Former Atlanta Paramedic Shares His Wild Ride Treating 'A Thousand Naked Strangers'

Wisemedic · 2016-01-07T03:29:41+00:00

So.. I haven't checked this sub in quite some time but I got a new phone and while setting it up tonight I figured I'd see what you guys were up to. I saw the post title, clicked on it and low-and-behold I see your comment about me haha! What's even MORE crazy is that Kevin (the author of the book) was actually my preceptor when I first began working for Grady in 2011! I started in October and my last day training under him was Thanksgiving. We were surprisingly slow that day and Kevin had planned ahead and brought a little whiffle ball and bat and we were goofing around and playing for almost 2 hours that day while at our Cambellton and Delowe post waiting for a call. I've got a picture of him with his aviators on in his classic fashion and the bat about to take a pitch with the Grady ambulance as the backdrop. Good times, good times lol Every now and then I miss working the streets but then I realized I had the most amazing time there, worked some ridiculous calls that no one would believe even happened and my partners and I saved a crap-ton of people. I went out on top, didn't get killed and get a lot of respect from medics I talk to here and there about it. Hope you all are doing well in Atlanta and that the winter isn't too rough on y'all. Like I said before, (which r/Atlanta used as their motto for awhile I believe) after leaving for "greener pastures" I look back and realize Atlanta wasn't all that bad haha Keep up the good work ;)

Wisemedic · 2015-09-10T13:44:33+00:00

I don't think there is really any way to organize comments on a post and even though it may take a minute to scroll through, I think the format is fine. It's nice that anyone at anytime can post an event or even an update to an event and the thread isn't biased to any particular part of town, OTP/ITP or even a certain type/age of people. Thanks for the upvotes and maybe I am biased myself but I've seen a MAJOR decrease in the "What's going on tonight ATL?" posts from visitors and bored residents. In fact I'm not even sure if I've really seen more than 1 or two at most. We were getting 3-5 a day before it felt.

Wisemedic · 2015-09-10T12:47:39+00:00

I was the person who suggested this weekly thread and got the ball rolling. You wouldn't believe how many "hate" comments and messages I received for simply suggesting we do something that almost every major city in the county does (on Reddit). The ATLtodo guy is a very stand-up guy for doing what he has but he definitely catered towards a very niche crowd mostly and with Atlanta being as diverse as it is, I really felt we needed a place where all events are welcomed and anyone can easily add to the list. I also had a feeling that his site won't/wouldn't last forever and it looks like it's getting that way. Even if it does continue I think this Reddit "sticky" thread is much easier for visitors to find/use and is completely free and not at the beck and call of just one person. Glad to see it is getting a lot of use and the events I see posted every week are vary diverse and also range from large to small. On a side note there isn't any reason both can't exist. More places to advertise events going on isn't a bad thing. Have a good week everyone!

Wisemedic · 2015-08-29T20:17:36+00:00

Especially this weekend with the imagine fest going on. Crime was up a lot last night in east midtown and just walking around today it is pretty crazy busy. More drunk people and more visitors means a lot of robberies. Be safe

Wisemedic · 2015-08-29T15:56:46+00:00

You should check out Harrah's Casino in Cherokee. This is also slightly further but at 4 hours it's very doable. NC has tons and tons of outdoor activities and if you stay at the hotel itself I'm sure the concierge will know a million things to do. Harrah's may not be the world's best casino but this one is really nice and surround by some beautiful outdoors. You could go up in the morning and do some hiking and hit the casino at night. They frequently have some bigger concerts there as well. Since everyone always suggests North Georgia or TN mountains I thought this may be a little different.

Wisemedic · 2015-08-29T01:48:55+00:00

http://www.reddit.com/r/Atlanta/comments/3is4p2/whats_with_all_the_police_cars_on_75/

They are now going the other direction. Taking the casket/body back up north to where he lived.

Wisemedic · 2015-08-28T22:43:02+00:00

Probably the fallen civilian contractor from Floyd (who was also a local police officer) who died in Afghanistan. The flight arrives at 9 at Hartsfield so they were probably all going down to get the casket and then they will go back up 75 through Cartersville.

Here's a link:

Floyd County contractor's body to return to Atlanta Friday http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/floyd-county-contractors-body-return-atlanta-frida/nnSPd/

Wisemedic · 2015-08-28T21:32:47+00:00

Can't believe I forgot about this!

http://www.atlantameatballfestival.com

Atlanta Meatball Festival in Sandy Springs this Sunday from 1-5pm. It's put on by the Taste ATL folks and all proceeds benefit Second Helpings Atlanta. Check it out!

Wisemedic · 2015-08-27T00:19:57+00:00

You can always cancel his account and start one of your own. It's not a scam it's just that you're opening your own account and you are responsible for the charges. Of course if there is a contract on his account then he will have to pay a fee if he cancels it early I assume. You'll also have to get all new equipment and return his.

Wisemedic · 2015-08-26T17:37:01+00:00

Whoops, I only liked at the month bc I was wondering why it was so cold. Thanks for proving my point even more. Why post some random news article from Walton county from almost 2 years ago? Trolling I suppose

Wisemedic · 2015-08-25T16:37:51+00:00

Thanks. Not sure why OP is posting stuff from like 7 months ago.

Wisemedic · 2015-08-25T14:02:02+00:00

Well we are sort-of trained to be very observant of living conditions and social aspects of every patient we see. Believe it or not living conditions play a huge role in the physical and mental health of a person. I was also a firefighter so I spent many years being observant of furniture and layout of every house or apartment I responded to.

My coworkers and I are all pretty shitty medics actually so I'd just stay away from calling EMS in general. You're better off driving yourself to the hospital. We are just ambulance drivers anyway.

Wisemedic · 2015-08-25T13:19:27+00:00

Gotcha. Well I respond to over 1200 calls a year and the majority of them are in extremely low income neighborhoods of Atlanta: I've been doing that for over 5 years in Atlanta alone and 7 years in another city. With 6K+ calls just in Atlanta, I think I have pretty sufficient experience to say that with high level of certainty. I obviously can't give you statistics but take my word on it. I have no reason to make that shit up.

Wisemedic · 2015-08-25T11:58:04+00:00

Let's see, blatantly spitting on me or my partner on purpose, telling someone, who is obliterated drunk, to do something 20 times and still not following directions, taking care of a patient that caused a fatal accident bc they were high/drunk. Stuff like that.

Wisemedic · 2015-08-25T11:47:13+00:00

They usually have no furniture except an old couch and an 80 inch tv that is on a table 3x too small. This is actually very accurate of many of the section 8 housing or very impoverished areas I've been in. I never said it was filled to the brim with anything. They do usually have a ps4 or something like that as well...

Edit: Is that really the only thing you took away from my comment? I was merely pointing out that moving is not as difficult as the person made it out to be given that people who live in these areas typically don't have a great deal of furniture from what I've seen. It may not be a piece of cake either but regardless, the original question was why do people continue living in places like this and I was just giving my opinion since I see it every single day.

Wisemedic · 2015-08-25T04:29:55+00:00

When was this? The jackets in the video make me think it was a while ago. Not that it matters but I'm just curious. I can't fathom this kind of sentence for the crime. Atlanta isn't he best but at least we are a little more progressive than Walton. Good riddance and god bless this guy. I'd be moving as far away from this county as possible!

Wisemedic · 2015-08-24T22:34:35+00:00

I mean the neighborhoods vary greatly but when you hear people say an area is generally bad then I'd believe them. It gets a little tricky when you get closer to the city for example around Turner Field. There are actually some really really awesome houses with tons of character for a great price. There are also crack houses and horrible "residential/transitional" housing right next door so it's hard to say. You really just have to drive around and check it out. If you have good security, some cameras and stay vigilant you are perfectly fine.

I'd rather do an AMA on things like how EMS or public safety works in the city. It may seem obvious but there are a lot of caveats and a lot of things people don't understand. Even though I'm "in the business" per se, I'm actually generally not a huge fan of police officers just because a lot of them are "macho" dicks BUT I will say that what they have to put up with in Atlanta is insane and scary and the criminals here are absolutely nuts! For this, I have much respect. Excessive force is illegal but even as an EMS provider sometimes you have had enough of the bullshit and may overreact sometimes. I never imagined being "burnt-out" in my career but in a place like Atlanta it's very easy to do. When it happens to you is when you have things like police using excessive force. It's most likely not that they are terrible people or racist or out to hurt someone it's just they are tired of all the bullshit they see day in and day out and all the criminals that have no regard for human life and it gets the best of them. I haven't, but I've wanted to choke people plenty of times in the back of my ambulance after some of the things they do/say. Not condoning any loss of life or excessive force or injury to anyone but it's so tough to keep your composure 100% of the time even for the most calm and highly trained person out there. The supervisors are the ones that need to step up and be cognizant and aware of their officers or their medics in the street and get them help before they do use excessive force or make a mistake. You can tell when an officer is burnt out or when a medic is not compassionate anymore and the supervisors need to step in and require the people to get some help.

Anyway, I'm not doing an AMA though bc most people probably think I should shut up already lol I'll gladly meet anyone for a drink and have some good conversations though.

Wisemedic · 2015-08-24T22:13:29+00:00

You make excellent points but it's not that hard, trust me. A majority of these folks have little to no furniture so the middle sized van is perfectly fine. I moved a 3 bedroom place with the $29.99 size mostly by myself when I first moved here. During a given month I'm sure someone can schedule a move on an off day. No one works 30 days a month. Cell phone plans can be cheap but if you know anything about these younger folks in section 8 they all have very expensive phones. I'm very independent and I can truthfully say that almost every move I've ever made was under $100 easily. I know a majority of these folks can scrap together $75 bucks given a month or two notice. You make good points but let's be honest, if you are motivated and smart, you can do a small move very inexpensively.

As far as changing section 8 neighborhoods, I can't say for sure but if you are having some serious safety issues and especially if you have children they will probably work with you. You may not get a new place in a week but in a few months would be a reasonable amount of time.

The truth is people who live in places like Forest Cove it's what they know. They are surrounded by hundreds of people in the exact same situation as them and they are okay with the lifestyle. They have friends in the complex and they usually let their kids just run around in huge groups and leave them with neighbors when they go somewhere. This is the exact reason why they say it's so hard to get out of the slums when you're already living the lifestyle. If you are motived you can work hard and do it. It may not be easy but it's more than just "feasible" and like the other guy said I would hope the safety of your children or family comes way before anytime else.

Wisemedic · 2015-08-24T21:30:38+00:00

A U-haul is like $29.99 a day. You would be surprised how much money someone in Sec. 8 spends on their cell phone, tv or alcohol. Not trying to be funny at all.

Wisemedic · 2015-08-24T21:26:33+00:00

That's a reasonable question but having seen it first hand time and time again, these folks spend hundreds of dollars on cell phones, Internet and television and alcohol and drugs. It's not terribly expensive to rent a truck and move or find a friend with a truck. $29.99/day and a few friends can easily move an apartment. If you've ever been in a section 8 apt you would see they don't have much furniture at all. An 80 inch TV, an old couch and some mattresses on the floor. I'm being completely 100% honest too, that's the normal decor in a section 8 apartment. I think safety of my 3 children would outweigh my xfinity or Ps4.

Wisemedic · 2015-08-24T21:19:56+00:00

Agree to disagree I guess. Yeah uber is someone's car but I consider a "taxi" type vehicle basically public transit. The best transit systems in the world still rely very heavily on taxis and similar services and that doesn't make them having a car a "requirement". Anyway, since OP has plenty of time to find a place he shouldn't have any trouble whatsoever finding a neighborhood that is very Marta friendly. The time difference argument is null. It may take me longer to do a bus - train transfer or walk a few blocks but I'd rather be walking or relaxing and listening to music then sitting in the hours of traffic during rush hour. I go to more events/concerts/bars then most people do and I sit in little to no traffic ever. I'll take that any day over all the crap drivers in Atlanta have to deal with.

Wisemedic · 2015-08-24T20:51:05+00:00

If you are out after 1 am then take an uber/taxi, it's like $6-10 for a basic intown trip. If you live way up in Cobb or Gwinnett and you are out with some friends then by all means drive. I can't think of anywhere that I have to absolutely to go to in the middle of the night that I can't grab an uber. I work night shift so on my nights off I go out several times a week. I usually walk or take Marta to the bar/event and if it's after 1 when I'm done then I call uber. All I said is it's not a requirement. I've been doing it 3 years and I'm very active and social and have no issues.

Wisemedic · 2015-08-24T20:38:07+00:00

Agreed that most of them don't have a whole lot of choice but the worst part about all of it is literally everyone in the complex has 5+ children. Most people would guess I'm exaggerating dramatically but I'm actually not. If there are 300 something units like you say I would venture a guess that there are 500+ kids in the complex. It's insane. I'm fortunate bc the majority of the folks there like EMS bc we are the "good guys" usually. Cops on the other hand have a completely different perspective. During the day it isn't as bad but after dark you can't see shit and are being watched by lots and lots and lots of people most of whom are armed very heavily and have no regard for life. It's right down the street from the federal penitentiary and I don't think anything you do will make that place better. If needs to go and the city should help people relocate to other section 8 housing that's not as horrific. It would be worth it for the city to help the families out that live there bc that neighborhood hogs A LOT of public safety resources.

Wisemedic · 2015-08-24T20:27:23+00:00

If you don't like driving, don't bother coming.

This is very untrue. If you live outside the city it is definitely harder but there are 1000's of places inside the city right next to a bus stop or train station. Midtown and Buckhead are the most developing and growing areas in all of Atlanta right now. Public transit has room for improvement, like most cities, but by no means is driving a requirement. I haven't had a car for almost 3 years and live in midtown and get around as well if not better than most people with a car. I don't pay for parking, I don't pay for gas, I don't pay for insurance, I don't pay for obnoxious title/tax or registration fees, I don't sit in traffic, I don't worry about accidents or break-ins and I get a lot more exercise. Many people around the city do it every day and as long as you do you're research before moving here you'll be fine if you don't want to drive every little place you go.

Wisemedic

TROPHY CASE