A medic a medic, my kingdom for a medic

Last Saturday there was a marathon bike race going on in San Jose. This was a bike race that was either 25, 50 or a whopping 100 miles. For many events like this the assistance of the local red cross is enlisted to provide medical support, and of course I am now volunteering to help them out. So this was my first event and it was definitely an interesting experience. As I work as a medic normally the longest I am ever with a patient is maybe 10-15 minutes before the fire department or ambulance shows up. With the red cross we could be treating a patient for up to an hour before we either release them or finally get the ambulance. Slightly different way of treating a patient. Well I will be doing it again this Sunday for the famous race Bay to Breakers or as it is known locally Bare to Breakers since many people tend to run in naked, yes completely naked. Ouch. Well the real ouch is because I have to show up in San Francisco at 4am, meaning I would have to leave my house a 3am, double ouch.

Other than that life is progressing normally. I am taking my test for my ACLS this Friday (Advanced Cardiac Life Support) and am so not ready for it. It consists of 18 heart rhythms as well as roughly 45 drugs their indications, contraindications, and dosage and some other minor things like intubations and stroke support. Suffice to say it is a lot to learn by Friday, but I am working on it. Wish me luck.

The summer schedule is lining up and as I am planning my travel I seem to have three trips back-to-back in Texas, why the heck are we picking Texas for our events. I mean nothing against the red-necks I mean nice guys down there, but can’t we pick someplace more fun, say Disneyworld? Well I guess I can get good barbecue. More on this later in the week.