Frequent Fliers

[msharpe1047]

Don't you just love the frequent fliers? We have 2 in our are and both have problems with siezures. The other night had to take both of them but for different causes. One has siezures on a regular basis and can't help it. One of their allergies is dilantin and another is phenobarbital, so it makes it hard to try and control the siezures. The other more times than not the glucometer reading is a salutation "HI", and ours is calibrated to 650 mg/dl so theirs is extremely high. The other night even the glucometer that the hospital gave us a salutation and I think theirs is calibrated to 750 mg/dl. The problem with the second one is that they will not take care of themselves and the will not stay off crack. So they also have chest pains to go along with the seizures.

[bigj164019]

I feel you, I have a 9 y/o/m that we get called on at least 1-2 times a week, from his elementary school. They usually have him laying on a mat in the hallway, and he has many "little" seizures daily where we are not called.
He is on Phenobarbital, and I'm not sure whether his parents are not giving the meds, or why the hospital cant get him on appropriate dosage, but we run him ALL the time. Just day before yesterday when we were there, the school was saying that the parents requested that the school NO longer call 911 for his seizures, and to let him be. Obviously the law wont allow this.

It's frustrating!

[millerjjr]

Jeremy, I have a question. I'm still new to this so I was wondering. Can the parents legally do that? Would they have to sign a waiver for the school? It doesn't make sense. Can something be done legally to the parents if they weren't giving him the correct dosage or if the hospital isn't prescribing the right dosage? Just a thought..

[bigj164019]

Jeremy, I have a question. I'm still new to this so I was wondering. Can the parents legally do that? Would they have to sign a waiver for the school? It doesn't make sense. Can something be done legally to the parents if they weren't giving him the correct dosage or if the hospital isn't prescribing the right dosage? Just a thought..

On a legal standpoint, I'm afraid they could get an advanced directive, but it wouldn't matter, as EMS doesn't honor. If the parents are not present then we have implied consent, and if the parents, for some reason were present, I would notify Law Enforcement to get the minor placed in custody for tx and transport.
As for the parents not giving the correct meds, I'm sure it could be proven as "neglect", but would very hard to show in court.
I'm in hopes that the hospital is trying to adjust the dosage.
Next time I make this run, I will be following up at the ER to see what definitive care is being done.

[IAMedic]

I think my frequent flier is probably a little better. On my volly dept we had a diabetic that we would get called to about once or twice a month. We'd get there, she'd sign off, we'd make her a peanut butter sandwich and a glass of OJ, help her back to bed and go on about our merry way. Routine...She eventually went to the nursing home, she got caught on numerous occasions with a bag full of chocolates and other misc candies. Both legs we amputated eventually and is now deceased.

We have another lady that was here, moved away to annoy another EMS service, but unfortunately is back. She calls for Chest Pain when she runs out of her diabetic meds, nitro and blood thinners because she can't afford to keep them refilled. Thank God for Medicare........ :(

[emmit233]

Gotta love the fellow that drove his wife up the wall with his bad heart so whenever she got fed up with him she would call 911, say that he was having diff. breathing or chest pain. He would play it up and off the ER he'd go. Well now his wife left him and whenever he gets lonley he has chest pain and calls 911. :? He likes the hospital because he gets attention. :roll:

[emtp2031]

We have a few dozen frequent fliers here in our town...my favorite was a female in her 40's...her"fiance" would always call 911 stating she's having seizures..we'd get there and only an arm or a leg would be "seizing"...of course we're "unconscious"....after about the 5th time of seeing her that week I kneeled down and whispered in her ear."if you really want me to believe you're seizing first you need to shake your whole body and pee your pants..and quit trying to sneak a peak with only one eye".....that worked for quite awhile and we didn't get any calls for her.Then they started back up again.....still faking them..but this time she would slow her breathing(still sneaking a peak) to about 8 a min...sooooo ...we "woke up outta our seizure" about the time her gag reflex was stimulated by a tube :twisted: havent had to deal with her since...it's been about 8 mths!!!! These 'seizures" always happened when her and here honey were arguing...and the theatrics that he did was another site to watch!!!

[IAMedic]

We have a few dozen frequent fliers here in our town...my favorite was a female in her 40's...her"fiance" would always call 911 stating she's having seizures..we'd get there and only an arm or a leg would be "seizing"...of course we're "unconscious"....after about the 5th time of seeing her that week I kneeled down and whispered in her ear."if you really want me to believe you're seizing first you need to shake your whole body and pee your pants..and quit trying to sneak a peak with only one eye"

Gotta love those!! :lol:

[hageremtp]

Can something be done legally to the parents if they weren't giving him the correct dosage or if the hospital isn't prescribing the right dosage?

However, Seizures are hard to control in all patients. It takes alot of time to adjust dosages of meds to a point where it will control the seizure. If the partents are neglecting the pt, then it should be your "JOB" to pass along a report to child services to have them look into the matter. Remember, your just as much at fault if you dont take the proper actions to correct the situation.

[FFMedic5175]

Had a frequent flyer in the town I did medic ride time with, and I think I recall them saying his name was Charlie. I never went to a call there. Apparently he called periodically because of being lonely, saying he had chest pain. He got to the hospital after a full workup & turned out not to have anything going on (not even any real pain-- just lonely). I guess his trademark line was, "Good job guys!" A crew responded there toward the end of my time with the service, and the engine was a ways behind. The new medic crew was all set to stair chair the guy down from the 3rd floor because of the classic "chest pain" complaint. Engine shows up with a senior member. "Hey Charlie, same as always? How about we walk down?" "Oh, ok... good job guys!"

Had a chronic abdominal pain guy who was forever calling 911 whenever his wife was away or sleeping. He'd call 4 or 5 times a week for a while, believing he was having abd pain. What makes the pain different at 3:30am than it was last night when it started? "Well, my wife wouldn't let me call." Why is that? "She says I abuse it." Well, is she wrong? "No, but OH IT HURTS!" All right, out in the truck, sir. Sometimes he would be waiting in the driveway with a bag already packed. The last radio report I did for him was "enroute with a patient well-known to your facility, initials ##, complaining of chronic abdominal pain. Pt's stable, we're BLS'ing it in. Triage is definitely appropriate. See you in 10."

[WD306]

Reminds me of a similar situation with a frequent flier at a service I worked for. He was known as "chest pain Charlie" Lonely most of the time, and that's why he called. He was allergic to NTG and MSO4, so what could you do except O2 and ASA.

He did eventually have a big MI, though, that was his end.