>> Ambulances back then had some first aid gear, such as oxygen, but
>> basically were only a station wagon or small van with a stretcher
>> (canvas sheet between two poles). Today's ambulances have radios and
>> telemtry machines where a patient's vital signs are relayed to the
>> emergency room doctors. Hospitals are alerted in advance to prepare
>> for certain cases, such as a heart attack.
> The rescues and ambulances of today are truly mobile intensive care
> units. I know that all the rescues in my city are MICU's. They also
> carry trained paramedics.
> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Ditto here in Independence. The last
> time I had to go to the hospital (a rush four in the morning thing)
> about a year ago with what I thought was pneumonia (gasping for air
> and difficulty breathing) the ambulance crew was _very well equipped_
> to deal with me. At Mercy Hospital in the emergency room, when I
> regained conciousness, they advised me I not only had pneumonia as
> we knew, but I also had had a heart attack on the way over. Those men
> and women are really fabulous, IMO; as well equipped as any hospital
> and quite well trained. At the hospital, they put a 'stent' in me,
> whatever that is, then they worked on the pneumonia. PAT]
Yes, they are quite amazing. To answer the question about what a stent happens to be, it's a cylindrical metal mesh placed inside arteries to compress arterial plaque and prevent it from clotting/breaking off.
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I know that in my case, I was awake the entire time, although not terribly alert. I do recall that when they were finished with the installation, it seems to me they jiggled or banged the table around a little on which I was laying. I also recall one of the women there saying to me 'lay very still right now' and when I started to roll over on my side she got quite frantic and told me again, '*please lay still, in the position we have you*' I had to lay like that flat on my back for about an hour, then I was allowed to move around. PAT]