Awaiting the News in Uncomfortable Shoes

I emailed the owner of the farm that I am waiting to hear back from about the cheese job.  I'm sure it will elicit a response.  It was a happy email about how my family and I are looking forward to potentially joining their crew.  Now we wait (some more) for a reply.

Yesterday I went for a walk on the supposed frozen wetland behind my house.  It is a beautiful walk up the serpentine path of ice through tall brown marsh grasses and reeds.  And magically, the ice and the water beneath do what ever they like, because some areas are frozen and some are not.  My EMT boots are the warmest thing I have for a winter walk and so when I fell through the ice, into the water, and under the mud, they were taken out of service.  I'll clean them later but for now they are still a little wet.  I am working tonight (right now actually) at the fire department.  I had to wear something on my feet and sneakers are hardly appropriate, so I dug through my closet and pulled out my wild land boots.  They are very good but they have not been worn in a while and are a wee bit stiff.

I'm just glad I am doing something other than waiting around for an email or a phone call.  Instead I'm waiting around to take out the engine or the ambulance.  Works for me.

Certification Run-Around

In Mass, EMTs need to have 28 hours of con ed credits.  I completed 28 hours of con ed credits by the Dec. 31 deadline.  HOWEVER, the Mass OEMS (office of emergency services) did not recognize me for three of those credits.  Long story short the person responsible for turing in the roster for some of the classes did not turn in three of the courses.  She said she would work it out because I completed the material.

Now I'm just waiting to hear back from the state to see if I will be an EMT after April 14th, my EMT expiration.  I sure hope so after completing the 28 credits, 24 hour refresher, $90 refresher fee, $150 rectification fee and two years of commitment to EMS.

Taking Leave

Saturday night I handed in my letter to take leave from the ambulance company I work for.  Since my wife works some Saturday nights and since we are changing things up I thought I'de take a break.  I only work there as a volunteer every other Saturday night for a 12 hour shift.  I have worked there for two years with some great people.

We had a slow night.  There was only one call the whole shift and since there were three other EMT just hanging out they went out and I stayed at the garage.  It might have been nice to run one more call.

Anyway I don't know when I'll see them again because if we move to the farm the leave of absence will probably just turn into a resignation because of the distance.  I seem to be saying this a lot lately but, we'll see what happens.

So long for now.

Tic Toc Tic Toc

Well, it has been a week since my interview at the farm.  The owner has asked me to submit my resumé and some references so yesterday that is what I did.  I told one of the guys at the fire department the last shift I worked and he seemed like he thought it was a cool idea.  I still have to decide if I'll stay on per diem.

Meanwhile I'm still getting as much work with the fire department as I can.  I have several shifts this month which is nice.  It is the first time I've really felt comfortable working in EMS.  I am doing better call ins and I'm not hesitating as much.  I hope I can still pursue the fire thing even if my involvement isn't what I thought it would be.  I don't think I'll know until I can stop wondering if I get this position.  I'll keep ya posted.

Full Code

I just got off the second shift at the fire department.  We only had one call, but it was a good one.  I mean that of course with respect to the deceased and their family.  I have not had too many opportunities to do CPR and tonight I did.  It went well.  The patient was gray when we found him and a few minutes after starting compressions he was pink.  When the medics got on board they pushed epi and atropine.  The drugs and my compressions jump started his heart and he had a good pulse (a good radial pulse too).  I had to help him breath but we made his cardiopulmonary system function.  Anyway it felt good to feel confident in this setting.  One really has to be tested before knowing one's capabilities.