Good and bad

Well, things have gotten both better and worse in the last week. I'm weaning off the brace, so I only have to wear it at night or if I'm hurting. I've been trying to stay out of it as much as possible. I'll go back to the ortho right after Christmas and he wants to release me then.

As for work, I'm still on light duty and still hating every minute of it. I miss being on 24's, and getting up early every day really sucks.

Monday, I'll be going to a funeral for a fallen firefighter. He worked for Atlanta for merely 4 months and his family was in the process of moving up here. He served 6 years as a firefighter in Macon and his funeral services will be held there. He passed away after a few days in ICU, he became disoriented in a fire last week and died from his injuries.

Black Friday

OK, I make it a point to NOT venture out of the house on black Friday. People are nuts, traffic is horrible, accidents everywhere, it's just too dangerous. I only ventured far enough out of my house to get the mail this afternoon.

I don't DO shopping very well, never have. I hate trying to figure out what family members I see 2 or 3 times each year want. Not to mention the absurd gifts they come up with for me. Perfect example, I'm not a girly girl, never have been. I live in tshirts and blue jeans, add a sweatshirt or just a thick coat in the winter. Umm, guess I should throw in that most of my wardrobe came from wally world since I'm painting such a picture for ya. OK, back on track...Last Christmas, my aunt/uncle gave me a giftcard to LL Bean (which I gave to my dad because he could use it), year before it was a knit sweater.

Now don't get me wrong, I can smile 'n nod when I get a horrible gift. I'd just sometimes rather forget the whole thing, it's such a hassle and a huge headache.

In other news, my arm is finally healing. I go to the Dr. next week and the PT folks are hoping he'll say I can start weaning off the brace.

Physical Therapy anyone?

OK, so, I was originally looking for a cartoon of a monkey fukkin a football...That's what I found and I like it better anyway. More original I guess.

So, today was my first day of physical therapy, finally. Same crap I expected when I got there, hurry up and wait. I filled out the 573 pages of info they always want (which isn't easy when you don't have an opposible thumb), and sat there, waiting my turn. Once the Dr. rescued me from the waiting room, I had to sit in a chair and wait for the 3 other guys to leave (only 2 Dr.'s....go figure). They put a nice warm pack around my wrist to "relax the muscles." I'm not sure how much that helped, but my hands were cold so it felt good.

(insert sarcasm here--> ) Yippie, my turn.

They started off by moving my hand and thumb a million different directions to see which ways made it hurt. Unfortunately, it was quite a few.  They also had me close my eyes and point to where they'd just touched my arm and hand with some special tool. It was nothing more than a clear stick with a piece of fishing line at one end to test sensitivity. I passed...so do I get a lollipop or something?

Next was an ultrasound for 5 minutes, it's supposed to help with circulation. As promised, I didn't feel a thing...other than the ice-cold gel and pressure of the ultrasound probe.

I was half-heartedly cleaned up and then my arm was massaged. All I could think was that  it hurt so good.  I think she was buttering me up, because after the massage I had to go through all of the home-therapy movements. Which HURT!!!

The last step of the day was what I've been calling electro-shock therapy. The first electrode was soaked with some pain-relieving liquid then placed from my wrist across the bottom knuckle of my thumb. The other electrode went on my forearm and they turned on the juice. It felt like pins and needles stabbing me, and itched like mad! Those 15 minutes took forever.

I was finally allowed to escape after setting up my next 4 appointments and promising not to remove the medicated electrode for 2-3 hours.

They said the PT lady that is a hand specialist will be there tomorrow, can't you feel my excitement?

Update on me, and other things

The Halloween season is FINALLY over!!!

My arm is the same, if not worse. I'm still in the process of getting approved for OJI status (worker's comp... can kiss my arse!). Because of this, I haven't even gotten anywhere close to being approved for my physical therapy, even though I've had this stupid brace on for nearly 3 weeks now. My wrist is increasingly stiff and now hurts as much without the brace as it does with it.

I've basically lost my faith in what some call "brotherhood." If this "brotherhood" actually existed, at least 1 of my "brothers" from work would have called me to see how I'm doing. My phone has remained silent, for 17 days now. I'm not counting everyone in that statement, I've had a couple friends on yahoo that occasionally ask how I'm healing.

Thanks again to my arm, I haven't been able to ride my motorcycle any. I have just enough grip (and, thankfully, a built-in flat part on the throttle) so I can slightly twist the throttle...just enough to be able to easily roll the bike back into the garage after pulling it out to run it each week.

My car is back in the shop, for the 4th time in as many months. It's been the same problem every time, P0400-EGR flow problem. This time, I contacted the service manager at the dealership directly and basically lit a fire under his arse. He seems prepared to "get to the bottom of this," but is he ready to deal with me??? The first time, they cleaned the EGR ports. 2nd, they replaced the vacuum hose (thinking they accidently skewered it the first time). 3rd, they say it's the exhaust manifold (I went to my regular shop due to prices....they didn't address the fact that the original code was thrown too). Now, the light came on again and I first took my car to my shop to see if it was the same code. After pulling the code, they cleared it so the check engine light went off. I shifted my car to the dealership and they don't seem to believe the p0400 code was thrown since it isn't in the memory anymore. Instead, they said that when they hooked it up to pull any codes, it had a p1000 code...something to do with the emissions. Umm...HELLO?!? My car just passed emissions with flying colors 3 months ago!!! Not to mention that if the light was off...there wouldn't be any codes to pull!

On the lighter side, I got the notion stuck in my head a few days ago...I couldn't resist myself ....Must....Beat.....a.....claw-machine!!!!!! So, off to Dave 'n Buster's we went. I ended up with 2 bracelets, 1 bling-bling necklace, 2 doberman puppies, 1 green frog, 1 my little pony, 1 grey/white cat, and about 800 tickets. I already had a bunch of tickets saved, so we got a t-shirt and 2 different types of thermal mugs.

Time to go hang out with my boyfriend's parents, they're up here for a HAM radio fest.

Be safe out there.

Ouch...tendonitis sucks

After 9 days of pain and numbness, I finally went to the Dr. yesterday. As it turns out, I have tendonitis.

Before you start to fuss at me, let me first say that I am an EMT, and therefore, I make a horrible patient. Everyone in the medical field will agree with that.

I was going to simply get a Dr. to look at me the next time I dropped off a patient at the ER, but luck kept me on either an engine or my kelly-day and I never made it to the ER. I finally decided my arm wasn't healing and that it was time to do something.

The orthopedics place I found is great, they were busy, but I was in and out in 2 hours. The Dr. is nice, and deals with quite a few firefighters...So he understood my work predicament.

So here I sit, my right arm (I'm right-handed...so this sucks) is in a brace that immobilizes my thumb, I have a prescription for pain pills (that carry side effects of dizziness and drowziness), and I have to do physical therapy anywhere from 3-9 weeks. The brace is my main problem, there's no way that I'll be able to get medical or fire gloves over it, and I'm not supposed to take it off. Tomorrow will be my "D-day," where will they put me? What can/ can't I do? What will Chief say? Will I just be put on the squad as usual or will I be put on light duty and sent to the academy?

Too many questions and too much uncertainty...

Take care

I got a HARLEY!!!!

WooHOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!

I finally went ahead and did it, I bought a 2002 Harley-Davidson Heritage Softail Classic.  It's got a custom paint job that's host to ghosted flames, ghosted skulls, ghosted harley logo, and is marbled candy-apple red. It has more chrome than I know what to do with. The guy had parts sent to a chrome shop because the dealership doesn't offer them in chrome. The motor has had a lot of work and has that classic "po-ta-to" sound all the old harley guys drool over. It is a very beautiful bike. My dad is planning to upgrade a few things on his '04 softail classic to match some of the nicer features I have (like a tiny pad built into my throttle to rest your hand on).

I'll update on how I'm doing once I go take the riding academy class the H-D dealerships offer.

Reflections-part 1

No matter how bad you want to forget it, you will always remember where you were on that day. You will always remember that day asking yourself "Please god, is this over yet?” You will always remember seeing 2, 110 story buildings crash to the ground knowing thousands were on the inside including rescuers.

I like many others, was scared. I like many others, was glued to CNN for hours. I like many others, cried for the first time in a while on that day. I like many others, still cry when we hear another story about that day.

I can not imagine trying to make a choice to either burn to death or to jump from 60 or 70 stories up and go out my way. I can not image being in plane knowing I am fixing to crash into the Pentagon and there is nothing I can do about it. I can not imagine addressing the United States as the President and assuring them everything is going to be all right.

8:45 A.M. EDT A hijacked passenger jet, American Airlines Flight 11 from Boston, Massachusetts, crashes into the north tower of the World Trade Center. starts to burn. It had set off from Boston en route to Los Angeles with 92 people on board. President Bush was talking to a group of students in Sarasota, Florida, when he learned the horrific news.

9:03 A.M. EDT As Americans are watching the tragic events of the plane striking the north tower, we believed it was an accident. That's when United Airlines Flight 175 crashes into south tower of Trade Center causing a devastating explosion. It had departed from Boston for Los Angeles with 65 passengers and crew members on board. Both buildings are now burning.

9:17 A.M. EDT
The Federal Aviation Administration shuts down all New York City area airports.

9:21 A.M. EDT
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey orders all bridges and tunnels in the New York area closed.

9:29 A.M. EDT
First reports of casualties pour in. More than 50,000 workers are based at the Trade Center. 

9:30 A.M. EDT
President George Bush declares: "We have had a national tragedy. Two planes have crashed into the World Trade Center in an apparent terrorist attack on our country."

9:40 A.M. EDT
The FAA halts all flight operations at U.S. airports, the first time in U.S. history that air traffic nationwide has been halted.

9:43 A.M. EDT
American Airlines Flight 77, carrying 64 people from Washington to Los Angeles, crashes into the Pentagon in Washington, sending up a huge plume of smoke. Evacuation begins immediately. The nerve center of US military bursts into flames and portion of one side of the five-sided structure collapses.

9:45 A.M. EDT
The White House evacuates.

9:57 A.M. EDT
Bush departs from Florida.

9:58 A.M. EDT
Emergency dispatcher in Pennsylvania, Lisa Jefferson took the 911 call from Todd Beamer, a passenger on United Flight 93 saying "We are being hijacked, we being hijacked!" and "Some of us passengers' plan on over powering the hijackers".

United Airlines Flight 93 was the only hijacked airliner not to strike the terrorist's intended target. Many passengers called family members by on board and cell phones. During those calls they learned other hijacked airliners had struck the World Trade Center. These heroic souls agreed they would not allow their airliner to do the same. So, they told family members they were going to rush the hijackers and do what ever it takes to prevent this from happening. As we all know now, these brave people succeeded. They willingly sacrificed their own lives to save the lives of many others. God Bless each one of these Godsends for their unselfish act of ultimate heroism.

10:05 A.M. EDT
The south tower of the World Trade Center collapses, plummeting into the streets below. A massive cloud of dust and debris forms and slowly drifts away from the building.

10:08 A.M. EDT
Secret Service agents armed with automatic rifles are deployed into Lafayette Park across from the White House.

10:10 A.M. EDT
A portion of the Pentagon collapses.

10:13 A.M. EDT
United Airlines Flight 93, also hijacked, crashes in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, southeast of Pittsburgh.

10:18 A.M. EDT
The United Nations building evacuates, including 4,700 people from the headquarters building and 7,000 total from UNICEF and U.N. development programs.

10:22 A.M. EDT
In Washington, the State and Justice departments are evacuated, along with the World Bank.

10:24 A.M. EDT
The FAA reports that all inbound transatlantic aircraft flying into the United States are being diverted to Canada.

10:28 A.M. EDT
The World Trade Center's north tower collapses from the top down as if it were being peeled apart, releasing a tremendous cloud of debris and smoke.

10:45 A.M. EDT
All federal office buildings in Washington are evacuated.

10:46 A.M. EDT
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell cuts short his trip to Latin America to return to the United States.

10:48 A.M. EDT
Police confirm the plane crash in Pennsylvania.

United Airlines Flight 93 was carrying at least 45 passengers when the Boeing 757 took off from Newark, NJ, enroute to San Francisco when it crashed in a wooded area 12 miles north of Somerset, Pa. Authorities said there were no survivors. The crash was one of four reported by United and American Airlines. Radar showed the San Francisco-bound Boeing 757 from Newark, N.J., had nearly reached Cleveland when it made a sharp left turn and headed back toward Pennsylvania, crashing in a grassy field edged by woods about80 miles southeast of Pittsburgh. 

10:53 A.M. EDT New York's primary elections, scheduled for Tuesday, are postponed.

11:02 A.M. EDT
New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani urges New Yorkers to stay at home and orders an evacuation of the area south of Canal Street.

11:16 A.M. EDT CNN reports that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is preparing emergency response teams in a precautionary move. 11:18 A.M. EDT American Airlines reports it has lost two aircraft. American Flight 11, a Boeing 767 flying from Boston to Los Angeles, had 81 passengers and 11 crew aboard. Flight 77, a Boeing 757 en route from Washington's Dulles International Airport to Los Angeles, had 58 passengers and six crew members aboard. Flight 11 slammed into the north tower of the World Trade Center. Flight 77 hit the Pentagon.

11:26 A.M. EDT
United Airlines reports that United Flight 93, en route from Newark, New Jersey, to San Francisco, California, has crashed in Pennsylvania. The airline also says that it is "deeply concerned" about United Flight 175.

11:59 A.M. EDT
United Airlines confirms that Flight 175, from Boston to Los Angeles, has crashed with 56 passengers and nine crew members aboard. It hit the World Trade Center's south tower.

12:04 P.M. EDT
Los Angeles International Airport, the destination of three of the crashed airplanes, is evacuated.

12:15 P.M. EDT
San Francisco International Airport is evacuated and shut down. The airport was the destination of United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed in Pennsylvania.

Reflections-part 2

PART 2

12:15 P.M. EDT
The Immigration and Naturalization Service says U.S. borders with Canada and Mexico are on the highest state of alert, but no decision has been made about closing borders.

12:30 P.M. EDT
The FAA says 50 flights are in U.S. airspace, but none are reporting any problems.

1:04 P.M. EDT
Bush, speaking from Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana, says that all appropriate security measures are being taken, including putting the U.S. military on high alert worldwide. He asks for prayers for those killed or wounded in the attacks and says, "Make no mistake, the United States will hunt down and punish those responsible for these cowardly acts."

1:27 P.M. EDT
A state of emergency is declared by the city of Washington.

1:44 P.M. EDT
The Pentagon says five warships and two aircraft carriers will leave the U.S. Naval Station in Norfolk, Virginia, to protect the East Coast from further attack and to reduce the number of ships in port. The two carriers, the USS George Washington and the USS John F. Kennedy, are headed for the New York coast. The other ships headed to sea are frigates and guided missile destroyers capable of shooting down aircraft.

1:48 P.M. EDT
Bush leaves Barksdale Air Force Base aboard Air Force One and flies toan Air Force base in Nebraska.

2:00 P.M. EDT
Senior FBI sources tell CNN they are working on the assumption that the four airplanes that crashed were hijacked as part of a terrorist attack.

2:30 P.M. EDT
The FAA announces there will be no U.S. commercial air traffic until noon EDT Wednesday at the earliest.

2:49 P.M. EDT
At a news conference, Giuliani says that subway and bus service are partially restored in New York City. Asked about the number of people killed, Giuliani says, "I don't think we want to speculate about that -- more than any of us can bear."

3:55 P.M. EDT
Karen Hughes, a White House counselor, says the president is at an undisclosed location, later revealed to be Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska, and is conducting a National Security Council meeting by phone. Vice President Dick Cheney and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice are in a secure facility at the White House. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is at the Pentagon.

3:55 P.M. EDT
Giuliani now says the number of critically injured in New York City is up to 200 with 2,100 total injuries reported.

4:00 P.M. EDT
CNN National Security Correspondent David Ensor reports that U.S. officials say there are "good indications" that Saudi militant Osama bin Laden, suspected of coordinating the bombings of two U.S. embassies in 1998, is involved in the attacks, based on "new and specific" information developed since the attacks.

4:06 P.M. EDT
California Gov. Gray Davis dispatches urban search-and-rescue teams to New York.

4:10 P.M. EDT
Building 7 of the World Trade Center complex is reported on fire.

4:20 P.M. EDT
U.S. Sen. Bob Graham, D-Florida, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, says he was "not surprised there was an attack (but) was surprised at the specificity." He says he was "shocked at what actually happened -- the extent of it."

4:25 P.M. EDT
The American Stock Exchange, the Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange say they will remain closed Wednesday.

4:30 P.M. EDT
The president leaves Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska aboard Air Force One to return to Washington.

4:45 P.M. EDT 
The City of New York announces that 200 firefighters have been killed and 78 police officers are missing.

5:15 P.M. EDT
CNN Military Affairs Correspondent Jamie McIntyre reports fires are still burning in part of the Pentagon. No death figures have been released yet.

5:20 P.M. EDT
The 47-story Building 7 of the World Trade Center complex collapses. The evacuated building is damaged when the twin towers across the street collapse earlier in the day. Other nearby buildings in the area remain ablaze.

5:30 P.M. EDT
CNN Senior White House Correspondent John King reports that U.S. officials say the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania could have been headed for one of three possible targets: Camp David, the White House or the U.S. Capitol building.

6:00 P.M. EDT
Explosions are heard in Kabul, Afghanistan, hours after terrorist attacks targeted financial and military centers in the United States. The attacks occurred at 2:30 a.m. local time. Afghanistan is believed to be where bin Laden, who U.S. officials say is possibly behind Tuesday's deadly attacks, is located. U.S. officials say later that the United States had no involvement in the incident whatsoever. The attack is credited to the Northern Alliance, a group fighting the Taliban in the country's ongoing civil war.

6:10 P.M. EDT
Giuliani urges New Yorkers to stay home Wednesday if they can.

6:40 P.M. EDT
Rumsfeld, the U.S. defense secretary, holds a news conference in the Pentagon, noting the building is operational. "It will be in business tomorrow," he says.

6:54 P.M. EDT
Bush arrives back at the White House aboard Marine One and is scheduled to address the nation at 8:30 p.m. The president earlier landed at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland with a three-fighter jet escort. CNN's King reports Laura Bush arrived earlier by motorcade from a "secure location."

7:02 P.M. EDT
CNN's Paula Zahn reports the Marriott Hotel near the World Trade Center is on the verge of collapse and says some New York bridges are now open to outbound traffic.

7:17 P.M. EDT
U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft says the FBI is setting up a Web site for tips on the attacks

7:45 P.M. EDT
The New York Police Department says that at least 78 officers are missing. The city also says that as many as half of the first 400 firefighters on the scene were killed.

8:30 P.M. EDT
President Bush addresses the nation, saying "thousands of lives were suddenly ended by evil" and asks for prayers for the families and friends of Tuesday's victims. "These acts shattered steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve," he says. The president says the U.S. government will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed the acts and those who harbor them. He adds that government offices in Washington are reopening for essential personnel Tuesday night and for all workers Wednesday.

9:22 P.M. EDT
CNN's McIntyre reports the fire at the Pentagon is still burning and is considered contained but not under control.

9:57 P.M. EDT
Giuliani says New York City schools will be closed Wednesday and no more volunteers are needed for Tuesday evening's rescue efforts. He says there is hope that there are still people alive in rubble. He also says that power is out on the west side of Manhattan and that health department tests show there are no airborne chemical agents about which to worry.

10:49 P.M. EDT
CNN Congressional Correspondent Jonathan Karl reports that Attorney General Ashcroft told members of Congress that there were three to five hijackers on each plane armed only with knives.

10:56 P.M. EDT
CNN's Zahn reports that New York City police believe there are people alive in buildings near the World Trade Center.

11:54 P.M. EDT
CNN Washington Bureau Chief Frank Sesno reports that a government official told him there was an open microphone on one of the hijacked planes and that sounds of discussion and "duress" were heard. Sesno also reports a source says law enforcement has "credible" information and leads and is confident about the investigation.

Dangerous job

There's a video on the website so here's the link http://www.nbc11.com/news/9699498/detail.html

NOVATO, Calif. -- A North Bay firefighter is back on duty after an unusual attack late Thursday night that turned into a hazmat situation.

A man knocked on the door of the fire station near the corner of San Ramon Way and San Marin Drive in Novato at about 11:30 p.m.

A firefighter answered and saw a man wearing goggles and surgical gloves and holding a gallon-sized bag with a white powdery, crystal-like substance inside. The man tried to hand the firefighter the bag but the firefighter refused. The man turned and ran to a car where a second person and they drove away.

The firefighter did not handle the bag but he said he felt a burning sensation on his face.

The firefighter was hosed down and decontaminated. He was also sent to a hospital to be checked out because he still felt a burning sensation.

Hazmat crews spent about four hours testing the area and the fire station for dangerous substances, including nerve agents.

The two men were in a silver Toyota Corolla, firefighters said.

 

Who said firefighters were only in danger when fighting fire???

Just another Monday morning?

Just another Monday morning, or so it seems. I'm not quite sure why, but it just feels like a Monday. You know the type, you wake up and it takes all the motivation (and hits on the snooze button) you can muster just to roll yourself out of bed. That's definately me today.

Work has been, well, work. I've been in a few good fires lately, we've had a couple in our territory that other trucks reported seeing the smoke when they pulled out of their stations. One of the fires had heavy flames through the roof on our arrival. I had the nozzle in the garage and the fire was in the ceiling. We got tired of pulling sheetrock so I opened the nozzle all the way and let the blast knock down the rest of the sheetrock. We got a pretty good stop on the fire, 2 rooms, the patio (origin of fire), and the garage were a loss, but the bedrooms and all of downstairs survived with major to minor smoke or water damage. We took salvage covers downstairs and covered the electronics and other important or sentimental objects for the family. The only real issue we had was the heat, it was 94*F out. We set up rehab under a large tree in the neighbor's yard. Someone had the sense to pull a couple electric fans off the ladder-truck and set them up near rehab. We were all grateful for that and the nice breeze that was blowing.

I haven't been on any memorable EMS calls lately, at least not anything interesting. I've been on some legit calls, something other than a week old buttache, but nothing too interesting.

I take that back, we did have an interesting rollover a couple weeks ago during a freak rainstorm. Single car accident, the guy lost control of his car for whatever reason and rolled a couple times. Witnesses pulled him out of the car, and had him literally pinned to the ground when we arrived. The guy had a 4" gash to the side of his head with moderate blood loss. He was somewhat combative, swearing there was nothing wrong and trying to get up to leave. He complained when we bandaged his head, and was fine with being on the backboard, but he wanted out of the rain. Once he was loaded, I was helping pick up our trash and anything bloody to be put in a biohazard bag. I found the guy's license and insurance cards on the roadway (everything that was in the car was spread across the road for 100'). I showed the license to PD so they could get what they needed, then gave both cards to the guys on the ambulance.

In other news, my ferret had to be euthanized a few days ago. I gave her back to my ex-fiance more than a month ago. Turns out she was really a he. He had rapidly-growing tumors in his belly, the vet said they were probably cancerous and there was no treatment. He (my ex-fiance) thought it best to prevent any more sufferring and had the ferret put down.

Take care out there

New toys, and a new way to hurt myself

For those who don't know what I've been up to, I have a set of stilts, called powerisers, powerizers, flying jumpers, powerskips, etc... Whatever you want to call them, they're stilts you can jump on, as in up to 6'. Here's a video of me one of the first few times I strapped them on.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCG0law7uOE

My biggest thing right now is that I want to be able to flip, both like normal people, and on the stilts. OK, so tonight was my first workout at the gymnastics center. The owner seems fascinated by the powerisers and will allow me to walk on certain types of the mats with the risers on.

Tonight, I took the risers in and my new instructor was busy so I was asked to put the risers on while I waited (I was talking to the owner). Once the instructor was done, we chatted for a few. Then I took the risers off and we went over to the trampoline. I clipped into a harness and started bouncing. At first, it was 3 bounces, and on the 3rd bounce try to go over backwards. I did pretty good, landed without going to my knees a few times. Then things got harder...1 bounce directly into the flip. It took a while but I finally started landing a few. By the end of the hour, I managed to land 2 - back tucks on the trampoline without a harness or spotter.

Because of my weird work schedule, and just how close I live to the center, I can call around 3 pm and set up a lesson for that night. I have to work tomorrow, so I'll probably go back for more Friday.

Depending on how well I do, we'll spend the first 15-30 minutes on the trampoline, and the rest of the time on another harness with the stilts, then the remainder of the time (still on the stilts) going into the foam pits.

All I know is I feel the burn in my shoulders already, I bet I'll be kinda sore in the morning. No pain, no gain, right?

Fallen Brother - LODD

This was taken from firehouse.com

http://cms.firehouse.com/content/article/article.jsp?sectionId=39&id=49849

Bill Craddock died from doing what he loved most: fighting a fire.

Mr. Craddock, a rescue specialist with the DeKalb County Fire and Rescue Department, had a heart attack May 4 while fighting a house fire in south DeKalb County. Two strokes followed, and he died Tuesday at Emory University Hospital.

"Bill was what every fireman aspires to be --- what we call a jake, a fireman's fireman," said Christopher W. Holcombe of Buford, a firefighter who worked with him at DeKalb County Fire Station 24.

"Every time the fire department asked for volunteers, Bill was out in front. He not only was a dedicated fireman but an instructor on the local, state and national level known throughout the country for his teaching of technical rescue and firefighter survival. When they teach us to be firemen, they teach us to put fires out. But things can go bad in a fire. Bill taught the best way to save ourselves in emergencies and get other firefighters out."

As a rescue specialist, Mr. Craddock could do it all, said Mr. Holcombe. He was adept at high angle rope rescue from tall buildings, confined space rescue from places like sewer pipes, trench rescue from construction sites, scuba diving rescue, swift water rescue and extrication from vehicles. "Firefighting was Bill's passion," said his wife, Shainti Craddock of Jasper. "He called it his first love."

The funeral for William Leroy Craddock II, 37, of Jasper, is 2 p.m. Saturday at First Redeemer Church in Cumming. McDonald & Son Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

The Florida native served five years in the U.S. Marine Corps as a helicopter mechanic, Mr. Holcombe said. After moving to metro Atlanta in 1996, he worked as a car mechanic and began volunteering with the Hickory Flat Volunteer Fire Department in Cherokee County.

In 1997 Mr. Craddock joined the DeKalb fire department and soon was going through the arduous training to become a rescue specialist. Besides his extensive teaching, Mr. Craddock worked part-time for the Forsyth County Fire Department and was an assistant chief with the Bethany-Salem Volunteer Fire Department Station 8 in Jasper.

To help unite Georgia firefighters, Mr. Craddock joined with several other firefighters in 2001 to establish the fraternity Georgia FOOLS, a branch of FOOLS International. FOOLS stands for Fraternal Order of Leatherheads Society.

"It is an organization that promotes brotherhood and the traditions and lifestyle of firefighters," Mr. Holcombe said. A major part of the Georgia FOOLS agenda is teaching firemen across the state how to save people and get out safely, Mr. Holcombe added. The program has grown to numerous chapters, said co-founder Brian Gary of Forsyth County, a lieutenant with the Forsyth County Fire Department.

For fun, Mr. Craddock rode bulls in rodeos, went horseback riding with his wife and played hide-and-seek with his 4-year-old son Colby Craddock, who loved to come to his father's fire stations.

A fund for Mr. Craddock's widow and son has been set up by the DeKalb County Fire and Rescue Department. Donations to the William L. Craddock Fund can be made at any Bank of America branch. Other survivors include his mother, Gail Schueren, and his stepfather, Bob Schueren, both of Epworth.

 

Here's a link to some of the footage the news had.

http://www.cbs46.com/global/video/popup/pop_player.asp?ClipID1=837073&h1=Firefighter%20Remembered&vt1=v&at1=News&d1=141800&LaunchPageAdTag=Homepage&activePane=info&playerVersion=1&hostPageUrl=http%3A//www.cbs46.com/&rnd=87588074

Drive-time on the firetruck

As usual, many things have happened lately. I've been on another big house fire, a couple good vehicle extrications, and a few worthy medical calls.

A recent day that comes to memory is one of my new favorites.

The day started off normally, well, as normal as life in a fire station can be. As shift change (0700) arrived, we all got our unit assignments for the day and started about our duties. I went to work checking the supplies in the EMS jumpbags, changing the batteries in and testing the Zoll cardiac monitor, and checking all the stock in the truck. Moving on to check all the fire-related equipment, loading my gear onto the truck, checking my airpack and making sure we have everything we're supposed to.

Once truck-checkoffs are completed, we all help clean the station. The good thing about my station is that it's twice as old as I am, so no matter how much we scrub it, it's just not going to be that impressive.

After all the morning chores are done, if there aren't any calls to run or classes to take, we can somewhat relax. Of course, there's always calls to run, blood-pressures to check, and other things to do.

Mid-afternoon, we'd just come off a call and I'd gotten my lunch and just sat down when an air-horn was blown from in front of the station. Turns out, my truck was being shut down for a little while so one of the guys on another engine could go take his physical.

At the health department, he hopped off the truck and we were down a driver. Since I had just gotten my learner's permit for the firetruck, he volunteered me to drive. The Captain double-checked that I did have the permit, and I hopped up into the driver's seat. I didn't pay much attention before, but now I know, those firetrucks (counting the mirrors) are wider than the average driving lane!

My fun was cut short when we were called back, our guy wasn't on the list to do his physical that day. I don't mind, I'm just happy I logged my first mile or so driving the fire engine.

Justice has been done

April 15,  my regular partner and I were shifted to the ambulance for the shift. Most of the shift was uneventful.

Late that evening, we ran a call that came in somewhat suspiciously. The only info the dispatcher had, was that a female called in requesting an ambulance, there was arguing in the background, and the line disconnected. (They also relayed that the city police were clear on the call and had a unit enroute)

I can't go into many details since there is a pending trail, but I'll give the edited version.

There was a male who tried to stop us from getting to the lady that called. He came after us physically, and also set a pit bull loose from it's cage.

We went to Magistrate Court immediately after the call to file for warrants. Both warrants were signed.

On the 13th of May, local Sherriff's Deputies picked up our guy and he's currently sitting behind bars. His was denied bond on 2 of his 3 charges, which means he can't be released. Of his charges, 1 is a misdemeanor and the other 2 are felony charges (carrying at least 1 year minimum sentence each).

 

Be safe out there and watch your back!

OK, I'm about to just give up on talking to our PIO (Public Information Officer) to try to get pictures of fires I've gone to. It's pointless! He'll tell me that he knows which reporters were there and will talk to them, then never calls me back.

The best I can do is this picture of my helmet, taken after the first house fire. It was shiny black, with the shield looking a brand-new black and white.

After much delay and procrastination, here's what happened. Obviously, I was tailboard on the engine.

As usual, we had a radio on, even though we were at the station and had the encoder to let us know about any calls. We heard the engine in the territory next to us get a fire alarm in our territory. We told radio that we were available and would handle the call in our immediate.  **fire alarm at a residence usually gets 1 engine**

Rolling down the road, we knew the street we were headed to skipped over a block and picked up again. The map we had was labeled wrong for the breaking numbers so we started to go to the far half of the road. That is, until we looked over and saw a cloud of smoke coming from the house on the dead end we just bypassed. Backing up quicker than I'd like to admit, we notified radio that this would be a working fire and that we needed a full response. 

 Since I had all my gear on, I jumped off the engine and did a quick walk-around while the seatman finished getting geared-up. The house was a split-level, and every single ground-level window and door had burglar bars. I could see the house was filled with smoke, but I couldn't see anything else. One of the windows was inches off the ground and had yellowish smoke seeping out the cracks. I quickly relayed my findings as the seatman joined me behind the house. He told me to grab the nozzle and bring it to the door on the far left (per command's orders...other units had started arriving onscene).

Thanks to the burglar bars, it took us a few minutes to gain entry. Once inside, I went to the floor to try and see under the smoke (moments later I stood up, I couldn't see anything anyway and it wasn't hot at all). Pushing my way into the darkness, I went down a hallway and stopped in a doorway. I didn't know it at the time, but I was standing at the top of a stairwell.

Unfortunately, I had run out of hoseline, as hard as I tried and and much as I wanted to, I couldn't go any farther. Some genius, who will remain nameless, decided I wasn't moving fast enough for him, so he stepped in front of me. Keep in mind, everyone is taught to never get between the nozzle and the fire.

As if on cue, someone broke out the window to the fire room. With a new rush of oxygen, the fire "rolled-over" everything in the small room, the kitchen area, and up the stairs towards us. I remember the temperature suddenly skyrocketing, and seeing the fire swirling up the stairs at me in slow-motion, hearing the guys yelling to "open the nozzle!", but waiting on dumbass to get out of the way. By the time he was out of the way and I opened the nozzle, the fire had rolled over to the point of completely engulfing me.

Some things blurred together and other things I don't remember. At some point, another hoseline was brought in through a different door and advanced to the fire room. They were able to pull a few more feet of line for me and I ended up sitting at the bottom of the stairwell for a little while. The fire rolled-over again and I was able to stop it from going up the stairs.

I do remember 2 of the guys from our "god squad" literally crawling over me to get out. And those guys wear 2 nomex hoods to try and beat the heat.   **It's been said that the more heat you take, you eventually start to build up a resistance to it. It's also a well-known fact, that the nozzleman usually takes the most heat and deflects a lot of heat from the other guys.**    I was told after the fire by a few old-timer's that it was "hotter than hell in there" and that they were kinda surprised I took so much heat.

Eventually, my seatman told me to drop the nozzle where it was at and back out for a few minutes. We went outside and dumped our air packs and coats for a few minutes. The guy from air & light brought us each a cup of gatoraid and took our spent bottles to swap for a couple fresh ones.

A few short minutes later, we put our gear back on, grabbed our tools, and went back inside to help overhaul. We did minimal overhaul until the arson investigator had a chance to look around. After getting his go-ahead, we soaked everything down and did a little poking around to make sure the fire was out.

We again retreated outside and helped roll and put away some hose. We helped the homeowners get a few critical belongings out of the house and then went in service.

If I ever manage to hunt down pictures, I'll post them. Since most of the fire was inside the house and not visible from the street, there wasn't much news media there.

Take care

A teaser for my first house fires

OK, I'm NOT going to do the full entries just yet. You're just gonna have to wait a few more days for that, sorry.

The past 3 shifts (including this morning), I have had a house fire each shift. Not some BS where I got there late and only helped overhaul (tear up the walls and clean crap out)...I have finally gotten a chance to fight some fire!

I hate to do it to you all, but I took some pictures on 2 of the scenes and I'm hoping they'll turn out and look ok. I'm going to use up the rest of the roll of film so I can go get it developed. As soon as I know if the shots turn out I'll post them along with my entry. If they look like crap, I'll post the entry alone.

Be safe

dead guys, fires and buttheads

Ok, yesterday could've been better, or it could've been worse. Some of the calls were interesting, others weren't. That's just the way things go. But I didn't really expect to get into an argument with one of the guys at my station. I went in to work in a fairly good mood, but I wasn't in the mood to put up with anyone's BS.

The whole argument was a bit out of context, and it could've been handled better, I admit to that. The guy I was battling with is arrogant and egotistical (in my opinion). He made a few smartassed and rude comments to me in front of everyone at the station...including our Battalion Chief. I retaliated with a few remarks and it was kinda dropped. I told Chief and everyone else that I was tired of his comments and from now on, I planned to "check him" when he's disrespectful.

A little while later, I was still pretty pissed, but I was thumbing through a brigade quartermaster catalog and minding my own business. Mr. Ego was sitting across from me eating his lunch and looking at ads in the newspaper. He made some comment about when was I gonna buy him whatever he was looking at in the paper(I really wasn't paying much attention). I responded "whatever" each time he asked.

Now, let me pause for a moment and say that I know I have a temper. I also know that my inability to control my mouth has gotten me into trouble on a few occasions. I did the only thing I could to prevent me from saying something I'd really regret. I stood up, pushed in my chair, and went to the bunkroom to sit at the desk and finish looking at the catalog.

A few calls and hours later, I was sitting in the dayroom watching TV. He came in supposedly to apologize. He went about it all wrong. The way he started made it feel like an attack and I went on the defensive.

Like I said, it could have and SHOULD have been handled better, on both sides of the argument. I'm just tired of his comments and attitude toward me. It's one thing to be funny and make jokes, but there is a line that was crossed.

On a slightly lighter note, we had quite a few interesting calls yesterday.

We started off with our very first call being a cardiac arrest. Actually, the call was over before it even began, the person was DOA.

Later, we were dispatched to a MVC with entrapment a couple territories over. As we pulled out of the station, the engine was dispatched to a car fire. The fire was given out as being at the corner of Younameit Dr and Younameit Cir. Well, enroute to our call, we passed the car fire and didn't really think much about it, we were already committed to a different call. A few moments later we were cancelled. We turned around to head back to the station and figured we'd help the engine crew if they needed us. Much to our suprise, the engine wasn't onscene. I flipped on the lights and pulled over so my truck was blocking traffic.  Turns out the address given was wrong, it was at Younameit Ct...not Cir. Me and my partner hopped out, he put on his bunker pants and grabbed an  extinguisher while I got into full gear and ready to breathe air. W pretty much had the fire out as the engine pulled up. They grabbed the booster reel and soaked the car down while I got all the needed information from the owner and explained why we passed the car at first.

Next was another cardiac arrest/DOA. I guess it was just the day for folks to pass away.

Then we ran a rollover MVC. The van jumped the curb, went through a fence and rolled down a 20-30 foot embankment, coming to rest upside-down. The guy reeked of ETOH or alcohol. He had minor injuries from what we could see but was otherwise ok.

We jumped a call for our engine at the jail intake. The idiot was drunk and had grabbed the steering wheel while his son was driving, causing the car to wreck. His complaint seemed to be BS, except he had a sustained heartrate that was too high. He was transported, after being told that the officer was taking out a state warrant for his arrest.

Our last call was down at the state youth correctional center. A fight broke out and 2 guards took a good "pop" in the face. We didn't even see any of the kids there. Not like it breaks my heart, those kids are convicted murderers and rapists.

It was a long day, but the silver lining to this cloud is that we got to sleep all night without running any calls.

Seizures

Not too many interesting things to report. I took my best friend horseback riding a few days ago. It was his first time on a horse and I believe he's hooked now. I couldn't resist getting a "bad cop, no donut" sticker in his honor (when I finally found a store that had one).

With the exception of being at work, my Valentine's Day was uneventful. My Mom gave me a box of chocolates and some other candy, and my buddy gave me a metal rose and a teeny-tiny little teddy bear. The "EMS Gods" gave me a peaceful night's sleep during a full moon. We got back to the station around 2200 (10pm) and I figured I'd go on to bed since we'd been running all day. We didn't get up until 0600 for our next and last call.

But, on to the seizures.

First off, let me just say that I HATE running pediatric calls. I can deal with all the blood and guts you can throw at me, just keep the kids out of it.

We were heading back to the station and passed a car on the opposite side of the road. There was a lady standing outside the car, but she didn't start waving at us so I figured it was just another "stranded motorist" and kept driving. Moments later we were toned out to respond to that car for a 2 year old having seizures. 3 toggle-switches, a quick blast of the siren, and a U-turn later, we were onscene.

The little one was a bit lethargic (sleepy or slow to respond), but he opened his eyes as soon as I reached into the car to pick him up. We moved him into the rescue and got Mom to give him a little Tylenol since he had a high fever. I had to drive, but the ride in to the hospital seemed uneventful.

Arriving, we let Mom carry the little one into the ER. They were packed and had 20 or so patients in the Triage area, including ours.

I missed a little bit of the action when I went back outside for a couple minutes to clean my truck. When I went back inside, there's our little guy in one of the trauma rooms, stripped down to his pajamas. Apparently, he started seizing in triage and the trauma rooms had the only open beds. I couldn't see everything, but they started an IV and gave some medicine to stop the seizing.

I got busy and ran out of time, but I'm going to try to call up there today and see if I can find out how he's doing.

My only real issue, other than the fact that it was a kid, is PLEASE put your kids in a carseat! If they would've needed to brake hard, I might have spent my day picking the kid up off the road. I know some kids can't stand those carseats, but which is worse...Listening to your child whine and complain...or planing their funeral?

Be safe

Rainy Day

Nothing much of great interest at work lately. The past few shifts I was up all night running calls.Yesterday, I was swapped over to the engine. We didn't have very many calls, we were expecting the calls to really start as soon as the super bowl ended. "My team lost but they're better than your team." Anything ranging from drunkenness to shootings and stabbings was expected. We were able to watch 95% of the game uninterrupted.

We had a call sometime after midnight for a stabbing, but there wasn't anything to it. All of our units went inservice just a couple minutes after getting onscene.

The only call of real interest was a "smoke in the area of." For whatever reason a full house fire assignment was dispatched. We were the 2nd unit onscene and there was quite a bit of smoke pouring out of a small house on the corner. The first-in crew already had a quick knockdown so me and my Capt backed out for a moment to put on our masks and open up our SCBA's.

Searching the house, there wasn't anyone to be found so we went back to the room where the fire had been. We found out that there had been some boards blocking the doors shut and the fire appeared to be arson.

We pulled a little sheetrock and nosed around in the crawl space under the house, then went back in service.

On the funnier side of things, we have this stuffed animal that's supposed to be on one of the trucks to give to a child onscene to make him/her feel better. Well, this little piggy has made it's rounds in the bunkroom and been in everybody's bed. I guess it got bored last night and made it's way to the bay, just outside the bathroom door. The engine had a call and right as we came back, the "stalkee" came out of the bathroom and locked eyes with his stalker.

 

Be safe and have fun

How a medical call should be

I'm just sitting here, trying to think of something to do at 0200. The cable's out, it's too late to go out, and there's not a lot to do on a weeknight anyway. I've got some stupid movie I've seen 1,000 times playing, and a snoozing kitten curled up behind my knees.

Insomnia is NOT fun!

Sitting here, I've been thinking a lot about how things at work play out sometimes. Usually, there's an element of controlled chaos on critical scenes. We have so many of our people standing in such a small area around the patient that it's nearly impossible to do anything.

I had a call run like clockwork a few shifts ago...It was a beautiful thing.

I was on the Squad at the station when we were toned out with our Rescue crew for a patient having chest pains. Arriving onscene, our patient is sitting on the front lawn, complaining of classic MI or heart attack symptoms.

Here's where everything fell into place perfectly.

I grabbed a set of vitals, blood pressure, pulse, O2 saturation, glucose level, and respirations. Meanwhile, my medic partner (also my Captain) placed the leads and ran a 12-lead EKG.

As I started an IV in the patient's hand, he was given his first spray of Nitro and a dose of Asprin.

My partner gathered more medical information from our patient as I started to re-check his vitals.

<Insert the Rescue arriving onscene here>

The patient was moved to the stretcher and given a 2nd spray of Nitro, then loaded into the Rescue and rushed to the hospital.

Last I heard, he's doing fine.

 

Things just went perfectly. The 2 of us were able to do everything we needed to do without crowding each other or getting in each other's way. We had the patient pretty much packaged and ready to go, all he needed was a ride to the hospital by the time the Rescue showed up. We spent a total of 8 minutes onscene, from the Squad arriving, until the Rescue left the scene with the patient.

It was refreshing to see how a call should be run. I just wish it happened more often. The main problem I believe is that we run so many bull sh*t calls that we become a bit complacent. That, and when you're on your umpteenth call and you've been up almost 24 hours straight, you may get the job done, but what happens to the quality of care?

It's hard, I'll be one of the first to admit it. I've fallen asleep in the front seat of the truck at the hospital. I've run to the hospital lights and siren just so I'd have the lights, noise, and speed to make me focus on my driving and wake me up a bit more. I've teched on BS calls just so I could finish my PCR and doze off enroute to the hospital between rechecks of the paitient's vitals. I even fell asleep standing up at the station once.

24 hour shifts are hard, especially at such a busy station. For those who don't know, all 3 trucks at my station average 15-20 calls each and every shift. There's no rest for the weary and as much as I love what I get to do, I wouldn't wish 24's on anybody.

I think I'm gonna try to crash out....be safe and take care

Insomnia

OK, I can't sleep.

And I just noticed my hit counter dropped back to 0....Dammit, now I have to start all over.

Although that pic was taken from another website, it is of a bunch of my friends. One night at the haunted house after the show, our favorite knucklehead said he wanted to know what the Taser felt like. Well, he got his wish. The guy catching our falling hero is an out-of-state cop...I should mention he pushed the resident genious into the uniformed officer. (We always have one or more uniformed officers as part of our security force)

The dart cartridge was removed and the Taser was functioning more as a stun gun. Before you ask, yes, the officer was laughing his ass off! Then again, so was everybody else, including our hero. Well, maybe he wasn't laughing during the "ride," but he was all smiles afterward (minus these 2 odd-looking marks on his neck).

I bought some new pliers and other things chainmaille related to try out when I have time. Mainly some small wire I want to make a couple pieces of jewelery out of. If it works out, I'll post pics and maybe offer a couple pieces up for sale. It's a great hobby and I'll recommend it to anyone and everyone, but it isn't a very good money-maker. The sheer number of hours it takes to make some pieces, like my shirt, is amazing. It's hard because if you charged for your hours put into something, everything would be way too expensive to sell. I usually double whatever the materials cost is and add a little for labor depending on the size of the item and if it's all one metal.

I think it's finally time for me to crash out...Nite all and be careful

Some catching up to do

OK, I've been meaning to update for a long time, and I've been procrastinating for a long time too. To those that actually read this, my sincere apologies.

To try to make it up to you, I finally figured out how to include a few pictures.

First is a picture of me wearing a piece of chainmaille armor I've been working on for a while now. It's changed a lot since I took that picture, the mock-sleeves are gone and a seam similar to a regular t-shirt is now in place. I'm currently working on lengthening the sleeves to make it a long-sleeved shirt. I might add a hood later. (it depends on how bored I get)

The 2nd and 3rd pics are from a single-car accident from a couple months ago. The driver was travelling up the road when she had a seizure and lost control of her truck. Her car jumped the curb and hit a tree about 5' off the ground, flipping the truck onto it's side. She wasn't really trapped, but because of the way the truck landed, we had to cut out the front windshield and break out the rear windows to get her out.

The 4th pic is of my little kitty-rat, 2 or 3 weeks after I got her. She is curled up in my lap as I type this, purring to her heart's content. The little cow beside her is her favorite toy, she carries it all over the house. It's seen better days, now missing an eye and looking quite tattered.

5th pic is from 1 of 2 fires I went to the first day at my new station assignment. The house was torn down about a week after the fire. First units onscene had trouble initially thanks to the pitbulls roaming the yard. I got there late in the game and didn't get to go inside until the beginning of overhaul. But I did get to flow a little water on a couple small places that tried to flare back up while I was inside.

The last pic is from one of the larger disaster drills I did the beginning of November. I was sitting beside the bus halfway back when the pyrotechnics were set off. It was so much fun! The transit police get credit for trying to remove the victims to a safer location and do some triage. Unfortunately, 50 feet away isn't quite safe enough for a bomb scenario. Our onscene time was terrible, the ambulance crew didn't want to "play along," but at least the hospital crew was amazing!!! Of all the drills I've done, I think that was the best treatment I've had from the hospitals so far.

Many things have happened since my last entry back in October. Of course, I transferred to a new station. Since my station is currently a open plot of land until they rebuild our new building, the Rescue (ambulance) is running out of another station, and the Squad is housed at the busiest house in the county. Being the only other person qualified to ride the Squad, I'm almost always on it. The days where my partner (who happens to be my Captain) is off, or if too many people call out sick, I usually get either bumped over to ride engine or rescue with the rest of the crew I work with at our temporary home, or sent to another station. It's no big deal, I enjoy visiting other stations for the shift. It's kinda like a break, but you get to hang out with other friends outside the hospital and without being onscene of a call.

I have a few more pics from a car fire I ran, but when I had the film developed and put onto CD, most of the pics were shifted on the CD. I'm going to have it fixed tomorrow so I hope to have the other pics up here soon. Now that I've figured out the whole photo thing, I'll try to add pics more often.

That's all the really interesting stuff I have for now without writing about the calls I've been on. But those are for another day and time.

Be safe