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We had a record blizzard. 3 feet of snow. I love hiking 1/4 mile through hip deep snow with 50 pounds of gear because some dumbass decided to a) boil beer in the middle of a blizzard, and b) dump the water outside, thus resulting in him slipping and spilling it on him. Then his wife decided to a) try and drive the SUV through 3 feet of snow, and b) got it stuck. So I got to treat a patient in an SUV while waiting for a plow truck so we could get him to a burn center. *Sigh* some people... 72 hours, 74 unit responses, one tired fireman.
To say life went to hell in a handbasket this week is an understatement. I've having to choose between compromising my morals for the path of least resistance and letting a minor evil go unpunished, or making a mountain out of a molehill, which is the technically "right" thing to do, but which will screw me royally in the long term. I hate compromising, but I wonder if sometimes I take small things too far.
I've tried two approaches to dealing with problems: confronting them head on (more often than not), and turning the other cheek. So far both have had the same result. I'm tired of dealing with drama, bullshit, rumors, slander, libel, defamation, etc. I feel like the time to do something drastic is coming up... what that is, I do not know. To take you back 6 hours...
Me: "On scene route XX at route xx, one vehicle into the guardrail, passing command to engine XX, will advice."
Dispatch: "XX, I copy you on scene, one into the guardrail, passing command to XX at 1634."
What I see: A bunch of kids huddled by the guardrail, two worried parents, and one little girl crying her eyes out. I ask if anyone's hurt and the mother tells me she doesn't think so, but that one of her girls might be. I kneel down to talk to her.
Me: Hey honey, what's your name? Sarah? That's my best friend's name. Great name to have. You hurt anywhere? Any pain? No? That's good... how old are you? 9? Wow, that's great! Hey, tell me if this hurts... no? Good, good... it's going to be ok Sarah, we're going to take care of you."
One re-assuring shoulder squeeze and a tow truck later we left the scene and the family went on their way. All the BS seemed to melt away. Life was good. For an hour. Then it started up again, but that's ok. Sometimes one hour of that in this crazy world is all you need.
My friends and family thought I was smoking crack when I told them I was going to try and lose 10 pounds in one month. I went from a healthy 5'9 165 in September of last year to tipping 190 in November of this year. I said on my birthday enough was enough. December I was down to 178, and today I weighed myself and I'm down to 173 :-D. I figure my ideal range would be about 155-165, so I'll keep at it. After the month of hell my loss slowed down because I allowed myself to start eating fried foods every now and then, candy, beer, etc. I'm still losing it though, so I guess it IS ok in moderation :). Cheers!
...is when the student surpasses the master. Took this kid out for his first time driving an ambulance... he did better than I did my first time lol. He should be cut loose in a matter of weeks. Damn proud of him. Looks like I'm better at teaching than doing when it comes to some things, but I'm ok with that :).
Engine, Tanker, Tower, Ambulance, all in one day. Again. Geez. I need to become less utilitarian; all this running around is wearing these old bones out. So much for studying... oh well it's life. At least the rookies are starting to pick up the slack. Got some good Jake's in this group.
I'm tired as shit. As soon as I finish this I'm heading to bed. I need more studying to get done but fuck it I'm tired. Remind me why I wanted to stop being a big dumb firefighter? Lol.
Didn't get any studying done, but that's what tomorrow is for. Went to one of my friend's eagle scout ceremonies, then back to the firehouse. Showed a new guy around, bullshitted around, and went on a fire-that-almost-was. Now off to get some sleep cause my sleep schedule is all jacked up again and start another hell week on tuesday. Whee.
Almost nailed it two weeks ago :). Got one pick wrong. Revised:
Round 1, AFC: NYJ @ CIN, BAL @ NE. NYJ and NE win.
Round 2, AFC: NYJ @ IND, NE @ SD. NE and IND win.
Round 3, AFC: NE @ IND. NE wins.
Round 1, NFC: PHI @ DAL, GB @ ARI. DAL and ARI win.
Round 2, NFC: DAL @ NO, ARI @ MIN. MIN and NO win.
Round 3, NFC: MIN @ NO, NO wins.
Superbowl: NE @ NO, NO wins.
If I have an upset pick, it'll be BAL beats NE.
I've had the best/worst luck the last three days. I've walked into the firehouse and each time within 5 minutes a call's gone out. Yesterday was no exception... walked in, said my hello's, and we get tapped out for a 7 year old female seizing. Look around, no one else to drive the medic unit... God dammit. Jump on, off we go. Head into the house, she's unresponsive and barely breathing. Then she starts seizing again. Get oxygen flowing, establish an IV, push some drugs, then I pick her up in my arms and take her to the ambulance. Put her on the cot, help get some equipment set up, then go back up front. Hop in, throw it in reverse, and off we go. I always tell my guys that speeding is almost never worth the risk it comes with; you might save a minute or two and you also might wreck. Well, in this case I decided it was worth it. Turned a 19 minute trip into just a hair over 13. Rolled into the ER, and within 5 minutes they had a helicopter en-route Priority 1 to take her to a pediatric specialty center. Last I heard she was critical yet stable. Doin' it.
Slept for 12 hours. I needed that. Might go for another 12 tonight lol. I have a feeling this is how my weeks will be going for a while now.
