Life and going live in the ER

When the alarm began its high-pitched bleating this morning at an ungodly time shortly before 3 a.m., I hauled myself up from bed and already forgotten dreams and went through a ritual than I do most mornings. Finished sipping the water from the cup on my nightstand, slumped down the hallway with my furry roommate, Patrick, to let him out the back door to do his business, then hit the shave-and-shower routine.

I rarely glimpse into the mirror in the morning, particularly so at this hour, because I fear I’ll see some visage of Dorian Gray leering back at me or a bald clone of Linda Blair’s noggin’ turning 360s at warp speed. Suffice it to say, I am an early riser most mornings, but not at an hour when drunks, stoners and disappointed barflies are starting to flock to Denny’s for a nightcap of greasy eggs and oozing meatloaf.

But there I was. On assignment to help with live remotes for our local ABC affiliate, WRTV-6, beginning at 4:30 a.m. and running at the top and bottom of each hour until 6:30 a.m. It just happened to be with reporter and cameraman I have worked with several times in the past. Good folks and always on top of things.

Their news truck’s microwave tower was up and linked to their downtown Indy station.  We chatted a bit about our families, the horrible weather and how TV meteorologists had pegged this latest hellish spell. Then they met some of our great crew working the overnight shift in our Emergency Room (ER ) – the people who treat others’ pains and illnesses and keep them alive while the rest of the city sleeps.

There is an unspoken word you never use when talking with ER staff. You never ask if the shift has been “quiet.” Maybe it’s a superstition or just a tradition, but you just find other ways to ask it. An emergency room is a world of mixed-bag experiences. I always have admired the way our teams operated. And this just happened to be a blessedly q---t night.

  

Their story? Telling their viewers through interviews with my hospital docs and other information about how folks should protect themselves from this apocalyptic heat and drought kicking central Indiana.

My job? Stand around with my nifty large notebook, look somewhat important and occasionally check my cell phone for important calls which I havent' received. Essentially, in these situations, my real function is to make sure interviewees and extra video footage called “B-roll” are available. Keep the trains running on time, as it were.

Each segment rolled smoothly. The morning shift ER chief doctor earlier had sailed finely through a standup with the reporter, checked up with patients and nurses before returning for the final one-minute Q&A.

The news team began to catch the perfunctory cues from studio producers to get ready. Ready, set – okay we’re rolling…

The reporter did her brief intro and then asked a question. That’s when one of the nurses came jogging into camera view and told the doctor she was needed right away. She didn’t bat an eye, waved and simply said, “Gotta go!”   

Real pros – especially those who deal with important flesh-and-blood urgencies – just do that. It’s wired into their DNA.

And then I witnessed another pro team go into action, something I have never witnessed as a hospital flack while working live television. The reporter briefly glanced over her shoulder as the doc and nurse trotted away, looked back at the camera and acknowledged the hasty departure and then moved on.

Often, an uncanny mix of valleys and peaks, adrenaline drag-racing that most us will never know.

Then like the pros they are, the news team continued on. “Let me recap what physicians are saying to people about how to protect themselves in this heat…”  With the reporter continuing her commentary, the studio crew immediately inserted B-roll for viewers as the cameraman directed the reporter to a nearby location to prepare for the return of the live shot.

A few more words, a little banter over the ear buds between the reporter and the anchor desk. And then it was done. A patient had received immediate care from our ER staff. The TV news team had filed the last installment of a story.

Grizzled and jaded as I might sometimes be, I must confess I was mighty impressed this morning.

It’s good to work with people who care about their craft and, more importantly, the people they serve.