The Call I Never Thought I’d Take
‘Hello? How can I help you today?’ I said, in my routine ‘nurse-over-the-phone’ voice.
‘Help me! My baby is blue on the mouth and on his hands and his feet! He vomited and he stopped breathing! My dad is driving us to the hospital. Help us!’
I paused for a few seconds. Totally in shock with what I was hearing.
‘F — –!’ I screamed inside, ‘This is not a joke! Everyone is screaming on the other end of the phone. What do I do? Get them to pull over first or start treating the lifeless baby?’
I regrouped.
So much was going through my head, ‘How long had this baby not been breathing?’ … ‘How can I get this baby to breathe!!???!’… ‘Please God, get this baby to breathe!’
‘Your baby has vomit in his mouth and his lips, hands, and feet are blue?’ I repeated back urgently.
‘Yes!’ the voice on the other end cried.
So much was going through my head, ‘How long had this baby not been breathing?’ … ‘They’re driving with the baby in their arms, should I tell them to pull over first?’… ‘How can I get their address quickly to send an ambulance out to them when they’re driving and probably don’t even know what road they are on?’… ‘They told me the hospital they are going to and I know it well- it’s all busy, major roads near that one, can they stop safely anyhow?’… ‘How can I get this baby to breathe!!???!’… ‘Please God, get this baby to breathe!’
And then my training kicked in.
‘I’ve can do this! I know what to do. Just. Breathe.’ I thought to myself.
‘Ok, turn your baby onto his side and get the vomit out of his mouth.’ I stated with restraint also wanting to scream down the phone in a panic.
‘Okay, we are turning him on his side…
‘We got the vomit out!’ she said, and then, ‘I THINK HE’S BREATHING!’
‘He’s breathing?’ I almost exclaimed with so much relief I almost started crying right there and then. ‘What color are his lips?’
‘His lips?’
‘Yes! What color are they? Is he definitely breathing?’ I still hadn’t heard a cry or any noise that would indicate a child was in there somewhere.
‘They are almost pink again. He is getting his color again!’
All the adults in the car settled down and almost started applauding. Heck! Even I almost started applauding!
‘Ok, lift your baby up so he can expand his lungs.’ I said more calmly. ‘Now, take a deep breath. You did really well!’
I took a deep breath.
‘Now, pull over. I’m going to get an ambulance to meet you.’
Afterwards…
I never thought that being a phone triage nurse could have its crazy days. To be honest, I thought I was going to be dishing out symptom management education to concerned parents. Period.
I finished that call and I cried.
Part of me was sad that I was leaving the chaos of the Emergency clinical environment. But, after a week of having two patients call in the middle of an allergic reaction and successfully coaching them through their first self-administered EpiPen injection, I’m realising that I am more than just a nurse at the other end of the line dishing out advice here and there.
I finished that call and I cried.
I cried because it was stressful.
I cried because I felt so useless at the time.
I cried because the whole experience felt so… traumatic.
And then my husband, my sounding board, asked, ‘What did you tell them to do?’
I told him the short 2-minute conversation and he responded, ‘So, because they called you, you were able to save him?’
I guess so.
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