I invite you to sign The Manhattan Declaration

The Manhattan Declaration

Theodore's Memorial Video

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Book Review: ATLS Advanced Trauma Life Support for Doctors


ATLS, Advanced Trauma Life Support for Doctors is an excellent resource for physicians who treat trauma patients. The book is written very well, with a list of objectives for each chapter listed at the front. The chapters are also arranged in the same order as the recommended management of the trauma patient; for example, the first chapter deals with the initial trauma patient assessment and management (the ABC'S of trauma). Subsequent chapters address airway/ventilatory management, shock, and then trauma management of various organ systems or regions of the body. As always there are excellent chapters addressing pediatric and geriatric trauma, burns, and trauma in the pregnant woman.

The book also includes several appendices dealing with such sundry items as injury prevention, the biomechanics of injury, and trauma scores. There are also sections of the appendix which deal with disaster management, emergency preparedness and trauma care in austere environments. I do not recall these articles being present in the ATLS course I took during my fellowship back in 1995. This reflects the changes which have happened over the past fifteen years in the world - 9/11, the war in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the continued threat of terrorist attacks which is a new experience for this country. I remarked to the instructors that the lessons learned in combat are evident in the course materials.

ATLS started in the 1970's after a surgeon saw how poorly members of his own family were treated at a small hospital after an aircraft accident. Since then, over one million physicians all over the world have taken the course. My reason for taking it in 1995 was to manage trauma patients while moonlighting as a flight physician - the doctor in the back o f the helicopter. Oftentimes we would fly to the scene of an accident and have to deal with whatever we found on the ground. Having ATLS gave me a systematic way to evaluate and treat a patient in some of the worse conditions I have ever been. Those days are over for me; now I stay at the hospital and deal with the occasional trauma patient. But it is still beneficial for an anesthesiologist to be on the same page as his surgical and emergency room colleagues when it comes to dealing with trauma. I strongly recommend this course to all of my colleagues.

The book includes a DVD which demonstrates some of the techniques for minor surgical procedures and airway management. One of the videos show the WRONG way to evaluate and treat the trauma patient. My wife and I found this very amusing. The course itself did not have the dog lab I recall taking; a trauma simulator has been developed which has replaced vivisection.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Bad Poetry About Someone's Birthday


Taken Seriously

Watching you from the back of the chapel
kneeling at the communion rail
I consider what a gift you are to me
straight from the hand of God

Recalling the teenage girl I used to tease
until one day you grew tired of my sport
and asked when I would ever take you
Seriously

the time my brother and I serenaded you
with ‘Sweet Caroline’ as we rowed across the lake
and the fear in my heart when you almost
fell off the roof of that parking garage

a kiss under the mistletoe, then
while dancing at someone else’s wedding
the whispered reminder that you love me
no matter where I roamed

the microscopic diamond, the even smaller
efficiency we lived in
with hard work, separation, books
and a promise as our first roommates

rejoicing with the birth of thirteen children
and mourning the other two who never made it
and the one who died suddenly
in my arms

wishing I were as generous as you
have been in our life
knowing that I could never give enough
in return to show my love for you

with broken cookie bouquets and
edible arrangements which made better compost
roses from Costco bought on impulse
to make up for years without flowers

Thanking God and you for remaining
through joys and sorrows of our life together
I think you knew what you were asking for
when you asked me to take you Seriously.


SMD
5.25.2010

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Advertisement Time-Out

During this lull in blogging, we present another of our favorite restaurants: Chuy's!

Enjoy the reference to the Pink Floyd album Dark Side of the Moon: Light passing through a tortilla chip shaped like a prism, breaks the light into its components.

It is also believed to be a reference to the change from Black and White to Color in the movie The Wizard of Oz. There are many alleged connections between this album and that movie.

Sunday, May 09, 2010

This Blog is Brought to You by....

We present a couple of photographs for your viewing pleasure. Here we start with ZelieLouisa caught in midair on the trampoline:

One day, we had a large box from some sort of delivery. The children decided to make it into the truck they always wanted. They named it 'Little Tex.' Here are Max and Bernard:

Max shows off his ride:


Bernard got into some mud one day, and before we hosed him off in the tub we took a picture of him. He is not happy, but the tub always makes him laugh and smile:

In another picture, he is trying to climb over the top of the sofa:







And now a word from our sponsor. One of my nieces has this Toyota Sienna minivan, and she posted this tribute to it on her facebook page. If only they did a 15-passenger version of this song:



Word.

I would like to see a Toyota Sienna do what our van did today: 3 tons, 13 passengers, 0 to 70 in about 10 seconds to beat a semi as we merged onto a one-lane, cement-bordered freeway lane!



File photo of Sixty One Papa, also known as the Big Blue.

Our Lady of the Mysterious Decapitation

Our Lady of the Mysterious Decapitation
Now restored with the help of some cement!

Prayer to Our Lady of the Mysterious Decapitation

Mary my mother, take my hand today, and all days.
Lead me away from all occasions of sin.
Guide me in fulfilling your last words in the Gospel,
"Do whatever He tells you."
Amen.

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Amateur Catholic B-Team Member