Alabama Air Medical Crash

3 colleagues and members of my EMS family were killed early yesterday in the line of duty while on a search and rescue mission.

You can read articles about this:

Flight Web

ABC Huntsville

News Channel 19

God Speed Michael, Tiffany, and Allan. Thank you for your sacrifices to your community. Your lives lost will not be in vain and you will not be forgotten.

Please keep these families in your thoughts and prayers.

You may post messages of condolences and sympathy to the families and coworkers here:

Condolence Book

This book is usually up for about a week, so don't delay if you'd like to offer your support.

Assisting the Public?

She was 90 something years old and we were dispatched because she fell.

Her house was like this amazing travel through time and a huge lesson in hoarding. I swear this lady NEVER through anything away. Please let me tell you some of the things that I found while poking around her house:

Plastic bags--the grocery store kind
Ok, so it's one thing to save to Walmart bags to use as trash bags or to carry your lunch to and from work. However, there were literally 50 years of plastic bags in this house and everything was stored in plastic, EVERYTHING....There were bags of bags hanging from the door jambs, the refrigerator door handle, the spindles for the kitchen chair backs, and her walker.

Prescription bottles
It's one thing to save a bottle or two for various things around the house. I've used them for storing nuts and bolts in my workshop before. It's totally another thing to have the past 30 years worth of empty prescription bottles in bags sitting around the house. EMPTY. With the labels still attached on some of them.

Take out food containers
About a hundred of them. Sitting on top of the refrigerator in the basement (Florida room?), towering stacks of them that threatened to fall like the leaning tower of Pisa.

Magazines
Hundreds of them, varying titles from the past 10 years, at least.

The woman had so much stuff in her house that she had made a path just wide enough to fit her walker through. It was amazing to see. I don't ever want to end up like that, seeing that old woman's house made me want to go home and clean up my own house, clearing out the clutter and purging things that I had been holding onto "just in case".

Merry Freaking Christmas

So Christmas is not coming to my house this year. My tree is in the basement, the lights are still in the boxes. I didn't even open the ornament holder. My family is far across the country this year as they have been for the past 6 years. I sent out about half my holiday cards but have no desire to send the rest. I'll get to them sometime in January I guess.

I bought Christmas presents for my Mom, a friend, my Captain, and my brother. I didn't know what to get my Dad so I didn't get him anything.

I change the radio station when a Christmasy song is played. I've been watching the holiday and Christmas movies on Lifetime when nothing else is on, but I just have no holiday spirit this year. I have received a few Christmas presents in the mail, wrapped all pretty. They are still in the box because I don't even have the desire to open them. I'll do it on Christmas, I guess. I tried this year, but it just wouldn't come to me.

I don't feel like celebrating this year. It's hard to celebrate when you feel like you're losing everything. I know that this slump won't last forever, but I hate feeling this way. I just want to be back into the rhythm of life. I think I may walk to church tomorrow night. I have nothing else to do and I always loved Christmas Eve services. Maybe it will help me refresh my mind and remember what this season is truly about.

I used to love Christmas, when I wasn't alone. I went all out with a tree, lights, ornaments. Wrapped presents under the tree, holiday scented candles, cheery music on the radio; the whole 9 yards. There is no one here to appreciate it except me, and I frankly don't care this year.

I'll be back to my regular blogging about gross paramedic stuff after the holidays are over, I promise. Until then, you get the randomness of my daily thoughts.

Merry Freaking Christmas everyone!

10 Random Facts EMS Style

Well, I tried to keep it in the EMS style but it was HARD!!! Now it's your turn. How would you answer these questions?

10 RANDOM FACTS
1. I prefer text messaging to voicemail.
2. I multi task well.
3. I can get orders for just about anything from Dr. L.
4. I love my firefighters, I'd do anything for them.
5. I make the cot the same way every single time. I even go out of my way to fix it.
6. I crank up the stereo on the way to calls, especially bad ones.
7. I can see through most drug seekers.
8. I hate cheesy medical drama shows, but I still watch them anyways.
9. I hate working with incompetent people.
10. I don't like fake people.

9 WAYS TO WIN MY HEART
1. Offer to help lift the cot.
2. Bring me coffee, it is the liquid of life!
3. Understand that I don't wake up until about 10 AM.
4. Know when I need you to just listen.
5. Hold me while I cry about a patient that I lost after trying hard to save them.
6. Ask when you don't know how to do something, I promise that I won't get mad.
7. Tell me the truth, even if it's not what I want to hear.
8. Offer to be take the groping old man so I don't have to.
9. Call me and let me know that you are there for me.

8 THINGS I CARRY EVERYDAY
1. Cell Phone
2. Stethoscope
3. ID Badge
4. Wallet
5. My coupon binder
6. Diet Coke
7. Travel Coffee Mug with lots of coffee
8. Glasses

7 THINGS THAT ANNOY ME
1. Backstabbers
2. Ignorance
3. Unemployment
4. People who interrupt me
5. Being so far away from my family
6. Not knowing who to trust
7. Short people with a complex

6 STATES I'VE VISITED
1. California
2. Arizona
3. Florida
4. Minnesota
5. Illinois
6. Michigan

5 THINGS I WANT TO DO BEFORE I DIE
1. Be debt free
2. Become a flight medic
3. Be respected in my field
4. Go back to school and finish my degree
5. Organize my life

4 THINGS I'M AFRAID OF
1. Failing at life and love
2. Being alone for the rest of my life
3. Making mistakes
4. Hurting those I love

3 THINGS I DO EVERYDAY
1. Send and receive Email
2. Try to thank God for the blessings that I have
3. Write

2 THINGS I'M TRYING NOT TO DO NOW
1. Let my current situation get me down
2. Get depressed

1 PERSON I WANT TO SEE NOW
1. My Mom. Or my Mamas. You know who you ladies are.

Nifty little web based toy

I found this on another blogger's blog site:

My Mini City

It is so cool! Kinda like the sim games that were popular in the 90's, although much more simplistic and not as complicated. So you click on the link and it takes you to my online mini city, "Deeville". Each time someone clicks on the link, it adds a new resident to the population and eventually your people get jobs and families and it looks neat.

Yes, I know that this has nothing to do with being a paramedic but I needed a little humor in my life and I thought that this was cool.

Plus, it's my damn blog. I can write about whatever I want to....

What is the definition of Emergency?

It is not:

A stubbed toe
A sore throat that you've had for 3 weeks
A cough you've had for a month
Anything that you've had for 2 weeks and not seen a doctor for
A dramatic panic attack


I know that sometimes it's hard to know when you're in the middle of something to make a decision whether to call an ambulance or not. So we wouldn't get mad if you try to use good judgment. If you ask, though we'll tell you that your insurance will NOT pay for a trip to the ER via ambulance for a stubbed toe. As unfortunate as it is, you could *gasp* drive yourself, or have someone take you. And in all reality, an isolated stubbed toe doesn't warrant a trip to the ER.

It's not that we don't want you to suffer or not use the 911 system if you need us. After all, that is what we are there for. But know that there is a finite amount of resources in your area and if we are picking up up for your stubbed toe, the person across town having a heart attack may have to wait for another ambulance to get there. And it may be too long.

Well, gosh. What a day.

Not so good things happened today. For several reasons, I really can't post them here on a open forum. So I'll yak about something else....

When did it become ok to mow down and trample all over someone else to get ahead in this world? When did it become acceptable to beat someone down and suppress their rights to feel good about yourself?

We have certain rights afforded to us by brave men and women who have died for us to have the freedom to say what we want to, burn the American Flag, join unions, own guns, disagree with our government, vote, and observe any religion that we so choose. Why do we still have to fight for these rights. It's friggin' 2008 (almost)!

Let me live my life anyway I choose as long as I am not breaking the law.

I hate when bullies win--even if it's a temporary win. Especially when they are short.

Have a safe night.