Secrets

One of the hard things about being a military wife is keeping secrets. It wouldn't be so hard, except online venues practically demand that you share every significant event in your life at the top of cyber space lungs. I'm getting a bit better at internet suffocation.

That said, this past weekend was fantastic. Plenty of fun with Remus and Emma and Rebecca, my parents and my inlaws. It's always good to visit your hometown :) I watched the Brookville Marching Band Perform, the colorguard is being instructed by two very dedicated old students of mine. It was awesome to see what they had created, I'm so very proud :) Also found out that I'm going to need to get into some serious shape if I want an EMS job in Lynchburg because Ill have to cross train as a firefighter. Fire-woman? I was at first rather apprehensive, but several FD (Fire Department) co-workers have assuaged my concerns about being a female firefighter and have gone so far as to suggest I might actually be good at it. We shall see.

In other, probably boring news to the non health care provider, I took my ACLS refresher course today to learn the new AHA guidelines and FINALLY I feel vinidicated. Oxygen is no longer considered "harmless" No more of this "well, just put him on some O2, it can't hurt." Oh YES it can. A build up of too much oxygen in the blood causes a release of Free Radicals (anyone remember basic chemistry?) which then rocket around the body, honing in on damaged tissue and furthering the destruction in order to clean up the mess. In their proper place, Free Radicals act like scrubby bubbles to the body's equivelent bath scum, in excess, Free Radicals corrode through any weak tissue like acid. Putting a pt who is already at 100% SpO2 room air on 15lpm 02 NRB basically sends a demolition crew to whatever ischemic tissue is dying (i.e. The brain. Or the heart) You can literally kill people with too much O2, you at least significantly damage their future prognosis when they're having a stroke or STEMI. SO I am SO RIGHT when it comes to NOT putting every pt on oxygen just because an IV is established. That tradition is CRAP. A pt needs an IV in a STEMI, I don't think anyone can argue with that, but if the pt's SpO2 is 95% then highflow 02 can actually kill more cardiac tissue faster. Booyah.

This makes me irrationally happy. Other new ACLS guidelines make sense too, but this new look at the over use of oxygen ESPECIALLY in the pre-hospital setting is waaaaaaay past due.

Time for bed, I am so sleepy I have a headache from keeping my eyelids open. Picture post hopefully to come :)

**EDITED to include mention of the best older sister in the history of sisters :)