A Day in the Life...

Here is a quick summary of my day today.
Got up way too early this morning to go to rescue class, but I was psyched because I knew we were going to cut up cars.
Got to rescue class and had to scrounge through piles and piles of old turnouts (firefighter gear) because nobody told us we should bring our own. So I ended up wearing mismatched and ill-fitting gear all morning long.
Cut up a bunch of cars with cool tools like the jaws of life and the sawzall, even got to cut up an old ambulance. Learned a lot about auto-extrication. Sweated a lot in my jacked up gear in the blazing sun. Grabbed a quick lunch after class.
Went to ridiculous Intro to Computers class where I found out I did the wrong assignment. Had a talk with my hippy teacher after class and played the birthday card so she'd forgive me for missing homework and doing the wrong homework. Totally worked.
Headed out to work because I was on shift today. As soon as I walked in the door we all got called out to a field fire. Had to jump into my wildland gear even though I was still sweaty from Rescue Class. Jumped into the truck with Wes and buzzed out to the fire.
Me and Wes were some of the first to arrive in the Squad (small truck with a pump and hose set up) so we drove out into the field that was on fire and I jumped out grabbed the hose and hustled along side the truck putting out the fire. My first real fire!
Got back to the station and had to clean up everything. Then I was told that I was going out to the local fair/rodeo to work as an EMT in the first aid booth. Got dressed up in my new pants and boots and headed out to the rodeo.
Watched an awesome rodeo full of minor accidents that really didn't need too much attention from me. Put a band-aid on a pretty girl who got a rope-burn. Talked a lot of shit with my fellow EMTs working the rodeo.
After the rodeo there was a concert, some minor Country star that I can't remember. Did a lot of people watching (checking out girls) Drove around a lot in the Gator (golf-cart like thing) for no reason other than it was fun.
Went on the Zipper with Moon, the biggest guy in the department. We definitely did not meet the weight and size standards for that ride, but the carny didn't care, he just rammed us in there and we were off. Pretty sure I went from "this is a terrible idea" to "that was the best idea I ever had" in a few short moments. Screamed and laughed a lot.
Concert and fair over. Headed back to the station. Beat. Awesome day.

Week 4 Begins with a Hangover

I guess if I am going to blog on my days off, I should probably do it in the morning, because they have a way of getting away from me. Yesterday I went to my friend's baby shower/luau/bbq. It was all very wholesome and family friendly, in fact I think I when I showed up I was the only single person there, which is always so much fun. But as the night wore on and the grandparents and older folk began to disperse, the beer and assorted adult beverages began to flow more liberally. My friend (who I've decided to call Lacey) showed up and kept me company, so that I didn't have to feel like too much of an outcast amongst the seas of couples. We had lots to drink and eat, and it was a good night, but I was definitely a little slow moving this morning.
I really had to fight to maintain my diet today, for some reason nothing sounded better than getting some Taco Bell and just veg out in the air conditioning all day. Somehow I conquered that impulse and got through the day.
Tonight I made vegie burgers for dinner. I don't know, but for some reason they've been sounding good, so I decided to go for it. Turns out they are really good. The only problem is that they don't have near enough protein. So I ended up having a handful of almonds with my burger on whole wheat bread with fat-free swiss cheese.

The Parts That Won't be Forgotten

We got a call to a person who had "overdosed on alcohol" tonight. When I showed up, it turned out to be a painfully young girl. She was drunk, but probably not in any real danger health wise. Her family was there and all very concerned, but her father was angry. We asked him if he wanted us to take her to the hospital, and at first he said no, but then after a minute he reconsidered and was like "yeah, take her to the hospital, do everything you need to do." So we loaded her up and gave her an IV and some anti-nausea medicine. She howled when we gave her the IV. And our medic gave her the talk about all the bad things that could have happened to her because she got so drunk. It was hard for me to concentrate on what was happening because I couldn't help but think about the girls, that I used to look out for, and wonder if anyone is looking out for them now. The one part of my old life that still haunts me at some point everyday are the thoughts of the daughters I no longer have.
That girl is now at the hospital, and she'll be ok. She's obviously on a bad path. I can only hope that this gets her family's attention and they do a better job of protecting her from herself.

Week 3 Comes to a Close

Well, it has been a good week. I just finished a strong leg workout, and my back is feeling really good. This is due no doubt in part to the 2400mg of Ibuprofen I've been taking these last couple of days.
I am at work and I have to get back to my chores, I just didn't want to miss a post. Tomorrow is my friend's baby shower, and it's a barbeque type event, so I plan on gorging on some good (but bad for me) bbq. Yay free day!

Oh yeah, I weighed myself the other day on a whim. I hadn't worked out or anything and it was late in the day, but it looks like I've already lost about eleven pounds. I know a great deal of that is water weight, but it's still really encouraging!

Back Pain is Back

So I'm still a little high on life from last night. Our patient made it through the night and the outlook isn't great, but it isn't dismal either. I'll take it.
Today I went down to the river with a bunch of the guys to go swimming and to jump off of stuff. I was having a great time, and maybe I've been feeling a little too bullet-proof, because I decided to do a backflip off a rock into the river and when I did it my back locked up again. It has been really painful all day. I made a hasty appointment at my chiropractor and he got me in today. He said that it looks like I just shocked my joints, and that I probably didn't do any real damage. I need to give it time to really heal. Then he said "Yeah, this might mess up your summer." I am not happy to hear that, I don't want to feel like this all summer, hell, I don't want to feel like this next week.
Anyway, I decided once again not to do my workout tonight. I am feeling kind of bad about it, because this is the second workout I've missed and I haven't even been going a month yet. Plus it's an upper-body workout, and that is really where I have been concentrating on getting stronger up until the back injury. I think maybe on my Free Day in the morning if I am feeling good I will try and sneak in a good upper body workout so I don't fall too far off the track here.
I stopped at the grocery store and picked up some steaks for dinner tonight. I definitely ate more than my appropriate servings tonight, but I am not going to be too stingy. Maybe it's all psychological but I feel like I need the meat to rebuild and heal faster. I am also taking an obscene amount of Ibuprofen in the hopes that it gets the inflammation down fast.
Ok, I sound like a spaz again tonight. But I wanted to get this done before I pass out from meat overdose.

A Good Day Not to Die

Seeing dead people is a part of this job. I think I was pretty prepared for that from the beginning. Being there when they died was harder to deal with. When I was in Iraq and they were just splattered all over the place, it was easier to detach myself from the fact that all that mess was once a person. I haven't been doing this job for very long and I've had my fair share of lost patients.
Tonight I was on a call and when I went in he was awake and talking to me. I was taking his blood pressure and asking him questions when he went out like a light. The team on scene sprung into action, but I have to admit when I was going to work on him that I was thinking "Ah boy, there goes another one."
We went through the whole routine that you always see on TV. We put him down on the floor and I jumped in to do CPR. And I have to say; I fucked him up. If he had one intact rib left after I got done with him, I would be shocked. The other guys took care gettting an EKG and the paddles They shocked him a couple of times while the others pumped him full of cardiac drugs. I'd seen this whole routine before, and while I was punishing his rib cage I wasn't hopefull all our efforts were going to amount to anything except another dead guy, full of drugs and broken ribs.
So, you can imagine my reaction when after the second shock, homeboy started struggling and grunting I was like "Sweet Lord, it's a fucking miracle!"
We got him to the hospital, and he wasn't just alive he was awake. At one point, we were talking to him like we always do, saying things like "Just relax, we are taking you to the hospital, you're going to be ok," He managed to whisper in a very Sam Elliot manner "I'll take your word for it."
When we dropped him off at the hospital and started gathering our stuff, I realized that I don't think I've ever felt that way before.
It's hard to describe, especially when I'm trying to avoid sounding like some kind of touchy, feely hippy. Basically the only thing I can compare it to was Iraq, when we got into intense situations over there I had the same kind of rush, but I always came away from it so angry, full of resentment, and just mad at the world. This was the same kind of rush, but I felt so happy, and so positive, and full of...love. Oh god, I'm a hippy.

Body for Life
It's going good. Tonight I came back full of so much pent up energy that I totally destroyed the HITT cardio routine. I ran about 2.5 miles in 20 minutes, and burned up around 400 calories. As I write this I can still feel my heart pounding. I'm feeling great. Looking forward to an awesome day tomorrow.

Weakest Post Ever

Missed another post! Almost missed tonight's too. I am going to have to watch myself. I do not want to start slipping already.
Ok, it's almost two in the morning and I have work tomorrow. I did my leg workout tonight, and it went well despite the fact that my back is still a little sore.
Sleepy time.