First stack on the Madone!

The Madone is my full carbon fibre bike from TREK a Madone 4.5. Purchased as my reward for giving up the smokes last year.
I picked it up on the 19th of January and have ridden about 2400km or 1500m since. My older Trek 7100 hybrid has well over 10,000km or 6200m and today saw the first time the lazy motorist not looking before and during them opening their door get me.
A bit of bark off the knee, swollen finger, sore hand and a 5cm lac on the forearm.
I had only just pushed off so didn't have any speed up yet.
The driver was nice and concerned and accepted blame which I wasn't proportioning out, the bike looked ok and I rode it home but I'll keep and eye on it and so after 400km (250m) ridden while on holidays on the last day and within 3km of home I had my first stack.

Hold off on the get well cards I'll be fine and while the holidays are officially over rostering doesn't have me returning to duty until Wednesday, sweet.

Be Excellent to Each Other and See You at the Big One!

Taz

Ride 4 Epilepsy

At the end of my 1st week of holidays I had three things to do.
Complete and submit two assignments to Uni and to ride with the wife in a 6hr charity event.

The venue was Calder Park Raceway with a combination of the disused AUSCAR (NASCAR) track and the classic race circuit to give a total lap of 4.21km (2.62m) for the Epilepsy Foundation of Victoria.
Why?
Because I don't know if I can!

Look at the banked track behind me (3hr in to the race)

So with 112 other competitors we set off at 0800hrs to complete as many laps as we could in 6 hours. There were also 100k, 40k and 20k rides to compete in and 153 riders did.
From the very serious adult rider to children, roadies to BMX and mums on their mountain bike to families with child seats on the back.

Ambowife flying down the start/finish straight.

Results
Me, 38th overall, 31st male, 6th in my age group with 108.34km
Ambowife, 51st, 11th female, 3rd in her age group with 95.84km

We finished and could still smile and walk.

If rostering allows I'll do it again next year and try to get other ambo's to come along and do something different, uncomfortable and community minded.
They'll be richer for the experience.

Be Excellent to Each Other and See You at the Big One!

 Taz

OMG!

It's been nearly two weeks since I last posted!

We do see some really F%#ked up stuff and watching on TV ain't nothing like being in there amongst it!
We get told the most sick and deviant lies that are very obvious to us.
We are verbally and sometimes physically assaulted by even those we are there to help and save.
Sometimes there is no understanding of management and their workings.
The pay could be better, maybe a City Penalty Rate, it costs more to live here and we do more jobs?
But we love the job even with these and many other drawbacks.
We love it with a passion from the bottom of our soul.
And the odd hours we work are part of our love
Cause we get 2 x 3 weeks holidays AND I"M ON SOME!

Sorry for shouting



Be Excellent to Each Other and See You at the Big One!

Taz

See tonight's busier.

48M - Alleged assault.
Unconscious male, sitting upright in the middle of some steps when we arrived. Tired and resting.
58M - IP, depressed who has a Hx of sporting large knives on his person. None tonight thankfully,
52F - Feeling nauseous.
46F - Feeling anxious.
22F - Who wouldn't believe me that you're supposed to feel funny after smokin' weed and she wanted to go to the hospital to continue feeling funny!
34M - Who called us because someone slapped him in the face, we double checked yes slapped him.
65M - Discharge post CABg.

There was more work but that's all.

Be Excellent to Each Other and See You at the Big One!

Taz

I thought it was quiet!

MVC - Without any patients.
Choking - But they then managed to swallow and cancelled us.
28M - Homeless and there is no hostel beds in the city so he just caught a train up the coast.
58F - Asthmatic who's anxious and SOB, I calmed her down and her breathing got better.
26F - Emotional and just having a good ol' fashion cry, nothing more serious than that but her sister overseas thought there was.
68M - Awoken from sleep with what he thought correctly was AF. He has had an episode about 20yrs ago but this one is not resolving and indeed it was still running around 140bpm hours later.
68F - Laryngeal spasm, she has a Hx for the same but this episode lasted longer and panicked her.

Be Excellent to Each Other and See You at the Big One!

Taz

We are the Mental Health Bus!

63F - Lives in a hostel and was in a local facility for a few weeks suffering manic episodes and they've hit again. She claims to be taking her meds??
53M - Absconded yesterday from a facility and found by Police today for us to return.
68F - Found by Police living at the bottom of someones backyard? sounds like a fairytale but it isn't! Poor love she's homeless and suffers dementia, there are several journals with repetitive writings and drawings I don't know how long she has slipped through the cracks but hopefully we have caught her now.
26F - Known epileptic but an unwitnessed seizure in the bathroom and falling in the tub resulting in two facial injuries meant that I did push the point of transport before her GCS really improved too much.
18mthM - Croup, very good, thinking, common sense parents. We don't see enough of it.
81F - Gastro and as the carer for her husband needed the care of a hospital while a family member tried to cope with him. Pardon the pun but a shit awful way to spent your 81st birthday!
68F - Flu, fever, fainted this panicked the husband but with advice she stayed at home.
61F - Mechanical fall with a resulting swollen lip but she is on aspirin.

Be Excellent to Each Other and See You at the Big One!

Taz

No time to rest at work.

20M - Concern for welfare after a long night drinking. 'Yes it will get better trust me!' And they think they're so tough and worldly.
72M - With increasing mobility issue and today the Misses can't get him out of bed. We talk about long term treatment options and home services and leave them to it as neither wish to come to hospital for this chronic problem.
73F - Social issues that don't require an ambulance.
Unknown - the address is a phone box, there's no-one there so call it UTL.
55M - Well known IP and threatening self harm as he does when he is!
Backup at the Casino for someone fallen down the escalator, cancelled.
Cardiac Arrest that turned out to be a mistaken call and not a medical incident at all.
45M - Spinning a very long and convoluted story that came to the same spot 'I need pain relief' We took him to the hospital and let them give him the bad news. You don't need any.
66M - Septic is a good bet.
89M - End stage CA and becoming acopic at home.


Be Excellent to Each Other and See You at the Big One!

Taz