The Definition, The Purpose & Expectations...

MENTAL: Intellectual process involving the mind or could also be a disorder, you be the judge...
MEDIC: Medical practitioners in the armed forces in the old days got given the nickname, it's also an old world herb of the genus Medicago, having small flowers and trifoliate leaves ie the 3 leaf clover.
MONOLOGUE: A long utterance by one person (especially one that prevents others from participating in the conversation).

In South Africa we do not have the luxury of been able to debrief often, its too busy, no this, no that, so we make do with what we have, besides one does not get the award for being the no1 trauma capital in the world for nothing! But this "little rural village" is the most diverse in the world, from one end of the spectrum to the other in sociology, physiology and criminology. Expect to be entertained, shocked, informed, empowered, touched, saddened, sickened, surprised, educated, tested, enlightened and if you are in the EMS would definitely be able to relate to the blog.

So in a nut shell it will be the method of my choice in "debriefing myself", like its needed. If a calling a spade a spade offends you then I suggest you run now, this blog will contain graphic descriptions and pictures that will shock you...

Reality as real as it gets, depicted through my eyes and sharing my experiences with you. Let your thoughts be provoked, mindsets adjusted and attitudes challenged.




Monday, May 23, 2011

Had a close shave today on the R45...Medicare EMR vs. Truck

Thanks to my constant alertness and evasive driving skills acquired over the years in the EMS was I able to avoid a head on with an oncoming truck who at that precise moment of approach had its right front wheel blow out.

This caused the truck to veer into my line forcing me into the shoulder only to have me watch the trucks rim break off and come rolling at a high speed towards me. I had unfortunately no where to go as to the left was a ditch and to the right was a truck. The rim hit the right front side of my response vehicle bursting my tyre on impact. At this stage I was already moments away from coming to a dead standstill.

I'm grateful for the rim not hitting a cats eye or a stone in the road, otherwise it would of become an air born projectile taking me and the windscreen out. This cat has more than 9 lives and its gonna take a lot more than that to scare me.

The point I would like to make is that when you are driving and something happens like this in front of you you need to the following to avoid causing an reaction vs. taking action. Confused? It's all about patience, if you hesitate, you have lost that opportunity, if you get that urge to take it then TAKE IT! When the truck veered into my lane, the immediate thing a average person would do is counter and veer into the opposite direction. While the truck driver is desperately trying to keep it under control and his immediate reaction is to get back onto his side of the road causing a head on.

So you see your reaction to his reaction(action being the tyre bursting) was pre-empted and you jumped the gun and made a fatal error. My advice is to be patient and rather watch what happens giving you the upper hand in being able to react on the actions of others rather than both reacting.

Kind of like the wise words once spoken - Be slow to anger.