Chapter 16 - Two Feet

I am sitting at the table in the kitchen at Station 4 drinking the best cup of coffee of the day - the first one - and thinking about my daughter.

Yesterday, I walked Megan down to the corner to get on the bus to go to her second day in kindergarten.  Halfway to the bus stop she sees her friend Mary and lets go of my hand to run over to her.  I put my hand back in my pocket realizing that she will be letting go of my hand a lot more frequently now.  When that little hand is in mine, I have a content happy feeling that cannot be duplicated by anything else.

Every year I add things to my list of things to be worried about.  As I watched the bus round the corner, I long for the days when locked cabinets, sharp corners, and falls topped the list of things I needed to worry about.   I have released her into a world where there are a lot more things to be worried about than sharp corners.  Before Megan, time moved more deliberately, now I am in the time travel that all parents know.  Kid time moves more quickly and chaotically than regular time.  Walking back, I wonder how the last 6 years went by so fast.

Megan has always be a willful deliberate child.  She can fill your heart so quickly with the love and wonder of the world and a second later she can kick it right out of your chest.  I am enjoying the quiet of the morning when the familiar green light of the plectron comes on and I hear the familiar voice.

Medic 4, Engine 4 respond to 6871 Totara Place for a female in labor.

The ambulance is coming back from Longmont after a routine transport and comes up on the radio first.

"Medic 4 responding emergent from Longmont."

The engine should beat the ambulance by 10 minutes or more.  The address is about 2 miles away from station 4.  The crew is quick to get on the engine and I assign patient care to Chris and Marty and remind them to bring EVERYTHING into the house.  I always assume the worst and expect the best.  I assume we will find the mother actively delivering a baby.  I'd like to get there and find the mother who meets us at the door and is apologetic that she may have called too quickly.

"Engine 4 responding status 4"

The address is on the street that I live on.  Megan's friend Mary, her mom is pregnant but that can't be her.  I have walked Megan to the house more than a couple of times but for the life of me I cannot remember what the address is. 

"Shut the siren off" I tell Tom as we round the corner and pull up in front of Mary's house.

Damn, damn, Damn

"Bring everything, O2, defibulator, jump kit, make sure you grab everything I say into the headset as the engine comes to a stop.

"Engine 4 arrival this is Totara Command, we'll be investigating."

As we are getting off the truck I am already going through a checklist in my head.  This is not her first baby; second babies will come faster.  There may be two critical patients instead of one.  How much has she bled, what color is the blood, can she feel the baby move, basic patient care for the mom.  A baby being delivered is a second whole checklist.  What if any part of the baby is presenting?

The door to the house is open and I can hear an older child crying in the background.  I open the screen door and stick my head in the door.

"Fire Department" I say, and we step into the living room. 

Mary's mom, Sue is laying on her back with nothing on from the waist down, her legs are apart, and I see a breech presentation - the bottom of two tiny feet are presenting.  She is doing the hee, hee hoo breathing and looks up at me with a pained expression.  When we walk in her husband (why can't I remember his name) leaves her side and goes to the kitchen to comfort his daughter who is crying hard.

"Hey Sue, we are going to do a couple of quick things before the ambulance gets here" I tell her as conversationally as I can.  She nods and stops the hee hee hoo breathing. 

"Don't push, these guys are going to put IV's in both of your arms."  I tell her and she nods.

"You have a breech presentation going, I can see two tiny feet, after they get the IV's we are going to change your position.  I am going to get on the radio and tell the medic's what we have."

Marty and Chris are already working on getting IV's going.  She has bled but by the spot on the carpet it does not look excessive, she is not bleeding now there is discharge but it looks like what would happen in a normal delivery.  She is alert and oriented and Marty will get a baseline set of vitals right after the line is in.

"OK" she says and she looks completely exhausted.

I grab the sheriff's officer and ask her to take the dad and daughter into another room while we work on mom, and I get on the radio with the ambulance.

"Medic 4, Engine 4 on TAC 2" I will give them an update on a radio channel that is not the main channel.

"Medic 4 Go" they reply immediately.

"We have approximately 35-year-old female in labor with a breech presentation, feet first, both feet - break.  We are dropping two large bore IV's and putting her in a position with face down and butt up in the air - break.  We will have a set of vital signs for you when you get here.  How far are you out?"

"5 minutes"

Dad and daughter are now in back room and the living room is a lot quieter.  I can hear the approaching siren of the ambulance and I am grateful for that.  Sue has two IV''s in and Marty is just finishing getting baseline vitals and asking her a set of baseline questions about how her pregnancy has been.

"Sue, we are going to help you turn over, we are going to put your butt up in the air, you will be on your elbows and knee's.  We will help turn you.  Is the baby still moving?"

"Yes, she is moving a lot, I don't think I can move."  she says.

"We'll move you" and as I say that the paramedic comes into the room with his partner. 

I give the paramedic the turnover report, a summary of what we saw when we arrived and every action, we have taken along with the baseline vital signs Marty has provided.   They are already positioning her on the pram with her butt up in the air.

"I need two riders" the paramedic says.

"I know her, her daughter goes to school with Megan, Tom and I will go" I point to Tom and motion him over.

The ride to the hospital is quick and uneventful.  Because of her position, the ambulance ride although quick is deliberate because of the position of Sue.  In the short pauses that the paramedic is not talking to her, I am making small talk about the kids being in kindergarten to calm her down as much as I can.

There is a team of doctors and nurses waiting for her when we arrive at the emergency room.  Tom and I get out of the way and wait for the engine to come and pick us up.   There was not time to wish her well.  Sue disappeared under all of the doctors and nurses working on her.

When I am home that night, I look over at Megan's smiling face.  A kid should be a kid as long as they can with all the wonder and hope a kid just has at this age.  I hope things go well with Sue and that the difficult questions about babies, moms, and death are things are things she has to process much later in life.

"DAD!" Megan has run into the house, dropped her backpack in the doorway and is standing right in front of me looking up.  It has been four days since Sue was transported to the hospital.

"What?" I ask he smiling.

"Mary's mom had a baby and Mary has A SISTER NOW!"  she turns abruptly and runs into the living room to tell her mom the very same thing in an even louder voice.

EPILOG

You never stop being a firefighter even after you retire.  The same traits I had that made me a solid firefighter can be a headache people I work and play with.  I still plan for the worst and expect the best.  And I still believe fervently that all the lessons I learned on Engine 3 are life lessons.  I still provide unsolicited advice for every situation that I think can benefit from my Engine 3 life lessons.

I have stopped at my favorite brew pub to order my favorite 16oz beer and watch the rain clouds roll in. 

"Mike!" a familiar looking lady says as I walk to the bathroom.

"You don't remember me; I am Sue Mary's mom.  Megan and Mary went to school together.

"You remember the two feet?" she asked smiling.

"I do, there are some things you never forget" I tell her.

"You want to meet those two feet?" Sue says smiling.

A beautiful black haired young woman walked into the door smiling.

"Honey, this is the firefighter I have told you about - Mike, he's Megan's dad."

Without a word she gave me a huge hug and simply said "Thanks".  

I am completely taken back and do not even have the presence of mind to give her it is never one guy it is always a crew speech.  

I have never even in retirement stopped being a firefighter.  On this day I got a beautiful reminder of why it all mattered so much.  For the record I will never admit to shedding a tear over things like this...