Since July you have probably noticed that this has been my focus, as far as this venue. That is because I did not have a proper plan in place and it led to what was a less than ideal situation when our son was home alone and called 911. I thought I was prepared. I thought I had covered all my bases. I have since learned that was not enough, but that it was not the fault of the EMS, not the fault of the dispatch, if the fault lies anywhere it was with me for not having a plan written and not completely understanding the services where I live. Because of this, I share so that others do not make the same mistakes.
When our son was originally diagnosed with Addison's Disease (a form of adrenal insufficiency) we lived in a different state than where we live now. This is important to note because services and guidelines vary from state to state, sometimes county by county or city by city. He was diagnosed in December of 2015 and by April of 2016 there was a protocol in place for paramedics to inject self-carry medications. When that protocol went through I took the paper with the protocol to our local fire stations - where in that state ambulance systems are run out of. Our son, his school and our home address were all flagged in their system. This meant that if 911 were needed for him, when they responded dispatch would immediately know his condition and would be able to provide his emergency medication.
Fast forward to 2022, we relocated to another state. One where they carry his medication on the ambulance. The first week were here I visited our local fire department because that is what I knew. I spoke with them about our son's condition and the specialized emergency treatment that he would require in the event of us needing 911. They came out to our house, met our son, talked to us about having the medical information on his phone, etc... I thought I had done my due diligence.
That brings up to this past summer, the first time that we would be leaving our son alone for an extended time. Leading up to this we had left for weekends to prepare him. We had neighbors available in case of emergencies, one was even a nurse and understood that he had these medical needs. The last day of our vacation, as we were getting ready to board our plane back to the U.S. our son texted us that he was having a hard time and was afraid he may be going into crisis. An adrenal crisis is a life threatening condition that needs prompt emergency treatment. It was around 11:00 at night and he did not feel comfortable calling neighbors, but once he started vomiting (once someone with adrenal insufficiency vomits twice, injection and ER are typical guidelines) he called 911. I detailed in another post how he waited on the porch as to not upset our dog, as in 20 minutes one ambulance came past, turned on the lights and sirens and drove by until another one came.
After my time at EMS World I now understand why that happened. We are in county, not city limits here and the fire department does not respond to medical necessarily, a private ambulance company does. No one told me that when I was explaining this to them a year and a half ago. Regardless, because the ambulance company did not have him flagged, when he called saying he had Addison's and was vomiting there was no separate code for their dispatch - here they dispatch 3 for wellness check, 2 for sick person and 1 for life threatening. Typically a person vomiting is sick and so he was a level 2 and when the ambulance was approaching him as a sick person they were diverted by dispatch to level 1 for a life threatening call.
This is why talking to people is not enough. It is important that everything is in writing. It is vital that the process is understood by both the patient/caregiver and EMS as to what is need so that in an emergency the situation is handled correctly and efficiently. There are 40 conditions that require specialized emergency treatment - adrenal insufficiency is just one - the one that I know and touches my family. That is where an organization like Danny's Dose comes into play. Danny's Dose works with EMS to establish guidelines and works with patients to educate them on how to be best prepared. For more information, you can always reach out to me - through kerriengebrecht@gmail.com, and I will connect you to Danny's Dose or contact Danny's Dose directly - https://dannysdose.com/?page_id=57
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