It's been getting busier in this business of taking care of the dead. As predicted, more people have been dying as winter gets closer. The cooler is now full and embalmers are busy everyday prepping bodies for services.
A firefighter (off duty) was run over by several cars when he stopped at a fender bender on the freeway. Every part of his body was mangled, including his head, which was crushed and unrecognizable. Bruises and scrapes all over, I just hope death was quick for him.
On a night call, the Asst. and I went to a house where an old man died in his bedroom. The paramedics dragged him onto the floor and left him there, with tubes still stuck in his throat and blood all over his face. The grieving wife wanted to see him one last time and the Asst. offered to clean him up a bit before she did. It was the right decision, she and her granddaughter will have a better memory of grandpa for the rest of their lives. Afterward, the Asst. bought ice cream for both of us, to cheer himself up after such an emotional ordeal.
I like the fact that we are always in serious and sometimes emotional situations. I feel like we make a difference for the better in people's lives at tumultuous times.
Another first for me: Pick up on scene of a suicide. A Navy soldier had hung himself in his bedroom at the barracks on base. By the time we got there, Navy police were cutting off the fan blade to which the rope was attached and the body was still dangling from it. The fan was above the bed, so if he really didn't want to die, all the soldier had to do was stand up on his bed. But from what I could tell, he wanted to die so he just leaned back sitting on his bed and that was that. A young man in his 20s, we took him to the military hospital where he would be autopsied.
At the mortuary sometimes we could hear people cry over their loved ones in the viewing rooms. One day a mother was absolutely wailing over her 21 year old son who apparently said he didn't feel well, so he laid down to rest and never woke up. It was hard to listen to such cries so I went in the prep room to help the embalmers.
One night I was on call solo. A call came in about a 320 lb. woman who died in the ICU at a hospital. normally I would have declined doing this alone but for some reason I decided to give it a shot. I took the large gurney and with some help we loaded the large, round body onto it and I loaded the body into the van. It wasn't as difficult as I thought. Working out these days to increase my strength pays off in times like this.
On another solo night call, a chaplain was present where a man died in a hospice. The chaplain lady was very nice and rather pretty. Asked about her job, she said she visits terminally ill patients to offer spiritual guidance in their last moments. In this particular case, the patient had already passed by the time she got there, but she sat by him bedside anyway to pray for him. I admire people like this, doing such a job in a dignified manner even though it goes unnoticed. I wanted to ask her out as we rolled out the gurney to the van, but I didn't. I just said nice to meet you and maybe we'll meet again.
A wedding ring went missing on an old man in his casket. Such mistakes can cost someone his job in this business, so all of us in the prep room dug through all the trash, including biohazard bags for this ring. Sifting through used diapers, bloody sheets and colostomy bags was not easy. We also went to the sister mortuary to look through the casket and clothes of the deceased. Ring didn't turn up, but now more people beyond the prep room are involved, so we saved all the trash and it is now piled up inside the prep room in case anyone else wants to look through them. With so many people handling personal items it is impossible to narrow down people on possible theft. We'll see what happens this coming week.
There is an electric organ with foot pedals behind one of our chapels. I like to go play it once in a while and dust off the keyboard, since no one touches it anymore. It's challenging to play bass notes with my feet but with enough practice I think I can get the hang of it. Families really don't request organ music anymore, most opting to bring their CDs and mp3s for services. Times have changed in this regard.
