CPR…It’s A Lifesaver

Ever feel helpless in a serious situation????

So, you’re in a restaurant and someone starts to choke.  You know what to do–get someone to call 911 and do the heimlich maneuver.  That’s easy.  So they are choking, you use the said technique to dislodge unsaid choking hazard.  Good job!!!  But, what do you do if you can’t dislodge that choking hazard and they go unconscious.  That’s easy, assist them to the floor and do abdominal thrusts.  Let’s just say that the ab thrusts work and the hazard is dislodged.  Excellent!!!  You look down and notice they have not started breathing on their own.  You feel to see if they have a pulse. Nothing.  The national average time for EMS to arrive is somewhere around seven to ten minutes.  Can you hold your breath for ten minutes?????

Definitions for this blog:

CPR- Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation

AED- Automated External Defibrilator

Can anyone say CPR.  As a paramedic, it is not just my job to be there for people who are in trouble, hurt, or worse.  It is also an unsaid conviction that I should be an advocate for prevention and to stress the need for the general public to be involved in emergency care of individuals by learning CPR and AED use.  I won’t accept the excuse that it is too hard, or that you don’t have time.  I know of 6 year olds that know CPR (do you think a 6 year old thinks they have the time to sit and learn that); and the AED, don’t even kid yourself.  It is in the name-AUTOMATED.  There are instructions on the machine that give you step by step instructions on what to do.  Including “turn on AED”.  Couldn’t be any easier.  There are those of you out there thinking that you will never use it or that you couldn’t possible be cool enough under pressure to use what you will learn.  I can tell you from conviction, not experience, that I would rather know it and never use it than not know it and watch someone suffer or possibly die because I had the chance to learn CPR and didn’t.  I will guarantee you that the life you save is someones daughter, son, father, mother-someone very important to someone.  That someone might possibly be you.  Wouldn’t you want to be prepared for that kind of an emergency even if you only learn it just in case for your family or loved ones.  Take the time to learn it.  You will not regret it.  If you need information on where to go or what to do, I will be glad to help you and get the information for you.  All you have to do is express the desire to be prepared to save someones life if the need arises.  That doesn’t sound so tough to me.  Please, take the time to learn CPR.  If you have a family, make it a family activity.  There can never be enough CPR trained individuals.  Thank you in advance for your help.  Remember, the life you save knowing CPR, could be someone very close to you.

Copyright 2006

Brandon W. Crews

Tribute

For as long as I can remember, my mom worked in bookstores.  Sometimes 3 of them at a time.  She did a few days here and a few days there.  Never completely full time.  Never trully appreciated.  And as far as I can tell, never really feeling like she was getting anywhere.  No insurance. No retirement.  No vacation, sick days, or even holidays for that matter.  She was off on Christmas, Thanksgiving, and the like.  Other than that, nothing else.  This is an instance that a person can be proud of their parent.  My mom is now working at Big Bend National Park, in south Texas.  She is a supervisor at the front desk of the hotel and also does reservations.   She has a working knowledge of a device she had only used before to play solitiare.  She makes tons of reservations in a day as well as checking people in and out of the hotel.  She lives in a park for free and enjoys all of the things in the park that people save up for a year to go on vacation and see.  She can tell you about the climate, the wildlife, the food, the culture, and probably anything else you would ever want to know about the area.  From a bookseller in Amarillo, Tx to a supervisor down in Big Bend National Park, Tx.  We’re proud of you mom, and we love you!!!  Keep it up.

Copyright 2006

Brandon W. Crews

Screwed

You know, I have to say that I never saw this one coming.  I got called into the office this week up in Glacier Park and was handed a laundry list of reasons why I was fired.  Those of you that know me know that I would never get fired from a job because I have never worked anywhere that I didn’t put my whole heart into.  I won’t bore you with the details…let’s just say it was a great effort at getting rid of me.  Bravo GPI.  Way to change someones life with no regard for what they have done for you.  I was handed a near impossible job and given no help to get it accomplished.  Then, I got fired for not getting it done.  Actually they fired me for a conflict of interest.  But on to bigger and better.  I am now the Kitchen Manager at Jackson Lake Lodge in Grand Teton National Park.  It sounds promising.  And you should see the view from my corner office…hehehe.  Really?  Do you think I would get a corner office?  No…but my job takes me all over the lodge running two restaurants, a grill, and banquets.  I mean come on.  There are 30 foot tall windows that line the entire back side of the lodge looking out over the Tetons and Jackson Lake.  Try beating that!  Anyway…I could keep going.  The point is…they put me down and I kicked them around.  Let this be a lesson to everyone…if you get screwed, make a screwdriver with top shelf Vodka.

Copyright 2007

Brandon W. Crews

Just Plain Stupid

Ok people, back me up here.  In Wyoming, the news paper just printed a story this week about wolves.  It said that a new law was being put forward that would allow wolves to be killed if they were “harassing wildlife”.  Please tell me I’m not the only one that remembers that wolves are wildlife.  Then, as if the story doesn’t sound stupid enough, they go on to talk about the effect that wolves have on the cattle business.  Now someone correct me if I’m wrong…aren’t cattle domesticated??  They are not wildlife by far.  Now I know it is heartless of me, but who was it that decided to raise cattle next to the natural living areas of wolves.  To our credit, it wasn’t a Texan.  We don’t have that issue down there.  We know that we can raise cattle in Texas without worrying about predators.  That’s why there are so many cattle ranchers that don’t ski or like snow.  Where there is snow and mountains, there are predators.  You know bears, wolves, mountain lions….  Maybe there is a little bit of a soap box there.  It stands to reason though, especially in a region that is so hell bent on protection of natural resources, that you would not remove such natural habitants as wolves.  Oh, I’m sorry, they already hunted them to extinction once before, put them on a protection list, had to reintroduce them into the parks is Wyoming, and now we are going to start the cycle all over again.  Wow, history really does repeat itself!!!

Copyright 2007

Brandon W. Crews

Sleepless Night

I just wanted to throw something out there.  I have heard before that people dream certain things and wake up in a dream effected mood.  I believe I did that for the first time today.  Now, noone should ask me when, why, what, or how.  It really doesn’t matter.  It was just a dream.  I was cruising through my sleep on a plane that was showing a certain in-flight movie.  Unfortunately, I woke up in the middle of that movie and carried it into my day.  It sucks, it really does.  I have compassion for anyone who has ever done the same thing.  Especially when it effects the people around you.  Luckily, due to the circumstances, I didn’t have any negative effects on people I love.  I always hated it when there was just a little tension through the day and it was all brought on by a dream.  No fault of anyone…just a dream.  Yet, it makes life difficult…and hurts sometimes.  Just a dream yet so costly in terms of emotion and energy.  So, with that out there, I have to say that I understand what you feel sometimes Love.  No fault, no foul.  It just is.

Copyright 2007

Brandon W. Crews

Blatency

No the title has nothing to do with what I am going to write.  It was a word that I thought was cool and it came to mind first thing when I thought about a subject.  However, I figured I would discuss a few things on my mind.

I haven’t written in a while.  You would never guess the reason why.  It has been a hell of a summer.  I do mean HELL.  In the most hellish sense of the word.  Know what I mean?  I left a great job for the opportunity to get some more training while working at a job in Montana.  I had my training set up with the local EMS and NPS EMS.  My status would help the community, including my employer, and give me some more experience. Somewhere in the midst of trying to manage an employee dining room that I didn’t have enough help to manage efficiently or enough people on my side to help me get the people to accomplish this daunting task, I got let go.  The person doing the ”letting go” had a laundry list of things that I didn’t accomplish within literally 3 days of being informed of them.  Things that, along with feeding over 250 people, I really needed more hands to be able to accomplish.  When I mentioned this and the fact that I told them exactly what I needed and they didn’t comply, they had more things to mention on this list.  Needless to say lost cause.  So Brandi and I ended up opening the resort for the season and then leaving…convenient.

So on to Jackson Lake Lodge in Grand Teton National Park.  Can anyone say that you would enjoy working for a company when it was made well known to everyone that the only reason you were there was because of someone else.  And made to know this after coming back to work from a major medical problem.  That problem being known only to those that are closest to us.  Coming back to work from this medical leave, she was made to feel like it was no big deal and she should be able to do all the work she was hired to do…no way this was going to happen…doctors note and all.  So we were only there for another 2 weeks to work out my notice…which I was conveniently let go before  my end date.

So on to the job that I found in the town of Jackson.  I won’t bore you with the details or the name of the business.  I was hired to take over as the restaurant manager.  I had worked there almost 2 months.  I gave a 2 week notice that I needed to go home when my dad was scheduled for open heart surgery.  I was given an excuse why I couldn’t go but was told that after a certain employee got back from vacation, I could go home.  So when said individual returned from vacation, I was told they were working on a way to get me the time off.  A week later, I have to tell them I am going home for a time.  I gave them a note which told them the situation, the days I needed off and when I would be back.  After being at home and seeing my dad and making sure everything was ok, we returned to Wyoming to having no job and no home…along with a list of why we were “let go”.  This time it will not work.  I was home on what would be covered by the family medical leave act.  None the less…f*&%ed again.

Three times this summer we have been at a job and been screwed by it.  I am a professional and so is my wife.  How exactly is it that we found the jobs this summer that don’t care about people or their work ethic.  Trust me, I was a manager at each job I was at this summer…I supervised these people.  It wasn’t the pick of the litter.  I have to say I am done with the seasonal thing.  It doesn’t matter how hard you work or how well you do your job, if you aren’t upper management and irreplaceable, they don’t care.  That is my summer.  I have a ton of great memories in the midst of it all, but still, a human can only take so much.  We haven’t even gotten our stuff from Wyoming…it really does suck.  Thanks for the bitching platform…I’ll return it to the democrats….

Copyright 2008

Brandon W. Crews

The Fortune Cookie

So… this has been an interesting day.  Through the last two weeks, my little brother has had the misfortune of losing anywhere from 5-7 bets to me totaling $12.  Today he lost one more and made that total $24.  So on this day, I decided to give him a chance to earn the money back (double or nothing) by putting that money on the Super Bowl.  He denied it even if I took the Giants.  When we went to get dinner, we got Chop Chop and received 2 fortune cookies.  Little Bro had the first choice and took his cookie.  His fortune said, “Listen attentively, you will come out ahead in the coming week.”  Good fortune wouldn’t you say?  He thought so too and decided to go ahead and make the Super Bowl bet placing his $24 on yet another double or nothing bet.  A few minutes later, I opened my fortune cookie.  My fortune was,”You will soon have the opportunity to improve your finances.”  He quickly tried to back out of the bet.  But he agreed that he had already wagered and was willing to stick to it.  So here is the question…how good are fortune cookies at predicting your future?  I think we will find out Sunday!!!

 Copyright 2008

Brandon W. Crews

The Vote!

People like to use the term democracy to describe the United States. That is incorrect. The United States is a representative republic. That is why we have elected officials who represent the population. That said, it seems to me that everyone is ok with the voting system until they don’t get what they want. Bush was elected into office and we spent the next 8 years hearing about the lying and cheating that got him there. While Clinton was in office, he caused a huge mess that had people talking impeachment until the end of his term. Politicians and politics do not represent the people or the United States. Every person walking the streets of the U.S. is a representative of this great nation.

If each of us represents what we want, and maybe what a larger group of people wants, why is putting the smoking ban up for a vote so invasive on peoples rights? Smoking is something that effects more than just the person smoking. When a company uses products that release pollutants that have been proven to cause illnesses such as cancer or COPD, there are lawyers lined up around the block to make sure that the company discontinues using those products and that any by-products are dealt with properly and disposed of. Yet when people mention the damage that tobacco smoke causes, they are met with stiff resistance based on the personal rights of what is starting to be seen as a minority. Smokers and non-smokers alike have the right to eat wherever they like. If a majority of the people in this population want to be able to eat and relax in a smoke-free environment, isn’t that their right as well. Majority rules right?

Just for fun, let’s say that smoking marijuana is legal and it can be used in public just like tobacco. Marijuana has never been proven to cause the damage that tobacco smoke has, yet I am fairly certain there is a large number of smokers who would not support smoking marijuana in public. I would go so far as to say there would be great turmoil caused, not just by smokers, but by a significant portion of non-smokers that disagree with the use of marijuana in public. It would be based on all the same arguments that non-smokers currently argue. They don’t want to be effected by it, they don’t want their kids effected by it, they don’t want to have to eat around it, and they don’t want to drink around it. Yes there are other issues at hand with this example, but the point is made.

I am a non-smoker. However, I also support a smokers right to do whatever they choose in their own privacy and where it is legal and allowed in public. This is as simple as it gets. Each person gets 1 vote to stand up for what they want. Just like with any other issue, there will be people who get what they want and those who don’t. I would much rather the issue come down to my vote than be put in the hands of a judge, win or lose. If the smoking ban doesn’t pass, my life won’t change. If it does, then my vote counted for something. If this issue really irritates you, then go to the polls and voice your opinion. Make your voice heard. If the complainants don’t vote on this issue, then all the ranting and raving you have done is just a whisper that will be dismissed as the blowing Texas wind. But, if you vote, win or lose, you stand with everyone else that feels the way you do and the noise you make will be heard and long echoed.

Copyright 2008

Brandon W. Crews