Summer Clinicals Started

Today was our first day of summer clinicals, and I had a rather interesting patient today. She was had been diagnosed with MRSA, and we received a warning from the nursing staff before she came into the x-ray department. I'll call her little miss, which is kind of ironic because she was no lady. Our nursing staff warned us that she had been trying to spread the bacteria to other people, including the staff. Little miss would purposely touch the infected wound and then try to touch the staff, or other objects that the staff would later handle.

Transport had dropped her off in the hallway next to the x-ray unit, and I had the pleasure of collecting her for the x-ray room. We were using a fluoroscopic procedure to guide a small needle into the shoulder joint space to collect a fluid sample. The first words out of her mouth was that she "needed" some pain meds to start the procedure. Of course, I told little miss that she would have to talk to her doctor about that, and that I could not give her anything without a doctor's order. So, when she saw the Radiologist that was performing the procedure, the same request fell on deaf ears. She did get the usual local anesthesia though. While we used standard aseptic protocols, we were extra careful to stay safe. Her arm was immobilized, and her head was turned towards the wall to "keep the sterile field" intact. While it was true, it was a two-fold approach to the two problems: the bacteria and the host.

MRSA = Methicillin-resistant StaphyLococcus aureus

And this is where the prepper in me starts to kick into high gear. I always had an inkling that some people would want other people to suffer, just as they are suffering. I guess that the old quote that "misery loves company" didn't appear from thin air. If in today's medical availability, that people can still want to inflict their pain on others, then what about when the system has fallen apart?

Today's Lesson: Treat everyone in a major extended disaster as infectious, and willing to spread it.

It would be a shame to survive a disaster, only to defeated by a virus or bacteria. A minimum distance for air-borne diseases is six feet...a minimum. Other bacteria and viruses can last on surfaces for two weeks. The golden rule around our department: "If it's wet and not yours, don't touch it!"

Do your research on aseptic practices and contamination control.

Keep Right On Prepping - K

Food for Thought

Thanks to all that served, past, present, and future.

Keep Right On Prepping - K

Murfreesboro, AR Crater of Diamonds Field Report

We arrived a little after 6:00pm to find that the visitor center had already closed for the day, and we were unable to officially check into our campsite. Luckily they had tagged our campsite as reserved, and we only had to come back the next morning between 8-10am to sign the paperwork. This was about the time we had planned on entering the diamond fields, so it was a non-issue. We drove around a little bit and found our campsite. It was W5, and it is a walk-in campsite. The rate was $12 per night and had all the features of the  $35/night campsites except for an electrical outlet. The higher dollar campsites are designed more for RVs than campers.

The water spout and trash cans are located at the center of all five of the walk-in campsites. Each campsite includes a picnic table, firepit, and a level area for a large tent.  The best map of the area is here. 

This sign is located right beside the visitor center, and has a pedestal to place cameras for timed photographs.

We bought a new family tent called the Magellan SwiftRise 4 person tent. This is one of the easiest, and quickest tents that I had put up in a long time. The main tent poles are permanently attached to the tent so you don't have to fight with them. You can also get an idea of how large the campsite is at W1-W5.

 

The picnic table has seen better days, and I would recommend a plastic tablecloth since the 3 wooden slats that make up the top of the table are very hard to clean. The local crows did a great job of cleaning up the campsites when people left for the day. They routinely pay a visit to the careless to collect tribute. We keep our food in the trunk of the car most of the time, and brought what we needed down for the meal. We also brought a small trash bag for every meal, so that cleanup was more convenient. I would also recommend a small bucket to do your pots and pans. Paper plates are also nice to use as kindling when dinner is done, plus no clean up!

 

Diamond diggers enter on the left side of the above photo, the wash station is located almost mid-center of the photo. 

Continuing from the right of the first photo, you can barely see the main path that divides the two main digging fields. The main path leads to a panning station that is very muddy, but shaded. There are two panning stations for diamond hunters. The further one was never busy.

This picture also continues from the right of the last photo, but does skip a little bit of the diamond fields. It is about 180 degrees from the first photo. All of these pictures of the diamond fields were taken from under a pavilion that we claimed early in the day. The pavilion had a picnic table in the middle with benches on opposite sides. The old mining building can be seen on the left side, and on the right is some old diamond mining equipment.

 

My boys were just excited to be playing in the dirt and mud, looking for pretty rocks. Generally, we didn't care if we found anything except happy memories.

 

My brother and his three kids joined us to dig in the dirt, and it's good to have the cousins playing with one another. Here is the great hunter-gatherer community fighting the local ants. Red Ant with Pincers, the stick holder, eventually came running back to Sweetheart after the ants decided to attack. Due to injuries, the tribe settled down for some peanut butter sandwiches, chips, and Kool-aid.

We wondered what some people were thinking when they showed up in white tennis shoes and nice clothes. Really? Wear mud boats and some yard work clothes.

The admission is for all day at $8.00/adult and $4.00/child, and children under 4 are free. They also rent screens and pans for the wash stations at reasonable prices---Save the receipt with the deposit!!! We didn't have a problem, but could see how losing it would put you out the $20 deposit fee.

We were probably about a month too late to be tent camping, because it was hot and humid in the afternoons. We had to do tick checks on the boys, and found a total of five over the course of the weekend. The bath house was nice to have, but wasn't designed very well. It was hard to get dry and clothed after your shower, and the bathhouse got very sticky afterwords. We'll do it again, but maybe in the cooler months between the first and last frost dates of the year.

Keep Right On Prepping - K

An Honest Question About Silver

To all of the good people that buy silver:

Where is a good place to SELL your silver? How would one sell without internet recordings  (gov't), and fees taken out (EBAY). I'm thinking of buying silver as an inflation hedge for both of my boy's ( 4 and 7 ) education. While it might be a few years before I start to cost dollar average the investment, I haven't seen any articles pertaining to turning the silver back into fiat currency. Comments are welcomed!!!

Keep Right On Prepping - K

MRE Monday - Cinnamon Bun Shelf Stable

We thought that we would play it a little safer for the sake of the boys. We don't want them to become negative every time we pull out an MRE for a review, so we occasionally pick desserts or sweet treats.

Nutritional Information:

Serving Size: 3.5 oz.
Calories: 330
Calories from fat: 80
Total Fat: 9g or 14% DV ( Daily Value )
Cholesterol: 0mg or 0% DV
Sodium: 430mg or 18% DV
Total Carbohydrates: 49g or 16% DV
Dietary Fiber: 4g or 15% DV
Sugars: 16g
Protein: 6g
Vitamin A: 0% DV
Vitamin C: 15% DV
Calcium:  10% DV
Iron: 8%

Expectations:

I would love to have a sticky sweet cinnamon roll with the a sugary coating, but I know better from previous MREs.

Realities:

Row, the seven year boy, took his usual cautionary bite and said that "I really do like it", but didn't want a second piece. We have begun to issue a star for the boys if they take another sample. So, since he didn't want another sample, no star. He did finish his first small sample, but we don't give half stars on our reviews.

Red Ant with Pincers, the four year old, only said that he liked it, and he took another sample.

MIL had a very simple and elegant approach to the MRE reviews. She rated them according to if she "would eat this on a hike or a march". She liked the compact texture of the MRE, and said that "it was good enough to eat."

Sweetheart liked the texture and the taste of the cinnamon bun. She compared the cinnamon flavor to the Hostess fruit pies and commented that the flavor was throughout the entire MRE dessert.

It was not what I expected, but I also knew better from previous experiences. The cinnamon bun took on a Poptart shape, and the filling was of the same type. The cinnamon flavor was good, but not everwhelming, The filling had an excellent flavor for a processed dessert. The bread texture was on the heavy side, much like all the MRE bread snacks. This MRE is the same variety as the Apple turnover and Cherry turnover MRE, but only with a different filling. If you liked any of the others, then it would be save to assume that you would like this one.

Final Thoughts:

Compact, durable, and a long shelf life. It is flavorful, but not what most people would image a cinnamon bun to look like.

Stars: * * * ( 3)

Back at Home

We arrived home from the weekend camping trip to Murfreesboro, Arkansas to dig for diamonds. Looks like we will still be going back to work, since we only found dirt, ticks, and mud.

Tomorrow will be the MRE Monday post, then Tuesday I'll try to get a quick field trip report out. I'll be playing a victim for the college EMS assessment test Tuesday morning.

Thanks to all the bloggers and lurkers that stop by this blog. See ya soon, since we have lots of cleanup, laundry and chores to get done.

Keep Right on Prepping - K

Toothfairy Alarm

Row lost a front tooth last night, and he was excited about the tooth fairy paying a visit. He is at that awkward stage where he believes, but has his doubts. So, he set up a tooth fairy alarm to see if it was the tooth fairy, or "really just the parents."

Through his own thought processes, he created the alarm pictured below with the available room resources.

Luckily, the tooth fairy was able to gently slide the block of wood across the floor, and sneak inside to replace the tooth with money. The tooth fairy was able to sneak across the room and make the swap out around 11:00 pm. The door was partially closed, with just enough room to reach inside, and reset the alarm. 

This morning, the alarm was tripped when I entered the room, and Row went straight for the underside of his pillow. He smiled, and said that "the tooth fairy must really be magic". I think so too...I really do.

Row's Room Before & After

Today's project: Before

Today's Project: After

The printer, masking tape, and storage boxes make great ways to organize.

The room will be clean for the next, let's say, 3 hours? Actually, Row does a pretty good job of keeping his room clean, but we all need some help every now and then.

Keep Right On Prepping - K

UPDATE:  After Row saw his room, a hug and a "Thank you", made my whole day worthwhile.