Enter into a realm you have never been before. This post is for you, the readers.  Thank you for your support and your encouragement for me to continue writing.  It has been difficult for me to find the time and the right mood for writing these days.  However, I will do my best to put in a post here and there.  I want to thank all those who continues to read this blog, and I hope you will find your inspiration to continue pursuing your dreams and what you love. ——————————————————————————————————— It was one of those nights again.  Every time I work with Jessica I know ..read more

I had an interesting call the other day and thought I’d share it with you as a case study.  Please feel free to post any thoughts on this call in the comments section. Vancouver Night Life   It was in the evening and so far the night shift has been busy.  Just as you get back to the station you get another call.  It comes in as a Code 3 for a possible stroke by the side of the highway.  It was easy to find the vehicle your patient was in because a police officer was already on scene.  As your partner pulls the ambulance to a safe location, your pull on your gloves ..read more

When I first started developing symptoms of PTSD, it was all very confusing.  The main emotion that came up for me was sadness.  However, it was not a normal sadness, it was a supercharged sadness.  It comes up with an intensity that is difficult to describe unless you have experienced it. What I truly couldn’t understand at the time, were why these emotions kept on coming up.  It seemed any small emotion, thought, sound or even the way someone would talk to me would trigger it.  I had no control over my emotions and it was extremely unsettling.  I would also ..read more

The truth can hurt. The truth can be scary. No worse, it can be terrifying. But the truth needs to be heard. Because the truth is powerful. And the truth can break boundaries, stigma, and connect people. The truth can heal. The truth is, I have PTSD. I had trouble writing in this blog ever since I started getting PTSD symptoms.  My posts dwindled because PTSD sucked all my passion out of paramedicine.  Without my passion, I found it impossible to write, because often times I need to feel in order to write.  With PTSD, sometimes it’s hard to feel, a lot of the times I’m just num ..read more

Today I want to touch on two topics that goes hand in hand:  Happiness & stress. When I tell people I work as a paramedic, they automatically relate to the job as being stressful.  That is true.  They often relate to stress as a paramedic from the calls we get, the things we see.  That is also true.  However most people don’t think about the everyday stresses we get, which is not related to the calls we do.  In fact over the last 5 years it is the every day stress that gets to me more than the calls.  It is the chronic stress that builds up and creates b ..read more

We arrived on scene, Fire was already there with the patient.  I was informed this patient was having shortness of breath, felt dizzy and had blurred vision. Patient:  “I have Wolf Parkinson’s White Syndrome”. I’ve only ever had one patient with this syndrome before, it affects the wiring in your heart and can cause irregular heart beat. Me:  “When did this start?” Patient:  “Maybe 15 minutes ago?  Normally it only lasts a minute and it goes away, this is the worst I’ve ever had it.” I checked his pulse and it was rapid and irregular. Patient:  “It got worse ..read more

This is a little late, however, it is always better late than never right?  I want to thank you (yes! you readers) once again for your support.  I know I have not been as active the last year, due to a variety of reasons, but 2014 has been a very good year for me.  I remember posting in the beginning of 2014 that I had a good feeling about this year, that it was a new beginning for me in so many ways and it was so true.  I look forward to 2015 and hopefully I will be able to pop a few posts here and there for you   For those who are pursuing your paramedic dream, keep ..read more

I am about to doze off when my pager yelps its insistent static voice at me. Ughh… this always happens, dispatch always have impeccable timing on night shifts. Dispatch: “99 Fox, pre-alert.” I scramble out of bed and pull on my boots. Me: “What do you want to do tonight?” Partner: “I’d prefer driving if you don’t mind.” Me: “Sure, that’s all good with me.” I wonder what intoxicated person we are going to pick up tonight. I hop into the ambulance, and log onto the CAD (Computer Assisted Dispatch) device. The call didn’t show up. Radio: 98 Kilo, respond code 3 to back up 99 Fox Hmm that d ..read more

Nothing ever goes away until it has taught us what we need to know. – Pema Chodron Below is a story that is very personal, and I didn’t have the courage to post it until now.  By posting this, I am hoping it can shed some light to the families who are trying to understand what their loved ones may be going through during such a difficult time in their lives, and for those who are going through CIS (Critical Incident Stress) or PTSD themselves, that you are never alone.  Everybody’s story is different, everybody’s trigger point is different, and each story is unique.  Here’s my ..read more

Hi everybody, It never seizes to surprise me when I receive the annual report on my blog.  I have been relatively inactive in the last year (2013) as life has gotten quite busy, and I find it a struggle to write amongst my busy schedule and shift work patterns.  I want to thank all of you, the readers, for your support and the wonderful comments.  I hope to be able to write more in 2014, but will have to see what life brings me. I hope everybody has a wonderful New Year!  Once again, thank you for your support! Below is the summary of 2013: The WordPress.com stats helper mo ..read more