Paramedic Lauren Gosnell has to convince scared patients to go the hospital
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It took one ride-along on an ambulance for Lauren Gosnell, 27, of Cornelius to know that she wasn’t going to become a nurse.
During that shift, Gosnell witnessed what she called one of the most “horrific” calls a first responder can experience: a pediatric cardiac arrest. But despite the tragedy, Gosnell knew that she had found her calling.
“Just being there for the parents was probably one of the most meaningful things to me … being that shoulder to lean on for that mom and dad,” she said.
That feeling of responsibility and making order out of chaos is something Gosnell has hung onto for two years now working for Medic.
“There’s nothing better than being that first face that people see during an emergency,” she said. “We’re the ones that package that patient up and take them to the hospital in a neatly wrapped bow.”
At the start of the coronavirus pandemic, “people were calling 911 left and right,” some with flu symptoms wanting to go to the hospital to get tested, Gosnell said. Now, there are 13-hour shifts when not a single call comes in.
Another development: People are afraid to go to the hospital even when they need to. This week, Gosnell said she had a patient whose heart rate was alarmingly high – severe enough that blood work needed to be done – but it took two hours to convince the patient to let them take him to the hospital.
“We have to be very blunt with our patients and let them know that death is a risk. Permanent disability is a risk,” she said.
Recently, Gosnell has avoided wearing her uniform in grocery stores and not only for hygienic reasons. Sometimes people see the medical uniform and leave the aisle to avoid her.
However, at other times, people come up to her and thank her. It’s a sentiment that’s been echoed on social media and even on a sign in a neighborhood, Gosnell saw.
“I don’t feel like a hero,” Gosnell said. “I don’t know if that’s bad or not, but I just feel like I’m getting to do what I love to do.”
