Halfway through med phase update pt. 1

One more tick in the box.

Thanksgiving marks another part of the course behind us. The past 3 days has been spent testing the course on the medical knowledge we've accumulated so far. Wednesday was a written exam and Thursday and Friday were practical exams. We were tested on our ability to follow the patient assessment model for limb injuries (in this case a broken leg) as well as CPR and defibrillation. We've had plenty of time to practice and the tests were pretty easy by the time we actually did them. Everyone passed all the tests with no serious problems.

On a bright note Ewa is back from her 7 month deployment with the Navy. I drove down to Victoria to meet her when she got back and we spent the week up here in Comox at an oceanside cabin. She has a ton of pictures from Malaysia, Dubai, India, Japan, Spain, etc..... It looked like a pretty good deployment but I'm just glad she's back!

Vehicle Extrication

First IV

Entonox

A day in the life........

Med update

OK so we're into the thick of med phase now and it's all good. We're just doing some basic stuff right now to get the procedures to become a habit. I've done all of this before since I was lucky enough to get an advanced medical first response course. But this week we start to get into things I haven't covered before. Pain management using Entonox (laughing gas), which of course we have to understand it's effects in order to use effectively. So that means we will all be sucking back on some laughing gas and I will be sure to get some video footage of that. Also we start doing pharmacology and IV administration. I'm really looking forward to that. I've never put a needle in someone and then forced drugs directly into their bloodstream. Muuuuaaahahahha!

Also the picture below is of two guys (Geoff and Eric) while we were learning how to properly auscultate (fancy word for listen) to someones breathing. It just worked out that they were making the gayest faces ever when I took it. Add a caption and some bordering and walla! Magic.

1 month down, 10 more to go

Medical Phase

Well the start of the medical phase has begun. The regular Primary Care Paramedic course is 4 months long with another 3 months to do the practical portion in ambulances and in ER's. SAR Techs do the course in 3 months and have 10 days to do all the required practical work in the various hospitals and ams around the coast. RAD. After a lengthy period of time of since ground ops (Sunday) we show up to work on Monday and get issued a massive amount of books. That pic is the required reading for just one of us.


After that we were given an assignment due for tomorrow on top of the 3 hours of reading a night. Everyone was split into pair and had to do a presentation on a system of the body. Christian and I got the Digestive system. Zuko and his partner got the Reproductive system. The pic below is Zukes stellar vision of what the Gonads are all about.

HAI/Ground Ops

Another phase down. High Altitude Indoc in Winnipeg was pretty easy. The purpose of it was to understand how your body reacts under thin atmosphere and to recognize the signs and symptoms of hypoxia(shortage of oxygen), there are a lot of signs and people tend to have different one's which is why we all had to do it. Winnipeg sucks as far as I could tell, the only cool thing was taking limo's to and from the airport and hanging out in the executive lounge(it's good to be a SAR Tech). It's too spread out and it was just a boring phase so I imagine that had some impact. It was pretty cool though going to 30Kft (higher than Mt. Everest) in the hypobaric chamber and getting all fucked up.
After a week of that we took another plane to Edmonton, got on a private bus and drove to Jarvis Lake, the same place we did selection. We were told it would be a relaxing phase and a lot of fun. It was a lot of fun but relaxing........ hells no. The days start at 0700 and end anywhere between 2200 and 2230. And these aren't normal work days as most people would call them. SAR Tech work days differ slightly. For example, one day we spent building improvised stretchers and carrying people through swamps and bush for hours on end. Not cool, but extremely valuable training. Another day we had to search for a 17 year old boy with special needs who was also an insulin dependant diabetic. We started from the highway and worked our way in towards the lake. Once we got to the lake we received info that he was spotted on the island in the middle of the lake. Now Jarvis Lake is a high altitude, glacier fed lake and it's September, so it's effin' COLD. So we strip down and pack everything in our bivy bags and hit the water. Once on the other side we get dressed again, ruck up and continue the search. I happened to be in the front and found Johnny, a heavy mannequin. So now we have to construct a raft capable of keeping Johnny out of the water. It's kind of funny to see a group of axe wielding men on a beach with huge packs on, making a raft in their underwear. Everything worked out okay though and again it was an extremely valuable exercise. These are just a couple examples of what the week was like. Good training but it was a loooooong week and my body is feeling it now.

Clinical Sciences 200 done!

Well the first of many tests is done. For the past 2 weeks we've been trying to remember the information that would normally be taught to us over the period of a semester. Well today was the test day. Kind of significant since it's the first of many tests. Almost everybody passed though so it's all good. And for the one's that didn't, it's just a small matter of working on some weak areas before the re-test. The beauty of this course is that you take 16 guys, and no matter what you ask them to do or learn, they can do it.

This Sunday we leave for Winnipeg to do high altitude indoctrination for a week and then to Jarvis Lake to do ground ops.

The picture is of a SAR Tech ruck sack. Much better than the shit they give the guys in the Army. That's all the kit I'll be lugging around Jarvis Lake in ground ops. The other picture is of the guys just chillin' in our lounge.

Beach party

Course/family get together at Air Force beach. Good times.

Zukowski's zombie eyes.

This is the best job ever.

Well we're only halfway through the second week and this is officially the best job ever. Not only do we get to learn the coolest combination of skills in the world (ie. paramedic, skydiving, mountain climbing, etc.) but we also get treated really well, are given some sweet equipment, and get pro deals (50% off) on Helly Hansen, The North Face, Sierra Design, and Smith and Oakley glasses. Best job ever.

We started group PT which is run by the fitness staff. Needless to say it's pretty hard. We've done sprints up sand dunes while fireman carrying another man, crab walks up sand dunes, pool PT, you name it. The picture here is of a guy puking during pool PT. The course had to tread water for an hour straight while passing two 20 pound bricks around the circle, one clockwise and one counter-clockwise. Concurrently a guy had to break off of the group and do 25 pushups, a rope climb, and 15 chinups before rejoining the group and another guy leaving. And yes they have put a rope for us to climb and a chinup bar in the pool so you have to start out in the water. Good times had by all. Hopefully I'll be able to get some underwater shots of the guys bobbing for bricks this week.

Course Schedule

Pre study PCP and HAI/AMT
11 August - 22 August 08(pre-study) 25 August - 29 August 08 (HAI/AMT)
CFSSAR and CFSSAT at Winnipeg,Manitoba
The pre-study medical covers the anatomy and physiology portion of the primary care paramedic training. The high altitude indoctrination will include air medical considerations, physiology of flight and exposure to the effects of hypoxia.

Ground operations
30 August - 07 September 08
Jarvis Lake, Alberta
Theory and practical application of ground search techniques, search planning, man tracking and advanced navigation skills.

Primary Care Paramedic Program
08 September - 19 December 08
CFSSAR and Victoria BC
Twelves weeks of theory and practical training in pre-hospital emergency care covering anatomy, physiology and treatment of trauma and medical emergencies. Three weeks of in-hospital and ambulance practicums will follow the classroom theory.

Winter operations
05 - 09 January 09
CFSSAR
An introduction to winter back country travel and avalanche rescue techniques.

Arctic Operations
12 - 23 January 09
CFSSAR, Resolute Bay Det, Nunavut
Training and operations utilizing SAR Tech equipment in extreme arctic conditions.

Dive phase
26 January - 06 March 09
Fleet diving unit Esquimalt, CFSSAR and Helicopter egress
This phase is 6 weeks in duration and is conducted at the FDU, CFSSAR and Survival system in Dartmouth N.S. The SAR Student are going to be trained in the skills necessary to qualify as a SAR Tech Diver , including overturned vessel survivor extraction.

Sea Operations
09 March - 13 March and 23 - 27 March 09
CFSSAR
An introduction to sea survival, helicopter and fixed wing rescue procedures.

Parachute Operations
30 March - 15 may 09
Arizona and CFSSAR
Training in parachute operation's to include packing, inspecting, jumping and airmanship. Parachute descents will include both static line and freefall.

Mountain operation
18 - 29 May 09
Jasper, Alberta
An introduction to basic mountain climbing skills and rescue techniques on rock, snow and ice.


SAR Fundamentals and operational phase
31 May - 12 Jun 09
Jarvis Lake, Alberta
Ground search followed by operational type training putting into used all previous phases and skills. This is an assessment phase used to evaluate the individual on his performance and will be the deciding factor for the SAR Tech QL5A qualification.

Grad Week (Grad day 18 June 09)

15 - 19 June 09
CFSSAR

SAR Tech birthday bumps.

First Day

Well Course 42 has officially started. The day started off with an unofficial welcome by the course NCO. He told us what to expect from today and we shared some laughs. He basically told us to forget everything that happened on selection, meaning all the negative motivation, and that the instructors are there to ensure that we finish the course. That was good to hear. I spent the whole day waiting for an explosion that would leave us all panting and sweating. But it never came.

We did the SAR Tech PT test in the morning and as you can see in the picture, some of us even blew some chunks. The end of the day finished off with us doing our first of many sets of pushups. It was a good feeling. I'll try and get some footage of some random "extra-training" that we're sure to do tomorrow.

Pre PT test PT test.

The guys got together to run the PT test prior to the real thing on Tuesday. It consists of a 2.4km run, 31 pushups, 33 situps, 8 chinups, a 450m shuttle run at 20m intervals, and a 2X 6m rope climb. All of this needs to be done as fast as possible to a maximum time of 17 minutes. Believe me it is a hard test. Especially if you push yourself. Our course runs it anywhere from 13:30 to 15:00 minutes. Hardest 14 minutes of your life.

Finally arrived.

Well I finally made it up to Comox. Goddamn it was a tough go getting out of Esquimalt but it's finally done. The drive up was actually pretty nice considering it was blazing hot out and there's no a/c in the car. It's a fast highway. 110km/h speed limit which means I was going 140. I made it in just over 2 hours which is pretty good time. Only used a quarter tank of gas to. Perks of driving a Hyundai Accent.

The first thing I noticed is how small this base is. Navy bases are typically pretty small because our training area is the ocean. I guess the Air Force has the same concept with the sky. Nontheless I was suprised at how small it is. Much like I prefer small towns, I also prefer small bases. The reason is you can get to know people and make social connections. Another reason is the food is MUCH better here than any other base I've been on. I have yet to have a bad meal and some have been truly exceptional. Another perk is that the Canadian Forces School of Search and Rescue-CFSSAR- is right across the street and the gym is just behind that. Another good thing is that a friend of mine, Kevin Jones is posted here as the mess manager of the Junior Ranks mess. Kev is a 2nd class Petty Officer in the Navy and is the guy who helped me become a diver long ago when I started this quest to be a SAR Tech, so I owe him in a way. Aside from being just a great guy, he's also in charge of all the booze!

The rooms are okay. All the army guys have been complaining but compared to shacks in Esquimalt this might as well be the Hilton. There is this one guy who stays here. He's like a 45 year old Corporal and all he does is swear. He will be walking down the hall muttering "fuckin' cocksucker" and in the shower you can hear him swearing away. I swear to God I have not passed this guy or seen him once without hearing him mumble some kind of curse. On a different note, it's great to see the guys from selection again. Especially after spending 5 years in the Navy it's good to be around guys of like mind. I sometimes had problems keeping fit and healthy in the Navy due to the fact that everyone parties and no one works out. It's hard to keep motivated when you're saturated in that kind of environment. Shouldn't be a problem now. I'm in good shape but some of these guys put me to shame.

So right now most of the candidates are balls deep in paramedic text books trying to absorb as much as we can before the start of the PCP phase. Man this stuff is hard to retain.

Before I forget I would like to mention that Ewa and I hadn't been able to talk to each other due to some problems with my cell phone or something for about a month. I got a call tonight from her with the confession that she had been dialing the wrong number this entire time. No big suprise to anyone that knows Ewa. One of the many reasons why I love her.

The picture is in my 5 star room wearing a course shirt. Kinda lame I know but it felt good to wear something with a set of pararescue wings on it.

Almost there......

OK well it's been a very long wait but the time is allllmost here. After completing the prelim and waiting for messages for a period of months, I finally leave for Comox on the 21st of July. Despite my every effort to make this as fluid a transition as possible, I've been thwarted at every turn. I was one of the first guys to get an offer and I had my medicals done immediately. But my paperwork was lost somewhere in Toronto for 6 weeks resulting in: a late posting message which forced me to move back into barracks and; an inordinate amount of stress. Anyway no time for sob stories.

On the good side I am leaving Victoria in 3 days to go to Comox. I've been trying to secure accommodations in Comox so that I would not be forced to live in Barracks up there. As luck would have it, a good friend of mine was recently appointed accommodations supervisor up in Comox and he's been working to ensure I get the place I want. They have fully furnished one bedroom apartments available to military members up there but the waiting list is huge. Luckily Jonesy is in a position to put my name at the top of that list. It's very important I get this place because I cannot afford to live off base in an apartment downtown, both financially (I'm losing a substantial amount of money leaving the Navy) as well as time wise as it is a very intensive course and I don't want to be far away from the base. More importantly Ewa will be able to come and stay with me when she has the time without having to worry about a hotel or anything, whereas we would not be able to do that if I were in barracks.

I'll update this again after I get situated in Comox.