Tag: first aid

Vancouver, BC

Place 72 – Day 167: Vancouver, BC – A Day of Different Times

Kim & Curtis Hale

Curtis’ Day

Curtis got up much earlier today as Kim was up and out the door already, so he was pretty awake.

Curtis leasurely got ready for work and was still very early, getting to work 45 minutes early!

Curtis did get his admin done earlier in the day, though, which was very useful and then he was able to focus on some other stuff.

Curtis didn’t have that much planned for the day, but he managed to get a guide written that he needed to do, got some testing done with some users and then in the afternoon he went back through the new helpdesk software and reconfigured a lot of the things he had already configured so that they were easier for everyone.

Kim’s Day

Kim got in and spent a while going through the mini fridge to organise the best set up. So she emptied it and reorganised the shelves, condensed the drinks inside and put it all back together.

She then spent the next few hours looking into and contacting potential venues for the holiday party. After that she organised some catering that came in and prepared a few toners to be collected by the printing company.

Kim had lunch with a few people and it was really nice to just sit and catch up with people outside of her team.

After lunch Kim finished the main floor plan for the Vancouver office. She then used that new floor plan to draw up other floor maps of where first aiders, emergency exits and other important information is.

Wrong Time & Cancelled Class!

Kim was going to go off to pole training at 18:30, but then remembered that was the wrong time and the class was at 19:30 instead!

Kim only had one class tonight and it went relatively well. Kim was meant to do a second class but it was cancelled so Kim tried to work on her routine but didn’t manage to get too far so she went home.

This Time Last Year!

Mr & Mrs Hale

Advertisement
Vancouver, BC

Place 72 – Day 153: Vancouver, BC – First Aid!

Kim & Curtis Hale

Curtis’ Day

Curtis was still feeling under the weather this morning, so he decided to work from home, mostly to stop himself getting anyone else sick.

Curtis’ day was productive, but not massively busy. He got a couple of hours of project work completed and also got a bunch of tickets sorted, too.

After working, Curtis watched hockey and got his stuff ready for his hockey game!

Kim’s Day

Kim ran out to the shop to pick up cream, but also grabbed a chocolate croissant for herself and a coffee for her colleague. Just after she got back she had a meeting with her teammate and it was really good.

They caught up on a few of Kim’s questions and got up to speed on a few things.

Kim then hopped on a coffee date with a remote worker and had a lovely chat with them.

After that call Kim had a call with the travel agency it go over an issue that cropped up yesterday.

In the afternoon Kim went into the first aid meeting but then no one showed up, so instead she emptied a bookcase and moved it into the kitchen to become a book swap and games area.

Kim would love for this to bring a new social aspect into the workplace!

First Aid

Curtis got picked up by a teammate to go to hockey as Kim had training (still in the same area, so she was able to see Curtis’ game after).

Kim arrived an hour early to pole and luckily there was pole free so she was able to take the earlier class. She did the exotic class and loved it and then did the 505 class, but she was quite tired so didn’t do great, but it was so much fun!

Curtis’ hockey game went really well! He got an assist from a hard working play and the team won 3-1! They’ve now beaten every team in the league.

Kim didn’t get to the rink until half way through the 2nd period as the snow was so heavy, she was being careful driving and she also got some food.

During the game, someone on the other team really hurt their ankle, so Kim did first aid on him for a long while.

After the game, Kim drove home and the snow was really coming down! It’s meant to snow overnight and all day tomorrow, so there’ll be plenty around tomorrow too.

This Time Last Year!

Mr & Mrs Hale

Vancouver, BC

Place 72 – Day 95: Vancouver, BC – Hockey Socks & Evening Swim

Kim & Curtis Hale

Curtis’ Day

Curtis didn’t sleep well at all last night, but he was up and ready for work this morning.

Once Curtis got to work, it was full on from there.

There were a lot of tickets, so he was doing those, but he also had to configure some Macs and took a delivery of some new Windows laptops, too.

Curtis got to do a wide variety of things today, which kept it fresh and before he knew it, it was 16:45!

Curtis left and went to meet Kim at SportChek as he needed to get some hockey socks.

Kim’s Day

Kim spent the day in a state of confusion. It was so hot during the night and it seems like no one in Vancouver slept well. People even told Kim it looked like she hadn’t slept well, that’s when you know you’re looking off!

She started the day by booking the day excursion for the people on the east coast. Then went the fruit arrived Kim organised it all and put it all away.

As there is another visitor coming towards the end of the month, Kim arranged their flights and hotel and sent that back across to HR. Kim then realised that the form they are currently using didn’t ask for all the information needed to make the booking. So Kim drew uo a new one and sent it to HR for approval and they loved it so that was a massive win for the day!

Kim then treated herself to pop out to the post box to post stuff and grabbed a doughnut on the way back. Because they are delicious.

Kim then started her afternoon by doing some more work for her project. She set up some questions she needs a little help with, a meeting with her colleuege to go over things that still need to be done and actually did some formatting and making of pages which was great!

As two more people will be attending the first aid course in a couple of weeks Kim had previously arranged a meering for the afternoon to answer any questions they may. Its also a good time to go through the first aid cupboard and ensure we are fully stocked. Kim rearranged this meeting until next week to allow for people to start their reading and for Kim to have some time to organise a few more things.

Hockey Socks & Evening Swim

We stopped in at SportChek as Curtis needed some hockey socks due to his new team jerseys and socks being delayed so he has to get some temporarily.

Once we got that, and had a bit of a walk around, we walked home.

When we arrived home, we were hungry so we started on dinner.

We noticed that we had recieved a letter which was meant to go next door, so we took it there, to our landlord, and had a chat with him.

We got back and finished dinner, having a similar meal as yesterday but with rice.

We relaxed for an hour or so and then Kim went for a quick swim, before she got hiccups and decided it was a bit too dangerous to swim in that condition!

Once Kim got back, we watched some Vikings and then had a fairly early night, with hopes we might actually sleep tonight.

This Time Last Year!

Mr & Mrs Hale

Vancouver, BC

Place 72 – Day 94: Vancouver, BC – BC Day Relax

Kim & Curtis Hale

Quaint Coffee Spot

We had another relaxed morning and then got out the house by going for coffee.

We walked past a small house which has been converted to a coffee shop on Saturday so we marked it for our next stop!

We went in and it was beautiful inside, but we decided to sit outside with our drinks as it was in the shade and therefore cool.

Kim got an iced caramel latte and Curtis got a cappucino. They use the 49th parallel coffee, which is the best!

Cafe Cittadella | Vancouver, BC

Rating:- 8.5/10

Gym & Swim

We got back from our coffee and Kim wanted to go to the gym, followed by a swim, so that’s what she did. She loved it and even used the sauna briefly!

After Kim was done with swimming, she marinaded the pork we were having for dinner and then we went out for a walk and a drink!

Irish Pub

There is an Irish pub just around the corner from our apartment, so we stopped in there and grabbed a drink whilst sat on the patio in the sun.

Kim got a glass of wine and Curtis got a Guinness, of course.

We left here and went home to have dinner.

Pork Stir Fry & Cleaning

We had Chinese pork stir fry which was terrific! This was exactly what we were looking for for dinner.

We did a bit of cleaning, both vaccuuming & washing and then chilled for the rest of the evening.

Back to work tomorrow, but we’ve had a mostly relaxed weekend with bit of fun yesterday.

This Time Last Year!

Mr & Mrs Hale

Vancouver, BC

Place 72 – Day 93: Vancouver, BC – Pride Parade & Festival

Kim & Curtis Hale

Fire Alarms

We were getting ready to go out this morning when the fire alarm went off in the building.

We had to go outside and wait until the fire department showed up!

Once they came they turned off the alarm and said there was nothing to worry about. Everyone one went back inside and we started getting ready again. Shortly after the fire engine turned around to leave, the alarm went off again! They determined it was a faulty smoke detector and that we should be all good.

Pride Parade

Shortly after the 2nd alarm, we left and walked into the city.

We stopped off at a Starbucks and grabbed a nice big cold drink before walking on.

We got to an area which was a closed road and full of things to see and do, all pride related, with music blasting too!

We timed it perfectly and caught the parade as it was ending at the beach!

Pride Festival

We stood and watched the parade and then once that was coming to an end we walked over to the beach to see what was going on there.

There was a lot of people there, with food trucks, all kinds of stands and music!

Everyone was happy and having a great time so it was a lovely day out. That along with the terrific 30°c heat and it was amazing.

We got a bit tired so we started the long walk back home, via the supermarket.

Jacket Potatoes & Relaxing

We were too warm for proper food, so we had a jacket potato with tuna each which was exactly what we wanted.

We watched some YouTube and TV, as well as cleaning the dishwasher, because we have an exciting life!

Tomorrow is a stat day, known as ‘BC Day’ so we get a day off work! We plan to do very little.

This Time Last Year!

Mr & Mrs Hale

Vancouver, BC

Place 72 – Day 84: Vancouver, BC – First Aid Completed & Linda Is Here!

Kim & Curtis Hale

Curtis’ Day

Curtis had another quiet day today, but spent a lot of it being fairly productive, getting the helpdesk system changed so it was more friendly as well as easier to use!

Curtis did a couple of tickets, one of which was right after lunch, which was good. It took about an hour to complete that and then it was super quiet, so Curtis went into the lounge, got a beer and chilled out.

Curtis did a ticket just before he left and then walked home.

Kim’s Day

Today was the final day of first aid training! For the morning everyone spent their time running through scenarios while teams were assessed by the instructors. When Kim did hers she felt she made some stupid mistakes, but as time went on she realised that maybe she was being a little hard on herself.

In order to get out and about during the day Kim popped put and to the shipping centre to pick up some Tim Bits for the class and get a coffee too!

After lunch people continued running a few more scenarios before sitting down to sit the written exam. The exam was in multiple choice format Kim used all of the exam time to ensure that she triple checked the the answer she had circled was actually the answer she wanted to have circled. That way she would make less stupid and easily avoidable mistakes.

After the written Kim assisted with two other peoples practical exams before being the final person to complete theirs. Kim’s went relatively well and then she helped tidy up the classroom while people got feedback on their assessment. Kim was last again but had really good responses and feedback.

While Kim waited to know whether she had passed or not she went upstairs to the reception desk to book a 2 more people in for the course.

Once that had all been done Kim was the final person to hear whether she had passed or not. Prior to this Kim had seen all of her classmates leave with smiles and their certifications so she was feeling hopeful.

Kim went in and found out that she had passed! She had a nice discussion with her instructor before saying goodbye. It was a really. Great week and Kim had such a wonderful time meeting so many amazing people and having the chance to work with them!

Kim went back up to reception, picked up the reading materials and then headed home.

Linda Is Here!

We didn’t eat when we got home as we were going to eat later.

We watched a bit of TV and then walked down to a hotel in the city.

We checked in to the hotel for Linda and they wanted to hold the whole price of it on the card for some reason.

We went down to meet Linda in the dock when she got off her boat and walked her to her hotel.

After we showed her the room, we all went out for a long walk around.

Chinese Feast

We were really wanting Chinese food and so we ordered some at around 22:00, when we got home.

We ordered from the place we got it from here before as it was good then. We got szechuan beef with noodles, curry chicken with rice and half a duck.

The food was just as good as it was last time! We ate whilst watching Suits.

A perfect way to celebrate success.

This Time Last Year!

Mr & Mrs Hale

Vancouver, BC

Place 72 – Day 83: Vancouver, BC – Not The Microwave!

Kim & Curtis Hale

Curtis’ Day

Curtis’ day was fairly dull and slow, which is the first time its been that slow since he started.

He tried keeping himself busy with things here and there, but it became a struggle!

At lunch, he went to Starbucks and got an iced flat white which was tremendous.

After lunch, it was much the same but around 16:00, Curtis got asked to do something urgently, which he then had to get help from a colleague with an was actually unable to do in the end becuase it seems that only one person (who is not working) has permissions for the site!

Curtis spent until he went on home on this, so at least it passed the time.

Kim’s Day

Today Kim got to the course a little early and helped people who were practicing by being a dummy!

The main focuses today were Major Injuries, Medical Emergencies, Multiple Patients, the Head and Nervous System, another quiz and a practice practical exam.

They started the day with medical emergencies and covered things like stroke, diabetes, angina and heart attack. For each emergency they covered what it is, causes, symptoms and possible treatments. Another thing that was covered in this section was Critical Incident Stress and this covered how to handle the repercussions of being involved in a high stress medical emergency. This covered talking points for the injured, helpers and bystanders of the event and discussed any Physical, Cognitive, Emotional and Behavioral experiences that they may go through. Then they discussed what ‘we’ as the first aiders might experience, struggle with and possible coping mechanisms. It was really great to see the mental health side of the repercussions of handling a first aid situation be recognised in the course. After all, first aiders are signing up to be the handler of some potentially pretty gruesome things and it can be hard to detach from that after the fact.

They then went on to cover Multiple Patients. This pretty much covered all the things you would think it would have to. Its not a nice discussion but it has to be mentioned. It is good to have the guidance ahead of time and be provided with universal notices that can be used in that kind of situation.

Then they spent some time on Major Injuries. This covered major ear, eye and nose injuries and major burns, sprains and dislocations. Once again each had a demonstration and then some had a practical that everyone was able to try and gain some experience on.

For the final part of the day everyone had to sit a multiple choice quiz and during this quiz people were individually taken out to be assessed on a few of the things they have already learned. Kim passed this test too which set her up nicely for the final day tomorrow!

At the end of the day, Kim and 2 others ran through a couple of scenarios to check that their timings were on point, before heading home for the day.

Breakfast For Dinner

We had breakfast for dinner, which was great. We ate muffins with sausage, egg and cheese, hashbrowns and baked beans.

Whilst we were making this, our microwave stopped working! Upon further inspection, it seems it is the plug sockets it was plugged into, rather than the microwave, which is good, we guess!

Curtis helped Kim with her first aid training and once she did that, Kim jumped in the shower and Curtis played some games.

We finished the evening with watching some TV and then headed to bed.

This Time Last Year!

Mr & Mrs Hale

Vancouver, BC

Place 72 – Day 82: Vancouver, BC – First Whitecaps Game

Kim & Curtis Hale

Curtis’ Day

Curtis started the day with a meeting about security which lasted around 30 minutes.

Curtis then had a few tickets to do and there were a steady stream of them coming through throughout the day.

Curtis started wiping and setting up a mac, but it was saying it would take 7 hours, so he cancelled it and will start it again in the morning.

Curtis had another 30 minute meeting with his team to discuss everything related to the team and their projects.

Curtis ate his lunch and then kept busy until about 14:30 when the tickets ran out!

Curtis jumped onto some project work, writing some guides as well as making changes to and sortinf out the new wiki page.

Kim’s Day

Today on the course they covered exposure to heat and cold injuries, bleeding and minor injuries.

The the heat and cold they covered things like frostbite, hypothermia, heat stroke and heat exhaustion. It turns out that this sounds exactly like what happens to Curtis when he overheats, so it was great for Kim to get a better understanding of what’s happening and how to help.

In the bleeding section they covered the different kinds of bleeding, how to control bleeding and how to work the apparatus available to better control bleeding.

In the minor wounds they went over sprains, fractures and dislocations. What was funny to Kim was that the 2 examples used she has suffered from herself! The scenarios were rolled and sprained ankle and then a wrist fracture! Kim was a great injured person and had a wonderful fake limp for having a sprained ankle!

Again with each segment there was a demonstration and then a practical for people to try. It was a really good day!

Baked Potatoes

Curtis got home to Kim finishing off our baked potatoes! Curtis had baked beans on it and Kim had tuna, mayo & sweetcorn.

We watched a video or two whilst we ate and then we got ready to go out!

First Whitecaps Game!

Curtis got free tickets to watch a Whitecaps FC game from work!

The game was a cup game against a new team from another league, Cavalry FC (based in Calgary).

We walked down to the arena, entered and went and bought a drink. Kim got a Nude Vodka and Curtis got a beer. we just got the one, especially with the prices they were!

We went to our seats which were in an amazing location and then the crazy stuff started happening. A song was played which is clearly the Whitecaps’ song, but it was awful and steam started shooting out from everywhere, too.

After that fiasco, it was the national anthem followed by the start of the game.

We really enjoyed the game and it certainly got better towards the end ehen the Whitecaps were losing and trying to get back in the game!

Unfortunately, and to the dismay of the fans, the Whitecaps lost, 2-1.

We went home via a bubble waffle place so Kim could try one as we walk past it every day.

We walkes back home over the bridge and were reminded how beautiful the city is at night!

As we were approaching home, there was a man playing the community piano (which is close to our apartment building) with many people standing or sitting around and listening. He was pretty good!

We got home around 22:00, relaxed and then headed to bed.

This Time Last Year!

Mr & Mrs Hale

Vancouver, BC

Place 72 – Day 81: Vancouver, BC – Hockey Kit!

Kim & Curtis Hale

Curtis’ Day

Curtis’ day was very quiet!

Curtis had some admin to do when he got to the office and then he completed a laptop setup for a laptop he started configuring yesterday.

Once that was done, Curtis had a meeting but it was interupted by needing to help people in the boardroom with the meeting they were having.

Curtis completed his meeting after helping people and then did a bit of project work.

Curtis got another laptop setup and then it was the end of the day!

Curtis received his hockey equipment at work so had to walk that home.

Kim’s Day

Today in the course they focused on Airway Management. At the beginning they went through patient positioning, this covered how you would manoeuvre a person from standing to lying on their back. From lying on their stomach to their back and finally from lying on their back to lying in the recovery position. Then there was a quiz to go over everything that had been taught so far.

The rest of the morning covered airway and breathing on a conscious person. In this they covered both partial and complete airway blockages and how to dislodge a complete blockage through hitting the patients back, using the abdomonal thrusts and chest thrusts. In this section they also covered CPR and the use of an AED / defibrillator. With each new skill there was a demonstration and then everyone got to practise.

In the afternoon everyone covered airway and breathing for an unresponsive patient. There were also assessments with scenarios where people would be called upon to preform CPR on a dummy alone while being watched by the instructor. The instructor said Kim did well!

Hockey Kit

Curtis got home and tried on his hockey kit. It all fit perfectly, which was excellent!

He got all of the equipment together and went down to the garage to put it there.

Kim did a bit of homework and studying for her first aid and Curtis made sloppy joe’s for dinner.

We watched some videos and then Kim did some more research.

We finished the evening with a bit of TV and then went to sleep.

This Time Last Year!

Mr & Mrs Hale

Vancouver, BC

Place 72 – Day 80: Vancouver, BC – First Aid Course

Kim & Curtis Hale

Curtis’ Day

Curtis got the pleasure of eating his breakfast with Kim today as she usually eats it at work but as she is on a course this week, she has to eat at home.

Curtis left 15 minutes after Kim and was able to get to work at a good time.

Curtis’ day was fairly productive, mostly in the morning though as the afternoon was a bit quiet. That being said, Curtis was able to use the time to get some project work and laptop setups done.

Curtis left work at 16:45 and walked home.

Kim’s Day

This week Kim is on her first aid training course! The first day went very well.

There are 10 people in the class, 1 instructor and 1 auditor, everyone is really nice and there are varied levels of understanding, which is great!

The day got started with a bit of paperwork, no surprise there. Then there was a quick introduction between the instructor and everyone in the class. Everyone had to list their name and what they are most worried about within the course.

The course today covered the first and second procedures to cover when first aid will be required. They covered;

the scene assessment, effective communication, primary and secondary survey.

Each new topic had a small discussion time, a real time demonstration, a slowed down demonstration with explanations of what is happening and then everyone branched off into groups to try.

There will also be peer assessment at the end of each module and then at the end of the day there were varied scenarios that would also be peer assessed!

New Table!

Once we were both home, we waited for a lady to arrive and drop off a small TV stand that matches our other smaller table!

We swapped the TV onto that and then have the bigger one as a coffee table. Perfect for snacks!

Sloppy Joe’s

Kim made sloppy Joe’s for dinner, which were very tasty! We had a ceasar salad with it, too.

Kim did some more studying and then we watched an episode of Vikings.

This Time Last Year!

Mr & Mrs Hale