A Work in Progress

There is an trend in EMS that has apparently proven to improve outcomes of cardiac arrest patients.  It is the idea that arrests should be worked where they are found. This reduces the interruptions of CPR especially those taken when getting the patient on a backboard, moving them outside, loading them into the ambulance, etc.  If the arrest is worked in the house or wherever they're found, it will be worked well, efficiently and with out interruption of CPR.  There was a study in Maine where this technique improved patient outcome (or, at least, reuturn of spontaneous circulation).  The patient is worked until they are resuscitated, or they are definitly dead.  The problem the Maine study found was that paramedics were not used to giving families death notifications.  We do have to do them if we are called too late and it is just not practical to resusciate.  In these cases, we have to break the news that the family already knows and in my experience...

"How could we have missed the house?" "Dispatch said they don't have a porch light." "Yeah, but do they have a driveway?" It turned out that they didn't have a driveway.  The ambulance crew and I were on the wrong side of the road at the wrong cluster of buildings.  We did find the house after a few minutes of confusion, and I got to blaze a trail to the house with my 4x4.  It appeared as though the house had been dropped by a twister into the middle of a field.  A very muddy field. There wasn't a porch light because there wasn't a porch to put it on.  I'm not sure how they got to the house because there was no driveway or walk, and there was no mailbox, so I don't understand how the house existed at all. That said, someone knew where this house was because they used it as a place to put all of their trash and crap.  Rather unfortunately, the resident of this mystery house had recently died and we were called. Muddy and confus...

Before you lament  "Oh, resqellie, if only you'd get yourself together and blog again like in the old days!" don't fret.  The blog has suffered due to my apathy, work schedule, and most importantly, because of writing.  Yes, writing has gotten in the way of my writing.  I've been passively working on a non-blog writing project for some time and recently have decided to dedicate myself more to it than blogging.  It's odd that I haven't shared any snippets of it with you blog readers.  It is a work of fiction and somehow I am far more self conscious of it than writing about myself alone.  So, I will probably continue to not share these writings with you, but at least you know the truth.  This other project does take up some time.  The other night, I had a great brainwave and set to putting it on paper.  About three hours later I had written two pages.  Two pages!  I was as shocked as you are.  But, such is the nature of writ...

At part time work, I hang out in the ER, see patients as they come in, and help with triage as time allows.  The last time I was there there was a worrying trend. "Hello, how can we help you?" "Yeah, I was at my doctors' yesterday and I was diagnosed with the flu and I just don't feel better so I came in to get seen." "Whoa.  Let me stop you right there.  If you wouldn't mind, could you put on one of those yellow masks there?  Yep.  Just like that.  Thanks." I know the flu sucks.  You are not going to feel well.  You will not be healed overnight. It can take a healthy person a good week to fight off the flu.  The people I saw coming into the ER with the flu were not old or young or immunocompromised.  They were between 25-35 and just didn't suffer well. Please stop coming into the ER and spreading your germs.  No offense meant. Also, don't come to work, go to wal-mart, or Applebees.  Please.  That being said, the flu ...

Already I am behind and it is only the 10th day of the year. I have not come up with any topics for my column writing idea, so I am taking suggestions. Give me a topic and I'll bore you with it.  For free! I am making other progress in re-uping my membership with the red cross and making an honest attempt to be more dedicated to the organization. Work is not a good excuse to miss meetings. That is what I've decided. I mean, I'll alter my schedule for less important things, so why not them? Also, I will just take their classes. I need to get over myself and just do it instead of thinking I am overqualified because I am not. There is always learning to be done and if some of their classes are redundant: so be it. Resolve! I have some at this moment! I have also booked flights for my first very far trip in almost three years.  I'll be visiting dear friends in the Pacific Northwest before they leave their post.  I am super stoked and relish in the preparation....

It's been an odd year, I guess. If I say that every year, then what does a normal year consist of? I just read through my whole blogging year and although it didn't take me very long, due to a shameful lack of posts, I think it was pretty good. I did a little travel, a little car buying (get it? little?) and had some good times at work. Having reviewed last years 'end of the year' post I have concluded that I should read that post sometime in June. That way I can remember my 'resolutions' and maybe be inspired to tackle one or two of them. I did accomplish, finally, a throw back resolution and bought a super expensive fancy smallish flashlight for work. It is obnoxiously bright and I have already used it at work. Result! Also, I bought it at the Bean, so if it ever goes wrong, I'll get a new one for free. The Bible, the Torah, the Quran, and for fun, let's say the book of Mormon are all still unread. I went on only one first date and it was m...

It's good in this biz to get a patient with something you've never seen before. It keeps you on your toes, reminds you to be humble, and gets you to dust off those old textbooks. I had a guy who very late in the day had a few too many beers to drink. He stumbled backwards off of his porch (I'd guess a couple of feet, though I never saw the porch) and got a pain in his back. But, he managed to brush himself off, sit back down on the porch and crack open another cold one. Less than an hour later, though, he started to feel short of breath. This is the part where I come in, finding him wandering through the back of his property nowhere near a house. (hence how I never even saw what he fell off of). He looked peculiar to say the least. Stumbling in the dark, he was caught by our headlights by chance. For a moment I thought I was in a zombie movie as we watched him grope for a hand hold that wasn't there while moaning between unintelligible words. We walked him to...

This is a picture of my father, mild mannered historical nerd, pipe smoking type, driving a real NASCAR car. Stock car.  Race car.  Whatever you call it.  You know I don't know. For his landmark birthday, my mother bought him this racing experience.  I got to come along as staff photographer. It was really cool as we all got to hang out at the infield of the track and let our minds wrap around what it might feel like if all of those thousands of seats had fans in them.  Everyone doing the experience was very keen on nascar racing and my mother may have admitted too loudly that we had not actually ever seen a nascar race ever.  I, at least, have never watched more than a minutes worth of it.  I'm sorry, but I just don't get it.  I knew then, but even more so now, that there is more to stock car racing than turning left.  There's turning left and driving really fast in between.  And sitting in a really uncomfortable position for several h...

I’ve been giving some thought to an aspect of my life recently that I really should appreciate more. As a single woman with many married friends, I feel like I get to borrow husbands. There may be no way to introduce this topic without looking needy and weird, but in all sincerity, I am blessed to have married friends and husbands I can borrow who will take care of me. Without sounding like a polygamist, I have different (brother?) husbands who fix my car, chop wood, play video games, fix random stuff, and even a work husband who looks after me there. In a way it is sort of like borrowing other peoples’ kids and giving them back when they get cranky or smelly. It is a luxury in my life to have these men who work as worthy place holders for my future possible husband. Of course, they are spoiling me in a way that will make it more impossible to find an actual husband, but oh well. And of course, I can still kill my own spiders, change light bulbs, and trim trees, but it is nice w...

Okay so, I was fording a river on an Austrailian outback expedition and Half Pint and I took on a bit too much water.  We were being chased by angry dingos at the time, so there was a bit of a rush to get back on the road.  The engine was running fine, of course, but I had to use an outback technique and shoot a hole in my floorboard so that the water would quickly drain out and we could continue to make our daring getaway.  Luckily, we next went by a winery who sold novelty sized bottles of wine so I was able to negotiate an extra large cork from them to fill the bullet hole.  We had time to stop there, as dingos are famous for their dislike of wine.  We sought refuge in that winery for several months, in fact, and I have become a vintner and can speak perfect Austrailian.  I digress.  I've been considering fixing the hole, but I'd really rather keep it as a reminder of our great adventure.  I still have the extra large cork anyway. I am a hu...

Among the millions of things I've been meaning to do, I have been meaning to post about when my good friend came to visit from far away and we got to take a day trip starring the civil war and a classic mini cooper.  The mini is a perpetual scene stealer, though we learned that not everyone would like to have a picture of it (even when you accidentially/kind of knowingly drove in front of them while they're taking a picture)  We probably should have shouted 'You're welcome!' to the guy I made really mad, as his picture was probably much improved by having half pint in it.  The car brings sunshine and happiness where 'ere it goes (except for that one guy).  (Besides, everyone shoots in digital and he was taking a picture of a statue that wasn't going anwhere.  Okay, I'm finished feeling guilty.) Anyway, we drove out to Antietam national battlefield mere days before the 150th anniversary celebration.  Well, celebration is not right.  I'll just leav...

I am a week behind in the blogging once a week plan, but no one noticed probably. Moving on! This has been an exciting and unprecedented (pun intended) week. Last Tuesday I voted for all winners. Initially I was quite disappointed that my Tuesday improv class was still a go on election night. Therefore, to have an election party I would have to sacrifice class. Needless to say, I didn't have an election party. Well, I guess I did have quite a small one, after I got home, by myself whooping at the TV for a minute before going to bed. Not quite as good as the George Bush piñata from last time, but I'll take it for a good result. That was certainly the highlight of my two weeks, even trumping making my first pumpkin pie entirely from scratch. That was an amazing experience that took almost the entire day and most of my sanity. The result though, was scrumptious, I must say. So, I will tell you of my recent first foray into the world of roller coaster riding. My childh...

There are a few things that stereotypically define adulthood. One of those, other than drinking soda whenever you want is owning a home. Here you become responsible for 30 years of debt as well as maintaining what is really a big space with tons of working parts that no single person could understand. From roof to basement, front yard to back, a house is needy. Mine is 93, so sometimes it needs a little extra love as well as help across the street. Back in September, I had my first house guests of the year. Two separate parties coming within a week of each other. On the eve of the firsts arrival, I decided to double check on the guest room (which I hadn't seen in some time, keeping the door shut for temperature efficiency). I opened the door and found the most hellacious mess where part of the plaster ceiling had fallen in. In a most sitcomesque fashion, I shut the door immediately and sent up a little prayer. But, when I reopened the door, the mess was still there. Lite...

I bet that you thought I forgot to blog today. Well, I didn't.  I purposefully waited until 9pm so as to keep you guessing.  I have not neglected any social media today.  In fact, it is a momentous day as it is the day I added pics to facebook, wrote a blog post, and joined twitter.  I know, I know.  Don't give in to the man!  Twitter?  Isn't that yesterdays myspace?  Isn't that for aging actors to connect with the young folk?  Isn't that just another way for everyone to annoy all of their acquaintances with superfluous updates about their mundane lives?  Yes to all!  Well, mostly all.  I was inspired by an improv peep to get on over and tweet like a bird of some sort.  I am going to reserve my 140 characters for charming and amusing insights into my every day life.  I know no one cares, but having amassed a whopping 5 followers in my first 24 hours, I am inspired.  I will be publishing a book of my clever tweet...

Good Lord, it is October 17th.  This is a date of no personal significance, but it is important to note that I am blogging, and the last time that happened was September 2nd.  And I call myself a blogger!  The shame.  Anywho, to the things!  I'll stick to this past week, vow to make up for the last five by blogging every week until I am caught up on all of my nonsense news.  Yes, let's make it Wednesdays.  Deadlines!  Expectations! Motivation! Plus, having a weekly thing sets me up for weekly reflection and maybe I'll stop forgetting things.  I'm afraid this post is already too random, but I will promise more cohesion in future.  And maybe even a point.  Last week, some of the fam and I went to see Wicked to celebrate a couple of birthdays.  It is an awesome show.  I am not a fan of frou-frou musicals, but this one is great.  I've seen it three times now and it is magic.  Unfortunately, the songs have been ...

This job can sometimes wear on a person. The heart the soul, and the sleep schedule are all at risk. This is a job where I often find myself in a situation where I can be helpful, make a bit of a difference in someones day, and then get paid to nap: ideal. But sometimes, after a string of drunk, silly, completely healthy, poor decision making patients I can be sick of it all. When I feel this building up, it is usually disipated with a great call where I felt very useful and all of those doubtful feelings go away. Recently, feeling my job tolerance running low, we were flagged down by two boys. The concern and worry in their faces made my skepticism fly out the window. I hopped out and they both started relaying their experiences simulaneously. Kid 1: "There are these bunnies running around and we can't find their mom and we don't know how to catch them and they're going to be hit by a car or something and how will they eat and they're under the cars! C...

His wife managed to pull the car to a stop in the nearest yard. He had insisted on driving, though he wasn't feeling well. She let him, as it was her last bargaining chip to go to the hospital in the first place. But now that he was slumped over the wheel, it was up to her to get help. She called 911, and after trying to get him out of the car, she reluctantly took the dispatchers advice to leave him and run to a neighbor. She climbed the short hill to the house, shouting for help, when she was surprised by a little dog, unfriendly and defensive. It clamped down on her leg and refused to let go. Her cries for help were compounded now and her only comfort came in the distant whine of sirens. Relieved but still attempting to kick the dog off, she made her way back to her husband. The dog gave up, leaving blood running into her sock from an angry wound. Two EMT's grabbed her husband and layed him onto a stretcher. They started CPR and she couldn't watch. She was ...

I've been on an accidental hiatus.  From blogging, from biking, from caring, from life.  I don't know why.  That's the problem with these things. They sneak up on me and then suddenly I find myself on the couch for the 30th day in a row (I exaggerate, but only a bit).  This type of thing usually only happens in winter, the old SAD, but, for me, not even perfect summer days could lift my spirits. But, then things got better.  That's the solution with these things, happiness sneaks back in and plants itself right back into my little brain.  And now, every day, I feel like I am waking up from a long sickness.  I guess that's a good thing.   Sometimes I can't help but take on the problems of the world.  I can't help but find my job unfufilling, my life lonely, and television depressingly bad.  Then, I realize that I am trying so hard to find my inspiration, direction, and purpose that I am forgetting to live.  I know that sounds pain...

Top Gear advise never to meet your hero car.  Of course, they're talking about the Ferrari California, Butatti Veyrons and Pugani Zondas.  Despite their warning, I bought my hero car without even seeing it in person.  Here is my Top Gear style review. Just because it needed tons of bulbs, a new spare tire, lug nuts, new shocks, brake cylinders, ball joints, a front headlight, a radiator, and rear brakes, and just because it had a wobbly steering wheel, wing mirror, and muffler, and just because it has no air conditioning, radio, or automatic windows, and just because it has a few bumps and scratches, and a couple of rust spots doesn't mean that it isn't the most awesome car I've ever seen. Oh, and the interior light is falling out, and in a slight 40 year design flaw, the ignition coil is in the very front of the car, exposed to rain and susceptable to shorting. It is beautiful in its simplicity.  When a car is 10x5x4 it can't be complicated.   It has just a ...

To my friends with kids (and that's just about all of you now): I miss you.  I'm inexplicably proud of you and excited for all the positive changes in your lives. I haven't been there for you like I thought I would.  But life, in many forms, gets in the way.  I know we're on different planes of life now and it's selfish to ask; but don't forget me.  It scares me when I see us getting so far apart.  I know you often don't know what to do with me, and that's okay.  I don't know what to do with me either.  I don't want to lose touch for the next 18 years and then catch up when they leave for college.  I want to know your kids.  I want to be in their lives.  It's been an honor to see you all become parents and I want to be there to see you all become great ones.  Maybe one day, you can pass your wisdom on to me.  I want to see if they get your sense of humor, or your beauty, or your creativity, and I don't want to see it on faceb...