CheekyEMT

I could consider the part time option, although it would be nothing but a tease to me....I love being on the ambulance and would want more then a day or 2 a wk. If things were looked at from a financial point of view, we'd be lowering our annual household income by $72,000 if I don't return to work after my MAT leave. That's a HUGE reduction in income. With the MAT leave right now I still get paid 80% of my salary. I have been a medic for 18yrs...right from college. Only time I have ever taken off work was to have my babies. I love my job, but I love my family more. I guess it boils down to whats more important.....and I don't even need to think about that. My family obviously and always comes first . I suppose had he talked to me about this before buying the new house and only being a month into it, the decision would have been a little easier. We have alot of overhead now , a huge mortgage with payments that probably equal 2 payments for others. Yes, hubbies income is more then enough to cover everything and still leave money at the end of the month with growth in the savings acct every month as well. But holy crap....going from his income and mine to just his and losing $72,000/yr is kinda scary.

Ok, ladies. If your hubby said that he likes having you at home , being there all the time. Taking care of the kids and the house and everything else that needs to be done and after having you stay at home for a couple of months decided he liked you being at home rather then working and said he'd like you to stay home and not work, what would you do?? :?: :?: As most of you know I have been off work and since the accident last month decided I would use up the rest of my MAT leave, which would take me to the beginning of Feb before I would return to work. I have enjoyed being home with the kids and have loved being able to be home everyday and enjoy the new house. With my oldest off to her first yr of college, my 7 yr old in school full days now , it's just me and the baby at home. Hubby has been working out of town since May and is gone from Mon @3:30am to Sat@3am . It has been nice having alot of 1 on 1 time with the baby.....BUT....it does get kind of boring at times. I miss running the roads and being on the ambulance. Here's my dilema. When hubby was home last weekend we had a very in depth conversation about what each of us wants both in our relationship (which couldn't be any better) and our career's. Hubby is a millwright and has a very demanding and physically draining job. Mentally his mind has to be at work all the time (when he is at work) or serious injuries could occur. Take this wk for example....Hubby worked Wed afternoon from 4pm to Midnight. (his mind was not on his job because he was looking forward to coming home for the night) he sliced his index finger with the grinder from knuckle to knuckle and required 12 stitches. In the bigger scheme of things, that's a relatively minor injury....but men get killed on this job and he worries terribly. I hate his job. Anyway, he told me that he has enjoyed having me at home , taking care of the kids....not daycare costs, the house is always clean and everything is always done, he said it reduces stress in his life , makes his life easier and in turn helps him keep his mind on his job rather then stressing about things at home. He wants me to stay home and not return work. I know many woman would love to have the opportunity to stay at home with the kids and be a housewife. It's not something I've ever done....I've never been a housewife/stay at home mom and not sure I'd like it. However, I love my husband more then anything, we are very happy and secure in our relationship, we can afford to have me stay at home and not worry financially and I know it would make both him and the kids happy...but I don't know if I'd be completely happy. I love being a paramedic, it's a big part of who I am .....on the other hand, I love my kids and my family and they are a huge part of who I am. I think part of it is not wanting to lose my independence.....financially speaking. We don't need my paycheck, but I want my paycheck. I'm not the type of person who could be or wants to be completely dependent on my husband . He doesn't look at things like that.....his attitude with money is that it's just as much mine as it is his same as it's always been with my paycheck. But the thought of giving that up ...I dunno what I want to do.

LOL....Haven't we all had those....they're so much fun.

Do you supplement with anything? I have been doing this same routine for the past yr. I do enjoy it...I love being on the treadmill. The weights , not so much, but it's a necessary evil. I need to improve the upper body strength. I don't go to the gym, I do it all at home in our home gym. I will be stepping into the world of Karate with my 7 yr old end of this month and have been trying to beat down my desire to run a marathon. It's something I have never done but the desire is there. Problem I have been running into is the weight loss. I don't need to lose anything, in fact gaining a few wouldn't be so bad. I lost a few when I was sick last month and it hasn't stopped. I"m not exercising to lose weight, I"m exercising to be healthy, but it seems as though I'm dropping between .5-1lb/day. Every morning I weigh myself and it's always down by half to one pound from the day before. I weigh 126lbs and am 5'4. I've dropped 2 pant sizes since I was in the hospital. I've always exercised like this , I enjoy running...it makes me feel good and it's my "little escape" and how I like to spend the little bit of "me" time that I get. I supplement to be sure my body is getting everything it needs and add the whey protein to maintain the lean muscle, so I don't lose any of that. I"m not restricting my diet, well , not any different then I was before. I don't eat junk, I"m pretty much a health freak. Hubby gets annoyed with it sometimes, he says I go over board. But I prefer a healthy lifestyle. I can eat a big fat steak and then have a chocolate bar every day and I'd still be losing. My doc weighs me once a month to keep track of it. All I'm looking to do is get my exercise level back up to where it was before I was sick. What I'm doing now isn't giving me the work out I want....I have a hell of a time getting my heart rate up to my target zone and keeping it there through the entire work out......Most times I never get it up to the target zone. I think I'd have to increase the pace and incline on the treadmill almost twice what it is now to get it there. After 15 min's at a pace of 6 and incline of 5 my heart rate is only 90 and I can still talk on the phone..lol....yes, I have done that the odd time. But as Richard pointed out, I don't have the doc's approval to be doing any of this right now and don't want to over do it until I talk to him.

Honestly, no. I have not asked the doc about it. I feel good and am ready (IMO) to get back into my regular routine. I figure as long as I don't over do it and know when to quite then it's all good. I will mention it to my doc when I go to see him on the 26th and if he wants me to modify/stop for now then I"ll listen to him.

I'm looking to change things up a bit with my work out routine and am wondering what everyone else does and whether or not you supplement with anything. My work out routine is Mon -Fri first thing in the morning. I put 45 min's on the treadmill in the morning at a pace of 5.5 ( I"m in Canada so the pace on an american treadmill may be different) pace of 5.5 is a jog with an incline of 5. I then do a weight circuit for 20 min's every other day. Then after the rugrats have gone to bed I put another 30 min's on the treadmill at a pace of 6 and incline of 5. I supplement every day with whey protein isolate, omega 3's, flaxseed oil, multi vitamin and calcium. I'm getting bored with my routine and want to change things up a bit to keep me motivated. What does your work out consist of???

Way to go Kaisu.....Congratulations and best of luck to you. You'll be an awesome medic.

As a mom to 2 young boys, one being 7 and one being 6 months, it was a discussion we had in depth. More so for little Adam who is 6 months, then for christopher 7 yrs ago. For me it has always been because of hygiene issues....nothing more. Christopher was born in the US and it was discussed and decided prior to his birth. He was circumcised by my OB/GYN the day after he was born. Adam was born here in Ontario 6 months ago and the trend here seems to be not doing it as opposed to doing it. Some provinces , for example, Newfoundland do not circ babies anymore at birth and wait till the baby is 3-5yrs old , leaving many parents to travel out of province to have their babies done if they really want them done. Very close friends of our's were living in Gander Newfoundland when their now 3 yr old son was born. They were adamant that he was going to be circumcised but were unable to have the procedure done because no doctor in Newfoundland would do it. They have since posted to another province and have still been unable to have their son circumcised at the age of 3 and have decided not to pursue it anymore. Personally, if I was to have another son, my decision would still be to have him circumcised.

LOL> hubby did the opposite....he lost weight , went from a 36 down to a 32. How's that for pregnancy for ya.....lol Paternity leave is the gov'ts way of saying, "hey dad's are important to". 3 months of paid time off....anyone would be crazy not to take that....and so would mom when u get a whole yr off with 80% of your pay. But, he had to go back to work today...he left at 4am and is gone for the wk now.... But then he gets the rest of his time off....

LOL>>>>oops, my bad....it's PAternity leave.....lol

Nope, no medical bills.....and no issues with the car insurance....they replaced all the child seats in the vehicle at the time of the accident...they replaced the van with a new one , we had no deductible to pay and our premium does not go up. I was not at fault in this accident, so it's the other driver that will get jacked around by his insurance..or should I say his parents. So, financially speaking we have not lost...both hubby and I had holiday time banked to use....I am using the rest of my maternity leave (we get a full yr with 80-% of your pay) and hubby is using his 3 wks summer holidays and he's also entitled to 3 months of maternity leave.....we're not out a dime.

Awww, u guys are so sweet. Well, we are in the new house. Was a crazy busy moving day....9.5hrs from start to end of the movers....I do have to admit I have had no time at all to relax...between baby coming home, me coming home, new vehicle shopping and moving all within 5 days, there's been no such thing as "down time " or relaxing. Mind you after the kids went to bed last night I did spend 2 hrs doing nothing but sitting in the hot tub . Will be busy getting everything unpacked and put away for the next wk or so....but it's all been worth.. I love you guys...wish you could all make it.. I wish you all could make the party. Hubby and I have become quite close to several of you .

Just wanted to let everyone know that little Adam is home now and he's doing sooo much better. He came home this morning. He's all grins and giggles...I have my lil baby back He looks so much better then he did the last you time you saw a pic of him, He has lost just over 2lbs , but I expect he'll gain that back in no time. He's still on a few med's but so glad he's ok and home now. We move to the new house tomorrow and it is going to be so nice for all of us to be able to spend the first night in our new house together....wasn't sure that was gonna happen. Love you guys.....you've all been so thoughtful and kind...... :wink:

awww, firedoc....we'd love u to come.....ya know...we are offering to foot the travel bill for some of you. If you'd really like to come we'd really like to have you. You can PM me and we'll talk.

Thanks BEorP......it's located about 20 min's east of Trenton in Shannonville....Just north of the 401.

I just had to share some pic's with every one....as most of you know we are moving into our new house on the 22nd of Aug...I don't think I could be more excited and am just dying to share it with everyone.....took these pic's when I was out at the house today...for those of you who don't know...we are planning a big who ha end of Sept or the first weekend of Oct. If any of you are relatively local or don't mind driving a bit we'd really like as many of our emtcity family as can come to come. Big house warming party, bonfire, bbq, free booze and a hot tub......we have tons of room and those of you that would need to spend a night or 2 are more then welcome to do so. here's the link to the photo's http://s261.photobucket.com/albums/ii68/ai...os/New%20house/ Hope to see lots of you at the party.

Awww.....how lucky do I feel to have all of you. You've all left the nicest posts and comments. All I can do is say thanks to each of you , what an amazing family I have found in the city.

Thank you Kaisu....I think the friendship he found in all of you helped him get through it all. You all made him feel welcome and I think helped rest his fear to some degree. I don't think he joined the city to tell you all what was going on with me, but rather to find a support circle and some guidance. You all helped him through a very difficult time and it's nice to know that you all excepted him the way you did.

Perhaps you are right Mobey. I always thought myself to be very caring when it came to the patients that I treat, but there is no doubt in my mind after going through this experience that it has made me see things through eyes that weren't my own but those of the people that we treat and help every time we go to work. You are so right when you say that NONE OF US are immune from bad things happening and what happens to our pt's can just as easily happen to one of us. Maybe we all need to be reminded that bad things happen to good people , to never take anything for granted , live like there is no tomorrow and thank god every night when you go to bed that you and you family are healthy. Every thing can change in a split second.

THANK YOU , THANK YOU THANK YOU So many thoughtful posts . I"m home now. Although I did post on another thread letting you all know I am home I wanted to make sure you all knew how much I appreciate you thinking of me and my family. Everyone in the city has been so kind. Definitely a very caring group of people here. Again, thanks so much...

[/font:0b44dba830] I just spent a few min's reading through everyone's posts. I don't even know how to begin to thank you all for thinking of me. I'm sitting here replaying the events of the last 12 days and still find it hard to believe that my family has had the unfortunate experience that we have. All of you know what it's like to be on the giving end of the EMS stick, but don't often find ourselves thrown into a situation where we are the one's in need of help. It certainly gives you a different perspective. I also find (with myself anyway), that those of us that are educated in medicine (in some form or another) tend to deny ourselves of what we truely are in need of at the time. I happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and in a matter of sec's my family was thrown into a series of events that could have been devastating. I was fortunate enough , through it all, to have a medical team that was caring and knowledgeable and as a result I received what I needed when I needed it. I am a firm believer in that "everything happens for a reason". I may not know right now, why this happened, but I'm sure I will eventually. We learn from what has happened to us and tend to become stronger as a person because of it. My baby has been having a rough go of things and boy does it break my heart. He's improved over the last 48hrs or so but still requires more then what I can do for him at home. I'm hoping he will be home by the end of the week at the latest. Let this be a lesson to all you parents with young children. KEEP THEM RESTRAINED IN CHILD SAFETY SEATS AS LONG AS POSSIBLE AND EVERY TIME YOU GET IN THE CAR. Had little Adam not been properly restrained in a rear facing infant seat he would have suffered devastating injuries. Same for my 7 yr old. We were just around the corner from the house when we got hit by an incompetent driver running a red light. It only takes a sec and it can happen to anyone. I certainly never thought taking my kids to the splash pad would have resulted in all of this. Again, my sincere thanks to all of you. Your kind words and thoughts really touched me . :hello2:

Wanted to introduce myself. My name is Laura, I'm a mom to wonderful kids....I began my career in EMS back in 1998 fresh out of highschool when I took my EMCA training at Niagra College in Welland Ontario. After 10yrs working as a PCP in Ontario I ventured down to the United States. I began training as a FF/paramedic with Fairfax County fire and rescue in Northern VA. I worked with Fairfax County Fire and Rescue as an EMT-P for 5 yrs and then returned to Ontario and am currently located at Canadian Forces Base Trenton Ontario

Just wondering if anyone knows of any EMD training courses anywhere in Ontario. I'm located at CFB Trenton, so ideally would prefer something within an hour or 2 of here. Thanks Laura

From what I was told when I looked into this back in June of 03, it isn't possible to do that anymore. I went through EMCA right out highschool and carried a current license for 12yrs. Then I moved to the United States for 5 yrs and was licensed and trained there out of Fairfax County. When I returned to Canada I was told by the ministry as well as a few medic friends that I could not challenge the provincial exam anymore and in order for me to get my Ontario license back I would have to complete the full 2 yr program but would likely be exempt from several of the courses. I'd be very interested to know if there is a way around this. If you find out anything or are in fact able to do what you are wanting to do please let us know.