Safety First

I little while ago, I bought a slash vest for doing some of the more violent calls.

I was in the back with a girl just coming out of a seizure. She had decided that she needed to pee and that we had the facilities to accommodate her in the front of the ambulance. I am struggling to keep her in the back when she becomes combative and starts delivering body blows. Fortunately, I am wearing my vest so I can just barely feel the punches. I am very proud of my new purchase and make a mental note to also always wear it for seizure calls. Just as I am praising myself for my new body armour, BOOF!, she clocks me in the left temple and rings my bell. Thus having a good reality check, I go back into my pre-vest guarded position and eventually play her out. She was a handful even though I out weighed her by at least 70lbs.

Lesson learned. Less body armour or more good sense.