Family Funnies

Many times on a call, the patient or a family member does something to engrain themselves into our memories for some time. Lately, this has been happening more often.

Frequent fliers can be some of the best for this since you see them so often and become familiar. Knowing their address when dispatch calls it out, knowing what medical problems they actually have versus what they tell you. This can be especially fun if the patient is a known seeker.

Sadly, there's just no way to write out what was said and be able to properly convey the way it was said. It's just nowhere near as funny without the proper pronounciation, emphasis, and accent.

Old folks

No, I don't mean seniors. I mean really old folks, in their 90's and up.

Old people calls generally fall into a couple of categories.
~Just want someone to talk to
~Are actually sick
~Family called

We had the pleasure of meeting a much older gentleman who's daughter thought he was having a stroke. Fortunately, there was nothing going on medically that was out of the norm for this gentleman. The whole call had us giggling while talking to the gentleman, his daughter shared our humor as well.

EMT: Sir, how many fingers am I holding up?

Old Guy: Yep

EMT: (Louder) How many fingers?

OG: Yep

Daughter: His cataracts are pretty bad.

EMT: So would he normally see how many?

Daughter: No

EMT: Oh.


Everything we asked him, we got a "Yep" in response. Everyone was giggling, even the old man at some point.

These are the old folks I love the most. They may not have a damn clue what's going on, but they manage to make you smile. They don't want anything, they just aren't ready to give up living just yet.

Just a little longer

Just hang tight a little bit longer folks, I should be bringing this thing back to life soon. I'm still dealing with my own demons, but I'll learn my fate in a week. I miss blogging. I miss being able to share some of my experiences.

As is my norm lately, when things seem to be looking up I get another kick in the shins. Either an illness or a step backwards in other ways. This time it's illness. There's nothing that can ruin your day as good as waking up feeling like crap.

I swear I'll get back to normal posting some day. Time to take another dose of meds and try desperately to sleep.

Help out the Colorado's Fourmile Canyon Wildfire victims

I make it a point to keep ads and other things off this journal, but not this time. There's an artist who does some awesome work and has donated her time and effort to do something good.

I'm not gonna make you folks read my version of her info, so let me copy/paste.

Click here to be taken to the order page

I created this special sticker design to help the displaced families (animal and human alike) who are victims of Colorado's Fourmile Canyon Wildfire. You will receive this unique, vibrant and durable sticker in the mail for your five dollar donation. 50% of the proceeds will be donated the the Boulder Humane Society to help the displaced pets, and 50% will go to Northern Colorado Red Cross to help displaced families and individuals.

I'm going to put down the money to order these 2" stickers from printsess.com so that all proceeds go to fire relief. With your donation we can help the mountain communities effected rebuild from the ashes!

Each sticker will be 2" tall and only $5. The design is beautiful. I was able to catch the tail-end of watching her stream it's creation online and I'm very impressed.

So, please help spread the word. A link-back, a repost, anything is appreciated to help her sell out so we can raise more money to help the victims of this fire.

When good ponies go bad

Just found this news story from Orlando. Their video doesn't want to imbed properly, so have a link and a copy-paste. Go check out the video though, it's pretty good.

Stuffed Pony Blown Up By Bomb Squad - Orlando News Story - WESH Orlando


ORLANDO, Fla. -- Members of the Orange County Sheriff's Office Bomb Squad blew up a 2-foot-high stuffed pony on Tuesday.

Neighbors said the placement of the stuffed toy made it appear suspicious to them.

The toy was found in a cul-de-sac next to a park near Waterbridge Elementary.


"It just looked like it was placed in a really suspicious place," resident Scott Kilwein said.

"We're right by the school, and kids walk right be here every day," resident Earline Murray said.

Deputies cordoned off the neighborhood, and a robot was sent it to examine the stuffed animal. Meanwhile, residents like Kilwein were stuck in their homes as their imaginations ran wild.

"Once you see that it's a stuffed animal, your mind starts racing with all kinds of ... crazy stuff in the world," Kilwein said.

Beyond the neighborhood, the blast startled drivers on Central Florida Parkway.

"The explosion was quite tremendous. Several people squealed tires," Witness Ronni Taylor said.

Authorities said the toy is called a Furreal Pony and requires batteries and wiring to give it lifelike sounds and movement.

A bit of burnout

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately. I've had a fair bit of time to sit back and assess where I'm at in life, compared to where I want to be. Sure, I've got some really neat things going for me. I also am strapped pretty tightly because of those luxuries, I have been for quite a while.

As I sit back and ponder my career, I'm not sure if I'm actually happy anymore. I love being a firefighter and an EMT, don't get me wrong, I'm just not sure if my department is the right one for me anymore.

There have been a lot of changes going on. I knew they were coming, I even joined others in wishing for some of them. I'm just not so sure anymore. Morale is still tanked. There's just as much distrust among the ranks as before, except now, we have even more evidence against those we feel are incapable of their duties (or number and arrangement of bugles). Don't even get me started on how the powers that be have really screwed things up around here.

I've been thinking more and more about jumping ship to another department. I have no clue where I'd go. The worst part would be starting over, being *the* rookie again, no longer able to drive, unfamiliar with the territory/crew/equipment. I just don't know what I want.

I do know I need to do something to rejuvinate my love for going to work. I used to have trouble sleeping the night before shift because of excitement. Now, I still have trouble sleeping, but it's not excitement that keeps me awake. This is a large part of why I've fallen so quiet with my posting. I just don't get excited about work, and it's so hard to share stories and experiences when your attitude is crushed.

Any guys/gals out there willing to offer any advice? I'd love to hear it. I'm in a real funk right now.