Tuesday 15 May 2012

Behind again!

The Friday night and Saturday at Glenmore Lodge was a training session for BASP First Aid Trainers.  After dinner on Friday evening it was very much a time catching up with folks not seen for ages and what could euphemistically be called an 'open forum' (drinking session).  I chickened out around midnight having done my best to rid the world of red wine!  I think some of the 'serious' drinkers turned in around two o'clock.

Saturday, snow.  Much muttering about being stuck inside instead of skiing!  Breakfast, a healthy bowl of muesli and fruit followed by a full English and large coffee!! Over breakfast the skiing talk was toned down to "Well, the snow won't have consolidated" and "It'll all be wet and heavy stuff to ski in", so 'inside' wasn't looking so bad after all.
First up was an Aviemore GP and BASICS Doctor who spends a lot of time with the local ski patrol.  He was giving us an update on the management of spinal injuries, particularly injuries to the cervical spine.  To collar or not to collar??  The consensus was that in the winter mountain environment the main factors influencing the decision would be the prevailing weather conditions and the quality/effectiveness of the available method of total immobilisation.  If it's snowing and blowing we would be reluctant to expose a casualty sufficiently to fit a collar as long as an effective method of total casualty immobilisation was available (usually a vacuum mattress).
The removal of full face motorcycle helmets was refreshed and practised, both with an assistant and solo.
Coffee and biccies.
Some discussion on semantics! What terminology do trainers use, is it primary survey, body sweep, head to toe body check!!  Send the doubters back to read the book!!!

Saturday 5 May 2012

Nearly up to date!

Tuesday last week, time for my third quarterly hormone implant.  Also, after a bit of negotiation with the practice nurse I got her to do my PSA at the same time, both are done every twelve weeks so it seemed to make sense to bring the PSA test forward a week or so to get it and the implant both done at the same time.  Next time I collect the hormone stuff (it comes in a fancy pre-loaded syringe) from the pharmacy I must check out the needle gauge, the first two doses were not too bad but the last one felt like a blunt piece of drainpipe being stuck in, it's probably something like a 16 or 18g and I was just being wimpish!  The Bothy is right next door to the Doc's so I felt I had to do a quality control test on a cappuccino, and then I had to have a cake to soak up the coffee!!
Wednesday and eighth spinning session.  The bus gets me to the leisure centre about 45minutes before the geriatric's session starts, so it's possible to sit in the cafe and watch the earlier class still pounding away on the bikes.  Lycra must have some sort of special magnetic qualities because I found it difficult to pull my eyes away from a couple of young things bouncing away on the pedals!!! (it must be something to do with the medication!!).  11:15, we geriatric spinners start our three quarters of an hour of graft!  The beat of the music definitely helps, a mix of 70's and 80's tunes to work up a sweat and get the cardiovascular system up and running.  Two more weeks and hopefully it will be settled weather to get out on the trails through the local woods rather than be working up a sweat indoors.
Off to Glenmore Lodge on Friday, more later.


Thursday 3 May 2012

'Inners' continued

Saturday morning and the bunkhouse kitchen and lounge were remarkably tidy considering the state of many of the previous nights revellers!  Loads of empties stacked up by the recycling bin, several part empty vodka and JD bottles and that was about it!  They were programmed for laser clay pigeon shooting later in the day, must ask them what the clay hit rate was!!
The med team was up and rarein' to go (sort of).  Off to the Co-op to pick up a couple of bags of ice, unfortunately no gin etc, but it would do to make ice packs for soft tissue injuries.  On site at the race base at 0745, rig the easy-up med base tent and sort out the gear for base and two med rescue points on the race trail, then time to issue radios, collect pack lunches, grab a bacon roll and a coffee and see the troops off for their day on the hill.  The kit was taken out by ambulance which provided the opportunity to sus out the access points if a rider was sufficiently damaged and required to be evacuated from the trail.  The mid trail crew had the shelter of a car to hide from the showers in and skulked like coiled springs waiting for action!  No such luxury for the team near the top of the trail, for them it was waterproofs and lurk under trees waiting for riders to break themselves!  Unfortunately the base team had to tolerate the loudspeakers blasting a commentary  and occasionally some particularly odious rap c**p music?? (it can't just be an age thing!!), the plus points at base were an easy-up to hide in, the close proximity of the bacon roll and coffee bar and porta-loos.  We suffer in the service of Rescue Medics!!!
Saturday was registration and practice day, riders could take their time, check out sections of the trail and work out the best line to take on the technical bits.  For the medics it was fairly uneventful, a shoulder rotator cuff injury, a possible scaphoid fracture and an assortment of bumps and scrapes to clean up and dress.  Hopefully Sunday would be even less eventful.  As part of an event medic team it's one job where you hope not to have to do anything!!
1730 last rider off and trail closed, radios all in for charging up, and then it's off to the Co-op for some food and a bottle or three of red.  On return to the bunkhouse all was quiet, we discovered the stag party were having a night visiting the bright lights of Peebles!!  At least it gave us a quiet evening to savour the Co-op's finest 'special offer' red stuff.
An early riser, I was sat in the kitchen having a quiet morning brew when one of the revellers staggered in "My God" he says, "You're up late!", "No mate" I says, "I'm up early, I think you're up late!", "Oh bugger" he said as he staggered off bed ward!!
Day two and the weather appears to be a bit drier, radios issued, lunches, equipment and teams delivered to their respective spots on the hill and wait for off.  Two more hours of practice for those that wanted and then the timed runs starting at 1100.
At base there were one or two walking wounded in for re-dressing or having wrists strapped to provide support for riding and then it was coffee and run through some of the diagnostic tools again for practice, more coffee and wait for the inevitable radio call "Rider down medic required".  The hill troops did a stirling job when ever these calls came through, quickly on scene and evaluating the situation and casualty's condition.  Thankfully the majority, apart from being knocked about a bit had only minor injuries, abrasions and the like, only two had to be picked up by ambulance, one with an ankle sprain and one with a fractured clavicle!  (these things happen if you're going to throw yourself at a great rate of knots down a rocky hill on a bike).
With the race done and dusted we were free to pack everything back into the ambulance for out trek back through Edinburgh and up the A9.  2300 saw us back to Roy Bridge, park up the ambulance and bed.  Another early start as my accommodation provider had to be in Glasgow around 0930 so a drop off in Fort William and a 30 minute wait for the 0715 bus back to Inverness and a second breakfast.