Have you ever had a job you loved? I have and it is the greatest way to spend your time when you are away from your family. My Son was born in 1994, and passed in 1995. For eleven months I sat next to his bed in the NICU unit @ UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento California. There i watched the nurses help there very small, very sick patients. I watched them work long hours and they loved what they were doing. The babies were not there only patients, the families needed them and depended on them just as much. As i watched theses nurses I could tell they loved what they were doing every minute of it. You can tell when someone loves there job and when someone is just doing it to bring home the pay. That's when i decided that someday i wanted to do something i loved and it would be great if i could help people in the process. So in 1995 i turned my heartache into something special that i loved. I signed up to take the EMT program through Shasta College for a semester. I really had no idea what i was getting myself into. I was one of those people who never liked blood and guts.
Four months later i took the state exam and practical exam, passed with flying colors. I was now ready to find a job. I drove down to the local ambulance company there in our home town of Willows. At that time it was ran by Mountain EMS. To my surprise they hired me on the spot. They liked the fact that i was fresh out of school. That way i had no bad habits they needed to break me of.
I remember my first shift. I pulled up to the quarters and went in to introduce myself, i was there no more then 10 minutes and the pager went off. Unit 51 Medical aid Code Blue.That was us. My heart sank in my chest, I got cold sweats and started to tremble. What are the odds, my very first call and it was a full arrest. I just kind of stood there frozen, when my partner Steve said well lets go, jump in and hold on. I climbed in the unit, put my seat belt on and away we went. Steve hit the siren and the lights. Again my heart started pounding in my chest. The lights were strobbing and the siren was whaling, and we were swerving in and out of traffic. We pulled up on scene and the family ran out to us begging for help. I would of been sad, if i was not so terrified of the unknown. We went inside and the lady was obviously gone, she had been dead for a while. At that point the elderly woman was not our patient her family was. We worked the code until they could accept the death of there Mother. It worked out for me, because i had no idea what to do. My Partner just kept telling me A,B, C's Nichole, just do your A,B,C's. So that's what i did. Airway, checked for breathing and Circulation. Then I started CPR, and I continued CPR until the family was ready for us to stop. When we left the scene, I felt so good inside. Not because we saved the patient, because we did not. But we helped the family through one of the hardest days of there lives and tried to make it more bearable for them to get through. When we left they knew all was done that could be done and they put that into action.
As weird as it sounds while we were driving away from that call i had the biggest smile on my face and it stayed there for the next eight years.Everyday when i would get off shift, i would be excited to come back the next day. That job was never boring, never the same old thing. It was the most rewarding feeling i have ever had in a job and I can not wait to find it again some day.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Back home I spent eight years working for Enloe Medical Center as an EMT on one of there 911 responding units. In my spare time I was a volunteer fire fighter for the City of Willows.
It was a beautiful May day. May 17, 2000 to be exact. I just got off a very busy shift and all I wanted to do was get the girls off to school, so I could crawl into bed for a few hours. And that's what I did, I crawled into bed and put my fire pager on the night stand next to me as usual. I must of drifted off to sleep, because a couple hours later I woke to my fire pager going off for an unknown medical aid.
We lived at 15 Sunset Dr. and the medical aid came over at 17 Sunset Dr., our neighbors house. About that time I heard a voice, a lady's voice screaming and pounding on my front door. With no time to change I ran to the door in my red flannel pajamas. My neighbor was screaming and asking for help. Her mentally disabled daughter had locked herself in the bathroom and would not come out. She was in the bathroom screaming it hurt and there was blood everywhere, she thought her insides were coming out.
I ran over with the Mom, still in my pajamas and got the bathroom door pushed open. I laid the daughter down on the bathroom floor and cut her pants off her so I could take a look. I was so scared, not sure what I was going to find. It took me a minute to figure out what was protruding out. Then I realized it was a baby. A very small premature baby. Not sure how to keep the Grandmother and Daughter calm.And most importantly to keep her from hurting me, her and the baby in such small quarters. I yelled for my husband who was in the living room talking with the Grandmother. I explained to him, what was going on so he could start breaking it to the Parents.
I stayed in the bathroom and delivered the very small baby girl. The baby was not crying, so I checked her airway and she was not breathing, then I checked for a heart rate. There was no heart rate. At that time I could hear the siren of the Ambulance coming up the street. I picked up the baby in my left arm and started chest compression and rescue breathing. While I was doing compressions I would try to calm the mom. Then I would have to breath another breath into the baby. I could hear the rest of the fire fighters and the on duty Ambulance crew coming in the house, My husband was giving them a quick report. I took the baby out to the LSU and climbed in the back with the Paramedic, Rich Lemon. I continued CPR and rescue breathing as Rich started an IV and put in a breathing tube. The Fire fighters got the mom ready for transport and loaded her up in the LSU. We took off code three to Glenn Medical Center ER.
As soon as we pulled into the ER, we took the baby in one room and they took the Mom and Parents into another room. I stayed with the baby and continued chest compressions. Glenn Medical Center launched the UC Davis Pediatric NICU team on there helicopter. For the next 45 minutes we worked on that baby. We did continued protocol until they landed. I remember hearing them land in the parking lot. I felt so relieved and exhausted. The UC Davis team asked us to stay and continue, while they did what they needed to do. We spent another hour to hour and half working on her. Then finally we got a heart beat....so I stopped chest compressions and just bagged the baby, which is using a bag valve mask that is hooked to the breathing tube Rich placed, to push little breaths into her lungs. Once we got a heart rate they wanted to transport the baby. They loaded the baby into the transport unit that locks into the floor of the helicopter. The NICU nurse took over the bagging and they started there roters and flew off.
That quick it was over. Everything had went silent. It went from complete craziness to complete silence. Later that day I received a call from UC Davis and they said the baby was alive, but not breathing on her own yet. I was just so happy she was alive and the family would have at least a few hours with her, if nothing else. Over the next few days UC Davis would call and give us updates on her. Then she started to get a little better each day.
A couple weeks later our neighbor the Grandmother came over and said that they were not aware of the pregnancy and there daughter did not know she was pregnant either. That's when they told me they named the baby after me. They named her Nichole Martell.
The Mother was extremely mentally retarded and was not able to raise the baby, so they put her up for adoption. Baby Nichole Martell was adopted prior to her leaving UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento.
Before we moved the neighbors would bring over pictures of her and give me updates on her growth.
Baby Nichole Martell was a beautiful baby girl who would never know how she came into this world. But she did come into this world, and she made it.
It was a beautiful May day. May 17, 2000 to be exact. I just got off a very busy shift and all I wanted to do was get the girls off to school, so I could crawl into bed for a few hours. And that's what I did, I crawled into bed and put my fire pager on the night stand next to me as usual. I must of drifted off to sleep, because a couple hours later I woke to my fire pager going off for an unknown medical aid.
We lived at 15 Sunset Dr. and the medical aid came over at 17 Sunset Dr., our neighbors house. About that time I heard a voice, a lady's voice screaming and pounding on my front door. With no time to change I ran to the door in my red flannel pajamas. My neighbor was screaming and asking for help. Her mentally disabled daughter had locked herself in the bathroom and would not come out. She was in the bathroom screaming it hurt and there was blood everywhere, she thought her insides were coming out.
I ran over with the Mom, still in my pajamas and got the bathroom door pushed open. I laid the daughter down on the bathroom floor and cut her pants off her so I could take a look. I was so scared, not sure what I was going to find. It took me a minute to figure out what was protruding out. Then I realized it was a baby. A very small premature baby. Not sure how to keep the Grandmother and Daughter calm.And most importantly to keep her from hurting me, her and the baby in such small quarters. I yelled for my husband who was in the living room talking with the Grandmother. I explained to him, what was going on so he could start breaking it to the Parents.
I stayed in the bathroom and delivered the very small baby girl. The baby was not crying, so I checked her airway and she was not breathing, then I checked for a heart rate. There was no heart rate. At that time I could hear the siren of the Ambulance coming up the street. I picked up the baby in my left arm and started chest compression and rescue breathing. While I was doing compressions I would try to calm the mom. Then I would have to breath another breath into the baby. I could hear the rest of the fire fighters and the on duty Ambulance crew coming in the house, My husband was giving them a quick report. I took the baby out to the LSU and climbed in the back with the Paramedic, Rich Lemon. I continued CPR and rescue breathing as Rich started an IV and put in a breathing tube. The Fire fighters got the mom ready for transport and loaded her up in the LSU. We took off code three to Glenn Medical Center ER.
As soon as we pulled into the ER, we took the baby in one room and they took the Mom and Parents into another room. I stayed with the baby and continued chest compressions. Glenn Medical Center launched the UC Davis Pediatric NICU team on there helicopter. For the next 45 minutes we worked on that baby. We did continued protocol until they landed. I remember hearing them land in the parking lot. I felt so relieved and exhausted. The UC Davis team asked us to stay and continue, while they did what they needed to do. We spent another hour to hour and half working on her. Then finally we got a heart beat....so I stopped chest compressions and just bagged the baby, which is using a bag valve mask that is hooked to the breathing tube Rich placed, to push little breaths into her lungs. Once we got a heart rate they wanted to transport the baby. They loaded the baby into the transport unit that locks into the floor of the helicopter. The NICU nurse took over the bagging and they started there roters and flew off.
That quick it was over. Everything had went silent. It went from complete craziness to complete silence. Later that day I received a call from UC Davis and they said the baby was alive, but not breathing on her own yet. I was just so happy she was alive and the family would have at least a few hours with her, if nothing else. Over the next few days UC Davis would call and give us updates on her. Then she started to get a little better each day.
A couple weeks later our neighbor the Grandmother came over and said that they were not aware of the pregnancy and there daughter did not know she was pregnant either. That's when they told me they named the baby after me. They named her Nichole Martell.
The Mother was extremely mentally retarded and was not able to raise the baby, so they put her up for adoption. Baby Nichole Martell was adopted prior to her leaving UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento.
Before we moved the neighbors would bring over pictures of her and give me updates on her growth.
Baby Nichole Martell was a beautiful baby girl who would never know how she came into this world. But she did come into this world, and she made it.
Have you ever sold your home and moved to a place you have never been? The Ramsey family did. We lived a a small farming town on I-5 in northern California. We had just bought our first home and had put alot of work into it. It was the perfect home for us. We were very happy.
My husband and I were set in our jobs and roles in the community of Glenn County. My husband worked for Burrows Oil as a tanker driver and I worked at North State Title as an Escrow Officer. In our spare time we were volenteers on the City Fire Department, we were also on the Little League board of Trustees and the Safty Officers, and coatched the girls fast pitch softball team.
Then one day in Feburary of 2004 my husband came home from work and he was so fired up about the state of California. His boss had a couple of ranches, one just out side of town. He had received a letter from the State of California about the ponds on his land. The state had started this new thing, flying over the ranches and checking the ponds. If the ponds were full from the rain water then the ranchers were sent a bill. A bill for catching rain water in the ponds, now that is just obsurb. As we were discussing this we were just imagining how bad it would be in ten years from now. We got to dreaming about living in the great outdoors and doing what we wanted without all the restrictions. We were just discussing and dreaming, thats really all. The next day David went to work and they were all still fired up about the letter and the all the other thing the state of California was doing. Mr. Burrows started talking about all the places he has traveled and hunted like Alaska, Montana, Colorado, Idaho and Wyoming. Well that got David thinking and he started to look around on the intranet. We started to notice the beautiful mountains and rivers and all the out door activity they allow and encourage. We started to look into the local laws and making calls. We looked into things like car licence, dog licence, property tax, sales tax and anything else we could think of. We were still just dreaming. We let it go and went back to our normal lives.
Then a few months went by and our girls were at my brothers house, and his neighbor lured our oldest daughter Jessica into his apartment and locked the door. My nephews started to bang on his door and scream to be let in. He took jessica into his room and she had to fight him off and climb out his window to get away. The short of it is the man tried to rape her and he only spent two days in jail, because she got away. The Police said that since there was not a rape and she got away then they could not do much more. Over the next few monthes, when we were down town at the store or movie theater we would see him. It angered me and upset Jessica.
Thats when we sat down the girls Jessica, 13 and Jamie 11 and told them about our thoughts and dreams about living in the outdoors. We were shocked when the girls were up for the adventure.
From there it all happened so quick. We had a family meeting with our parents and siblings and let them in on what we were doing. They thought we were crazy, since we have never been to Montana and really was not sure how to pronounce Kalispell.
We put a for sale sign in the yard, and had a cash buyer in 5 days. We were so shocked it happened so quick. There was no turning back now! We gave our notices at work and closed escrow in two weeks. Packed everything we owned between 3 trailers. Our four wheeler trailer, a 28 foot inclosed cargo trailer and our 5th wheel. I will never forget the day we left Willows. My Mom pulled the 28 foot trailer, I pulled the 18 foot four wheeler trailer and David pulled the 5th wheel. We pulled right out of town with no idea where we were going or what was instore for us. All we knew was we were leaving the only home our children have ever known and our family. We pulled the trailers to Oregon and parked them at my Moms place for the summer as we traveled the US and looked around.We wanted to make sure Kalispell Montana was the perfect place for us. And it was. We are so happy we made the move and have not looked back since.
My husband and I were set in our jobs and roles in the community of Glenn County. My husband worked for Burrows Oil as a tanker driver and I worked at North State Title as an Escrow Officer. In our spare time we were volenteers on the City Fire Department, we were also on the Little League board of Trustees and the Safty Officers, and coatched the girls fast pitch softball team.
Then one day in Feburary of 2004 my husband came home from work and he was so fired up about the state of California. His boss had a couple of ranches, one just out side of town. He had received a letter from the State of California about the ponds on his land. The state had started this new thing, flying over the ranches and checking the ponds. If the ponds were full from the rain water then the ranchers were sent a bill. A bill for catching rain water in the ponds, now that is just obsurb. As we were discussing this we were just imagining how bad it would be in ten years from now. We got to dreaming about living in the great outdoors and doing what we wanted without all the restrictions. We were just discussing and dreaming, thats really all. The next day David went to work and they were all still fired up about the letter and the all the other thing the state of California was doing. Mr. Burrows started talking about all the places he has traveled and hunted like Alaska, Montana, Colorado, Idaho and Wyoming. Well that got David thinking and he started to look around on the intranet. We started to notice the beautiful mountains and rivers and all the out door activity they allow and encourage. We started to look into the local laws and making calls. We looked into things like car licence, dog licence, property tax, sales tax and anything else we could think of. We were still just dreaming. We let it go and went back to our normal lives.
Then a few months went by and our girls were at my brothers house, and his neighbor lured our oldest daughter Jessica into his apartment and locked the door. My nephews started to bang on his door and scream to be let in. He took jessica into his room and she had to fight him off and climb out his window to get away. The short of it is the man tried to rape her and he only spent two days in jail, because she got away. The Police said that since there was not a rape and she got away then they could not do much more. Over the next few monthes, when we were down town at the store or movie theater we would see him. It angered me and upset Jessica.
Thats when we sat down the girls Jessica, 13 and Jamie 11 and told them about our thoughts and dreams about living in the outdoors. We were shocked when the girls were up for the adventure.
From there it all happened so quick. We had a family meeting with our parents and siblings and let them in on what we were doing. They thought we were crazy, since we have never been to Montana and really was not sure how to pronounce Kalispell.
We put a for sale sign in the yard, and had a cash buyer in 5 days. We were so shocked it happened so quick. There was no turning back now! We gave our notices at work and closed escrow in two weeks. Packed everything we owned between 3 trailers. Our four wheeler trailer, a 28 foot inclosed cargo trailer and our 5th wheel. I will never forget the day we left Willows. My Mom pulled the 28 foot trailer, I pulled the 18 foot four wheeler trailer and David pulled the 5th wheel. We pulled right out of town with no idea where we were going or what was instore for us. All we knew was we were leaving the only home our children have ever known and our family. We pulled the trailers to Oregon and parked them at my Moms place for the summer as we traveled the US and looked around.We wanted to make sure Kalispell Montana was the perfect place for us. And it was. We are so happy we made the move and have not looked back since.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
These are my 10 top have you ever:
1) Had a job you loved?
2) Went to 22 different schools?
3) Won a Contest?
4) Built a home?
5) Saved a life?
6) Lost a child?
7) Sold your home and moved to a place you have never been?
8) Lived in a 5th wheel for 18 months
9) Traveled the US for 3 months?
10) Become a Mother at 16?
1) Had a job you loved?
2) Went to 22 different schools?
3) Won a Contest?
4) Built a home?
5) Saved a life?
6) Lost a child?
7) Sold your home and moved to a place you have never been?
8) Lived in a 5th wheel for 18 months
9) Traveled the US for 3 months?
10) Become a Mother at 16?
Sunday, January 22, 2012
I think that google docs could be very helpful, in the orginazation aspect of things. I work at Kalispell Regional Medical center, as a Surgery Scheduler. Part of my job is taking minutes at meeting. I go to the meetings and take notes on each subject they talk about and the discussion of , and what they decide to do about it and who will be doing it. After the meeting I write up the minutes and make copies for the OR Charge Nurse and the OR Manager. They then look at the minutes and edit if needed. The document then comes back to me again to make more changes on. It is a long process, it would be much easier if we were all set up on google docs. That way we would all be on the same page all the time.
The other way google docs could help me is also at work. With the new Surgical Tower being built, I am consistantly making list of new surgical equipment, light, booms, surgical tables, and instruments we will be purchasing for the new OR. Each week we have a different Rep coming in with there machines for the Surgons to try. The Surgons then fill out an evaluation on the equipment or instruments. I then compile those evaluations into spread sheets. From those spread sheets the OR Manager and the OR Director decide what they plan to order and put in the new OR. My Spread sheets are always being updated and revised. It would be nice if we could all see it, revise it, and view it anytime they want.
The other way google docs could help me is also at work. With the new Surgical Tower being built, I am consistantly making list of new surgical equipment, light, booms, surgical tables, and instruments we will be purchasing for the new OR. Each week we have a different Rep coming in with there machines for the Surgons to try. The Surgons then fill out an evaluation on the equipment or instruments. I then compile those evaluations into spread sheets. From those spread sheets the OR Manager and the OR Director decide what they plan to order and put in the new OR. My Spread sheets are always being updated and revised. It would be nice if we could all see it, revise it, and view it anytime they want.
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