Brad's (now retired!) Firefighter/Paramedic...and Other Misc Info..

Six calls before 12p....We thought the guy jammed behind the bathroom door was dead. With the help of the police, we pried the door jam off, opened the door backwards (out), and got to the patient. Patient was just recovering from a seizure and was fine. Then we go to an unconscious patient and find a combative diabetic with too little sugar in his system. In his stupor, he poured syrup on the table and rubbed his hand in it to lick it off his hands (his sugar was only 28 - normal is 80-120)..he was on the right track...he needed sugar....but now he's kinda slippery to fight with...and he did fight with us He proceeded to throw 3 of us around like we were rag dolls. When fire arrived, we took him down to the ground and gave him sugar in his vein...poof!...he's all better and wants to eat. Now he sits down to finish his breakfast before we take him in. Fianlly we go to another diabetic that is out of it with a sugar of 35...after dexrose was given in the IV, poof!..she's be...

Nothing new in the past few days. Our hot shift consisted of 6 grass fires that lasted about 2 minutes each. We did have a woman that was found unconscious with her top burner of her oven on without a flame...she had been drinking and there wasn't much gas in the house even though we didn't know at first if that was the problem. So that's been it..I guess boring is good at times..

Last 2 shifts were fairly uneventful. And other then normal things at home, and a product demo for the business that we had, nothing exciting has been going on off-duty. We do have to decide if we're going to conference in California (more fun but more money for airline tickets, car rental) or Ohio. All of our support team will be in California but Ohio is driveable and more of our group can go. I did find a cool little app ...Bitty Browser..I just strated to play with it...let me know what you think and play around with it..and join my network if you want..( no, not a money-making scheme!!). It's down the page on the right................. Ok..off to a routine Dr's appointment and lunch with my boy Ben....

Well that title got your attention...but seriously, yesterday my sister-in-law called and asked if I could help cut her goat's horns off (my niece shows the goats at the county fair and horns aren't allowed). Apparently this is a painless but bloody procedure. Then the stub is cauterized with a hot iron device. Well the 1 horn kept shooting a stream of blood out and took several minutes to finally get it to stop. Meanwhile, the 180lb Mastiff is playing with my nephews hunting dog (about 70lbs) when the Mastiff goes wacko and clamps on the throat of the hunting dog. The Mastiff won't let go even after kicking and hitting him on his back with a 2x4!!! Finally, after my nephew opened the Mastiff's jaw like a lion tamer, and after my sister-in-law got bit by the hunting dog, the Mastiff just walked away leaving the hunting dog ok except for the stitches needed for his this throat. I don't think the Mastiff will be around much longer... Working 24 today and will let you ...

For those that don't know, here's a picture of a pergola (oh yeah..and with the right spelling)....Not my pergola picture though...darn.....

I didn't know what it was until I built one. But thanks to the Internet, I found it and built itin about 2 days. I'm not the handiest guy in the world but it looks like it won't fall!!! Seminar was great ..I helped with the sound backstage. One of the groups in Iowa is exploding...signed up 90 people in 2 months!! Not all will do the business but that is still pretty impressive. Especially when no one gets money for just signing people up. Of course like any business, volume has to go through the business for anyone to make money. But another great aspect of the business is there are no minimum purchases. You don't want to buy anything, you're not penalized... you just aren't going to make money in the long run.

Well with my 10 calls in the shift, including drunks and elderly falls, I am not about to comment on my day in light of the London bombings. I'm not a vengeful person but something has to be done. I wish I knew what..Our prayers go out to the friends and familes of the victims injured or killed...and for those psychologically effected.

Yes the Mellencamp concert was great and so was John Fogerty!! ...And my 4th of July half shift has resulted in 8 calls, 4 for my rig....including a trouble breathing patient that was unconscious and had a very low pulse ox (instrument used to measure amount of oxygen in the system...perfect is 100%).. hers was 60% and going down...After intubation, pulse ox went to 100%. She was still unconscious but now at least she wasn't blue!!! And on the business line, 1 of the guys on my shift just signed up because he likes the products....things are progressing well.....

When I went to Indiana University, a new singer had started his career...Johnnie Cougar...Johnnie Cougar Mellencamp...I bring this up because after the trauma symposium my wife and I are going to tomorrow, we're going to the Johnnie Mellencamp concert at the Tweeder Center in Chicago. Hopefully we sleep all night at the station and the opressive heat will be over also!! I'll update in a few....

...So my niece pounds on our door at midnight saying a friend they were following crashed his motorcycle about 200 feet down the road. My wife and I went to him where he was sitting in the road complaining about a sore ankle. He had a small cut to his heel and that was it! He was really lucky...while driving about 70 MPH down a country road on a large Harley Davidson, this guy hits (and kills) a deer that ran out in front of him, loses control (duh) and crashes in the ditch about 200 feet away from the collision..and has a small cut to his foot...It never stops amazing me on how people do and don't get hurt in various accidents. And now, in the sweltering heat, I'm getting paid to do the same thing!!! LOL

Well the papers ( Post Tribune and The Times ) confirm it...first murder since 1998 in this normally quiet town. Other then that, a few more calls including a lady that just needed to be lifted off the floor at about midnight. ...and a police radio dispatch of "someone attempting to screw one of the bulldogs on the square". Here's the actual dogs .

Working another 24 with heat index over 100..and have already had a DOA that is a "possible crime scene"...we'll see what happens.. Otherwise we try to stay cool and hope we only have fires in air conditioned places...LOL

Ended up with 12 calls..including a 91 year old lady that fell 2 days earlier in her extremely small bathroom. It was very difficult to get this 190 lb lady up and out but we did it somehow. And she wasn't hurt from the fall...but had some pretty bad wounds from laying on her leg for 2 day as you could imagine. And, business-wise, I go to help 1 of the people in our team get a new person started tonight...just showing them the site, seeing if they have any questions, etc. This is always a lot of fun for all of us as we get to know the people better and let them know they can call on us or the rest of our support team anytime they need anything...

Eight...maybe ten calls so far!!??!! Power outage that led to an elevator rescue, loaning a generator to a bed-ridden person, carbon monoxide check, several medical calls, twisted ankle...can't wait for round 2 (the second half of the shift.. about 16 hours left)...)

I think I'll stop blogging at work..we seem to always have calls at night when I do (we emergency medical folk are a superstitious lot..eg "Don't say it's 'quiet'..we're sure to be busy then!!)! Anyway we've had 4 calls after midnight with our rig handling 2. The last was someone passed out on a corner after a night of drinking, as the patient said, "lots" of alcohol. But we did get to use a word out of the movie Hitch to this patient...."Ok, Pumpkin , get up and get on the cot". He moaned something, tried to get up, and then was lifted to the cot. And today we have a cookout for Father's day..and I could use a few Coronas to unwind....and I will (drink Coronas and unwind). I'm not a big drinker but when I know I don't have to drive anywhere, I do occasionally take advantage of that....LOL.

They were short and the secretary, Deb (who will do anything for you), asked if I could work the last 14 hours yesterday...so I did. I don't mind doing that every once in a while but since the business, I don't have to or want to...work any extras anywhere. When the business got more successful, I stopped working my five extra jobs at various ambulance services. So I work extra when the department needs me to and that's about it. The shift itself was pretty quiet...1 call in the early evening and that was it...a lady with cancer...I guess there is a reason for everything.... even suffering like this.................... Tommorrow is my regular shift and the 11th Annual Pancake breakfast...if you're close...come on down (go to Crown Point Fire Rescue site for more information) or email or call me...don't worry, I won't try to sell you anything....except a pancake or two................he,he,he...

Here I am, posting from the kitchen of the fire station, wirelessly. I just got my laptop back from my step-daughter's trip to Sweden and this is my first day back at work with it. I know I'm kinda strange but I've always said for gifts, as long as it's battery operated, digital, or wireless, you can't go wrong! We had 12 calls this shift but nothing overtaxing. A few accidents, a chest pain and a few trouble breathings...a pretty typical day and no one very serious. And as far as the business, 1 of our team members, who works her butt off, just signed up 2 more people with a potential of 4 more. She loves the business and really wants to succeed. She, like myself, have no other alternative for retirement. I have a pension but it will pay me 60% of what I have a hard time living on now. And if I don't want to hand out carts at my local supercenter when I'm 60, my business is my only alternative, as it is for a lot of people. Do you have enough money whe...

Well I got our support team to Iowa and we learned a few new strategies for the business that will make this grow even quicker...That is another part of the business I love..no matter how well things are going, our team is always looking for ways to improve.... A nice thunder storm just went through... I love weather and storms, etc..who knows why. And the best weather site around is Wunderground . I watch with 20 minute increments where and when the storm was going to hit! It's free unless you want to pay $5 a year to remove ads. And no work updates since I'm on vacation..back to O'hare tomorrow to pick up my step-daughter who is getting back from studying abroad in Sweden... More later..

It's sometime in the AM and I just finished my report on our lethargic lady....drugs???...OD???...Stroke???....I don't know but other then being lethargic, everything was good with her...if you call lethargic ok.... And... I took my wife, Crystal, to the airport so she could go to her ER conference in California. And while on the plane, someone was having chest pain so she went to help but could not open "the box" with first line drugs in it because she wasn't an MD. Eventually an MD showed, the box was opened, IV's were started, nitro was given, and the gentleman got better. And for her efforts, American Airlines upgraded her on her flight back to 1st class!! So it's true that your good efforts come back to you 100 fold...........

Quiet night and quiet shift with only 3 calls all together...so far. Hopefully I can make it throughout the rest of the 1 hour left on my 24. Going to take my youngest out for breakfast, Ben , and then go home. Tonight 1 of my parnters on the shift is having his gala 4th Annual Kick-off to Summer cookouts so we'll be there and may go out with friend on their sailboat on Lake Michigan tommorrow. So I'm off to have 1 of my no sugar, no carbs XS energy drinks (shameless plug for a product in my business).