Almost outta here!

I do believe I have not been so excited to go on a vacation in a very long time. Been working on the trailer to make it a little less "ghetto". We put new walls up, re-insulated some walls, re-covered all the cushions, pulled all the carpet and put down new flooring, puled out the bathroom vanity and rebuilt the counter top. We also put up some battery powered lighting as there is no electric hookup where we are going. All in all I think we are ready to roll. We leave out Monday morning at 0500 hrs. The kids are NOT thrilled about getting up at 4 in the morning, but I predict they will sleep along the way. it is about 13 hours out there not counting potty breaks. I am guessing we will get there in time to set up camp and then go to sleep. I will try to blog wile on the trip as I can. Till next time - DJ

Getting closer

Yesterday was pretty cool. Having only 2 days at home this week has been different. I have to cram all of my family time, friend time and everything into 2 days. I guess normal people do that all the time, but I am used to having more days off. Anyway, I showed up at the kids school for the last few minutes of the school year. They were sooo excited to be getting out of school. We went to Subway for lunch and then I headed to Girard to tag the RV trailer. I am still pretty deep into renovations on the RV, but it is coming along nicely. Michelle and I decided to recover the pillows throughout the trailer. It was a pretty ambitious project that we did not start until after 6pm. Needless to say, we did not finish. I also made a sheld to replace the one that had to be removed. No all I have to do is re-panel the walls, insulate and paint inside. I do not think I will paint before the upcoming trip. I will try to fit it in, but I need to make sure it is usable first. I still need to do a water test and re-do the bathroom counters. I should be able to get that done in a day. Michelle is making curtains for it. Once all of that is done, we should be good to go. We are all looking forward to this trip. I think I am most of all. My work schedule will reduce quite a bit once we return. I am looking forward to lots of Risk games with my kids, lots of jammin with the guys and traveling. I have to work today and tomorrow, but Monday we are going to KC to get some eBay stuff to sell. That should be a fun day. - DJ

Bad timing

Well I got home yesterday and had a ton of packing to do. I sold a bunch of stuff on eBay and had to ship it out. Got done with that and wound up working on the travel trailer a bit. did some digging and found some severe water damage. I fixed the leak, but the damage was done. I wound up ripping out about a 1/3 rd of the walls down to stud. I had to replace some of the studs themselves. Also the front window was barely even hanging in the frame as the frame was rotted out and wet. I rebuilt the frame around the window and got it in just in time to have to go find shelter from an approaching tornado. It was pretty exciting. There was a distinctive wall cloud above us and a funnel cloud formed literally right on top of the house where we sought shelter. I loved it! I am into severe weather, but as far as my kids are concerned, I think safety first.

I am back at work today and get off on Friday. I then come back for my 3rd 48 hour shift on Saturday and Sunday. 120 total hours this week. That sux! But God wiling, I will make it till Monday. Then, just one more 48 hr shift till we leave for vacation! I am doing NOTHING! For at least 2 days....then maybe a hike through the mountains...or not. We will see. -DJ

Finally!

As much as I have enjoyed the laid back work load here at LaCygne station working for Linn County AMR, I am after all a paramedic. This means that my personality type lends itself to enjoying excitement, I am an admitted adrenalin junkie. So today we finally got a call. I have gone 2 weeks without seeing a single patient. Yep, 2 weeks have gone by since I have actually laid hands on an actual person in aid. We have pretty much watched TV, played playstation and lounged around for 2 weeks. In fact, I just got paid my 2 week check and did not do anything to earn it. I kind of feel guilty, but then again I won't be offering to give it back anytime soon.
Today we were called to a remote area for an unresponsive person. Possible overdose. The pt's sister could not wake her up. When we arrived, she was barely breathing and nothing would arouse her. We called in Life Net air transport service to meet us so the patient could get to the hospital quickly. I wound up putting an IV in her neck, giving medicine and intubating her en route. All in all a great intervention. We as medics live to use our skills in the field. Here is Linn county, it does not happen all that much. I get off tomorrow, but have to work a total of 3- 48 hour shifts this week. Should be fun, but boy will I be ready for my vacation at the end of the month. - DJ

Anybody out there?

Is anyone reading this? Please respond. I am not one to write without feedback.

An event to remember

Today I am back at work recovering from a very long weekend. I got home on Thursday afternoon and started getting ready for the Crawford County annual relay for life. It is a benefit for cancer. I was asked to set up and run PA services for the whole of the event. I was going to stay up late Thursday night so I could sleep in on Friday, so I could be prepared to stay up all night on Friday. I failed to sleep in but succeeded in staying up till 4 am on Thursday night into Friday. So to say the least, I started Friday with 3-4 hours of sleep. We got the gear to the site at about 1pm. Jess and I set most of it up and then stayed there at the field until 6am Saturday morning. My kids decided to join me there and they had fun. Shelden lasted until about 2am then fell asleep. I had set up an air mattress in the back of the trailer for them to crash in. Molly lasted till about 2-2:30, but Sammy made it all night long! He was dancing, goofing off and playing with his friend Ben all night. It was so funny to watch them gyrate and wiggle around to the music. We got home around 6:15 am. We hit the pillows and were out like a light. The rest of the weekend I was tired, but all went well. This week I will be going through the camper getting it ready for the upcoming trip to Colorado. Bye fir now.. - DJ