Code Blue In critical situations, the body becomes full of adrenaline, seconds seem like hours, and split second decision making becomes vital. The result of ones decisions can make the difference between life and death for another. Code blue, is defined as cardiac or respiratory arrest. This is the code that is called over-head in the hospital that summons a special team of professionals, to prevent death. The team usually consists of a physician, a respiratory therapist, nurses and hospital personnel.One night, at a hospital in Texas, three nurses manned a 25 bed unit. After making their usual rounds, they were thankful to finally sit and enjoy some of the cafeteria's cuisine. The respiratory team had just arrived to administer breathing treatments to some of the patients. The team disappeared into various rooms one by one. Not a minute later, one of the therapist calmly walked out of a room and stated that the patient inside was not breathing. Barbara, who was charge nurse, immediately shouted for someone to call the code overhead. As she sprinted to the room she could hear the alarming echo of the page "code blue" overhead. This was her very first code blue, she felt the pressure as she hurried.The patient, a woman in her 50's, large in size, was there recovering from a stroke.Barbara noted her blue face and lips as she dashed to the bedside. Speed was significant for the patient had no pulse. She knew the patient would not survive without the aid of CPR. Barbara swallowed her fear. Without a moment to waste, she insensately raised the patient, as if she were a feather, into an upright sitting position. She then slid a back board below her. Shouting for a nurse to bag, she would perform a life-giving series of thrusts to the patients chest. She folded her hands in place, arranging them on the inert chest and proceeded to push downward.With every thrust of her hands the anticipation immenced. The only sound she heard was that of the false breath provided by the bag, and the echo of her voice as she counted each plunge.Minutes lingered as hours as she drove her palms to the heart. " Where is the Blue Team? They should be here by now." She implored.No sooner had she heard the words echo into the hall, beneath ...
