A 3-D-Living-Breathing Picture Is Worth 1,000 Words
The human body is amazing. The human mind is amazing. The human ability to cope in the face of incredible odds is amazing.That said, even if I were to stop school right now and never work in the medical field, I've seen enough for it to be a reminder for the rest of my life that all those things 'they' say about eating a proper diet, exercising, and avoiding tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs are worth listening to.
And, that's just from a medical standpoint. Wearing seatbelts, driving while NOT impaired, defensive driving, driving at a safe speed, gun safety, child safety, fire safety, home safety, personal safety (avoiding angry and abusive people, choosing not to ride with people who are 'driving while impaired', being aware of your surroundings and alert to potential dangers)... are all in the "how to prevent trauma" category.
When I took my EMT-Basic class 3 semesters ago (starting January 2004), my instructor told us that she'd be out and about (in a store, for example) and see people and think about what disease process was going on. I think she may have said something like "a heart attack waiting to happen." I have that experience now.
It's really scary (from a 'being concerned about people' point of view) to look at people and realize that it's only a matter of time until something really bad happens to them. I realize that many diseases are more likely to occur if the genetic history says a person is predisposed to get that disease. But, there are so many problems we (USA - residents and citizens) are having more and more of, because of excessive use of food, alcohol, tobacco and other substances, and because of inactivity of the physical body. And, there are so many things we could avoid by making good choices each day.
A goal in EMS is to take care of any life threats and get the patient to the hospital where he or she can receive further care (ex - surgery, advanced medical care). A sad thing about EMS, and much advanced medical care, is that so many problems could have been avoided.
Don't get me wrong, I don't do all the right things either. But, I believe in them. I eat too much chocolate and sugar, and I do too little aerobic and weight-bearing exercise. I need to have a more balanced diet and make more daily choices to do healthy things for myself, too. But, being on the ambulance is a daily reminder of what can happen if I do not make healthy choices.
We picked up a patient the other day who was not dying, but my thought was that he's on the way out. He has so much wrong with his body at this point. My thought was that he won't be long for this world. Or, if he lives, he will be very sick until he dies. My feeling was echoed by another EMT who said later, "he's a train wreck," and another who made a motion like an airplane spiraling down and said, "he's just waiting for the other engine to go out."
Those words were spoken privately to each other. I think they were an expression of concern and sadness for this man and his family for the dire medical situation he is in. The really sad part is that this man is much too young to be so damaged. But, his body has been damaged by years of doing the wrong things. Too many calories? Too little physical exertion? Years of tobacco use? Alcohol? Maybe he drew the short straw in the genetics pool, but maybe not. Maybe he could have had another 20 or 30 years of healthy life if different choices had been made for the preceding 20 or 30 years.
It's always easier to look back and see what might have been. What will it take to look forward and see what can be, in a good way, if good choices are made each day? 12-step groups focus on One Day At A Time. They encourage members to even focus on one minute or one hour at a time if that's what it takes. And, each person has a sponsor, another person who is struggling with the same issues.
What about these things? -
What if each of us living in the USA, the land of ease of access and ease of excess, had a life-sponsor and acted as a life-sponsor for someone else?
What if each of us helped each other to make good choices?
What if we ate "all you need" instead of "all you can eat"?
What if we excercised to relieve stress instead of using chemicals or television?
What if we drank water, ate fresh fruits and vegetables, and walked a few miles a day?
What if we chose to give others the benefit of the doubt rather than holding grudges and carrying anger?
What if we opened our eyes to what is beautiful in the world and breathed it in?
What if we opened our hearts to others and let our relationships be guided by gentleness and compassion?
.
Yes, I wander off topic now and then! ;) I started out talking mostly of physical health and what it takes to keep it. Hmmmm. Maybe all of those things are not off topic. Maybe it's all part of the same picture.
I do think we all have a lot more power than we realize. We each have the power to make hundreds (if not more) choices every day. We each have the power to choose to love ourselves through our choices. If we make good physical choices, we are also showing love to our loved ones when the sadness of illness and loss through disease and death are postponed for many years.
I'm probably going to turn into some soapbox speaker for healthy choices and healthy lifestyles! lol. Oops! I'm already up on that soapbox! ;)
I don't get to say these things to people in my personal life, because we all already know all these things, right? We all know what the results are of years of excesses in food and tobacco and other chemicals, and we know the results of lack of physical activity. And, we've all heard about how stress can trigger disease or make it worse.
Don't we? Maybe not. Maybe that's why I'm writing this. I'm seeing the results of poor choices every day. But, I can only change myself and make my own choices. I can't do anything about anyone else's choices in life.
Ten Good Things to Choose:
1) Healthy Diet (balanced nutrition plus lots of water, fresh fruits and vegetables)
2) Physical Activity (yard work, walking, working out, individual and team sports)
3) Yearly Medical Checkups (bloodwork, blood pressure and pulse check, disease screening, yearly recommended tests)
4) Relaxation (meditation, being in a beautiful natural place, yoga, breathing, pets, spirituality, lying in the hammock, pampering the body)
5) Choices (realizing that I have control over so many choices in my life every day, realizing that I make those choices for myself)
6) Changes (realizing that I CAN make changes, and realizing that I am the only person I can change).
7) Relationships (focusing on positive, healthy, loving and supportive relationships, and making every effort to leave the drama and trauma in my work life)
8)
9)
10)
I'm still working on those last three. I think I need to go lie in the hammock and think about it! ;)
(ps - I've spent 24 hours doing EMS clinicals in the past two days and will do another 12 hours overnight tonight. I'm not totally in relaxation mode. I'm just pretending to be for a few hours.)
posted by jordanrep.com/10522 @ 11:19 AM
1 Comments:
ps - My soapbox is primarily theoretical. I am really bad about not doing the right things.
Yesterday, I was on the ambulance from 6am - 6pm.
What did I eat and drink? Two small chocolate shakes, one white chocolate macadmia nut cookie, and a few swallows of Mountain Dew.
Then, I came home, spoke to neighbors, showered, and worked on internet and Country Bunny projects.
There are days when I do all the right things, just not often enough. I certainly know better!
I'm thinking of checking my blood glucose level after some of my 'bad' food and drink choices just to show myself that I really do need to be more consistent and make better choices.
I hope I learn (change my behavior) before I become one of the people being taken to the hospital by ambulance.
I guess it's a one day at a time, one hour at a time thing.
I'm leaving now in a few minutes for another 12 hours on the ambulance. I'm close to the end of my internship rides. After this, I'll have sixty hours with a doctor. After that, my EMT program will be over (except for National Registry testing in a few months) and the RN program will begin.
Post a Comment
<< Home