preamble to handgun lesson...

I am back in WV for a few days again this week. I am heading out to a friend's house in a little while for my very first hand gun experience and I am SO excited!! I have been trying to get a few of my friends to let me try theirs out and this is the first time I have made definite plans!! I'll see if I cant get a few pics and put them on here later tonight and let you know how it went.

swine flu

So we are wearing these everytime someone steps foot in the waiting room at work. And if they show just 2 of the folowing signs:
Nasal congestion or runny nose
Sore throat
Cough
Fever of 100 or greater
Then you win a mask for yourself and for anyone who came in with you. Today began fit testing for N-95 masks as well, and I failed!! Not sure what that means except that I get a different mask and different test for that mask, but Im not the only one....I know its for my safety, but its a pain!!

1st code

So I just got back from the hospital after running my first code as the lead medic....and the only medic for a little bit. The code was a sad one, what felt like a wasted effort from the beginning. I mean, the pt was an end stage lung CA pt but the pt or their family decided NOT to make him a DNR. According to the nursing staff the downtime prior to CPR was <10 style="font-style: italic;"> sealed drug bag!! Thank god they always dispatch two stations on a code, when our friendly neighbors showed up I borrowed theirs...I tried to get our Med command pronounce this poor guy before we transported but apparently there is an unwritten rule...since I had put my pt on my cot and in my unit while my Med Command had me on hold...yes I said on hold....they would not pronounce the pt because we had technically left the facility. WTF? So I was told to continue my ACLS protocol and transport...10 miles to the closest hospital....so I had my FF boys pumping, my fellow EMT bagging and me pushing the drugs on a pt that was not going to come back....Sometimes I just dont understand. The pt ended up down for almost an hour by time we rolled into the ER and there he was pronounced by the doctor. now he can RIP hopefully.

So as far as my very first code as the lead medic, it went ok, I didnt even break a sweat...(which I do quite often even when I dont feel pressured...) I am finally starting to feel like a paramedic...only 2 years into it, guess I'll stick it out for a while longer.

true friends

well folks, Im back in wv roots for a few days, yes again. I really enjoy coming down here. I love Shepherdstown and the atmosphere here and the familiarity of my home fire dept.

I got to experience a wonderful time with an old college girlfriend of mine tonight...we spent the evening talking and laughing as we went to an old favorite diner of ours and then skinny dipping in the hot tub (a first for me...) and we spent time catching up on each others lives and remebering our past, both good and bad and talking about who we have become because of those experiences. It was the most fun I have had in a long time. Its a true reminder of how we all need people, we all need friends...people we can rely on and open up to who wont judge us because we have different ideas and opinions. Thank you to all of my true friends....

was a pretty slow night here in Gburg. I think we had a total of 3 ALS calls...one for each us.

My relief is supposed to come in an hour early because he needs off an hour early tonight so he asked if I would relieve him an hour early tonight, ought to be fun since today is Skills day for my job...ALL DAY! Good thing my bossman is so understanding, he says us night owls can show up for as long as we can and duck out when needed and we sill still get paid for and receive 7 hours CE credits...sweetness!

I still have 25 min left on my shift...nothing new really going on, finally got convinced to start the Twilight book series and I'll be damned if Im not hooked....havent even finished the 1st book, have been reading it all night, cant seem to pry my fingers from it long enough except to run a call or do a favor for one of the RNs or doctors....speaking of which, my fingers are itching for the next page already...gtg!

abortion survivor

Gianna Jessen, Abortion Survivor Part 1 and Part 2

This woman has touched my heart with this speech. And reading the comments from other viewers makes you think too. I can't help but believe that she is serving the purpose for which she was intended, that God spared her life to share his message and spread his love.

Miss USA

I personally dont watch the Miss USA pagents but a few headlines caught my attention this...like the question about gay marriage specifically. No matter what the woman would have answered there were bound to be people who agreed and disagreed. Now people are bashing her. At least she was honest, thats all anyone could have asked her for. It was a lose/lose situation. Why would the writers of that purposefully cause such a stir? There arent enough problems in today's economy?\

Ok, Im off my soapbox now....

code blue

Well I have been at my volunteer station for the last couple days and it has been a quiet visit, only 2 calls so far- one was a 19 yof w/ chest pain that ended with a refusal and last night we ran a code blue with a mutual aid company. It surprises me every time we run a code how it seems life a major CF...EVERYTIME!! There are always things that you think could have gone better and sometimes things that SHOULD have gone better....like why would you not check for lung sounds after tubing someone? oh yea I forgot "I saw condensation in the tube" is a guarantee.....and that was from 2 medics already there...i guess the saying too many cooks spoil the soup can fit in here....and then instead of doing continuous compressions they want to mess aorund with the auto pulse not just once or twice but several times!! I will never understand!!! And then the looks you get from an EMT who just isnt pushing quite hard enough....especially when he's a fire chief.... But over all it went ok, hell I even learned something new about LifePaks....turns out if you are going to try and pace someone you have to have the limb leads attatched to see if its capturing...thats one to note in the memory bank....

sisters

While i love both my sisters indefinitely, it amazes me how different yet how similar we are. For as long as I can remember my older sister and I have always had a rough relationship while my younger sister and I have always been best friends and the two of them usually leave me as the odd man out. When it comes to family matters the three of us are usually good at keeping each other informed as to whats happening with each other, our significant others and of course our parents. Thats where the problems usually derive from, in particular our mother. While she is the woman who gave birth to me and gave me the beginnings of my roots (for 8 or 9 years) she has always been a better friend than a mother to me. My sisters and I all have different view points and experiences with her. While my little sister and I have not lived with her for damn near fifteen years, my older sister has only been living without her for less than a year. It has been a long road with my sisters and my mother, especially of late. I seem to be the only one even willing to communicate with her these days due to some recent life choices she has made. While I am concerned about her choices I feel that she is an adult and may choose to live her life as she see fits, while my sisters would rather dissaprove and let her know they disapprove and not communicate with her until she sees the error of her ways. Lately I have been concerned for her well being from the reports my older sister gives me since they live in Alabama while the younger sister lives in WV and I am now residing in PA. The latest report from my older sister was that my mother was last seen with a blck eye and broken glasses, claiming "fall in the yard" to one relative and just simply "a fall" to my sister. My older sibling tells me they man my mother has been cohabitating with has a history of drugs and possibly violence...and that my older sibling doesnt really give a damn and thinks my mother must reap what she sowed. I on the other hand feel my mother may have gotten herself into something she either feels 1) she cant get out of or 2) that its her only choice, that she has no where else to go and that she might in fact deserve whatever might be happening. I am at a complete loss as to what to do. I have always tried to stay nuetral when it comes to disagreements or arguments between my older sister and mother, as they are frequent and usually sound petty to me, but I refuse to choose between my mother and my sister and maybe thats why it has always been so rough between my older sister and I. I guess I will just as the Big Guy upstairs to keep an eye on her for me and help her find her way home, wherever that home is....

Pizza anyone??

I hear Dominoes is running a special.... I'll take two of those!!

Hard and Fast

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJZ2f0o_JQc&feature=player_embedded


Found this video on Rougue Medics posting today...he had 2 great posts today....check it out!

maybe saved one?

Well folks, the more time I spend in the blog worl the more I enjoy it. I find that I love reading others blogs and they indpire me to write more in mine. Although I do not feel I have the tongue for writing. But who cares? This blog is for my benefit only.

I had the biggest feeling of accomplishment this morning when ZI left work. It was a pretty slow night at work, only one call all night but it was one where someone actually needed help. Around 8pm we got dispatched for a teenage boy on a school trip having an allergic reaction. Turns out the boy had unkjnowingly ingested some kind of food that had peanuts in it, and well he is allergic to peanuts. He had apparently had a bad reaction before but for some reason his doctor did not see fit to prescribe him with an Epi Pen, but instead told him to just take benadryl. Well 30 min after ingesting this food this boys face and lips swelled, his chaperone gave him some benedryl which helped, about 5 hours later the reaction which had been downplayed with the benedryl was still going on and hives were beginning to show and grow. Although the boy was not in any respiratory distress 911 was called when a second dose of benedryl didnt seem to be working.
Initially I thought the boy was doing just fine, his breathing was great his vital signs were text book perfect, but I as the ALS provider dutifully took the call, hooked the boy up with the run of the mill ALS equipment: monitor and IV. I was getting my infor and taking vitals and called my report in and we were taking the ride nice and easy to the hospital. After taking my 3rd set of vitals I noticed my pt was getting sleepy and his vitals were trending downward and pretty fast, in a matter of 10 min. Although his breathing still seemed to be ok, I took the initiative to give him a little boost with my friend Epinephrine and opened his IV fluids and turned the lights and sirens on. Pt was treated at the ED and was released in under 3 hours with a brand new script for an Epi-Pen...
Now keep in mind, as I have noted before, I have been a medic for about 2 years but there are so many things I have yet to experience, a severe allergic reaction being one of them. I am still learning the new protocols at work and I knew I had followed them on this call, it states if the pt has respiratory distress or hypovolemia (low BP) that is <90 then go ahead with the Epi. I found myself pondering if I had indeed made the right choice. I hate to become a "cookbook" medic, doing things only because thats what protocol says, but I felt I may have in this case. I have spoken with a few peer medics since the call and for the most part get the same answer, "well the epi wasnt going to hurt him, you did what you thought was best for the pt".

Truth be known I was scared half to death, but knew as long as I stuck to the protocol Id at least be safe in court....

Its times like these I wish Id had the opportunity to get more experience when I was still in school or precepting. But it's not as if I didnt try, I really did...damn white cloud....

kind of a bad mental day...

Needless to say I am not exactly where I had thought/hoped to be in life. I am 24, have 2 college degrees, and found the job I absolutely love. Approx 2 yrs ago I even had the perfect guy for me. We were talking marriage and kids, had started looking at rings, I tried on dresses...then the bombshell came and he broke up with me for rediciulous reasons.

Long story short I thought for sure I would be married by 25 and hopefully have a baby on the way shortly there after.

At this point I have no idea where life is going. The dating scene where I live seems non-existent, but I havent put a lot of effort into either. I moved here 3 months ago and have managed to only make one new friend...I cant seem to figure out how to meet new people....I never had this problem before, but anytime I had been somewhere new I had been involved...like college classes, no I work 3 days a week and spend my days off lounging in my apartment. It has been making me pretty depressed lately.... I miss my family....ugh

thanks for letting me vent...i needed it

another quiet night

well I just spent another 6 hours at my volunteer station in WV and not even a tone dropped for our house....this white cloud of mine seems to be a blessing to everyone, including me sometimes, but other times I really wish I could get some of the experience I feel I need especially when I can have the experienced medics around if need be....

anxiety

Im 11 hrs into a 12 hr shift and just got back from my first call of the night.

Got called for a woman in her 30s who is supposedly SOB. Arrived at her house, beating the BLS crew by a good 8 or 10 minutes. Pt is breathing fast, but moving great air and speaking in full sentences to me. Turns out she had an out pt procedure done yesterday mornign and they gave her vicodin for pain, she took it as prescribed and went to bed last night around midnight, to wake up 3 hrs later in a panic from a nightmare....so she got the O2 andcardiac monitor and IV access while waiting for the BLS crew...while enroute to Big town Hospital she began experiencing "chest pressure" and I gave her some ASA, but otherwise pt had no changes on EKG or in vital signs.
She was feeling better by time the ambulance got to her house and even better by time we got to the hospital...

Help! I'm locked inside my car

We have all been on one of those calls where people run into stores and accidently lock their babies and kids in a car. But this? I have never encountered anuthing like this....this is special:
Help! I'm locked inside my car

Nutty News Today: 87-year-old woman rescued by police five miles from home when her mobility scooter ran out of control

Nutty News Today: 87-year-old woman rescued by police five miles from home when her mobility scooter ran out of control


I can not even imagine this 911 call. The nurses and other 2 medics and I working tonight were crying from laughing so hard.

babies and mva

Last night at work was a pretty slow night...only had 2 things to perk anyones interest.
1) while my partner was working the triage box a man runs in to tell him his wife is in labor and the baby is on the way. My partner goes out with a wheelchair (which is our protocol) to take her back to the maternity ward and walks out to find the woman laying in the backseat of an SUV legs up and the baby's head is crowning. He comes in looking for a hand and a stretcher to go outside, so I jump up and take the stretcher out. As I am rounding the back of the SUV with the stretcher I hear a baby crying and look in the car to see mom holding a tiny, slimy, blue baby inbetween her legs. I turn around to find my partner, an OB midwife, and 3 OB nurses rushing in with warm blankets and gloves and OB kits...just a few minutes late.... Poor Dad is standing there with a look of relief on his face but also kind of "what should i do know" look. I tell him to get in and turn the heat up, he looked relieved to help in some way. Checked in on the baby before leaving this morning and while they dont have a nursery here (the baby stays in Moms room) the nurse said while the baby was initially cold and bluish, she (yes it was a babay girl) was doing great.
2) I was taking my turn in "the box" (the triage area) and there was about an hour left in the shift and my cohorts get paged for an MVC- tractor trailer vs car. Not sure what the extent of injury was, but I know they said it was a heavy pin job and the helicopter beat our chase car with the medic on it....

snow in the forcast tonight so we shall see...its only been as high as 40 today.

this whole blog thing I am really enjoying, well reading others anyways. I am still pretty sure i am the only one reading my own. And thats ok with me. This past weekend I met up with a few people I met back in Feb at Pipestem conference and hung out with them for a few days and had a blast. I also realized that people are not alway what they seem.... I have a really hard time understanding people why people are discriminatory against other humans because of the color of their skin. It irritates me beyond belief!! I recently had been talking to a "potential" and realized he had such a discrimination and had to stop things right then and there. I believe a person should not be judged by their skin color and not even their words (as my "potential" definitly had me fooled by a slick tongue) but for their actions and character. Well, I feel a bit better no being able to rant even if its to myself! So back to work I go...Im working all night tonight....

rainy days....

I have seen a pattern for the last 2 weeks....it has rained everyday I have been off, and been nice and sunny the days I sleep to work my night shifts...talk about suck! Oh well. Today I am running on E....I worked last night and am staying up all day to flip so I can work a day shift tomorrow. I have a pretty full weekend coming up and am pretty excited about it. I am working 7a-3p tomorrow and then heading to WV for a few days to volunteer at my volley station, dog sit a good friends dog (Mox, he is a 100 lb lap dog) and see Mike and a few other friends who will be coming into town for the Eastern Panhandle Fire School. I am pretty excited. Lots of running around this weekend to end up back here in PA to work my normal nights and a day shift next week. I am in the process of looking for that part time job but will definitly buckle down next week on that when Im not running back and forth between states.... that is all I have for now. I will talk to you all later! Have a good weekend of you dont hear from me again tol next week....