Hello, all. I don't mean to brag, but I had an incredible
weekend. It was my good friend Alex's birthday, so Friday after
clinic, my buds and I took off to Orlando for a celebratory
weekend. We took it somewhat easy the first night, staying in for a
homemade fajita/taco night, but hit the ground running Saturday
morning. After my buddy Joe and I cooked up a breakfast feast for
everyone, it was to the nearest watering hole for a day of college
football rounded out by a FSU victory over our in-state rivals, the
Miami Hurricanes. The win was a little too close for my liking, but
hey, a "W" is a "W".
The weekend was still far from over as we made our way to Epcot
on Sunday for the International Food and Wine Festival. If you've
never been to the Food and Wine Festival, do yourself a favor and
head on down one year. There were over 30 countries represented at
the festival, each offering incredible food and local libations.
Needless to say, Sunday night we were feeling good, not so much
Monday morning, but I guess you have to pay to play sometimes. The
exclamation point on the weekend came on Monday night at the
Orlando House of Blues when we saw Passion Pit kill it live. I
think Al had a pretty decent birthday weekend if you ask
me.
Lessons Learned
Speaking of cutting loose, I have a little story from a few
weekends ago that combines a work with play. A few weeks ago, my
dad, uncle and I went out for dinner and a few drinks in downtown
St. Pete. We had a great dinner, had more than a few laughs, caught
up, and then decided to hit a little jazz bar down the road for
some good music and few drinks. It was a busy night, but
miraculously we scored a table right up front, which was even in
close proximity to the bathroom.
Not even two minutes after sitting down, we noticed a young girl
being helped to the bathroom by a few of her friends. She was
having a bit of a hard time getting there on her own, but hey,
we've all been there at some point or another. As she stepped into
the bathroom, her friends made their way back to the bar, but
before she could close the door, she fell straight back and struck
the back of her head on the concrete floor. At this point Dr.
Stepanovsky's emergency medical situations class took over. I could
hear Dr. S's voice in my ear; stabilize the head, and check your
ABCs (airway, breathing, cardiac). The poor girl was unresponsive,
but had a clear airway, was breathing, but had a faint rapid
heartbeat. The girl's friend, a terrified bar manager, and I kept
the girl stable as she began to come to, and the paramedics
arrived. I gave the paramedics the run down of what had occurred
then Pops, uncle and I immediately made our way to another bar for
a much-deserved drink.
These things really do happen, and I'm very lucky to have
remembered all the training we've been given. As much as you think
that some of what we learn will never happen to you, or that we are
forced to learn some things that seem out of our scope of practice,
when those situations do happen, you will be very happy to know
what you do.
Well, I hope everyone has a quick week and a relaxing weekend.
Don't forget to continue to stay current with all your material,
and never stop studying or practicing. It all pays off in the
end.
Catch ya on the flip,
Dex