ambulancegrrrl

I smoked for roughly 15yrs on again/off again. And quit at least 6 times. The longest was about 4yrs. My neighbor died of complications from COPD and Lung Cancer, that definitely was a bit of a wake up call. But then my husband who also smoked ended up in the hospital with pneumonia. Because of 3 previous hospitalizations for pneumonia when he was a child, asthma, smoking and what they sometimes call "farmers lung" he now has COPD. He is on O2 24/7 and when he was in the hospital, and unconscious he withdrew from the smokes. So he does not smoke anymore, nor do I. It's amazing how many ppl out there on O2 are still smoking. Anyway, After having 4yrs in of nonsmoking I was attacked during a home invasion and started smoking again. Never around my husband and I actually did end up keeping it a secret until I quit again. So I smoked again for about 4-5 months and finally quit again. I didn't use a patch or chantix, although I am not against them at all. Whatever helps. So I got about 4yrs in now, and have not craved a cigarette in ages. The smell literally makes me ill. Isn't that strange how that works? I LOVED to smoke before. I did chew alot of gum, and bit my tongue so bad I have a hematoma on the side of my tongue that can't be removed! LOL! Anyway, watching loved ones die from smoking helped to open my eyes but basically it was a decision I made that I want to live a full life and don't want to end up sucking O's through a nasal cannula until that's not enough. If you quit, and end up slipping and smoke a cigarette don't spend all your time kicking yourself over it. Don't quit quitting. It may take a long time but you can do it. Good luck to everyone that is trying to quit. You can succeed.

So I ended up having to reschedule my I/85 test for 4/30, it was for the 25th. And I have to say my instructor was not easy but I found the test rather hard. My class ended in November though so I waited a long time to take my test. Life gets in the way yada yada. What made it more horrifying was that I read up on the NREMT website about the I/85 test and it said the minimum amount of questions for the I/85 is "85" questions, and the maximum is "135" questions. It said if you got 85 questions you either did really good or really bad. LOL And I of course had to get EXACTLY 85 questions! I was totally demoralized and thought I most certainly had failed and I checked today for my results. I PASSED! I still keep checking wondering if it's going to change. It hasn't. I know a lot of people have said to just go from Basic to Paramedic but I have to say in the rural setting I'm in I'd have to go to a big city to be up to date on my skills. So I am glad for the I/85, we are still a basic rig right now but because of those in my class we might go to Limited Advanced which would be fantastic. Anyway I am glad I passed and my tests are DONE! Oh and I had NO drip rate questions, tons of scenario based "alkalosis/acidosis" questions and one peds...anyway I would say for those that haven't taken it yet to study hard and use flash cards when you aren't able to sit down and study. And study prefix, suffixes, and combining forms...

[/font:b3273a73b6] SARgal, I am also in Michigan. Do you work directly with the S&R dog? I just wondered because I am trying to find an organization to help me train my pup. She's got fantastic drive and I noticed most S&R teams I've read about tend to have only MFR training only. Only S&R organization even remotely nearby that I found was up in Houghten I think. I'm also in da UP But east.

[/font:e70bbd3263] I'm taking my NREMT I/85 on Friday the 25th and although I know our instructor prepared us for this I am still so nervous. One of my classmates just failed the test, and another of my classmates is finding out her score tomorrow. I normally do rather well on tests but I am having a difficult time remembering anything lately. Alot going on in my life right now so I am already under a tremendous amount of stress. I feel pretty confident with the basics, but the drip rates have me so confused and I had that Down Perfect before! Ahhhh! acids/bases ........I think I need to sleep and start over in the morning. Plus I'm on another 48 hour shift. *yawn* Sorry to vent my pretest jitters. I guess if I fail then I know I need to study harder. Other than that I will do my best.

[/font:2dcd2b85c2] Hey Must be a Michigan acronym PIA-personal injury accident. Sometimes people use it for personal injury assist. Only certain acronyms are accepted into our computer program.

[/font:7d21ba9033] I work on a small Island with no Hospital, only a little clinic. And it is frigid here for better than half the year. It's challenging work but I love it. In the winter, or at least this winter we've been doing quite a few snowmobile pia, Ice rescues. We are trying to figure out a better light source, the headlamps are ok but not bright enough. Also wearing gloves, even two pair is not ideal when the temps are in the single digits. I've taken to wearing my winter gloves over nitrile. Transportation off the Island is not always available so we do alot of work in the clinic since the staff their well...lets just say you don't picture them doing many chest compressions without passing out. lol. Anyway it is good to know there are others out there.