Visiting Family in WA and OR

I was lucky enough to have 4 days off in a row and chose to drive up to say hi to my family in Portland, OR and Vancouver, WA. It was a typical rainy winter day in Portland but I still had fun playing with my cousins and exploring the city.

I thought it would be fun to go for a run over the bridges. It was raining. Hard, and sideways. I was soaked! Needless to say it wasn't very "fun" but I did love the view of the river and bridges.

This is a typical weekend day in my Cousin's house. All of the boys gathered around the video games. With dad taking over once in a while to beat the unbeatable levels.

This beautiful little girl is Kinsley. She's one of the happiest babies I've ever met. With two older brothers, a cat and a dog, she goes with the flow and has a smile on her face all of the time.

I made the mistake of petting my cousin's cat before going to bed and didn't wash my face and hands. Apparently I'm still allergic to cats.

I wanted to go to Multnomah falls while I was in the area and I had the pleasure of my cousins and their kids tagging along for the day. It was a little cold and rainy and the hike was steeper than the kids thought it would be but everyone was a trooper. I do have to say, for once the view at the top is nowhere near as awe inspiring as the view from the bottom. I hope to come back here soon.

Mt Bachelor

Chris wanted to do something fun for his birthday and so we planned a ski trip up to Mount Bachelor with a few coworkers. We were able to rent a vacation home that everyone could stay in with a hot tub and fireplace for only $30/night per person. It was great!

 I love this man soo much! We are two peas in a pod. 

This is Chris' "old man shuffle"

Good food, great times, wonderful people, priceless memories.

New Years

 We decided to get out of town for New Years and headed up to Medford, Oregon for a fun filled night of pool, drinks and dancing.

A nice dress and heels never stopped me from shooting some pool :) 

 Such a fun night!

One of our good friends and fellow Paramedic Jon Parker met up with us just in time to ring in the New Year.

Six Flags

I have to make a confession. Chris and I bought season tickets to Six Flags! We have an unspoken agreement with our coworker Brandon that whenever we are off doing something fun we're to send him photos. Lets just say that he got quite a few "roller coaster selfies." In these selfies though, you will notice I look a little more like a hick than usual, one of the porcelain caps that I had on my teeth fell off. I figured might as well smile through and have fun anyway. We also tacked on a quick drive through San Fran at the end. I sure do enjoy our adventures together.

Pre emptive "still in work parking lot" selfie!

Highway of the Redwoods.

Saracina Vineyards

 Waking up in San Francisco!

 We were photo bombed!

Adventure to the Oregon Caves

Chris surprised me with a reservation at the Chateau at the Oregon Caves. We were stoked to be getting away for a couple days. This trip would turn out to be one unforgettable trip for both of us. As we were driving up HWY 199 Chris noticed that his car was handling funny so he pulled over to check it out when his tie rod snapped. We were stuck. Unfortunately we were on a portion of the 199 where our phones did not get service. Chris drives this road atleast twice a month and knew that we would get service at the next rest stop just before entering Collier Tunnel. We decided we would walk the mile or so to that point and call for a tow. I was wearing Durango cowboy boots and we were both dressed night for a date night and made for two travelers on the side of the road that no one would stop for or pick up. Short story long, we ended up having to walk and additional 3 or 4 miles to the Agriculture station that is not always open. We were fortunate enough to catch them just before they closed for the day. I had a blister the size of a silver dollar on my heel from my boots and we were more than happy to sit and wait for the tow truck to come get us and take us back to our car. We and the car made it back to Crescent City without too much trouble. Chris and I weren't about to let that put a stop to our date so we hopped into my car and transferred our bags over and set off up the 199 for the second time that day. I'm so glad that we are both laid back and are able to go with the flow and have fun no matter what the circumstance may be. We learned a lot about each other and how we handle the unpredictable situations that life may throw at you. Needless to say, we were able to make our dinner reservation and enjoy the rest of our trip. I'm looking forward to going back sometime. The Chateau was so cute and cozy and the caves were awesome. Here are some pictures from that trip.

This is the view from our room. 

The weather was overcast and raining when we arrived but cleared up over night and gave us sun for our hike.

I can't remember how many flights of stairs you climb throughout your tour of the cave but I do remember feeling like I had just completed leg day at the gym.

The receptionist at the front desk thought we looked great and offered to take our picture. We were the best looking couple at the lodge that night. We missed the memo that the fancy restaurant had more of an informal dress code. Oh well, I enjoyed every minute of it!

First of many adventures with Chris

This is one of the first dates Chris and I went on. It was almost 1 year ago exactly. We went to this really cute cafe in Port Orford, Oregon called Red Fin. Their patio overlooks a beautiful cove.

Its been over a year!!

I've been pretty terrible about posting in my blog while here in California. I do have to say it's been on hell of a year and I will do my best over the next few weeks to get a little more up to date.

Being a Paramedic has not been like I expected at all. Many long shifts with sleepless nights and countless hours and miles on the road to transfer patients to the care they really need. That being said I'm not going through all of these rough times alone. I have an EMS family here that I've gown to love and appreciate so much, and I can't tell you how great it is to bring the ER a patient that is laughing through those hospital doors. I would not trade this first year of working as a medic for anything. I'm so grateful for the good and bad times, the happy and the sad. I'm doing what I love and have the pleasure of sharing it with the one I love. For those of you who don't know, Last year when I moved out here, the crews all warned me about working with Vorhes. They kept telling me that he was tough on new people and a real "treat" to work with. Chris took me under his wing and taught me how to treat patients and apply our knowledge to evaluate and treat the patient as we saw fit. Those weeks we had the opportunity to work together were some of the best I've had on a rig. We had patients that were critically injured, rolling in laughter in the back of the ambulance. More often than not at our own expense but we didn't care, it's what we live for. I couldn't ask for a better friend and support. Since then, we have done everything together and I couldn't be happier. As I said before, I will do my best to update the blog with pictures and stories from all of our adventures.

Life is great!

Katie

Just shy of 2 months

I can't believe I've been here in Crescent City for almost 2 months. The last 55 days have flown by. I have seen and experienced more than I ever thought possible. I'm so glad that I jumped at this opportunity, it has been life changing. I've had the chance to work and become friends with some of the best in the business. When you work in the field of public service you have an extended family for life and no matter where you go, you will always have an awesome support system and group of friends. I look forward to going to work because I am getting paid to hang out with said friends and help people! What can I say, simple joys of life... I've also learned that laughter and smiles are the best medicine we have to offer. If I can get patients to forget the reason they called 911 even if just for a moment because I made them laugh or smile I feel like I have had success. Following the news of Robin Williams death, I felt physically sad. This was the first time a celebrity died where I honestly cared and was saddened because of it. One of my favorite movies of all time is Patch Adams. It reminds me of the kind of medical professional I want to be. Here are a few quotes that apply to what I'm referring to:

"You've got to know what you want. This is central to acting on your intentions. When you know what you want, you realize that all there is left then is time management. You'll manage your time to achieve your goals because you clearly know what you're trying to achieve in your life."     -Hunter Adams

As soon as I decided I wanted to become a Paramedic I realized that it was just a matter of managing my time and following through to achieve my goals. It has not been an easy journey by any means but I was and still am committed to this field of work. Falling more and more in love with the work you do every shift you work is an awesome feeling and I hope it never ends. 

"I'm great at a deathbed. I've never given tranquilizers or psychiatric medicine. I've given love and fun and creativity and passion and hope, and these things ease suffering."     
-Hunter Adams

I've been lucky enough to have been partnered with a fellow medic who I've had the chance to get to know well and in turn have become really close friends. No matter where we go, people both young and old have been drawn to us. It seems at times we have a sign taped to our backs saying "We're all ears." Whether we're working, or hanging out off duty. We've had the opportunity to meet people from all over. The banter between us even on scene has made our patients laugh and even sometimes join in. We have received more complements and hugs from patients and their families after interacting with them then I ever have before. It has been a very gratifying and an awesome experience. I hope I/we continue to have this effect on everyone around us.

“Remember laughing? Laughter enhances the blood flow to the body’s extremities and improves cardiovascular function. Laughter releases endorphins and other natural mood elevating and pain-killing chemicals, improves the transfer of oxygen and nutrients to internal organs. 

Laughter boosts the immune system and helps the body fight off disease, cancer cells as well as viral, bacterial and other infections. Being happy is the best cure of all diseases!” 

-Patch Adams

Time flies by when you're having fun. I challenge those reading this to share the love, laughter and smiles with all you meet. You will be rewarded in endless ways.

Until next time.
Paramedic 259