Another call I remember well in my memory is my first stabbing. My second partner and I ran hot to the location with the instructions NOT to approach the scene until the sheriff's deputies arrived to clear the scene. We arrived and staged about 2 blocks away from the location. Within seconds it seemed the deputies had cleared the residence, and were calling us in. We enter the residence to find several people upset, they house smelled of alcohol and smoke. There were blood splotches on the carpet. It was like a brownish white carpet, anyways and looks like it needed cleaned. We find the patient sitting on the floor, complaining of shortness of breath, he had been stabbed in the chest on the left side I believe. We got the cot into the house, and boarded and placed the patient onto the cot. We called for a helicopter as the nearest trauma center was 2 hours by ground. We arrived at the LZ and the deputies assisted with clearing the LZ and radioing the chopper with information on the LZ. One of the deputies was a former EMT and he hopped into the back with us and asked us how we thought the patient was doing, well the guy had been stabbed once, we were holding pressure, and he was on a Non Re-breather and was having a lot of trouble breathing. My partner started a couple 14 gauge IV's as I held direct pressure and added more bulk Abdominal pads. It seemed like forever for the chopper to arrive, we thought we were going to have to do a decompression on this guy, as his lung sounds were starting to diminish. My partner asked the flight crew when they got there and they said they would wait. So they took the patient to the trauma center and he made it. He ended up having 2-3 stab wounds in the lung, one was actually helping him keep an even flow of air, and would have been what we would have done with the decompression kit. We later found out that they had lied about who had stabbed him and the female inside the house had stabbed him, she was upset about her calling her boyfriend a name and so she stabbed him. Everyone inside had lied and said someone else had stabbed him. Also the weapon used was found in the kitchen sink when the police returned. The other thing that didn't match up was the story was the guy was stabbed out in front of the house, the deputies figured something was up when they found no blood stains out front on the road, or in the grass it was all inside the house.
Another year approaching the threshold entering new explorations, new challenges, the same game. Coworkers have came and went a few more than normal this past year and likely more any day now. I am starting to think more like a go with the flow person and less with a complainer attitude. I won't say this year was easy, there were many 12 hour shifts and shift coverages due to long term illness and resignations. Nearing 10 years in the seat behind the headset and at times I feel unwanted, unrespected. Then a day comes up where my officers thank me or have a discussion with me about nothing. But it shows they are people to who maybe forget dispatchers need asked if they are ok too.