Press release from Oologah-OTEMS:
OOLOGAH--OTEMS medics recently encountered one of the tiniest patients they’ve ever treated.
Paramedic Susan Baker and EMT Bonnie Scott scooped up the almost lifeless victim and did everything they could to revive her. Because of their heroic efforts, their tiny patient survived and soared out of the station.
The fact that the patient was a hummingbird never slowed the pair down.
“Any way you look at it, it’s a life saved and that’s what we’re there for,” Baker said. “It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
“This shows where the hearts of the OTEMS medics lie. They truly care about what they do and who they serve, even the smallest of the District’s inhabitants. We want the community to know just how dedicated our medics are,” said Kelly Deal, OTEMS operations director.
The case began when Baker and Scott were washing their ambulance about 10 a.m. Monday at the Oologah-Talala Emergency Services District station in downtown Oologah.
Scott said she looked up and found a hummingbird hovering right next to her head. The bird flew up into the rafters and Baker and Scott opened the bay doors so it could fly out.
Scott said the bird seemed confused by skylights in the ceiling and it couldn’t figure out how to escape. A short time later, the pair saw the bird slowly gliding towards the floor. Scott said it landed softly and then went limp.
“I said, ‘We’ve got to do something or it’s going to lie there and die’,” Scott said. She approached the hummingbird and gently picked it up. She and Baker quickly determined the bird was seriously dehydrated.
Scott said the bird also appeared bradycardic, meaning it had a low heart rate.She estimated the hummingbird’s heart rate at about 200 beats per minute. Active hummingbird heart rates have been measured as high as 1,260 beats per minute.
They took the bird into the crew quarters and mixed up some sugar water. When they put the mixture in front of the bird, it wouldn’t drink.
Baker got an idea when she thought about how hummingbirds eat from feeders. She told Scott she was going to get an IV catheter.
“You won’t be able to get an IV on this bird,” Scott told Baker. “You’re good. But you’re not that good.”
Baker explained how she was going to use the catheter to feed the hummingbird by putting the catheter on the end of a syringe filled with sugar water.
When they put it in front of the bird, it slid its beak into the catheter and began to drink. They kept refilling it for about ten minutes and the bird kept drinking.
“She just kept looking up at me with these big dark eyes,” Scott said.
The hummingbird began to perk up and squirm in Scott’s hands. They decided it was strong enough to be released..
They went outside and when Scott opened her hands the bird flew off.
Scott’s and Baker’s supervisor joked that they needed to fill out a run report. Scott said the ‘treated and released’ box on the form was never a more accurate description of a case’s outcome.
Normally a patient who is treated and not transported must sign a release form. Scott admits she couldn’t follow normal procedures.
“I didn’t get a signature. She just flew off,” Scott said. She and Baker had named the little bird “Daisy.”
The medics suspect the bird got trapped inside the bay and didn’t have access to food and water.
A hummingbird’s fast heart rate and rapid wing motion require them to eat throughout the day. They usually eat about every ten minutes.
“That’s the smallest save I’ve ever made,” Scott said. “We’re EMTs. We save lives, not just human lives.”
Click here for YOU TUBE video of the rescue.
