Safe Travels
I made it back to Delaware safe last night. My flight was uneventful once we took off (always a good thing). Prior to taking off the pilot noticed some ice buildup so we had to wait and get “de-iced” before we took off so that put us a little behind in our scheduled take off time, but not by much. My roommate picked me up at the airport and it took us forever to get back to the house. Traffic was backed up for a good 7 miles right near our exit.
But the good thing is I made it home in one piece!
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and have a happy New Year! (I’ll try and have some pictures up soon!)
Let it Snow!
We were hit by a snow storm all yesterday. It started about 1:30/2:00 in the morning on Saturday and lasted through the entire day into the night (I’m not exactly sure when it stopped snowing. Although I don’t have a ruler to measure (sorry dad can’t compare) a news article I looked at reported the state of Delaware getting between 14 inches (Wilmington) to 17.7 inches (Blackbird). (The news article I looked at is here.)
One of my roommates is from Georgia and has never experienced much snow (and hasn’t ever had a white Christmas!). We went out driving yesterday in hopes of getting some pictures, the park we were going to go to was closed however because of all the snow. On our way there we drove past a sledding hill, which opened a whole new can of worms. She has never been sledding! So we attempted to remedy the situation, but were unable to find any sleds or snow tubes (everywhere we went was sold out – go figure) so she still hasn’t ever been sledding. (Hopefully we’ll get a chance to play in the snow later today even if we can’t go sledding.)
I know we got a lot of snow, I was still surprised that pretty much the entire city shut down though. We drove down main street while it was still snowing (we only had about 6-8 inches at this point) and most of the stores were closed already. Here are some pictures from yesterday (and one from this morning after all the snow had fallen).
And a car that was buried after all the snow fell.
Because New Castle County and Kent County were in a state of emergency my practical exam for getting my EMT certification was canceled. They were planning on rescheduling for later this week (prior to the holiday) but since I’m going to be leaving on Tuesday I’m on my own to reschedule the exam. (Fortunately they are willing to work with me on this and I should be able to reschedule for the end of the month/early January. I guess that just means I have more time to study for the exam before I take it (which will be nice, this way I’ll have more time to make sure I know all the protocols.)
I’m flying home in two days! (Hopefully my flight wont be delayed or worse canceled.)
The Week in Review
The Week in Review is (hopefully) a weekly feature about all the important things I think you should know.
This past week has once again proven to be fairly uneventful (especially compared to last week). But, as with every week, there are a few things to note:
- Monday I had an event at the Appoquinimink Library (the public library in Middletown). It wasn’t all that great of an event, I talked to 5 people (one of whom was a three or four year old who wanted a sticker). I didn’t get any interest forms from it. I wasn’t expecting it to be an overly fantastic event, but I had hoped I would have a little more interest.
- EMT course – I talked with someone from the state fire school and am taking the EMT practical exam on Sunday. I might also be taking the protocol exam, I’m not yet sure if that will be the case. I don’t know if this means I will still need to take the 24 hour EMT refresher course, or if I’ll be able to bi-pass that step. I will still need to take the National EMT exam (similar to my nursing boards).
- I went to another station to get an orientation on the ambulance so I’d feel a little more comfortable with things when I rode along. I now at least have a working knowledge of how to use the stretcher and stair-chair should I need to.
- I met with my program director and have ideas floating around in my head about what I might want to consider doing following my term of service. This has, of course, stirred up several possibilities for me to consider.
- I have been studying the Delaware state protocols for EMTs and going over scenarios in preparation for my EMT practical exam on Sunday. I am really hoping that I remember all of the protocols (and the differences between nursing assessment and EMT assessment).
In the upcoming week:
- We’re suppose to get snow on Saturday. The email I got from my program director about a winter storm watch said we could get 10-20 inches of snow!
- I’m heading home on Tuesday! I’ll be flying into Midway (in Chicago) early Tuesday afternoon. I’ll be home until the 27th.
A Second Year?
I met with my program director yesterday. Originally I went up to the program office to turn in my expense sheet for the month of December and that’s it, but as usual I ended up talking to my program director for awhile. We had the usual chit-chat about how the program was going for me, how I liked my station, how my term was going so far; things of that nature.
She had made a comment about my expense sheets always being done well and how I was so organized, which then turned into a discussion of whether I had started thinking about plans for after my term. She mentioned that she felt I would do really well as a NCCC team leader. (NCCC is National Civilian Community Corps – another branch of AmeriCorps programs.) I was a little shocked by this, but it got my mind rolling. Yes, I should start looking for nursing jobs following my AmeriCorps term, but service has always been near and dear to me. I’ve gone on a countless number of service trips with church and I’ve always loved them. Maybe continuing on with service is something I should consider. Whether that means staying state side and completing another AmeriCorps term, or going abroad with another service program like the Peace Corps or Young Adults and Global Missions (YAGM).
No, I might not be using my nursing skills directly right now, but depending on the program I get into I might be able to use them in ways different from what I expected; education about public health, HIV/AIDS clinics in South Africa, clinics for under served populations – the possibilities are endless.
Obviously my current term is far from being over (I’ve still got another 9 months to go), but it’s not to early to start thinking about my options, right?
Company Competition
It dawned on me as I sat down to write this that you haven’t actually seen the building that is my second home out here…my station. I am really very lucky in regards to my station.
Station 27 is a beautiful facility, I haven’t been to the other station in Middletown (station 1), but I’m sure that will happen eventually. Most of the ESC members that have come to my station are jealous because of how nice the station is (I’m really trying not to brag here). Most of the other stations are older and it shows, but (here is where I try to put everything in perspective) one thing that’s missing from my station that I’ve noticed, are people. Every other station I’ve been to I’ve seen people hanging out in the lounge and having a good time – even during the day. This is not the case at my station.
I find this puzzling. We have an awesome fitness center, a great “break room”, and a full kitchen that members are free to use whenever they want, yet I rarely see people there and the people I do see there are always the same few. I’ve even been down there at night and on the weekends and I still find very few people there. It seems that the only time people are there is when there is 1) training going on; or 2) free food involved.
I became aware of the limitations of my station today. I went to another station (in another district) today to get an orientation on the ambulance because although I’ve asked people at my station several times, I have yet to get one. I found out that Volunteer Hose Company is very unique in that they let pretty much anyone who has CPR/AED training ride the ambulance, without knowing the ambulance, as a third person. This is not the case at other stations. For instance, the station that I went to today doesn’t allow you to ride the ambulance until you’ve gone through an orientation and can adequately use the major devices (i.e. stretcher, stair-chair) and know where everything on the ambulance is. In my opinion, this is a GOOD thing. I like riding the ambulance, but I’d much rather be prepared than get to a scene and need to ask where something is (which I’ve had to do before).
After the orientation I went to today at Aetna, I at least know how the stretcher and stair chair work, and the EMT that gave me and my roommate the orientation also runs out of Middletown and offered to give me an orientation on our ambulance so I knew where things were (since each company sets them up a little differently). I’ve found that most of the EMTs that run out of Middletown also run out of other stations (particularly Aetna) which is interesting.
The Week in Review
The Week in Review is (hopefully) a weekly feature about all the important things I think you should know.
Wow, it seems like a lot has happened this week. (And I guess in reality I’ve been busy so a lot must have been going on!) First things first, for those of you keeping track, I’ll be coming home in 11 days. (Yes, that’s right, we’re down to under two weeks!) Now, on to the good stuff!
- As I mentioned in an earlier blog, I spent portions of last Saturday and Sunday standing out in the cold parking cars at Rockwood Mansion for their annual Holiday Open House. We got a little snow, on Saturday, but is was more slush than anything. (But at least it was some form of snow right?)
- The earlier part of my week wasn’t all that exciting, I spent Monday and Tuesday at my station doing the normal stuff. (In other words, I was in the office all day.) I did “finish” the junior fire camp brochure. It has been submitted to my supervisor and fire chief for approval. (Which means that I’ll have some changes to make next week before it is actually finished.)
- Thursday and Friday (today) I spent the day at the Office of Emergency Management receiving CERT training. CERT stands for Community Emergency Response Team. Basically it’s some additional training for me to have in case of a wide spread emergency that were to take place in DE. I now have training (that I also got in fire school, but that’s besides the point) to carry out operations in an emergency situation (and I got a cool helmet and neon yellow vest).
- Thursday night was the New Castle County Volunteer Fire Fighter Association’s Banquet and swearing in ceremony for their new board. The Emergency Service Corps was invited to attend since we play a role in supporting the fire companies and impact the fire companies throughout the county. Not to mention it helps to spread the word that we are out there (although most of the people there know we exist already).
- Friday night (tonight) are elections at my fire company. I have to be here because they want me to try and get updated information for our volunteers. This is easier said than done, but I’ll (of course) do my best!
That’s pretty much my week in a nutshell. After I’m done tonight I’ll have put in around 45 hours this week (and I took most of Wednesday off to try and do some Christmas shopping.) This weekend will hopefully be restful before I jump into my last week before I fly home for Christmas (and snow!).
The Up and Coming
There is a lot going on in the next few weeks, from outreach events to training, so I’ll be kept pretty busy; especially the second half of this week. I have something going on almost everyday until I come home for Christmas (14 days for those of you who are keeping track). And of course when I’m not doing outreach events and training I’ll be at the station hopefully going on calls getting things done in the office. But don’t worry no matter how busy I am:
I’ll be home for Christmas;
You can count on me.
Please have snow and mistletoe
And presents on the tree.
Christmas Eve will find me
Where the love-light gleams.
I’ll be home for Christmas
If only in my dreams.
Rockwood Mansion
This past weekend I spent several hours enduring the cold and snow/rain to direct traffic at the Rockwood Mansion open house. Every year the mansion is decorated for Christmas. They have an open house with crafts, performances by local groups, and tours of the mansion. Their are volunteers in each room of the mansion dressed in period costume telling stories about what the room was for etc., yesterday they had a reading of A Visit From St. Nicholas (more commonly known as Twas the Night Before Christmas). Santa and Mrs. Claus came to visit as well each day so children could get pictures taken with him.
I was there on both Saturday and Sunday directing traffic. I didn’t get much traffic up my way, since the bigger lot was down below. We all agreed that neon yellow was a good look for us.
The Week in Review
The Week in Review is (hopefully) a weekly feature about all the important things I think you should know.
- Carbon Monoxide: The Silent Killer – we met on Wednesday and went over the power point presentation and the brochure and are working on making the final changes (for real this time). I finished the brochure yesterday and printed off the final copy that we’re going to use in our presentation to the ESC program director and the person we’re presenting too in that has the grant money. If he likes the presentation and brochure we’ll have the CO detectors to give away and he’ll take care of getting the brochures printed with the grant money.
- Weather – I don’t get Delaware. It really can’t seem to make up it’s mind; one day it’s hot the next it’s cold, it’s raining one day and the next it’s sunny. I thought Wisconsin weather was crazy, but now I know. Delaware is much worse. They were predicting bad storms over the second part of the week, we got some rain and strong winds, but nothing major.
- InterCorps Council – We met Wednesday night to continue planning for Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service in January. We also discussed coming up with a mission statement for the group as well as started discussing some of the things we need to do for AmeriCorps Week in May. Overall it seemed to be a very productive meeting.
- Battery Plant – Did you know that Middletown has a Battery plant? Neither did I, until Wednesday. I got to go on a tour of the facility to see where the hazardous materials are located, where the hose hook ups are – that sort of thing. There is an entire portion of the building that, in the event of a fire, we should not use water because it will make the molten materials explode.
- Calls – I didn’t go on any calls this week, I missed a big MVC by about 5 minutes on Tuesday. Go figure. They ended up having to cut apart a car to get the patient out and then transported a patient by chopper. Would have been an awesome call to go on.
- EMT Course – It’s official! I have been approved to take an EMT course and will be an EMT sooner than expected. Since I am a registered nurse I am able to get my certificate by RN – EMT equivalency. Which means I can take a shortened class (24 hours rather than 140), provide some paperwork, take the practical exam and national exam, and poof I’ll be certified. My class is scheduled for the 12, 13, & 14 of January.
Story of Service
Most of you are probably (still) wondering why I decided to move half way across the country to join other men and women in a year of service, a year of hard work and dedication where we won’t necessarily see the results of our efforts. I’ve spent time being trained to run into a burning building while every one else is running out; to find my way through a pitch black smoke-filled house; to throw ladders on roofs so we can open up a roof to let out smoke; and to guide hoses through a house. I can hook up and operate tools that can pull apart cars and I can hold c-spine until a patient is safely boarded and collard. It may not make sense, but when the siren goes off that doesn’t matter. When the siren goes off my adrenaline starts flowing and I gear up or get in an ambulance and come to the aid of people experiencing the worst moment of their life.
In the next 10 months, I’ll go on fire calls and ambulance runs; I’ll receive more training in emergency services, more specifically emergency medicine. Sure I’ll get something out of being a volunteer, but you always get something out of volunteering – whether it is training you wouldn’t have otherwise had or the satisfaction of knowing you did something to help make your community a better place. What is important to me is not the training I’ll be receiving, but knowing that I’m helping others in need.
So why would I move half way across the country? Because I was needed. I’m sure there are places closer to home that I could have volunteered at, but this is where I was called to go. It may not make sense, even to myself, but even though I sometimes complain about being out here, this is where I am meant to be for the time being. Who knows where the wind will blow over the course of the next year. Even I don’t know what is in store for me after my year of service through AmeriCorps is up; maybe PeaceCorps or Young Adults and Global Missions, or maybe a nursing job at a hospital. The possibilities are virtually endless.
