He was light headed and felt like he was going to faint. One of the developers called the front desk to call 911 (which was a mistake to be documented another time if I ever remember). I had this guy sit and then I went to the front to coordinate emergency services.
Needless to say, the ambulance was further away than Santa, so another programmer drove our victim to the hospital.
Now you may think this is about the gentleman who needed help, but it isn't. It's about the programmer who drove him to the hospital.
He came back a couple hours later and gave us an update. He was breathing hard stating he had never gone 90 in the area he did, and since I am not going to rat out a friend, we'll just say the speed limit was 30 mph.
I remember when I looked like him. The first time there was an emergency and I hit my lights and sirens and drove really fast only to be called at the last second. I remember the adrenaline rush and the hyperfocus on every little thing in my world at that time.
I also recalled having a rider that day (a citizen who rode with me for kicks). I couldn't get one sentence out without yawning after that. Some sentences suffered from two yawns. My body was drained, I had no energy, and no will to do anything. I was wiped.
This is one of the most dangerous things to deal with as a police officer, the adrenaline. Regardless of popular myths, not all cops are adrenaline junkies, and the ones who are have limits. I say this because if you think of any drug or mind / body altering substance (we are talking legal ones here), too much is a bad thing. Ever drink lots of pop without anything else? How about alcohol? Sure, in moderation it can be handled. But with I told you to drink a bottle of Vodka at least once an hour. 1 bottle would take several hours (or more) to get out of your system, so the effects just keep adding up, choking your liver into utter submission.
That's adrenaline for you. It's that fight or flight (or posture or submission, again, another post) feeling you get. I bet most people have experienced it, when someone has spoken to you in a challenging or angry manner, you feel your ears prick a little, or your throat fall into your chest, the pit of your stomach suck back, your face flush, teeth clench, or any other numerous symptoms.
This programmer was experiencing the adrenaline hangover. And it was humoring in the context that I felt like I was watching a teenager get drunk for the first time and suffer for his stupidity.
I have experienced many adrenaline hangovers. I'm a pro. I know what to do to avoid the "headache" after. It's called the hair of the dog...
Actually.. sorry, wrong analogy. It's really called autogenic breathing. I learned that in the academy way back when, and it was one of my most used techniques that I learned after. In fact, I used that technique more than I used my handcuffing skills.
It's a method of breathing to release stress and it has saved me on many occasions. Not from the stress of anger or the stress of the job, but for dealing with the adrenaline hangover.
The first applicable google result produced this (if you want to know more about it):
I highly recommend learning this, because we are all in those situations where we need to take a "breather". Really, it's one of the best tools on my belt.
The programmer that drove did well. He spent the next 30 minutes breathing and was able to recover (with practice, he probably could get it down to about 2 minutes). The programmer who initially needed help had low blood sugar and is also doing well. Just in case you were wondering.
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