Moving (and some other stuff)!

As I mentioned in my last post, the blog will soon be moving!  I just wanted to let you know that the finishing touches are being done on the new site and we should be up and running soon.  I’ll post a link here when it’s live!

Since I’m here I’ll give a little update about school.  Today we talked a bit more about airway management and the various conditions, breath sounds, ways of managing the various emergencies that can arise and the “tools of the trade.”  I’m amazed at how much of it all goes back to what I learned in Basic.  It really hammered home “BLS before ALS.”  We’ll have a test on airway on Tuesday as well as a check off on intubation.  Today we did a dry run and I did ok, except that I accidently let go of the ET tube before I had it secured (thankfully I noticed it and was allowed to “correct” it).  Otherwise, my instructor said I did well.  Hopefully the real deal will go as smoothly (minus letting go of an unsecured tube).

Tomorrow I’ll be doing a clinical rotation in an ICU at a fairly busy medical center.  I’m looking forward to taking care of some patients with intesting patho… well, at least that’s what I’m hoping for.

On another note, I want to brag on my wife for a moment.  She’s simply amazing.  She puts up with all of the craziness that is my life right now and I’m thankful for her support, love and even butt kicking when I need it.  She can also decorate a beautiful cake!  She’s taking a Grey’s break for the moment (and I’m about to join her!) but she’s working on a cake that is in the form of a long flowing dress for a Barbie doll.  It’s beautiful.  She’s also a wonderful teacher at a “Star” rated high school.  She also picked up her endorsement in physics over the Summer, which gives her every science endorsement that the state recognizes.  I can’t say enough how proud of her I am and how much I love her for all that she does for me and for others.

I love you, Jessica.

Jonathan

Stupidity at its Finest

Those that know me tend to think I’m negative about my home state of Mississippi.  Truly, I don’t enjoy that but I’m also sick and tired of the citizens of my state being satisfied with the way things are (which aren’t good).  I also want, in some way, to encourage my fellow Mississippians to better themselves by actually using the brains that God gave them.

I was a radio personality and programmer for 8 years before I joined EMS and I’m familiar with (and have participated in) the many stunts a station will do in order to bring attention to itself or an event it’s sponsoring, etc. A radio station in Biloxi has been airing an on-air countdown, which the station management state is a countdown to a new format.  I’m not sure why but some of the citizens down there apparently thought it meant a terror attack was about to be launched on coastal plants for industrial companies such as Chevron.  How they assumed this is anyones’ guess but I think it’s pretty sad that people are really that stupid.  I also realize that there’s stupid everywhere the grass is green (and even where there is sand, etc.) but this is just plain nuts.

You can read the story here.

Wow.

Jonathan

Remembering 9/11

I wrote this several years ago (when I was still a radio DJ – hence all the mentions about radio) as a remembrance of my experience on 9/11/01.  For the most part I still agree with what I wrote.  Granted, now I think our troops should come home but it does shed some prespective on what we were and continue to fight for.  I hope you enjoy reading this post.  It still makes my hair stand up on end when I think of the events of that day.

Jonathan

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“Where were you when the world stopped turning on that September day?” Allen Jackson poses that question in his hit song about what happened three years ago today and it really makes me think every time I hear it. I’ll never forget where I was on September 11, 2001. I woke up to my former program director, David Day, on the air saying that something had happened at the World Trade Center and they were just getting information about it. I laid in my bed, motionless at his words. Then he came back on and said that it had been confirmed that a plane had hit one of the “Twin Towers.” It was at that moment I went to turn my TV on, just in time to see the second plane hit. I was shocked. I sat on my couch for a while just staring at the television. I was in total disbelief. I had the usual thoughts, “how could this happen?” “Is this for real?” Then I saw that a plane hit the Pentegon and heard that a fourth plane was headed or Washington, DC. Eventually I decided to get up and go to the station in case they needed to help with news gathering.

When I got to the station everyone had a look of shock and disbelief on their faces. All five of our stations had various news feeds airing so those of us who weren’t on the air at the time gathered in the conference room to watch the news. As more and more images filled our screen we started getting reports from around town that gas stations had raised their gas prices and people were essentially in a panic. Fleetwood (former PD of WZKS, one of my former sister stations) and I decide to ride around and take a look. As far as the signs went, gas prices were normal but people, in fact, in a panic. I had never seen anything like that in my life.

It finally came time for my air shift and I was told to air any news items that seemed relevant, not to say much and to keep everything flowing as best as possible. Honestly, not much music was played during the Jonathan Show that night, but it seemed like any music I did play was sad in nature. I sat there, taking some phone calls and talking to people about it. Utter disbelief was the general mood of people in the Twin States. I, too, was in utter disbelief.

That day is also the only day that I’ve cried on the air. As radio personalities, we’re not really supposed to do that but I’d say that I was justified that night. President Bush was about to speak to the nation and we were going to carry it live. The song ended and I had about a minute until the President spoke. I’ll never forget what I said: “Q101, Today’s Best Music, it’s Jonathan and today is a day that I’m having great difficulty with, just as I’m sure you are. As a radio personality, it’s part of my job to come up with words to describe things that are happening in entertainment and the world in general. Tonight I just can’t. There are no words to describe how I’m feeling about this.” That’s when I started crying. I closed with “And now, the President of the United States. God bless America.”

I went back to my place after I got off the air and I read Psalm 23, prayed, cried somemore and finally fell asleep. That weekend I went to visit my family, hugged them extra close and appreciated the time I spent with them a little more than usual. That, not to mention everything else I’ve been through in life, made me fully understand that I should never take life for granted and that I should appreciate each day as a gift from God. If there was ever a reminder that things can be over in an instant, it was 9/11.

Some death stats from the attacks (obtained from the US State Department):

World Trade Center 2,823 (includes airline passengers)
Pentagon 125 (not including plane victims)
Flight 11 92 people on board
Flight 175 64 people on board
Flight 77 64 people on board
Flight 93 44 people on board

All of those people who died, their families and loved ones: That’s who we’re fighting for. Our military is also fighting hard for you and me so that we’ll hopefully never have to experience anything like those who died in the attacks experienced.

There were a few good things that came out of 9/11. The obvious ones were a new found appreciation for our emergency workers but the main one I’m thinking of is the fact that heroes exist and don’t necessarially wear a uniform. The passangers who rushed the cockpit on Fight 93 showed us all what determination and selfless sacrifice can achieve. The certainly did not die in vain, indeed they probably saved hundereds, possibly thousands, of lives. The plane they were on was heading toward Washington and could have hit the Capital building, the White House or another building where many people were gathered.

Not fighting the war on terrorism would be saying that they died in vain. Do we really want that?

The way our grandparents feel/felt about the Pearl Harbor attacks on December 7, 1941 is the way we will feel about September 11, 2001 when we’re in our 60′s and 70′s. I will never forget that day and I hope that you never will either.

A Follow Up

Lizzie the Medic said her comment on my Empathy post couldn’t be contained so she had to write a new post about the topic.  Go check it out, it’s a great read and something all of us in EMS can use!

Jonathan

Empathy

I’m sure most everyone in EMS has a certain type of patient that they have a deep empathy for.  As medical practitioners, we’re charged to give the best possible care to everyone regardless of whatever; however, if we’re honest, I think we all have a certain type of patient that we go out of our way to make sure are well taken care of.  Some EMTs and medics feel that special empathy for the elderly or the disabled.  Ms. Paramedic, one of the awesome EMS bloggers I follow, has said that she feels that way about OB patients because of some events that hit close to home.  For me, that type of patient is those dealing with anxiety, panic attacks and depression.

Like MsP, my reason is one that hit close to home. Very close to home.

It was August of 2007.  It had been an eventful year but I wasn’t really thinking of that at the moment.  By that time I had move back home after losing a job that I moved to Fort Wayne, Indiana for.  This was when I was a full time radio personality.  I was back at my “home” station and was back to doing my old job (night show host and music director), where I thought I belonged.  I was in the conference room eating a salad from Quizno’s.  It was some kind of chicken chopped salad (don’t ask me why I remember that, I have no idea).  After I ate lunch I went back to my office to work on getting ready for my show.  I then felt a twinge in my pecs.  Then I started freaking out.  I thought I was having an MI and so did my boss, to the point that he was about to call EMS for me.  I told him not to but the office manager was insisting that I go to the ER.  She and I left but I calmed down, felt OK and convinced her that I didn’t need to go.  Somehow I got through the rest of the day.  I also realized what I had experienced was a panic attack.

From there it all tumbled out of control.  Soon I was constantly having panic attacks.  The littlest thing would set me off.  It got so bad that I couldn’t even stand to be in the radio studio because it would set me off.  It was soon after that I made the decision to leave my job before it truly drove me over the edge.  I started getting counseling.  Prior to that I had gone to see my GP and he felt that I might have a touch of depression and he wanted to give me something to help control the anxiety.  I was put on Welbutrin and Tranxene (he meant well but I later insisted on being taken off of that – as the NP at the counseling place put it, Tranxene is like popping a pill and it hitting you like a beer).    As I said, I got help and it worked wonders in me.  When I started talking about things, issues that I had buried came out.  Pretty much, I was overloaded with things from the past that I hadn’t let go off.  In less than a year I was released from counseling and taken off medication.  Truthfully that was more my doing because I never really wanted to be on them in the first place.

It was during the process of “getting right” that I decided to follow my dream of getting into EMS.  However, I made sure I was truly OK before enrolling in a EMT class because I didn’t want to be a hindrance on the truck, both to my patients and to my partners.  Today I’m fine. When I feel myself getting overwhelmed (which is thankfully rare) I know what to do about it before it gets out of hand.  Deep breaths really do work.

It was thanks to this painful experience that I’m able to transfer the understanding of anxiety that I gained back then to my work in EMS today.  Whenever I encounter a patient who appears to be having anxiety issues, I know exactly what they’re going through and I make sure I let them know that they’re not alone.  A combination of my EMS education and personal experience help me to know the best ways to handle these situations.  In a way I’m thankful that I went through what I did because it allows me to be able to better serve a part of the patient population that is often misunderstood and mistreated.

I don’t know many people in EMS who would actually admit that they’ve had these issues but I don’t mind doing so.  As I said, I’m fine now and I know how to handle things.  Experiencing issues with anxiety allowed me to develop that empathy for patients who are having issues with anxiety.  Hopefully I’m able to say or do something for them on the call that will encourage them to get the help they need.  When I become a paramedic I know that I’ll have other tools (drugs) that will be of use on anxiety calls and I’m sure I’ll encounter times when their use will be more than indicated.  However, just on my experience, sometimes the best medicine for a patient having anxiety issues can be a conversation with someone who gives a damn.

I hope and pray that I never forget that.

So let’s be honest with each other. What’s a type of patient that you feel a special empathy for?  Why do you feel so strongly for them?  Do you even have a type of patient that you feel a little something extra for?

Jonathan