Sad day for Hospital Wing and Lebonheur Children's Hospital

 

 

Flight Team Update: With the families' permission, we can now announce that the Le Bonheur family members lost today are Pedi-Flite Nurse Carrie Barlow and Pedi-Flite Respiratory Therapist Denise Adams.  Pilot Charles Smith also died in the crash. Their legacy will live on through the care that they provided for so many children during their careers. Our thoughts and prayers are with these employees, their families and the Pedi-Flite and Hospital Wing crews.

 

I knew both of these Pedi-flight crew members. They loved what they did and their care has improved the lives on many Mid-south children and positively affected many families.

While I am sure heaven has gained three new angels, my prayers are for their families and co-workers.

When the light bulb turns on!

When the light bulb turns on!

 

While I was “running” today, Ralph and I had a very in depth discussion about life. Now understand, my version of running is more like an unstimulated zombie shuffle.
I do realize that I am aging (NOT getting old), overweight, stubborn, sometimes obnoxious, uber competitive, and very opinionated. Whenever I forget any of these things, Ralph sees fit to prod me back to reality.
Prior to my last 6 ...month assignment in Alaska, I worked out with a personal trainer two days a week and had “adjusted” my dietary habits some. This resulted significant improvement in my overall health as well as a 44 pound weight loss. While in Alaska I walked a couple of miles 2-3 times a week and erratically used resistance bands for upper body workouts. While I did not gain back any weight, my overall conditioning suffered fairly significantly.
A few weeks ago I went with my wife, Kat, to Augusta, GA for her to compete in her first IM 70.3 (half Ironman). I had the privilege of meeting many of her Tri friends there who were also competing. One of them slipped me some of their “koolaide” and I am now starting to train for a Sprint distance Triathlon at Memphis in May 2014, thus the reason I was out running.
I now am working with Leslie Brainard (triathlon coach extraordinaire – www.trinitytricoach.com) who has given me a personalized training schedule to prepare for the Memphis in May event. The workouts rotate between swimming, biking, and running. Now my version of running is more like an unstimulated zombie shuffle.
I live with a wife that started training and getting fit two years ago and has completed events from 5K, half marathons, and a Half Ironman 70.3. My competitive side thinks that I should be able to consistently run sub 15 minute miles, ride my bike forever, and swim like Flipper. My body tells me: WTH are you doing to me. And good old Ralph tells me that I am a fat failure, that I am too old to start this crap now, and many other “non-encouraging” remarks.
I consider myself a spiritual person. I have a God that I talk to on a very regular basis .When I run, I listen to a very eclectic array of music. Today, while Ralph was attempting to fill my head with self-doubt and excuses, “Through the Fire” by The Crabb Family began to play and light bulbs began to flash! The words say: “He never promised that the cross would not be heavy”.
That is when it hit me and Ralph was speechless. This isn’t supposed to be easy! It is work! I have watched Kat sweat and work very hard to be where she is. I have observed the price that these Triathletes pay to accomplish their goals. I needed to suck it up and get moving!
I deal with life and death situations on a regular basis and have been told I do it well. Well I have thoroughly explained to Ralph the following: 1) Water is just “wet”, I will swim better 2) The bike saddle hurts my ass, callouses are earned, I will earn some and 3) running is just putting one foot in front of the other and NO ONE cares how fast I get there as long as I don’t give up!
It is ok if Kat is faster, she will be there cheering me on when I get there. If Ralph or I need an “attitude adjustment” Kat or one of our Triathlete friends will have no problem giving us one while being there to encourage and cheer for my accomplishments, no matter how insignificant I think they might be.

Have a GREAT week!

Nursing: A Rewarding Career Choice for Both Genders

The following is provided by Sandra Mills and is definitely food for thought.

 

Nursing: A Rewarding Career Choice for Both Genders

 

Thanks to a steady pay check, an abundance of employment opportunities, and stable job growth, nursing has become one of the highest "in demand" professions in the country. One of the reasons for this field's growth in popularity, is due to a variety of opportunities within the nursing profession. From working in a traditional hospital setting, to providing in home nursing assistance or hospice care, there is no shortage of unique and exciting career opportunities for nurses.

Traditionally, there has been several degree tracks which lead towards obtaining nursing certification. However, over the course of ten years, many hospitals have eliminated positions for licensed practical nurses, instead opting to hire registered nurses who have obtained a bachelor’s of science in nursing.

While nursing has remained a popular degree choice for women in college, men are starting to excel in this historically female dominated field. One of the biggest hurdles that male nurses face, is a negative stereotype. Many people assume that male nurses are simply medical students who were unable to become physicians for various reasons. Most male nurses cite their reasoning for entering the nursing field, as being due to a desire to provide empathetic, personalized care to their patients. While the average salary of a male nurse remains slightly higher than females, there is more gender equality within the field of nursing than among most other lines of work. Read actual facts on males in the nursing field, as well as general nursing career statistics, in this male vs. female nurse infographic created by Carrington.edu.