy said she can’t answer his questions she needed to go! I could see this man was upset with them!
When EMT’s came in they took her B/P, pulse and pulse ox which were all fairly good except for slightly high pulse. I told them her condition and progress since I came back to them. Being she couldn’t tell them the day and who was President they told her husband they were taking her to the ER! I could tell this man was getting upset and once again said they weren’t taking her to the ER. Once she was able to sit up he would take her out to his car in the wheelchair and take her home!
Once she sat up for a little bit they did help him with putting her in the wheelchair. So when they started to leave I went over to Sara and Eva and we started looking around to finish our shopping. A few employees came over and stopped me and thank me for everything I did and said they didn’t know what to do! I could see how scared they were.
It just makes me stop and think how easy doing something like that has always been to me. I didn’t even give it a second thought when I said to Sara “I have to go back!”
Sara said to me “mom you could have saved her life” No one else even went back except to look and stare! Which I didn’t notice until it was all over with!
I’m just so grateful that she was OK in the long run.
God put you in the right place at the right time Joyce, you’re lovely. E
Thank you!