Called by name...

Fear not, for I have redeemed you;

I have called you by name, you are mine.

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;

and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;

when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,

and the flame shall not consume you.

— Isaiah 43:1 & 2

On Kind Words...

"Never give all your pleasant words and smile to strangers. The kindest words and the sweetest smiles should be reserved for home. Home should be our heaven." - Thomas Edie Hill

Undeserved

Captain: I have a question for you.
Me: Yes sir.
Captain: On a structure fire you are up on a roof...and you fall in.
Me: (ok, this is an emergency traffic situation drill and all the procedures start running through my head)
Captain: And you die.
Me: (?)
Captain: What happens to you?
Me: Well sir, because of God's sovereign grace I will immediately be with Him and it will be the best day of my life.

I cannot tell you how hard it was to answer that question. Entirely because I do not deserve to answer that question that way...at all. There is no way I deserve to be in the presence of the Creator of the universe the instant my body ceases to be able to support life. My throat got kind of tight thinking about it...God's grace that is. However, it glorifies God to show grace to sinners.

So...let me ask you a question.

You are on your way home from work tomorrow and a guy who had a few too many drinks during happy hour happens to have parked his car on the freeway. His lights are off. You don't see him until the last minute when you have no time to avoid hitting him. Your chest hits the steering wheel causing the largest vessel in your body to tear apart and you bleed to death. What happens to you?

Quote of the Day

"...all the wickedness in the world that man might work or think is no more to the mercy of God than a live coal in the sea..." -William Langland

Update Option #2...

If you want to continue to follow my progress through the fire academy, please email me at seekingthebettercity@gmail.com...in the subject line please put "update".

Thanks!!

Liz

Due to reasons I cannot go into...this journal is canceled.

If you want updates on how I am doing...just email me...or call me.

Sorry! Thanks for reading!!

Liz

Prevention

A Fence or an Ambulance

Joseph Malins

'Twas a dangerous cliff, as they freely confessed,
Though to walk near its crest was so pleasant;
But over its terrible edge there had slipped
A duke and full many a peasant.
So the people said something would have to be done,
But their projects did not at all tally;
Some said, "Put a fence 'round the edge of the cliff,"
Some, "An ambulance down in the valley."

But the cry for the ambulance carried the day,
For it spread through the neighboring city;
A fence may be useful or not, it is true,
But each heart became full of pity
For those who slipped over the dangerous cliff;
And the dwellers in highway and alley
Gave pounds and gave pence, not to put up a fence,
But an ambulance down in the valley.

"For the cliff is all right, if your careful," they said,
"And, if folks even slip and are dropping,
It isn't the slipping that hurts them so much
As the shock down below when they're stopping."
So day after day, as these mishaps occurred,
Quick forth would those rescuers sally
To pick up the victims who fell off the cliff,
With their ambulance down in the valley.

Then an old sage remarked: "It's a marvel to me
That people give far more attention
To repairing results than to stopping the cause,
When they'd much better aim at prevention.
Let us stop at its source all this mischief," cried he,
"Come, neighbors and friends, let us rally;
If the cliff we will fence, we might almost dispense
With the ambulance down in the valley."

"Oh he's a fanatic," the others rejoined,
"Dispense with the ambulance? Never!
He'd dispense with all charities, too, if he could;
No! No! We'll support them forever.
Aren't we picking up folks just as fast as they fall?
And shall this man dictate to us? Shall he?
Why should people of sense stop to put up a fence,
While the ambulance works in the valley?"

But the sensible few, who are practical too,
Will not bear with such nonsense much longer;
They believe that prevention is better than cure,
And their party will soon be the stronger.
Encourage them then, with your purse, voice, and pen,
And while other philanthropists dally,
They will scorn all pretense, and put up a stout fence
On the cliff that hangs over the valley.

Better guide well the young than reclaim them when old,
For the voice of true wisdom is calling.
"To rescue the fallen is good, but 'tis best
To prevent other people from falling."
Better close up the source of temptation and crime
Than deliver from dungeon or galley;
Better put a strong fence 'round the top of the cliff
Than an ambulance down in the valley.

Its official...

On December 31st, 2008 I was officially offered a job with the LAFD.

I am humbled and honored to have been offered such an awesome opportunity.

...that I may be a good steward...

Year in Review

I just sat down and thought about what, by God's grace, He allowed me to accomplish this year:

Read:
Stepping Heavenward - Elizabeth Prentiss
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - CS Lewis
Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia - CS Lewis
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader - CS Lewis
The Silver Chair - CS Lewis
The Horse and His Boy - CS Lewis
The Magician's Nephew - CS Lewis
The Last Battle - CS Lewis
The Importance of Being Earnest - Oscar Wilde
Till We Have Faces - CS Lewis
Mere Christianity - CS Lewis
The Four Loves - CS Lewis
Do Hard Things - Alex and Brett Harris
Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury
When Every Moment Counts - Senator Bill Frist

Traveled to:
Virginia (3x)
Minnesota (1x)
San Diego (3x)

Recreated by:
Going snowboarding for the first time (w/ Aimee)
Going fishing for the first time since I was a kid (w/ Nick)
Going to my first Dodger game (w/ Aimee and Tara)
Going to a UCLA Softball game (w/ Aimee)
Seeing: The Dark Knight, Fireproof, Valkyrie and a few others (I forget)

Trained over 26 employees (including driver training, remedial training, evaluations, etc)

Passed the GED (huh, what? I know...its long story)

Failed the Glendale Fire Department written test (shoulda got the study guide!)

Got hired by the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department (FxCoFRD)

Completed the hiring process for the Los Angeles Fire Department

Got hired by LAFD 12/31/08

Lost a grandparent

Had my little sister visit for a month (She was promoted to Jr. EMT Skills Instructor at UCLA)

Had two of my brothers in CA at the same time (John and Joe)

Ran a lot (mostly w/ John K.)

Did a lot of pushups (not enough though)

Finally conquered the pullup (still have a long way to go)

Made a lot of new friends

Got closer to a lot of friends

Learned a lot about people in general

Bought a new (used) car...(mine died)(thanks Kenn!!!)

Started to journal...occasionally

Recertified as an EMT

Took (and passed) PHTLS (Prehospital Trauma Life Support) (thanks for taking it with me Nick)

Learned to like sushi (thanks Kenn, Jess, Nick, Kyle and Anthony)

Went to my first FD funeral (w/ Jon, Tyler and Eddie)

Went to my first FD graduation (w/ Tyler, Eddie and Matt)

Lost my favorite partner to the USFS (still miss ya John)

Got a new great partner (thanks Eddie Ed)

Had lots of friends go to and graduate from paramedic school (Jon, Tyler, Trevor, and Ben to name a few)

And our safety record is...

We pulled up onscene to an "Auto vs. Structure" call to find this:



It's impossible to see, but on the whiteboard on the wall behind the car reads this statement:

"Our current safety record is: 348 days without an injury."

Way to go guys! Keep up the good work!

Practice what you preach!

I have come up to some delays in the process with the LAFD. I really don't have anything to worry about, but the busyness of the last few weeks have caught up with me and the volume on my frustration seems to have been turned up. I was venting to a friend of mine who is in basically the same position...but has a better chance of being turned down than myself...and is someone who I have attempted to encourage to be patient with what the Lord has planned. As he returned the encouragement...he said "do everything you told me to do." Practice is much harder than preaching...but so much more necessary, especially when coming to being the effective salt and light spoken of in Matthew 5. So even when I'm tired and my frustrations seem to be heavier than usual, I am thankful for the patience God has shown me, and His gentle way of reminding me through a friend and the support of family to practice the faith I "preach".

Week in Pictures

Chief complaint of the month

I got this call at 02:11 yesterday morning...when we were initially dispatched, this is the information we received (word for word).

"F/20 - feet hurt from walking all day @ Universal Studios"

I got to hang out with three of my best friends and 6 of these adorable little critters this weekend. Sick!!!!

Reading this letter tonight brought tears to my eyes. Not just happy that I received it, but an overwhelming sense of gratitude and appreciation to everyone who helped me get here. Most importantly I am thankful to the one who designed me and created me and placed the desire in my heart to do this work. My #1 goal is to honor Him in the completion.

One more hurdle...

I got a call from the LAFD to schedule my medical/psych evaluation. This means I made it through the final panel review. This evaluation is the last step between me and a tower date. I am excited and nervous. Anyways...one more step to go before an official job offer.

Code 3, Negative PMA...

My partner and I were responding to a "maternity" call in the south side of the city earlier this week when a vehicle pulled across the middle lane and directly in front of our ambulance. People do all sorts of crazy things when they see/hear an emergency vehicle...but this was pushing "stupid" into "suicidal". As I looked into the vehicle that had just risked coliding with a couple-ton vehicle I saw that the male driver and the female passenger were waving at us. It's one thing to make a stupid move because you don't know what to do. It's another thing to attempt suicide by pulling a small car in front of a large vehicle traveling at high speeds...but waving at the same time just doesn't make sense. Unless of course you are almost 9 months pregnant and about to deliver in a matter of minutes.

I quickly notified my partner that I thought that our patient had come to us. We had them pull to the side of the road where hopefully they would be a little safer (We are on a 6-lane road and they are facing the wrong direction.)

I jumped out of the front seat and began to ask some very important questions:

Me: What is the problem?
Female: AHHHHHHHH!!!
Male: She's in labor!!!! (duh?)

Me: How many months pregant are you?
Female: AHHHHHHH! Help me!!! Nine!!!!
Male: She's nine months pregnant. She was due a long time ago!!!!

Me: Shhhhhhhh. It's ok, calm down. I need you to calmly answer my questions so I can help you. How many times have you been pregnant?
Female: 4

Me: How many kids do you have?
Female: 3! Help me!!!!!

Me: Can you make it to the ambulance?
Female: Yes. (Runs to the back of the ambulacne and gets in.)

My partner then told her to lie on her side. I told my partner I thought we should just go since we were right around the corner from the hospital. We informed the male where to go and took off. Enroute I placed my patient on high-flow O2 and asked some more questions. As I placed the mask on her face she kindly informed me that there was now water all over my gurney and ambulance floor. I quickly assessed the situation and came to the conclusion that the infant would complete it's dramatic entrance in less than 5 minutes. Let's make it less than 3.

Now, I was calm and in control of the situation. However, my sympathetic nervous system decided to pump my system full of a chemical that makes it difficult to think straight, your heart race...and can even make it difficult to see details. As I opened the OB kit I found it extremely difficult to distinguish all the small, individually wrapped packages in the box. All I could see was a bunch of towels, the sterile gloves and the bulb syringe. I found this extremely frustrating as I wanted to do well and knew exactly what to do...I just couldn't see well enough to do it. Thanks epinephrine...much appreciated.

My partner parked the rig and opened the back doors. I grabbed the bulb syringe figuring at least I would be able to help protect the infant's airway in case she decided to make her entrance on the gurney between the ambulance and the delivery room.

Running through the sometimes narrow and many-cornered hallways was less than a smooth ride...but we were losing time...fast.

As we pulled into the delivery room the nurses quickly helped us pull the patient onto a hospital bed. No sooner than she was on the bed and the nurse pulled on some gloves the kid made her entrance. At 5 lbs, 14 oz and 19" long, she was a tiny but healthy.

I was mostly disappointed that I couldn't claim responsibilty for an amazing catch....but hey, we did most of the work as far as healthcare providers go anyways. Funny thing was we handled the call without waiting for ALS to arrive. Had we waited...the kid would have been delivered in the back of my ambulance, not in the hospital. It made a great illustration for the EMT class I had to teach the next morning about making transport decisions in the field. If your ETA to the MAR is less than the ETA of ALS...then go.

And we did.

Another step closer...

Today I recieved another envelope from the City of Los Angeles. Everytime I open my mailbox and see one of those City envelopes sitting there...I think my heart skips a beat. I tore it open to read: Background Investigation Complete - Final Panel Review. Basically, the panel review is the last step between me and hopefully a conditional offer of employment from the City of Los Angeles Fire Department.

...snap...I need to do more pushups.

Not an option...

There are many things in life that are reality. Two of which are fear and failure. Both happen. Both are a part of every day life. How often do we use these as excuses for deciding not to do our best?

Fear is not an option.
Failure is not an option.

Relating to what I am working towards (wearing the turnouts of an LAFD firefighter)...the only way I will leave a drill tower is because they:

1) Have to carry me off due to an injury.
2) I am kicked off.

I will not walk off a drill tower a quitter.

"Let's run more red lights!!!!"

My little sister got to spend almost a month with me this summer. Some of the things we did together this summer, included teaching EMT skills at UCLA...and going on a ride-along at an LACoFD fire station. Here is a pic from that day. Fun fun times!!!

My favorite little sister quotes:

Jenn: "what kind of call is this?"
Kyle (paramedic): "a difficulty breather..."
Jenn: "are we going to put him on high-flow O2?"

Kyle: "this is going to be an auto vs ped."
Jenn: "what does that mean?"
Kyle: "it means that someone who was walking got hit by a car."
Jenn: "Cool!!! Is it going to be an MCI?!!!"