Archive for August, 2005
Situation Critical – Emergency Mobilization Underway
Posted by: | CommentsThe Friend of the Red Cross have united and are contributing to the disaster in Louisiana in unprecedented ways. Yet still there is need for more help. I have several comments about the disaster that may go against the grain of most commentators concerning this tragedy in our Gulf States.
Personally I do not attribute the flooding in New Orleans to the hurricane that recently swept through the area. What you say – surely the hurricane “caused” all of this flooding and destruction to the city. No that is incorrect, you heard this rightly, the hurricane did not cause the flooding and disaster in New Orleans. For a full account of the history of the gulf city I refer you to an NPR article by David Kestenbaum.
Despite the controversy over how to fix the problem in the dike, there are thousands of people stranded and in need of basic necessities. The Red Cross can help. The following is a plea from the folks at The Red Cross:
Thousands of desperate families are taking refuge from
Hurricane Katrina in more than 230 Red Cross shelters in the
affected areas.
– American Red Cross is launching the largest mobilization
of resources for a single natural disaster in our history.
– We’re preparing 500,000 hot meals a day to serve to
survivors who have no where else to turn.
– Several hundred emergency vehicles and thousands of ARC
staff and volunteers have been deployed from around the
country for immediate emergency assistance.
Red Cross disaster response teams are deploying to the
hardest hit communities to distribute drinking water and
other supplies to victims who were unable to flee from
Katrina.
Contributions are urgently needed to support the Red Cross
Disaster Relief Fund.
Last Days at Arrowhead Regional
Posted by: | CommentsThe end of the month is soon coming and the clinical rotation at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center is coming to an end. Gina Wald and I have been there for the past four months during our second General Surgery Anesthesia rotation and we both have enjoyed being at Arrowhead – for many reasons. Now that the time has come to wind up our clinical experience there, a time of reflection is coming.
Today there is real food for thought on where we have been and where we are going in the growth process during our nurse anesthesia training. For regular general surgery cases for the normal person I am feeling that I can handle this just fine. We call these patients ASA class I or II. For these patients and the surgical procedures that are the norm both Gina and I feel that we need very little help in the management of the anesthetic. Today was a different day.
There is still a lot of growth that needs to take place for the sicker patients. The Whipple surgery that I participated in today is a good example of what I need to further learn. All of the line placements were difficult for me today. In this poor 83-year-old man with pancreatic cancer we placed a thoracic epidural catheter, central venous IV access and attempted an arterial line. They were all difficult for me. The anesthesia was not a problem but the technical skills involved in the line placement were. So you see there is always room to grow. For me there is a lot of room. I am just very glad that Dr. Enwall has chosen to put me in the difficult rooms where the cases are tough. That is a good thing because I was getting a little tired of all of the ortho cases.
I will miss Arrowhead and remember it fondly. The rest of this years clinical rotations will bring so much. I will remember Arrowhead and the people that have taught me so much about anesthesia.
Inner Peace
Posted by: | CommentsThis is courtesy Ida, a good friend of mine
By following the simple advice I heard on a Dr. Phil Show, I have finally found inner peace. Dr. Phil proclaimed the way to achieve inner peace is to finish all the things you have started.
So I looked around my house to see things I started and hadn’t finished; and, before leaving the house this morning I finished off a bottle of Merlot, a bottle of Chardonnay, a bottle of Baileys, a bottle of Kahlua, a package of Oreo’s, the rest of the Cheesecake, some Saltines and a box of Godiva Chocolates.
You have no idea how good I feel.
Please pass this on to those you feel are in need of inner peace.
More Balboa Island Trip stuff
Posted by: | Comments
I just finished setting up my flicker account where you can view lots of photos. Here is a post from flickr directly to the weblog. Pretty cool I think.
You will find flickr to be useful and a productive tool for photo sharing.
Balboa Island Trip
Posted by: | CommentsThe trip to Newport Beach and Balboa Island this past Friday was really fantastic. Xiao Hui and Rebecca had a great time on the Ferris wheel ride overlooking the bay in front of Balboa Island before we took the ferry across the water to visit the little village there. To view the entire photo trip go to Flicker.
The Ferry Ride to the Island is really cheap – costing only less than a dollar American for a passenger and about one buck for a car. I guess the volume makes up for the cheap tickets. Once on Balboa Island the “cheap” factor goes out the window. A couple of years ago the median priced cottage was a couple of million dollars. Who knows what the current prices are for these wonderful little get-away vacation homes. If ever I win the Big Lottery I will be sure and get one of these babies. Spending a couple of months on the Island would be a wonderful way to spend the summer here in Southern California. The weather is just about perfect in Newport Beach area during the hot summer months. The winter would be a different story altogether. Actually, now that the subject of ideal vacation spots has come up maybe Balboa Island is not the “perfect” get-away spot after all. Possibly Fire Island off the coast of New York or maybe the Hampton’s or somewhere in Bermuda could vie for the top spots. Me, I’m too inexperienced in these things to even know.
Jennifer on the beach at Balboa Island while I sing – “Isn’t she lovely”.
Going to Balboa Island is like that – you start dreaming about a different life with unlimited possibilities. Eventually the Ferry ride takes you back to the real world and the traffic. Its amazing how little traffic is on that Island. There seems to be lots of cars but the streets are quiet and the pace is a lot slower than just across the bay.
Check the rest of the pictures they are quiet cute.
Patric O'Brian
Radical Brewing
