How To Become a Firefighter: What I’ve Learned

I wanted to put a PSA out about pediatrics and respiratory issues since we’re in the influenza (flu) and respiratory syncytial (sin-SISH-uhl) virus, or RSV season. Let me start with a quick disclaimer, I am not a pediatric physician and have no specialty training with pediatric pulmonology. That being said, I do work in the EMS industry and see a wide range of kids, some sicker than others. As a parent I often find myself teetering on the edge of taking my kid to the hospital or keeping them at home and monitoring them. Just know that this is normal. If you are concerned that your child is not breathing normally, super fast and shallow or super slow, just take them in. My reasoning behind that is pretty simple and based on scientific research. The cause of pediatric cardiac arrests are generally respiratory in nature. Kids typically have healthy hearts, so dysrhythmias and heart attacks aren’t usually an issue. What happens is that they “belly breath” and use every little muscle in bet...

I recently wrote a persuasive essay that talks about why Agroecology is needed for the future of our society. I am very passionate about sustainable living in general and especially farming. I was raised vegetarian and we farmed with nature. What I mean by that is we didn’t have chemicals to feed our chickens to make them grow and we didn’t use pesticides to keep our crops healthy. Instead, we rotated crops and use the chickens to help get rid of pests and fertilize the land. By doing things around the farm with that in mind, my family was able to grow just about everything we needed to eat for the entire year. My mother canned or dried some of the harvest for use during the harsh winter months when nothing could grow. Our crops were always producing more than we could eat. I can remember my dad would have us kids put a bunch of veggies into baskets and we would drive into town and donate them. Even when it was a rough growing season, we would always seem to have at least a few foods g...

  In today’s world there is a big emphasis to achieve more, do better and make more money. With all of these grandiose goals brings priority dilemmas. Sorting through and defining one’s personal and professional priorities brings stress and lots of it. Having a strong and robust work/life balance can help. Some things to take into consideration when setting priorities would include, in no particular order, your significant other and what their goals are, both professionally and personally. This is where good communication and a solid foundation of trust and respect will go a long ways. As strongly as one might feel towards something they want, their partner might feel just as strong in their opposition. Happiness is far more important than money. I know it’s easy to say and not so easy to walk that walk. This idea isn’t new and this isn’t a new concept for anyone, but really striving to value time more than money will slow life down and help people notice the little joys in life. E...