Please check out this story from a fellow blogger who a huge supporter of our military and a proud supporter of pro-gun. (Te original post can be found here.)
Now here is the story copied and pasted:
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished
OK, I'm livid.
As most of you know, the fourth annual Gun Blogger's Rendezvous is fast approaching (43 days away as I write this), and this year I planned to make a special contribution to support Project Valour-IT - a gun giveaway that would be for even those unable to attend. But I'm not a 501(c)(3) organization, or any other kind of tax-free charity, so I couldn't actually run a charity raffle. Besides, I'm not really set up for it and wouldn't know how. So, with the aid of Rendezvous organizer Mr. Completely, arrangements were made with Soldiers' Angels to provide on-line ticket sales. Tickets went on sale Friday, July 17. We were ON!Soldiers' Angels uses PayPal for their on-line donations. PayPal even has a "Case Study" of Soldiers' Angels' success (PDF) using PayPal, bragging:
Today Soldiers' Angels' biggest online contributions go through PayPal. "It's trustworthy to people and so they donate," says (Founder Patti) Patton-Bader. "There's a confidence that donors feel – that it's a safe way to make a donation. There are not many companies that inspire that kind of trust."Trust.Coincident with the Gun Blogger Rendezvous Raffle, Soldiers' Angels had also started a fund drive for other projects that same weekend. PayPal put a stop to that. Here's Patti Patton-Bader's official statement:
Online donations through PayPal are a huge part of our fundraising. They shut down our entire account-not just the raffle button—for twelve hours right in the middle of an email fundraising push. Looking at the Terms of Use, we couldn’t understand where we’d gone wrong, but we had to immediately remove the raffle so we could get back online ASAP. This just breaks our hearts because we were so excited about the tremendous fundraising impact the Gun Blogger Rendezvous raffle was already having.(My emphasis). The "tremendous fundraising impact"? In the short time (3.5 days) the PayPal button was live, they had 42 participants and 109 tickets sold.As noted above, we're still 43 days out from the Rendezvous. I just found out about this Wednesday. (Post is updated to keep it at the top of the blog for the moment.)And not only did the contributions for the raffle stop coming in, ALL contributions to Soldier's Angels via PayPal were cut off for twelve hours.Because PayPal is anti-gun.So where does that leave us? Well, you can call Soldiers' Angels and do a transaction over the phone. During normal business hours (PST) you can call (626) 529-5114, or you can call their voicemail service any time at (615) 676-0239, leave them a callback number and they'll get back to you - probably the less expensive option, timewise. It's not as convenient as a mouse click, but it beats snail-mailing a check.You can also contact PayPal. Their Customer Service phone number is (402) 935-2050.I've never asked this before, but I would appreciate it if every gun- and mil-blogger on the web and every gun board picked this up and spread it far and wide. I'm tired of gun-bigots. PayPal needs to hear from US - the law-abiding gun owners of this country - that we're no longer willing to just roll over when we're abused by the companies we "trust" just because we believe in and practice the rights guaranteed to us under the Second Amendment.This post will remain at the top of the blog for the next couple of days.
Id like to have this posted a few times if possible. Thanks guys!
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Sunday, July 26, 2009
5 year olds...
I honestly believe that 5 year old girls do not need to be wearing make-up....but what do I know? Im not parent, just an observer....
Thursday, July 23, 2009
blonde moment
Yesterday was a short day at work for me, an 8 hour shift, half of which was spent in 'the box'. I ran no calls, I didn't even start any IV lines for the RNs. Needless to say I was ready to go home by 1430. I was very excited that my relief was on time. I pulled in the drive and walked around the house to the back door and unlocked it to be welcomed by a cool blast of air, thank goodness for that 3rd A/C (thanks shiela!) I had exactly 45 min until I had to take my car to get inspected so that I could make it 100% legal here in PA. I changed my clothes, slipped on a comfy T-shirt and capris and freed my toes in a pair of flip-flops. I even had time to fix my hair. I grabbed my wallet and my phone and headed out the door, remembering to lock it on my way out. As soon as I closed the door I realized, "Sh*t!! My keys are on the hook next to the door inside!"
Then it dawned on me just how warm it was outside. I text my roommate, who normally gets home aorund 5 or 6, and well, of course she was going to be late. I called and cancelled my appointment for my inspection then got the bright idea of calling Roadside Assistance to come unlock my car since my spare car key was in my glove box...yea I know....what kind of genius locks their spare car key in the car? A blonde one...but glad it was there and not in the house.... RA showed up, took them 15 min to pop the lock (free of charge thanks to my car warranty) and I spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning out and vacuuming my car while waiting for the roomie to get home and laugh at me.....
Then it dawned on me just how warm it was outside. I text my roommate, who normally gets home aorund 5 or 6, and well, of course she was going to be late. I called and cancelled my appointment for my inspection then got the bright idea of calling Roadside Assistance to come unlock my car since my spare car key was in my glove box...yea I know....what kind of genius locks their spare car key in the car? A blonde one...but glad it was there and not in the house.... RA showed up, took them 15 min to pop the lock (free of charge thanks to my car warranty) and I spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning out and vacuuming my car while waiting for the roomie to get home and laugh at me.....
Monday, July 20, 2009
big milestone
ok, I feel like I have diarrhea of the keyboard today....
But, I wanted to share what I feel like is a big milestone in my paramedic adventures.
This past weekend while putting in some time at my volunteer station in WV I was officailly "blessed" as a Paramedic Preceptor. I have officially been a paramedic long enough and put in enough time to guide and observe new paramedics, whether they are fresh out of school or just new to our station. It's weird. I still feel like I just finished precepting myself. At work, there is no program or determing who can or can not precept the paramedic students, so I have had one or two there, but tend to encourage them to ride shotgun with my more experienced counterparts.
My first preceptee at my vollie station was a guy who is new to our department but who has been a paramedic for as long as I have been alive...again, weird.
But, I wanted to share what I feel like is a big milestone in my paramedic adventures.
This past weekend while putting in some time at my volunteer station in WV I was officailly "blessed" as a Paramedic Preceptor. I have officially been a paramedic long enough and put in enough time to guide and observe new paramedics, whether they are fresh out of school or just new to our station. It's weird. I still feel like I just finished precepting myself. At work, there is no program or determing who can or can not precept the paramedic students, so I have had one or two there, but tend to encourage them to ride shotgun with my more experienced counterparts.
My first preceptee at my vollie station was a guy who is new to our department but who has been a paramedic for as long as I have been alive...again, weird.
Triple OD
I made my way down to WV for a couple days last week to work and volunteer at my old station. I was reminded just how much I love volunteering, I haven't been able to go back down there nearly as much as I would like, but it feels great to finally be paying off some bills with the extra money from all my part time jobs....
I was on my way from work around 8pm to my station where I would be spending the night. I happen to have my pager on and heard the familiar tones for my home station for a possible OD, two pts, ages 8 and 5. WTF? I picked up my speed a bit as the call was maybe 3 miles from where I was and I knew Id pass the house before the ambulance got there. I parked my car across the street from the multiple police cruisers and the chase car paramedic vehicle. Inside there is a woman in her late twenties and two kids sitting in the living room. The kids look scared with all of these strangers walking into the house and mom is crying hysterically.
The story from mom went a little like this: She got her Xanax script filled 2 days. She was having a rough day and needed a nap so around 2p she took 12 (yes twelve) Xanaxk and procedded to take her nap. At 7:30pmish her live-in boyfriend woke her saying that her children had gotten into her Xanax, so she called 911 for the kids. The older child admitted she and the younger one took one of mommy's pills. When asked if she took it on her own to see what it was like or if Mommy gave it to her she stated she took it while Mommy was sleeping and then coerced her little brother into taking one too. The pill numbers just weren't adding up though. The original prexcription was for one pill every 8 hours PRN, with a total of 90 pills in the bottle, there were only 28 pills in the bottle that was filled 2 days ago. Then mom states she gave 20 to her aunt who couldnt get her prescription filled til the end of the week...talk about hinky.
The kids were walked out to one Medic unit to be transported to the local hospital while Mom tried to refuse treatment. It took 2 police officers and 3 medics to get her to understand according to our protocols she didn't have the choice to refuse. We felt that she had put both herself and the children in danger by admitting to excessive drug intake even though she continually denied being suicidal. She finally gave in willingly and walked out to the 2nd Medic unit to be transported to the hospital. Meanwhile the police sarched the house and found a 2nd bottle (empty) of Xanax filled 2 days prior to the 1st bottle we found (which means only 4 days ago) and they also found cocaine in the bedroom, and a huge bong behind the couch, and there were several beer and liquor containers strewn throughout the house. Oh yea, there was a .22 and .45 in the bedroom as well. Glad I was POV, I was off the hook for that call since both units were staffed with Medics.
I was on my way from work around 8pm to my station where I would be spending the night. I happen to have my pager on and heard the familiar tones for my home station for a possible OD, two pts, ages 8 and 5. WTF? I picked up my speed a bit as the call was maybe 3 miles from where I was and I knew Id pass the house before the ambulance got there. I parked my car across the street from the multiple police cruisers and the chase car paramedic vehicle. Inside there is a woman in her late twenties and two kids sitting in the living room. The kids look scared with all of these strangers walking into the house and mom is crying hysterically.
The story from mom went a little like this: She got her Xanax script filled 2 days. She was having a rough day and needed a nap so around 2p she took 12 (yes twelve) Xanaxk and procedded to take her nap. At 7:30pmish her live-in boyfriend woke her saying that her children had gotten into her Xanax, so she called 911 for the kids. The older child admitted she and the younger one took one of mommy's pills. When asked if she took it on her own to see what it was like or if Mommy gave it to her she stated she took it while Mommy was sleeping and then coerced her little brother into taking one too. The pill numbers just weren't adding up though. The original prexcription was for one pill every 8 hours PRN, with a total of 90 pills in the bottle, there were only 28 pills in the bottle that was filled 2 days ago. Then mom states she gave 20 to her aunt who couldnt get her prescription filled til the end of the week...talk about hinky.
The kids were walked out to one Medic unit to be transported to the local hospital while Mom tried to refuse treatment. It took 2 police officers and 3 medics to get her to understand according to our protocols she didn't have the choice to refuse. We felt that she had put both herself and the children in danger by admitting to excessive drug intake even though she continually denied being suicidal. She finally gave in willingly and walked out to the 2nd Medic unit to be transported to the hospital. Meanwhile the police sarched the house and found a 2nd bottle (empty) of Xanax filled 2 days prior to the 1st bottle we found (which means only 4 days ago) and they also found cocaine in the bedroom, and a huge bong behind the couch, and there were several beer and liquor containers strewn throughout the house. Oh yea, there was a .22 and .45 in the bedroom as well. Glad I was POV, I was off the hook for that call since both units were staffed with Medics.
need a smile?
Sunday, July 19, 2009
anger and defeat
I was working my PT transport job last week when I got to experience my first "vent pt" at the job.
We will call her Carrie (of course its not her real name) She is 24, only a few months younger than myself. She was involved in a terrible car accident a couple years ago, maybe even just a year ago. It caused several problems for her including brain damage, paralysis, contractures, and respiratory failure. She is on a vent normally 8 hours a day, at night through her trach. She is very alert and oriented, and tries to communicate by talking, but more effectively communicates using a board with letters andpointing them to spell things out.
She was scheduled to go for an eye exam to determine if she needs glasses. She had had a previous appointment with this doctor a few weeks prior but never got examined due to another crew from my PT job getting lost on the way their and being late so the doctor refused to see her.
Upon walking into Carrie's room to introduce myself, you can imagine my surprise to find her on her vent in the middle of the day. She stated she was not feeling well today. When asked if she still wanted to go to her appointment she was very adament that she needed to go since the fiasco with her last appointment.
I went searching for my partner (who also happens to be the boss man) to let him know she was on a vent. I found him outside with a bettery charger hooked up under the hood of our ambulance...I began telling him what was going on and he just gave me the FML look. He then proceeds to tell me that we were on the BLS truck today, with no meds and no vent, that the other crew (who was an ALS crew as well) has the ALS truck because they had a vent pt today as well. After some scrambling he found the back up vent and got some extra oxygen from the facility and get the truck running. I checked that we would indeed have enough oxygen to get there, stay there and return and that my portable suction was in working order and well as the onboard, all was well.
I then got a crash course on the vent. (Two things should be noted here: 1) This was my 3rd shift here and I had yet to be introduced to our regular vent and 2) this was not our regular vent but a new vent we were thinking about switching to, so even my boss didnt know all the operations of it.) Thank goodness for RTs. She so kindly helped me set the appropriate setting for the pt and helped in my crash course of vent operation. By this point we were going to be about 15 min late for the pt appointment and she was getting upset because she didnt want to make the trip and not get seen again. I personally saw to it that the doctors office be called and the situation be explained about not knowing she was on a vent and agreed that as long as were were not going to be more than 30 min late he would still evaluate her. I reassured the pt and we were ready to go.
The transport to the doctor's office itself was pretty uneventful. Carrie was in a good spirit even though she wasn't feeling the greatest, even demanding to know why her husband wasn't wearing his wedding band, which he doesn't wear at work where he came straight from to go to her appointment with her. All of her VS were great. Her husband rode in the ambulance with us. I had everything set up and running smoothly. We got the doctor's office, unloaded the pt and went inside. We were standing in the waiting room when I heard the familiar gurgle of a trach needing suctioned. Carrie agreed that she would like to be suctioned. I walked to the head of the cot where my portable was set up and ready to go, I hooked up her inline suction and turned the power switch to on and nothing happened....no suction, no lights on portable, absolutely nothing. I asked the receptionist if we had a few minutes to go out to the truck to suction Carrie's trach and the doctor came out and said that would be absolutely fine, so back outside we went and back into the truck. I set up and hooked up the onboard suction, turned it on and began suctioning the trach using the inline catheter. I got one good sweep done, and went to a second to make sure we got it all, it still sounded kinda crappy and when I went for the second sweep I noticed it didnt seem to be suctioning. so I thought it was clogged, switched to a hard tip catheter, tried it on my glove, there was absolutely no suction. It then dawned on me there was no air coming out of the vents in the pt compartment either. When I questiopned my boss it dawned on both of us that the prior battery issues may be causeing a problem now.
While I began explinging to Carrie and her husband the predictament, my Bossman Partner went inside to talk to the doc. The doc was very unerstanding, and said he would try to get the appropriate approvals to do an exam at the facility Carrie was staying in.
Carrie was a whole other story. I explained the problem with the pt compartment not working and that the doctor was going to reschedule. She was downright angry. I can understand her anger, I would be angry too. All she kept talking about though was the fact that we had a dvd player in the back of our unit and a GPS unit to tell us how to get places yet we can't keep our trucks in working condition. That is all I heard from her the entire trip back to her facility. Meanwhile I was more concerned with her well-being, which remained very stable.
I was kind of at a loss for what else to say to her, so I just let her be angry and rant. I took as much of the blame as she would let me. And then she looks at me and says "Just let me die." And the only thing I could say to her was "Not today Carrie, not today." And her husband is still sitting right there beside her with this look of tiredness and defeat....
We will call her Carrie (of course its not her real name) She is 24, only a few months younger than myself. She was involved in a terrible car accident a couple years ago, maybe even just a year ago. It caused several problems for her including brain damage, paralysis, contractures, and respiratory failure. She is on a vent normally 8 hours a day, at night through her trach. She is very alert and oriented, and tries to communicate by talking, but more effectively communicates using a board with letters andpointing them to spell things out.
She was scheduled to go for an eye exam to determine if she needs glasses. She had had a previous appointment with this doctor a few weeks prior but never got examined due to another crew from my PT job getting lost on the way their and being late so the doctor refused to see her.
Upon walking into Carrie's room to introduce myself, you can imagine my surprise to find her on her vent in the middle of the day. She stated she was not feeling well today. When asked if she still wanted to go to her appointment she was very adament that she needed to go since the fiasco with her last appointment.
I went searching for my partner (who also happens to be the boss man) to let him know she was on a vent. I found him outside with a bettery charger hooked up under the hood of our ambulance...I began telling him what was going on and he just gave me the FML look. He then proceeds to tell me that we were on the BLS truck today, with no meds and no vent, that the other crew (who was an ALS crew as well) has the ALS truck because they had a vent pt today as well. After some scrambling he found the back up vent and got some extra oxygen from the facility and get the truck running. I checked that we would indeed have enough oxygen to get there, stay there and return and that my portable suction was in working order and well as the onboard, all was well.
I then got a crash course on the vent. (Two things should be noted here: 1) This was my 3rd shift here and I had yet to be introduced to our regular vent and 2) this was not our regular vent but a new vent we were thinking about switching to, so even my boss didnt know all the operations of it.) Thank goodness for RTs. She so kindly helped me set the appropriate setting for the pt and helped in my crash course of vent operation. By this point we were going to be about 15 min late for the pt appointment and she was getting upset because she didnt want to make the trip and not get seen again. I personally saw to it that the doctors office be called and the situation be explained about not knowing she was on a vent and agreed that as long as were were not going to be more than 30 min late he would still evaluate her. I reassured the pt and we were ready to go.
The transport to the doctor's office itself was pretty uneventful. Carrie was in a good spirit even though she wasn't feeling the greatest, even demanding to know why her husband wasn't wearing his wedding band, which he doesn't wear at work where he came straight from to go to her appointment with her. All of her VS were great. Her husband rode in the ambulance with us. I had everything set up and running smoothly. We got the doctor's office, unloaded the pt and went inside. We were standing in the waiting room when I heard the familiar gurgle of a trach needing suctioned. Carrie agreed that she would like to be suctioned. I walked to the head of the cot where my portable was set up and ready to go, I hooked up her inline suction and turned the power switch to on and nothing happened....no suction, no lights on portable, absolutely nothing. I asked the receptionist if we had a few minutes to go out to the truck to suction Carrie's trach and the doctor came out and said that would be absolutely fine, so back outside we went and back into the truck. I set up and hooked up the onboard suction, turned it on and began suctioning the trach using the inline catheter. I got one good sweep done, and went to a second to make sure we got it all, it still sounded kinda crappy and when I went for the second sweep I noticed it didnt seem to be suctioning. so I thought it was clogged, switched to a hard tip catheter, tried it on my glove, there was absolutely no suction. It then dawned on me there was no air coming out of the vents in the pt compartment either. When I questiopned my boss it dawned on both of us that the prior battery issues may be causeing a problem now.
While I began explinging to Carrie and her husband the predictament, my Bossman Partner went inside to talk to the doc. The doc was very unerstanding, and said he would try to get the appropriate approvals to do an exam at the facility Carrie was staying in.
Carrie was a whole other story. I explained the problem with the pt compartment not working and that the doctor was going to reschedule. She was downright angry. I can understand her anger, I would be angry too. All she kept talking about though was the fact that we had a dvd player in the back of our unit and a GPS unit to tell us how to get places yet we can't keep our trucks in working condition. That is all I heard from her the entire trip back to her facility. Meanwhile I was more concerned with her well-being, which remained very stable.
I was kind of at a loss for what else to say to her, so I just let her be angry and rant. I took as much of the blame as she would let me. And then she looks at me and says "Just let me die." And the only thing I could say to her was "Not today Carrie, not today." And her husband is still sitting right there beside her with this look of tiredness and defeat....
Thursday, July 9, 2009
there is a bright side...
m father informed me that he got my title yesterday and took it to the WV DMV to get it changed to my name only, where they proceeded to advise him I needed to sign it before they could that. He called me to tell me and I was about to cry when he whispered into the phone "dont worry i forged your name" I LOVE MY DAD!!
So within the next week I should have the new title, in my name only, in my hand to finish up this god-forsaken process, and I will have the new PA insurance tomorrow afternoon!
So within the next week I should have the new title, in my name only, in my hand to finish up this god-forsaken process, and I will have the new PA insurance tomorrow afternoon!
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
light at the end of the tunnel??
So my PA car insurance will go into effect on Friday, without having my car registered or titled in PA.
My dad, the great guy he is, went to the bank and they told him they would give him the title to get changed to my name only (without having to re-finance) and that he could fed-ex it to me to show to the title/registration people here and then I could fed-ex it back to the bank!
So hopefully by this time next week, I will be back to being legal.....I feel like such a bad ass running aorund all illegal in my car....hehehehe
Thanks for letting me rant (for 4 posts now...)
My dad, the great guy he is, went to the bank and they told him they would give him the title to get changed to my name only (without having to re-finance) and that he could fed-ex it to me to show to the title/registration people here and then I could fed-ex it back to the bank!
So hopefully by this time next week, I will be back to being legal.....I feel like such a bad ass running aorund all illegal in my car....hehehehe
Thanks for letting me rant (for 4 posts now...)
Penn DOT update #1
Ok, so I finally got a hold of a human at PennDOT and explained my situation was given a well rehearsed reply of "if the service you are using will accept proof of ID over fax or via mail then its ok" and when I asked to speak to someone above her she told me there was no one above her for me to speak to. I called back to the insurance/service center I had visited and told them PennDOTs response and was told the PennDOT woman I spoke to must not know the answer to questions and she advised I call back to PennDOT and talk to a different operator and see if I get the same answer because there was nothing the insurance company could do for me at this point other than the quote they gave me.
A second call made to PennDOT connected me to a different operator who was a bit more helpful. He told me that if both names were on the title then both parties must be present and licensed in PA. His definitive answer was that I would need to get the title in my name only, and if that meant refinancing my car then he guessed thats what Id have to do unless the bank would approve changing the title to just me.
I called my good ol' dad and he said he would run out the bank and talk with them and see if we could get just my name on the title without re-financing...
What a nightmare!!
A second call made to PennDOT connected me to a different operator who was a bit more helpful. He told me that if both names were on the title then both parties must be present and licensed in PA. His definitive answer was that I would need to get the title in my name only, and if that meant refinancing my car then he guessed thats what Id have to do unless the bank would approve changing the title to just me.
I called my good ol' dad and he said he would run out the bank and talk with them and see if we could get just my name on the title without re-financing...
What a nightmare!!
PennDOT saga continues...
So I rushed out of work on Monday evening to get to the car insurance/car title and registration place before they closed. I made it with about 10 min to spare. I had all of my paperwork readily available for them, I was prepared for anything....or so I thought. As I handed over the current (expired) registration for my vehicle the woman got this look on her face, you know that one where she is about to tell me my puppy died....and tells me that I will have a problem. The problem is that both my name and my father's name appear on my title and registration with the word "or". The problem is 1) in PA it has to say "and" not "or" and 2) if the car title has two names linked with "and" both people must have PA drivers licenses and be present to handle the paperwork. My father lives approx 400 miles away, in WV.
See my problem yet?
So the insurance lady took enough information to give me a quote for insurance but advised I hold off on anything else and gave me the 1-800 number to PennDOT. As I type this I am on hold with PennDot, listening to some pretty crappy, repetitive music and announcement that advise all representatives are busy and reminding me to stay on the line....in case I forget.
More to come when (if) I get through this phone call before I have to register another patient or go on another call.....
See my problem yet?
So the insurance lady took enough information to give me a quote for insurance but advised I hold off on anything else and gave me the 1-800 number to PennDOT. As I type this I am on hold with PennDot, listening to some pretty crappy, repetitive music and announcement that advise all representatives are busy and reminding me to stay on the line....in case I forget.
More to come when (if) I get through this phone call before I have to register another patient or go on another call.....
Friday, July 3, 2009
PennDOT saga
So I noticed two semi-important car details this week that needed to be taken care of sooner than later.
The first was that my WV inspection was dead as of midnight June 30, 2009. I had not realized just how soon this was approaching. The law in PA is that within 60 days of moving into the state you are supposed to switch your license, tags and registration to PA. I took this law as "as long as my WV stuff is current no one will even notice..." Well, I realized on June 30th that my inspection would be dying. I could not renew it in WV due to me not living there.
The second was that my WV license plates would be expiring soon (I thought July 31st....turns out while inspections die at midnight on the last day of the month license plates expire on the FIRST).
So I got off work around 1430 the other day and thought Id swing by the PA DMV and get everything switched over, no harm no foul. Turns out the system here is MUCH different than WV where you can do everything at once. The first place I had to go was the PennDOT drivers license center with all of my neccessary paperwork (original birth certificate, social sec. card, my old license, and 2 proofs of residency that consisted of things such as utility bills or lease agreements, mind you I have only the trash in my name everything else is in my roommates name and I havent signed my new lease yet....) But I was granted a 15 day temporary PA license while they assure themselves I do not already have a PA drivers license....
In order to get my tags, title, and registration in PA I have to have a PA drivers license, proof of PA car insurance, and proof of ownership (like the title to the vehicle). (I guess the fact that I possess one out of three is not all that great) I recived notice that since I now reside in PA, my old car insurance company can not cover me because they are notlicensed in PA, only in WV. (besides my policy with them expires July 13th).
Due to the holiday weekend I can not speak directly to any PA insurance companies until Monday.
I was told it will take $12.00 and 7-14 business days to request and recieve my title from the bank that I am paying my car payments through. and then another $111.00 to get my new registration and tags.
So for the time being I am driving a car that is titled, registered, and inspected in WV, all of which are now officially expired and have a temporary PA drivers license to boot.
Heres the real dilemma....I still work part time in WV and am scheduled for an 8-10 hour shift tomorrow. (rememebr its an easy, high paying job and its holiday pay) So I am going to chance the drive and pray that I either 1) dont get pulled over or 2) if I get pulled over I know the officer and can explain my predicament to them and get by with a warning..... ugh!!
The first was that my WV inspection was dead as of midnight June 30, 2009. I had not realized just how soon this was approaching. The law in PA is that within 60 days of moving into the state you are supposed to switch your license, tags and registration to PA. I took this law as "as long as my WV stuff is current no one will even notice..." Well, I realized on June 30th that my inspection would be dying. I could not renew it in WV due to me not living there.
The second was that my WV license plates would be expiring soon (I thought July 31st....turns out while inspections die at midnight on the last day of the month license plates expire on the FIRST).
So I got off work around 1430 the other day and thought Id swing by the PA DMV and get everything switched over, no harm no foul. Turns out the system here is MUCH different than WV where you can do everything at once. The first place I had to go was the PennDOT drivers license center with all of my neccessary paperwork (original birth certificate, social sec. card, my old license, and 2 proofs of residency that consisted of things such as utility bills or lease agreements, mind you I have only the trash in my name everything else is in my roommates name and I havent signed my new lease yet....) But I was granted a 15 day temporary PA license while they assure themselves I do not already have a PA drivers license....
In order to get my tags, title, and registration in PA I have to have a PA drivers license, proof of PA car insurance, and proof of ownership (like the title to the vehicle). (I guess the fact that I possess one out of three is not all that great) I recived notice that since I now reside in PA, my old car insurance company can not cover me because they are notlicensed in PA, only in WV. (besides my policy with them expires July 13th).
Due to the holiday weekend I can not speak directly to any PA insurance companies until Monday.
I was told it will take $12.00 and 7-14 business days to request and recieve my title from the bank that I am paying my car payments through. and then another $111.00 to get my new registration and tags.
So for the time being I am driving a car that is titled, registered, and inspected in WV, all of which are now officially expired and have a temporary PA drivers license to boot.
Heres the real dilemma....I still work part time in WV and am scheduled for an 8-10 hour shift tomorrow. (rememebr its an easy, high paying job and its holiday pay) So I am going to chance the drive and pray that I either 1) dont get pulled over or 2) if I get pulled over I know the officer and can explain my predicament to them and get by with a warning..... ugh!!
more virginal moments
I am in the middle of a 10 day stretch of working my multiple jobs without a day off. Im not complaining....I have been getting to sharpen my skills and even had a couple virgin shattering moments this week.
Yesterday, from a medic point of view, was a satisfying day. I started my morning off out in triage ( which was uneventful) and shortly after that I went on a chest discomfort call.
A dialysis pt was waiting for his ride and began feeling his chest pounding and called 911. Pt was found in BLS care and to be in SVT at 160-180 bpm. Yes folks, the still-somewhat-new-paramedic had never had an SVT call on her own. His vitals were stable so I started a line and headed to the hospital on an easy class 2 (here thats lights and sirens as needed) and I got to give Adenosine for the first time. I gave 6 and then 12. Both doses worked, but the pt rebounded right back up to a rate in the 160s-170s. The underlying rythym was a sinus rythym. I still am not quite sure what could have been the underlying cause, but Im sure it had something to do with dialysis....I will be researching it.
Later, I was chatting with the other medics working and my partner was up in the rotation when a SOB call came in, he still needed to write a report from a cardiac arrest earlier in the morning so I took the call for him. It was dispatched as an 80 yof c/o SOB, called in by Life-alert. The BLS ambulance and I arrived on scene within 6 min of dispatch and found the pt in arrest....PEA, started CPR, got a line, pushed meds, got in the ambulance, got my 2nd field intubation ever, and worked her, gave 4 epi and 3 atropine, she remained in a PEA at 30-40 bpm. At the ER she went into V-tach (kinda looked like torsades) 2 times and they shocked her, but ended up calling it within 15 min.
And then I had one of the easiest ALS calls I have ever had but was an interesting educationally challenging call. A lady had an iron deficiency and had been at an out patient clinic for IV iron replacement. They sent her home after the treatment with no problems. 2 hours later she began feeling very ill and returned to the clinic, unable to get out of the car due to weakness. She was VERY pale. Turns out her BP was 60/30 and puls in low 50s. Apparently this is a side effect or adverse reaction to the Iron replacement. So I established my very first 16G IV (I know, so simple yet still another virginal moment for me!) and gave her approx 450cc by time we reached the hospital about 5 min later on a class 2.
So while none of these are BIG moments, the fact that had one on every call I was on made for a "big girl paramedic" day for me. I will admit I was a little down after my arrest. I know I followed my protocol, but could help feeling a bit in the dumps. I did get a compliment from a co-worker, especially after he found out it was my first "real" code on my own, my other was just sad.
As I have stated before, the more viriginal shattering calls I have the more and more I feel like a "real" paramedic.
Yesterday, from a medic point of view, was a satisfying day. I started my morning off out in triage ( which was uneventful) and shortly after that I went on a chest discomfort call.
A dialysis pt was waiting for his ride and began feeling his chest pounding and called 911. Pt was found in BLS care and to be in SVT at 160-180 bpm. Yes folks, the still-somewhat-new-paramedic had never had an SVT call on her own. His vitals were stable so I started a line and headed to the hospital on an easy class 2 (here thats lights and sirens as needed) and I got to give Adenosine for the first time. I gave 6 and then 12. Both doses worked, but the pt rebounded right back up to a rate in the 160s-170s. The underlying rythym was a sinus rythym. I still am not quite sure what could have been the underlying cause, but Im sure it had something to do with dialysis....I will be researching it.
Later, I was chatting with the other medics working and my partner was up in the rotation when a SOB call came in, he still needed to write a report from a cardiac arrest earlier in the morning so I took the call for him. It was dispatched as an 80 yof c/o SOB, called in by Life-alert. The BLS ambulance and I arrived on scene within 6 min of dispatch and found the pt in arrest....PEA, started CPR, got a line, pushed meds, got in the ambulance, got my 2nd field intubation ever, and worked her, gave 4 epi and 3 atropine, she remained in a PEA at 30-40 bpm. At the ER she went into V-tach (kinda looked like torsades) 2 times and they shocked her, but ended up calling it within 15 min.
And then I had one of the easiest ALS calls I have ever had but was an interesting educationally challenging call. A lady had an iron deficiency and had been at an out patient clinic for IV iron replacement. They sent her home after the treatment with no problems. 2 hours later she began feeling very ill and returned to the clinic, unable to get out of the car due to weakness. She was VERY pale. Turns out her BP was 60/30 and puls in low 50s. Apparently this is a side effect or adverse reaction to the Iron replacement. So I established my very first 16G IV (I know, so simple yet still another virginal moment for me!) and gave her approx 450cc by time we reached the hospital about 5 min later on a class 2.
So while none of these are BIG moments, the fact that had one on every call I was on made for a "big girl paramedic" day for me. I will admit I was a little down after my arrest. I know I followed my protocol, but could help feeling a bit in the dumps. I did get a compliment from a co-worker, especially after he found out it was my first "real" code on my own, my other was just sad.
As I have stated before, the more viriginal shattering calls I have the more and more I feel like a "real" paramedic.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
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