Work Views

One reason I love being on the ambulance are the views.

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January 27th 2021

Started another spring semester for school. One step closer to starting my Nursing program, fingers crossed. This semester I am taking Medical Terminology. This not only helps me in the future but it will help me grow in my EMS career now.

” If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.”

– Albert Einstein

I am imPRESSED

Being in the military and working EMS, I use my hands ALOT. From turning wrenches to helping patients, my nails always become chipped or smashed. I like to have nice looking nails because it makes me feel good and a lot of people would be seeing my hands. I used to just paint my nails with regular nail polish, but then they would chip and look a little ragged.

I ended up trying the gel or shellac manicures. I loved these because not only did they come in a variety colors (which helped me stay within military regulations) but they also ended up saving my nails. I say saved because I would smash my fingers or get them caught and the nail underneath the gel would be saved. I would be able to peel the gel off and still have a whole nail left, cracked and split nails are so painful. While I did love the gel nails, there were some cons to them. I would have to get them done every 2-4 weeks because your nails grow out and so does the gel. The cost of gel nails became to costly and the cost began to add up. They also made my nails weak underneath, mine felt flimsy and thin.

When I started the Reserves after active duty and started my EMS career, I ended up trying different false nails. I personally was never into the longer acrylic nails because I didn’t like how they felt. I wasn’t able to work properly with them on so I needed a more natural short nail when possible. With the Kiss imPress nails, I had so many choices to choose from. They are also sold at many stores including Target, Walmart, Walgreens and Kroger. Since they’re inexpensive, have fun designs and don’t tear up my nails I can constantly change my nails if I would like.

Pros:

• They last anywhere from 1-3 weeks
• They have many colors, styles, sizes to choose from, even for you toes! I love the holiday styles, especially Christmas.
• They don’t ruin your nails. Click HERE for a step-by-step process.
• They are durable and can withstand tough situations, and can even save your nails.
• They look cute.

Cons:

• -If the Kiss imPRESS nail isn’t aligned properly with your nail it may feel uncomfortable and eventually pop off.
• Sometimes when they wear down, when you comb your fingers through your hair it can get caught in the nail.

Overall, my imPRESS-ion of these nails are they feel healthier in the long term for your nails if you want to wear fake nails. I have been wearing these for over a year now and I absolutely love them. They last about 3 weeks for me when I’m working in EMS and on military duty. For military duty I like to use the French tip nails because they are within the regulations for nails. When I want to feel festive I try to find the Halloween styles or the Christmas ones.

January 4th 2021

Today my tea said,

“May this day bring you peace, tranquility and harmony.”

– Yogi Tea

For a Monday it started off just like how you would think a Monday would start. Things were a mess, batteries weren’t charged and it was storming! Now I did enjoy the rain, I just didn’t like my work jacket soaking it up. That was my fault though because I forgot my rain jacket. Overall though it turned out to be a pretty decent day and I kept reminding myself that my day would bring me peace and harmony.

Happy New Year

Goodbye 2020, Hello 2021?

This year has been a whirlwind of emotions for myself and I’m pretty sure the same for a lot of people. This year was filled uncertainty, fear, loss but also with love and determination to get through it. It was tough and filled with many ups and downs. From the happy times of graduating Navy Corpsman school, getting a new EMT job, being able to visit Chris a few times, being overly excited about becoming an Auntie to my friends having babies, finally finishing up my Associates in Fire Technology all while still being able to celebrate holidays with family and keeping our health including Rex. Some of the heartbreaking times of this year for me was losing my beloved Monkee after 15 years, seeing the world become sick and dying. It has been a year of stress, no doubt. I have grown and and I will continue to grow in 2021. Another year to love and learn.

Some goals for next year:

• Keep positive even in trying times.
• Continue to learn
• Be accepted into Nursing school
• Keep getting healthier
• Work more and be more dedicated to my blog
• Get back into streaming video games
• Still continue to keep myself and my family’s health a priority
• Go hiking and adventuring more

Today on New Years Eve, I will be sitting back doing a movie marathon with Chris and the family all while ringing in the new year quietly and safely with dinner and champagne. What are some of your goals or resolutions for the New Year? Happy New Year’s everyone! May you stay safe and positive. See you in 2021!

💚 Kat

“I hope you realize that every day is a fresh start for you. That every sunrise is a new chapter in your life waiting to be written.”

– Juansen Dizon

How to Combat Stress

Stress comes in many ways, shapes and forms. No one is the same, and that includes how we deal and how we handle stress. You may question if stress is a daily part of your life. Stress can appear in a multitude of ways. A handful of things to look out for are:

• Rapid weight gain/ weight loss
• Exhaustion/lethargy
• Excessive eating/ not eating at all
• Working out but with no satisfaction after
• Anxiousness/ irritability
• Find more signs here.

Sometimes you may ask yourself how can I start dealing with this? How do I figure out how to combat this? Our beautiful souls are all different. This is why we are unique as people, and different things help each one of us. Always though, if life feels like its getting too much for you to handle on your own. You should seek professional help and advice. Having someone you don’t personally know to talk to can sometimes help more than you think.

For myself stress is constantly in my life. However, I can usually thrive off of “chaotic stress.” Working in the EMS field can be hectic everyday but having a passion for it can help fuel your efforts for it. I use this fuel to the best of my ability and push myself more so I can get the best outcome in a situation. I am also currently in school to become a Navy Hospital Corpsman which is another level of a chaotic environment. From working on ships, to hospitals and being in combat zones, the stress will never stop. For some reason though I thrive working in chaos. Doing something to push myself every day. I know it sounds crazy, but I love it and honestly wouldn’t change it.

Update: My Stress in School

Navy Corpsman school like all schools is …wait for it…stressful! I knew, who knew? Sometimes I think it has been more stressful than a deployment or working in the EMS field. Being thrown into this new boot (newbie) environment was a shock to my system, all the way down to my core. Being a fleet returnee (someone who has prior service in the military), I had to follow the same rules as everyone fresh from boot camp. Thank goodness I wasn’t alone in this process though. There are other fleet returnees here too. We became each others sounding boards to help us make it through school. Being 26 years old and treated like an 18 year old is so hard to wrap your head, but we had to do it to a point. We also were put in charge of our class and have to make sure they don’t get in trouble and show up to everywhere they are supposed to be. Talk about being stressed. There have definitely been moments when I wanted to have a meltdown and just leave and go back home, but I didn’t. I didn’t allow this type of stress to get to me and here were some of the things I did to cope:

• Worked out at the gym with my roomie. Did yoga and meditated.
• Wrote in my journal about my emotions and what made me upset. Happy or sad, I basically recorded my day.
• I read some books that I brought from home while sipping Yogi Stress Relief Tea.
• Listened to music that would calm me down and allowed me to find my zen again.
• Talked and talked AND talked to my family and friends that understood what was going on.
• Shopping therapy! I have no shame, sometimes it helps when you can wear something you feel good in. Like comfy pajamas.
• Friday movie nights, with popcorn and snacks included.

I know this seems like a random list of things, but for me it isn’t. Its what helped me when I started bottling up the stress. I’m still learning and trying out different things to help de-stress and get back to feeling light and airy. It may take trying different techniques, and different things to see what really helps and speaks to you. Don’t allow stress to win and take hold of your life. You can get through anything if you try. We are all stronger than we think.

“Appreciate yourself, and honor your soul.”

-Yogi Tea

Shout out to my family and friends who deal with me when I am a crazy stress ball. Love you ❤

October 28th 2019

Sometimes we forget the ones who are there for the chaos in our lives. When things get beyond stressful. Always appreciate our First Responders. Love you guys! A thank you goes a long way. Trust me.

Long Day

Today has been a long day…well my day is still going. It has been one of the more physically challenging days at work I’ve had in a long time. Getting back into the gym to work on my strength and body mechanics sure has helped me since I pulled my back. Wearing my back brace helps a whole lot too. EMS is one of the most backbreaking lines of work out there, its ranked in the top 5 and I can see why. If you don’t take care of your body, your body won’t be able to take care of you. I just wanted to maybe vent a little, remind everyone to take care of themselves. ♡

Working In This Heat!

Hello all my amazing people! Have ya’ll noticed this heat we’re going through right now?! Apparantly 85% of the United States is sweating through a heat wave! I know my area of California doesn’t quite count for that statistic but I think 92* weather is hot enough! Working in this heat takes a toll on your body and your mind. Your body is trying to keep all your organs nice and regulated so you don’t overheat and have a medical emergency. Helping your body not go into overdrive is sometimes hard to do. We all work in different fields of the job industry. Some of us have some A/C, some of us work outside all day or work without A/C. Wherever we work we can still help ourselves. Now being an EMT I see a lot of heat related emergencies. Peoples body will overheat and they don’t have the ability to cool it down…we dont want to get to that point…ever. Some easy ways to cool down:

• Drink drink drink. Just a little bit of water can go a long way. Gatorade also helps because it replenishes your electrolytes.
• Try and rest in between working. If you can only safely work for 20 minutes and have to take a break, do it. Your safety is always priority.
• Wear sunscreen. Especially if you’re outside, sunscreen will help prevent the Suns Ray’s from burning your skin which in turn, keeps you cool.
• Try and find shade to cool down in. The temperature in the shade will actually be significantly cooler than out in the Suns path.

Where Can I Read Up On Heat Safety.

There are multiple websites that you can read up on for working in the heat and what to do. One of the leading websites for this is OSHA. Osha will explain what temperature is TOO hot to work in. They will also give more guidance and advice on how to work in this heat.

As an EMT please stay safe in these heat conditions. If you’re starting to feel too hot and dizzy, it is time for a water and rest break! Stay cool everyone!

“Nothing splendid was ever created in cold blood. Heat is required to forge anything. Every great accomplishment is the story of a flaming heart.”

– Arnold H. Glasow