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EOL Conference-Who’s Going?

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There is still time to get in on this one.

 

Don’t pull the plug on this unique opportunity to improve your communication skills.

 

You will learn to:

  1. Deliver bad news with a smile on your face.
  2. Withhold good news without feeling the guilt.
  3. Speak very softly to relatives with limited lip movement.
  4. Nod, wink and give two thumbs up to your loved one with enthusiasm.
  5. Inject “where’s all of your money and important papers” into any conversation by using the powers of subliminal suggestion.
  6. Disguise the end-of-life conference as a birthday planning session.
  7. Pull the plug on Grandma and blame the Bush Administration.

 

Author’s Note: At this time, U.S. Senators have stated that the Senate version will not contain “end-of-life care” language. It is the author’s opinion that it is because this language is already contained in the Medicare/Medicaid provisions, where it will remain.

 

Read the provisions here: End-of-life provision.pdf .

 

So, the big question is: why were so many Democrats DENYING that the bill contained End of Life language?

 

And if the bill didn’t contain the language, then why is the Senate saying that the final bill will not contain it?

 

AND President Obama said repeatedly in town hall meetings that a reform bill would not “pull the plug on Grandma”, but it is clear that, if Grandma has a power of attorney, it will NOT be her decision.

 

The truth is that if you are a minor child (under age 18) or are an adult who has a power of attorney, medical decisions of any kind will not be yours’ to make and remember that medical decisions may become financial decisions. I guess that the best thing to do as we get older and are still “of sound mind” is to have a living will and if need be, a “do not resuscitate” (DNR) order.

 

I experienced my first “End of Life” conference when I was seventeen. A very serious bacterial infection had invaded my knee surgery and had taken control of my central nervous system. Treatment had been delayed by 6 weeks by a surgeon who refused to believe that there was something wrong with me, even though I pleaded with him to take off the cast and see for himself. He refused, so by the time he took the cast off, my incision had exploded open from the infection and I was set for more knee surgery.

 

After knee surgery, I had tubes going into my leg that was hooked up to a pump that was pumping antibiotics into my incision and sucking it out the other side. Two days later, I was in my hospital room watching daytime soaps and I started fixating on the corner of the ceiling above my bed. A nurse came by and asked me what I was doing and I said I was looking at the ceiling. She told me to stop it, but I told her that I couldn’t. So, she came into the room and took my head and placed it down, but I went right back to looking at the ceiling. She did it again with the same results. She ran from the room to get her supervisor. It was around one o’clock in the afternoon because “Days of Our Lives” was on TV.

 

From there, things got crazy. All kinds of doctors and nurses were running in and out of my room. They took blood, saliva, cultures; I had X-rays taken, a radioactive brain scan, an electro-encephalogram and finally, a spinal tap. They couldn’t identify the bacteria and my convulsions were growing more violent. They talked about amputating the right leg, but I wouldn’t allow it.

 

Finally, I heard the doctors tell my parents to call the rest of my family in. They had done all that they could. I was yelling at doctors to fix me. I was yelling at my parents not to let me die. Discussions continued on my care. My sisters were showing up and they all thought it was the end. Apparently, they didn’t think that I could comprehend what was going on, but I could hear and understand every word. The doctors told my parents that a doctor in Moline, IL might be able to identify and treat the infection, but I would have to survive the night first. I never closed my eyes, was transferred to another hospital the next day, where Dr. Goldstein saved my life, because he would not give up until he identified the bacterial infection and made me well again.

 

And if I hadn’t been coherent enough and strong enough, I don’t know if I would be here today. There were a lot of unusual events that took place during that time that I was having convulsions. Much of it was surreal, but I know a lot of it was real and I know something outside of my body and soul helped me to fight and to survive.

 

THAT episode in my life, ladies and gentlemen, changed my course forever.

 

So, the moral of this blog is: don’t take lightly the decisions that you must make for your family members, loved ones and friends with regards to their care. By all accounts, I should have died in 1970, but survived. Things happen that can’t be explained by Web MD or the clergy. The human spirit and the will to live are different in all of us. If I get to a point in my life that I can no longer make decisions for myself, then I will trust that to the person that I have shared my life with and be confident that she will make the right ones. And the government can leave us alone to do that.

 

TCSS.

Art

 

This article is protected by federal copyright laws under The Adventures of Jake and Vinnie© umbrella and written by Art Goodrich a.k.a. as ChiefReason. It cannot be reproduced in any form without the expressed, written permission of the author.

Posted by chiefreason on August 17, 2009 • Filed under: Miscellaneous

FIRE Act-Government Bail Out?

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If you think about this question pragmatically, you would have to answer “yes”.

 

Since 2001, the fire service in this nation has been receiving cash to assist them with meeting their stated goals to their communities.

 

My question is: why didn’t we simply get the money to spend as we see fit like the banks and insurance companies did?

 

Why weren’t we allowed to pay bonuses based on performance and take lavish trips to faraway places? Wait; some did, but they’re catching hell for it now.

 

Why were there so many rules to getting paltry sums when compared to the bank, insurance and auto industries?

 

Why can we show the negative effects of a poor business model that results in longer waits for life-saving treatment and no one seems to care?

 

But, if they start talking about eliminating the Pontiac line of vehicles, people are brought to tears!

 

Station closings, brown outs, limited manpower/understaffing, increased coverage areas/increased response times and fire funds “swept” to cover budget shortfalls and you have to ask “should we let the free market decide if our business-our fire department-should live or die?”

 

When our political leaders are standing in front of a group of firefighters, they tell the world that we are every day heroes who have their unwavering support and as soon as they get back to Washington, we wave good bye to more of OUR stimulus!

 

I guess bridges to nowhere are more important than bridges to emergencies.

 

And speaking of “bridges to nowhere”; have you given any thought to the future of your health care? When the smoke clears and Robert Gates has stopped stammering and gasping for words, isn’t it really a question of health INSURANCE reform and NOT health care reform? Because, I have always been happy with my health care, but not so much with my health insurance.

 

If you don’t think it’s an insurance issue, then consider this: think about how you purchase auto insurance and compare that process to how you purchase health insurance. It may surprise you.

 

I know this subject might be too cerebral for many of you and you probably don’t even want to think about it, much less debate/discuss it.

 

And that is exactly what the current administration is counting on!

 

I have read the key portions of the bill and countless articles about health care reform. I have already told my elected representatives that I will continue to decide what’s best for ME and as long as it’s within the confines of the law, I will have my “end of life” conference with my God.

 

So, give me some pork and more bail out/stimulus for my fire department.

 

And while you’re at it, I have someone I want to get into the University of Illinois.

 

TCSS.

 

Art

 

This article is protected by federal copyright under The Adventures of Jake and Vinnie© umbrella and submitted under the name Art Goodrich a.k.a. ChiefReason. It cannot be reproduced in any form without the expressed, written permission of the author.

Posted by chiefreason on August 17, 2009 • Filed under: My Size Up

What Is Learned That Is Not Taught?

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I have read several, recent articles that ponders whether firefighters and their fire departments function better with leaders/managers or strategists/tacticians.

 

There is an axiom out there that says “leaders can manage, but managers can’t lead”.

 

I guess that could happen if you were foolish enough to hire a fire chief with loads of management skills and no firefighting experience. But, in my management training over the years, I found it to be very beneficial to “know the product”.

 

But again, when city governments are scurrying to save money and fill funding gaps, while giving themselves raises, they will “combine” their public safety under one head and here’s a surprise…usually, it WON”T be the fire chief who is the public safety director. Of course, the city manager will tell you that they are the top dog anyway(Note: insert heavy sarcasm here).

 

I happen to be of the opinion that leaders in the fire service cannot rise to that lofty status without first mastering strategy and tactics.

 

After all, you don’t want to sit there like some wide-eyed kid and listen to the discussions on the pros and cons of a good knockdown; you want to LEAD those discussions. When a phenomenon occurs that raises questions in your most experienced people, you want to give them the answer or at least an explanation that leaves them nodding in agreement.

 

But, if you aspire to be a leader, where do you go to acquire the skill set? Which book do you read? Whose class or seminar will you take to emerge as a leader? When will you know that you have become a leader?

 

I have asked some pretty tough questions, eh?

 

I submit to you for your consideration that you CANNOT learn leadership.

 

Now; I have thought about this a lot and I suspect that there are many intangibles that goes into the development of a leader and there it is; leadership is developed; not learned!

 

We all have our personalities. Did we learn that which makes up our personality? Did we learn compassion, charity or our spirit of volunteerism?

 

If we learn to be leaders, then let me ask you this; was the smartest student in your high school class-your valedictorian-the leader of your high school class or was it someone who gave an unforgettable speech at graduation that you soon forgot?

 

Because a leader leaves an impact; an indelible and undeniable, emotional reference point from where you can gather an identifiable link to your character and LEADERS HAVE CHARACTER!

 

And if you were/are uncomfortable with leadership, then you aren’t there yet.

 

I can almost map my development, starting in the 6th grade. I wanted to be in the Safety Patrol. Today, they call them crossing guards and adults volunteer their time. Back then (1963), kids did it. We got to wear a bright orange belt that went over the shoulder, then around the waist and snapped together. We didn’t have a stop sign, but we had to stand in the middle of the roadway, stop traffic and make it safe for the kids to cross the road. We “led” them to safety.

 

Then, it was on to jr. high school, where our coaches would lead us and look for athletes who were their captains on and off the playing field.

 

I played baseball as a catcher and the catcher was the leader on the field. I had to know the “book” on the opposing team, read scouting reports, know their weaknesses and call the game from behind the plate. I told the pitchers what pitches to throw and set our defense, all the while keeping the heads of teammates “in the game”.

 

Granted; there were many things that I had to learn, but they would have been worthless had I not developed it into a plan to defeat the other team.

 

I fervently believe that my early years-years spent with the opportunity to work with leaders-served me well when I entered the fire service.

 

And let there be no mistake; I have read volumes on management skills and stacks of books on strategies, tactics and yes; leadership.

 

Those books gave me perspective. They established a base of knowledge that I had to develop into workable plans to allow our fire department to execute and to complete our mission.

 

It created a belief in them to believe in me and for me to believe in them. That is what leaders do. They don’t lead the cheers; they lead their people.

 

With that accomplished, you are comfortable with your leadership and it doesn’t matter that your name isn’t spoken alongside the names of other leaders.

 

What matters is that you are respected by your men and women as their leader and that is a trust that is stronger than any binding on a book.

 

That is why I say that you cannot learn what isn’t taught.

 

And the payoff comes when YOUR leadership develops new leaders!

 

TCSS.

Art

 

The article as submitted is published under The Adventures of Jake and Vinnie© umbrella and is the intellectual property of Art Goodrich a.k.a. ChiefReason. It is protected by federal copyright laws and cannot be re-printed in any form without expressed permission from the author. You may read other works by the author at www.chiefreasonart.com.

Posted by chiefreason on August 1, 2009 • Filed under: My Size Up • Tagged: , , ,