A Work in Progress

In the old days, EMS personnel were expected to drive the ambulance and then plan the funeral.  Life was seemingly simple. But now, a paramedic's job description is never long enough.  It is far beyond showing up and bringing the hearse.  I joke that I am paid for 'readiness' as my excuse to earn money sleeping.  But readiness is a big part of the job.  In the station, I am chef, maid, and janitor.  I track supplies, check medications and restock.  On calls, a paramedic is driver, interviewer, negotiator, the calm of the storm.  A paramedic is the medicine giver, the airway guru, the IV ninja.  A paramedic is the authority, the decision-maker, the therapist, listener, and giver of advice.  We take care of every type of patient and yet have no specialty. I'm not sure why I'm compelled to point this out.  I think that it is easy to forget how dynamic this job really is.  It is very easy to forget the expectations of this job....

There's no way to write about the anniversary of the deaths of Sophie and Hans Scholl, and Christoph Probst without going on an inane tangent.  This subject is clearly far from the usual blog fare, though I think I've pointed it out before. It'se easiest just to point you to this link for a pretty good run down of the story.  I am rarely moved by, well, anything, but when I heard this story in Munich I found it to be extrodinary.   It deserves recounting, it certainly deserves remembering.  To me, it is a reminder to stand for what is right, and to remember the burdon of hate this world carries. Temper your suffering with those who suffer most. 

I've learned a few things from my patients in recent weeks. Firstly, dreams can be intense.  At 4 in the morning, my patient had a dream that he was under attack.  His attackers had left for some reason, but were headed back at any time. The logical conclusion was for him to exit the building.  Through the window.  This was probably a great plan except that he was on the second floor.  No one told his dream self this and by the time he realized it, it was too late.  Wide awake, broken, and on the freezing sidewalk below, he had to crawl to a neighbors house, up the porch and knock on the door until they woke up.  So, the lesson here is any of the following: Tie yourself to your bed, sleep on the first floor, lock the windows, or carry a cell phone in your pajamas. Secondly, and this one is a little more obvious, trees are tall.  Yes, and sometimes if you climb them, especially using big nails driven into the trunk as a ladder, you cal fall out ...

Tonight I went out to dinner.  Well, this afternoon I took the bike to the park for the first ride of the year.  It was marginally successful.  I need to work harder at the gym.  Anyway.  I got home later than I thought, ate some leftovers in a rush and went to a meeting.  It was some pretty good human interaction!  And could give me plenty of things to do in the future.  Anyway.  Afterwards, we went out to dinner.  I was still a little hungry from abbreviated dinner, so off I went.  'Why get something small, when I can get something to have now and take home for tomorrow?'  I said to myself.  It was a nice dinner with plenty left for another meal.  They kindly gave me a box, and a bag too.  I carefully scraped my plate into the box and put it in the bag and placed it right in front of me so I wouldn't forget to take it home. Well, by now, we all know the end of this story.  It should be no surprise to any ...

Seven years ago the blog and I were just getting started.  I hope that's still true today.  I wish I had something interesting to say to mark the occasion, but... I am happy to see that bloggers have less of a stigma than they did seven years ago. At least it seems to me that there are more serious bloggers now and it's not all pointless musings and quiz results.  I am sure in many circles, blogging is still considered in inferior form of writing.  But in this day and age, I'm glad that writing appears to be alive and well.  Though it is barely alive in this blog. I am thinking of breathing new life into this blog with a weekly 'column.'  I've often thought that I was well capable of being hired by a paper and banging out 500 (?) words to get the general public thinking.  Also, if I set a deadline for myself it is far more likely to be completed.  The current blog related deadline is whenever I feel like it or remember to or am inspired to post....