so, i've been in bed for a week now from my knee surgery and a person can only be online for so long before he runs out of stuff to do.. i thought i'd put this video on here cause its made me laugh every time i've watched it..
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
thirteenth..
a new beginning with firefighting..
i recently went on my first real call last wednesday.. it was quite the experience and i am forever affected by it.. on wed. i was riding around town with one of our new captains (j.smith).. he was showin me around the parts of felton that felton fire covers.. we made our rounds and he treated to lunch.. after lunch our pagers went off and we rushed back to the station to hop in the engine with the chief and the three of us took off code 3 (lights and sirens).. when we were half way there, net com (our dispatch) told us that CPR was in progress.. capt. smith looked back at me and asked if i'd been through CPR training and i told him yes.. so, he said that when we arrive on scene, he wanted me to take over for the person on scene and begin compressions (chest pumps)..
when we arrived on scene i started to get nervous but kept my cool.. we walked up the driveway and there was a woman on the ground.. the capt. and i repositioned her then continued with the CPR.. i kept the compressions until the paramedics arrived in the ambulance.. it was such a intense period of time because though i am only at the beginning of my firefighting career and training, it was a challenge to not let my emotions affect me.. this woman's life was in the hands of the care givers present..
during CPR we could not get oxygen into her lungs.. we still proceeded with CPR because she didn't have a pulse so the compressions at least circulated the oxygen in her blood for a short time.. the woman had a history of asthma and we found an inhaler on the ground.. it seemed that she had a asthma attack, which closed her airways in her lungs, which prevented her body from getting oxygen.. even though we tried to give her oxygen, her lungs wouldn't take it in..
eventually the medics did get there and gave her some drugs to help the lungs relax and take in the oxygen.. they still couldn't get a pulse so we had to continue with CPR.. i rode with another felton firefighter in the ambulance to do compressions while en-route to the hospital.. while backing up the ambulance so we could turn around and head to the hospital, the driver backed us off the side of the road and got the ambulance stuck with 3 wheels on the ground and the rear-right tire hangin about 2 feet off the drop.. it was pretty scary sitting in the ambulance and all of sudden our back side lookin like it was gonna go off a cliff.. strangely though, when the ambulance went kerplunk, the woman's pulse came back.. that was good at least..
to make an already long story short, we fought for her pulse over and over, losing it then getting it back.. regardless of the hearts activity, it seemed that this woman possibly went way too long without oxygen to her body but most importantly her brain.. i don't know her outcome from the emergency, but statistically it doesn't look good.. "brain death starts to occurs 4-6 minutes after someone experiences cardiac arrest if no CPR and defibrillation occurs during that time".. we were probably on-scene for about 15-20 minutes before the medics got there and gave her the medicine..
all this to say, i gave CPR for the first time and i realize how important of a skill it is.. the american heart association says that 75-80% of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests happen at home.. so, being trained in CPR can really make a difference between life and death for a loved one.. here are some important facts..
*Approximately 95 percent of sudden cardiac arrest victims die before reaching the hospital
*Effective bystander CPR, provided immediately after cardiac arrest, can double a victim’s chance of survival
*Death from sudden cardiac arrest is not inevitable. If more people knew CPR, more lives could be saved
after we finished the call, i talk to the captain about the call.. there were a lot of things that i learned.. the main thing that i thought about is that if this is the line of work i feel called to (which it is), then i am going to experience a career of life and death.. i didn't feel scared of firefighting but rather more drawn to it.. i hope to make a difference in whatever way possible through providing physical and even emotion care to those in need.. it was a new beginning for me.. very proud of those that do this day in day out..
i recently went on my first real call last wednesday.. it was quite the experience and i am forever affected by it.. on wed. i was riding around town with one of our new captains (j.smith).. he was showin me around the parts of felton that felton fire covers.. we made our rounds and he treated to lunch.. after lunch our pagers went off and we rushed back to the station to hop in the engine with the chief and the three of us took off code 3 (lights and sirens).. when we were half way there, net com (our dispatch) told us that CPR was in progress.. capt. smith looked back at me and asked if i'd been through CPR training and i told him yes.. so, he said that when we arrive on scene, he wanted me to take over for the person on scene and begin compressions (chest pumps)..
when we arrived on scene i started to get nervous but kept my cool.. we walked up the driveway and there was a woman on the ground.. the capt. and i repositioned her then continued with the CPR.. i kept the compressions until the paramedics arrived in the ambulance.. it was such a intense period of time because though i am only at the beginning of my firefighting career and training, it was a challenge to not let my emotions affect me.. this woman's life was in the hands of the care givers present..
during CPR we could not get oxygen into her lungs.. we still proceeded with CPR because she didn't have a pulse so the compressions at least circulated the oxygen in her blood for a short time.. the woman had a history of asthma and we found an inhaler on the ground.. it seemed that she had a asthma attack, which closed her airways in her lungs, which prevented her body from getting oxygen.. even though we tried to give her oxygen, her lungs wouldn't take it in..
eventually the medics did get there and gave her some drugs to help the lungs relax and take in the oxygen.. they still couldn't get a pulse so we had to continue with CPR.. i rode with another felton firefighter in the ambulance to do compressions while en-route to the hospital.. while backing up the ambulance so we could turn around and head to the hospital, the driver backed us off the side of the road and got the ambulance stuck with 3 wheels on the ground and the rear-right tire hangin about 2 feet off the drop.. it was pretty scary sitting in the ambulance and all of sudden our back side lookin like it was gonna go off a cliff.. strangely though, when the ambulance went kerplunk, the woman's pulse came back.. that was good at least..
to make an already long story short, we fought for her pulse over and over, losing it then getting it back.. regardless of the hearts activity, it seemed that this woman possibly went way too long without oxygen to her body but most importantly her brain.. i don't know her outcome from the emergency, but statistically it doesn't look good.. "brain death starts to occurs 4-6 minutes after someone experiences cardiac arrest if no CPR and defibrillation occurs during that time".. we were probably on-scene for about 15-20 minutes before the medics got there and gave her the medicine..
all this to say, i gave CPR for the first time and i realize how important of a skill it is.. the american heart association says that 75-80% of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests happen at home.. so, being trained in CPR can really make a difference between life and death for a loved one.. here are some important facts..
*Approximately 95 percent of sudden cardiac arrest victims die before reaching the hospital
*Effective bystander CPR, provided immediately after cardiac arrest, can double a victim’s chance of survival
*Death from sudden cardiac arrest is not inevitable. If more people knew CPR, more lives could be saved
after we finished the call, i talk to the captain about the call.. there were a lot of things that i learned.. the main thing that i thought about is that if this is the line of work i feel called to (which it is), then i am going to experience a career of life and death.. i didn't feel scared of firefighting but rather more drawn to it.. i hope to make a difference in whatever way possible through providing physical and even emotion care to those in need.. it was a new beginning for me.. very proud of those that do this day in day out..
Friday, October 12, 2007
eleventh..
i realize that i haven't blogged on a lot of cool and not so cool stuff that have been happening in my life in the past few months.. i thought i'd go back and update on whats been goin on..
i'll start with the cool..
1. when shannon and i moved to california this past april (northern cali, felton, santa cruz area) i decided that now was the time for me to pursue a long life desire to be a firefighter.. it just so happened that the Felton Fire Department was looking to hire on more volunteer firefighters.. i decided to apply, went through interviews, a physical, and got accepted..
2. we witnessed the beautiful marriage of casey/shannon mara.. it was a really fun wedding and i was so honored to be a part of it.. the live carter band rock the house and i represented the aisea taimani limbo skills.. oish..
3. went to arizona to meet the new nephew.. awesome time with the family.. got the nephy some baby jordans.. every young man needs a pair of 23's..
4. from az, i flew to virigina to take part in the tim/courtney fair wedding.. went fishing in the ocean for tim's bachelor deal.. realized that i was a master fisherman, but for only six hours in the atlantic (they were small fish but still fish that i caught).. it was so good to reunite with friends from johnson bible college (the school i went to from 2004-06)..
5. shannon and i found a church that we really like and we got involved with a newlywed community group that has been really special for us.. there are 8 couples total so it makes for a real good time.. everyone brings something different to the table so its awesome..
6. i have really been enjoying the firefighting.. the training has been awesome and i am learning more and more about the fire service.. i am lookin to make a career in firefighting so it has been very exciting to pursue somethin wholeheartedly that i believe i will be doin for the rest of my life and that i also feel called to.. i got CPR and 1st responder certified and am now going through my EMT-Basic course to be more involved in our medical calls here in felton..
the things about being a volunteer firefighter, its as if i get to do 95% of what normal full-time firefighters do but just without the income.. i dont mind the financial aspect because i still get paid per call and training session (1 per week) but the biggest thing is i get all the experience now which is very valuable.. we have two full-time paid positions there (the chief and an engineer) and about 30 of us are volunteers with other full-time jobs.. some of them work as full-time firefighters elsewhere and volunteer there on their days off.. im just a carpenter/firefighter..
7. in california, there is CALFIRE.. calfire was formerly known as CDF (california department of forestry and fire protection).. calfire is pretty much firefighting but wildland firefighting (all land/brush/wild fires/non-structure fires).. i decided to try to get on with calfire as my new full-time job for the 2008 season.. i have to finish my EMT, and take 2 other classes before i can interview in february..
8. now through the blessing of health/dental insurance, i have been able to go to the dentist office after a 10+ year absence.. its been too long.. i have cavities and wisdom to pull..
9. shannon got to go to arizona to see the family and co/throw a baby shower for kerry and tracey's baby ryan due really soon.. while she was gone, i decided to visit my big brosky aisea in santa monica, ca.. it was a lot of fun and we ended up goin with LA younglife leader retreat over the weekend i was there.. i got to help my bro with worship and i also went paintballin for the first time.. i learned the harsh reality that in paintball, the nice guys finish last.. i will show no mercy the next time..
now for the not-so-cool..
1. when shannon and i moved here in april, she got pregnant.. many folks knew that already but most didnt know that we also had a miscarriage after the first month.. shannon got really sick and i had to take her to the emergency room.. it was a scary and painful time but we have been able to receive healing and comfort from the situation.. mount hermon (where we live and shannon works) gave us a baby redwood tree to plant here on property to take care of it.. that was really nice of them..
2. i got in a wreck that totaled our audi that we only had for 4 months.. it was the day after shannon's birthday.. not the kind of surprise she was expecting.. we did however end up buying a brand new 2007, 4 door, honda civic with only 5 miles on it..
3. i joined a church basketball league and on the first game i busted my knee up really bad.. i wrote the details of it on the last blog.. due to the injury i now have plenty of time to blog.. bitter sweet..
4. the injury has put a huge time crunch on me with trying to get my classes completed before the CALFIRE hiring period.. if i dont heal in time for the classes, then i wont be able to apply, therefore i will not be able to get on as planned until the 2009 fire season which fumbles my/our financial plans for the next year.. it puts a challenge on paying for our new furniture, school loans, new car loan, dental expenses, knee surgery, and on top of that, doing it on one source of income while im not workin..
wow, that was a whole lotta but to say the least, it has been as interesting first 6.5 months in california and its been challenging but god has been good and faithful and we trust him with our lives and future.. i plan to not have to write a blog this long ever again..
shalom..
vtaimani..
i'll start with the cool..
1. when shannon and i moved to california this past april (northern cali, felton, santa cruz area) i decided that now was the time for me to pursue a long life desire to be a firefighter.. it just so happened that the Felton Fire Department was looking to hire on more volunteer firefighters.. i decided to apply, went through interviews, a physical, and got accepted..
2. we witnessed the beautiful marriage of casey/shannon mara.. it was a really fun wedding and i was so honored to be a part of it.. the live carter band rock the house and i represented the aisea taimani limbo skills.. oish..
3. went to arizona to meet the new nephew.. awesome time with the family.. got the nephy some baby jordans.. every young man needs a pair of 23's..
4. from az, i flew to virigina to take part in the tim/courtney fair wedding.. went fishing in the ocean for tim's bachelor deal.. realized that i was a master fisherman, but for only six hours in the atlantic (they were small fish but still fish that i caught).. it was so good to reunite with friends from johnson bible college (the school i went to from 2004-06)..
5. shannon and i found a church that we really like and we got involved with a newlywed community group that has been really special for us.. there are 8 couples total so it makes for a real good time.. everyone brings something different to the table so its awesome..
6. i have really been enjoying the firefighting.. the training has been awesome and i am learning more and more about the fire service.. i am lookin to make a career in firefighting so it has been very exciting to pursue somethin wholeheartedly that i believe i will be doin for the rest of my life and that i also feel called to.. i got CPR and 1st responder certified and am now going through my EMT-Basic course to be more involved in our medical calls here in felton..
the things about being a volunteer firefighter, its as if i get to do 95% of what normal full-time firefighters do but just without the income.. i dont mind the financial aspect because i still get paid per call and training session (1 per week) but the biggest thing is i get all the experience now which is very valuable.. we have two full-time paid positions there (the chief and an engineer) and about 30 of us are volunteers with other full-time jobs.. some of them work as full-time firefighters elsewhere and volunteer there on their days off.. im just a carpenter/firefighter..
7. in california, there is CALFIRE.. calfire was formerly known as CDF (california department of forestry and fire protection).. calfire is pretty much firefighting but wildland firefighting (all land/brush/wild fires/non-structure fires).. i decided to try to get on with calfire as my new full-time job for the 2008 season.. i have to finish my EMT, and take 2 other classes before i can interview in february..
8. now through the blessing of health/dental insurance, i have been able to go to the dentist office after a 10+ year absence.. its been too long.. i have cavities and wisdom to pull..
9. shannon got to go to arizona to see the family and co/throw a baby shower for kerry and tracey's baby ryan due really soon.. while she was gone, i decided to visit my big brosky aisea in santa monica, ca.. it was a lot of fun and we ended up goin with LA younglife leader retreat over the weekend i was there.. i got to help my bro with worship and i also went paintballin for the first time.. i learned the harsh reality that in paintball, the nice guys finish last.. i will show no mercy the next time..
now for the not-so-cool..
1. when shannon and i moved here in april, she got pregnant.. many folks knew that already but most didnt know that we also had a miscarriage after the first month.. shannon got really sick and i had to take her to the emergency room.. it was a scary and painful time but we have been able to receive healing and comfort from the situation.. mount hermon (where we live and shannon works) gave us a baby redwood tree to plant here on property to take care of it.. that was really nice of them..
2. i got in a wreck that totaled our audi that we only had for 4 months.. it was the day after shannon's birthday.. not the kind of surprise she was expecting.. we did however end up buying a brand new 2007, 4 door, honda civic with only 5 miles on it..
3. i joined a church basketball league and on the first game i busted my knee up really bad.. i wrote the details of it on the last blog.. due to the injury i now have plenty of time to blog.. bitter sweet..
4. the injury has put a huge time crunch on me with trying to get my classes completed before the CALFIRE hiring period.. if i dont heal in time for the classes, then i wont be able to apply, therefore i will not be able to get on as planned until the 2009 fire season which fumbles my/our financial plans for the next year.. it puts a challenge on paying for our new furniture, school loans, new car loan, dental expenses, knee surgery, and on top of that, doing it on one source of income while im not workin..
wow, that was a whole lotta but to say the least, it has been as interesting first 6.5 months in california and its been challenging but god has been good and faithful and we trust him with our lives and future.. i plan to not have to write a blog this long ever again..
shalom..
vtaimani..
Monday, October 08, 2007
tenth..
I am not doing very good at this bloggin deal . I am currently disabled so hopefully that will allow me to blog regularly . what I mean by disabled is, I recently blew out my left knee last month playing basketball . to give you an idea... 1. COMPLETELY tore my A.C.L. - 2. tore my meniscus - 3. sprained my M.C.L. - 4. caused bruising and swelling on my femur and tibia from the rough impact, and - 5. sprained tendons on the left side of my left knee. That sure is a lot to go wrong with one injury but what can ya do. Anyway, I am going into surgery this Thursday so life will be interesting the next 3 months. I need to go to bed for now but I will be around the computer the next 3 months. Till then... good night
v.taimani
v.taimani
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