"The dope was bad enough that you went cyanotic."

From Trench Warfare on 12/15/09:

Listen up, OK?

You had a bad trip. Got some tainted stuff. Took too much. Whatever.

The point is, the dope was bad enough that you went cyanotic. Which means that you turned BLUE because your body wasn't getting enough oxygen. Which means, in essence, that you would have died (seriously) if you hadn't arrived to the hospital ER when you did. Which means that the doc and the nurses had to do some quick and decisive work to save your life.

Reading Reas Kroicowl's blog, Trench Warfare, takes me back to my ED (Emergency Department) days. I used to work 5:00 PM - 7:00 AM, a 14 hour shift both at Rochester General Hospital and at Genesee Hospital. 18 years I worked in ED as well as my day job.

You have to deal with things in ED you don't usually have to deal with anywhere else like people dying or so out of control that they are a danger to themselves and others.

I have watched alcoholics and drug addicts die and sometimes, likes Reas describes, get brought back to life who are on death's door.

The work we do at GCASA is very serious work and often lifesaving. Alcohol and drugs can be a deadly activity.

You can read the rest of the article by clicking here.