Medical Alert!

So...I finally got around to making a medical alert card to carry around in my wallet. I recommend that everyone have one on their person in case of emergency, even if you don't have anything special in your medical history. That way, if you are unresponsive and unaccompanied the people treating you will know your allergy status, medications, etc. I recommend including at least the following information:

-Name
-Date of birth
-Name of primary physician (I didn't include this on mine, since I have not seen the same doctor consistently) and any specialists you see
-Allergies to medications
-Allergies to foods (especially eggs or shellfish)
-Allergies to anything else (latex, soaps or detergents, animals, etc)
-All the medications you currently take, or have taken recently. This includes any over-the-counter medications or herbal supplements you take at home, or home remedies you use
-Any medical conditions you have (diabetes, heart disease, thyroid problems, GI issues: anything the people treating you might want to know about)
-Significant family history - some people may debate the relevance of this item on a medical alert card; I just would like to give all the information I can to help emergency workers make informed decisions
-Contact information for your emergency contact
-Date the card was updated (I will add this to mine after this post)

Below is my current alert card; as you can see, it is nothing special (especially with information blacked out for internet use), but it would nevertheless be helpful in an emergency.

First Aid

This is a list of items I would like to have in my ideal first aid kit (separate from my emergency food/water supply). This list is subject to change as I think of more items, of course; in addition, I would like at least 10 of most of the larger items and at least 50 of most of the smaller ones. Now, I just need to find a place to store it...

IV start kits with extensions and flushes
Bags of NS, D5, LR, etc.
Aspirin, Tylenol, Ibuprofen
Various laxatives
4X4 gauze pads
2X2 gauze pads
Wound cleanser solution in spray bottle
Bandage scissors
Paper and plastic medical tape
Kerlix rolls
Coban rolls
Conform rolls
Non-adherent pads in several sizes
ABD pads in several sizes
Tegaderm in various sizes
Duoderm in various sizes
Cotton-tipped applicators
Sterile fields
Sterile gloves
Triple antibiotic ointment
A&D ointment
Cath kits (straight and foley)
Water-based lubricant
Hydrogen peroxide
Clean towels and cloths
Bottles of NS and sterile water
Adhesive bandages of all shapes and sizes

Plus, one of each of the following:
Blood pressure cuff
Stethoscope
Thermometer
First aid manual

Patterns

I have noticed that, on those occasions when the Spirit suggests a method of overcoming my weaknesses or sins, prayer is always a part of the solution. But, more specifically, the following principle asserts itself: I need to spend time in my morning prayers reviewing the covenants I have made and committing myself to living by them that day, then ask for power from heaven to compensate for my inherent weakness. Then, at the end of the day, I need to recognize the help I have received, recognize my moments of weakness, and commit to doing better the next day. I believe these to be essential in the pattern of repentance: recognizing the promises I have made; allowing the Spirit to highlight my shortcomings in their observance; committing to overcome my weaknesses in obedience; and allowing the grace of Christ, through his atonement, to provide the enabling power necessary for me to reach and to act beyond my means.

Legacy

On July 10, 2005, Doug Allred (of the Kaysville 22nd ward) gave a lesson in Sunday School in which he asked us to ponder what we have learned from our parents, and what we want our children to have learned from us . My response to the latter half of the subject was the following: first, I want my children to have learned how to receive personal revelation. Second, I want them to have learned respect for others. Third, I want them to know that God is real, and that he hears and answers our prayers. Fourth, I want them to have learned that if the result we desire in life does not happen, it is likely that we must change ourselves in order to achieve it.

Habits

As we all have bad habits, I find this thought from the oldest paper in my pocket (containing thoughts from more than two years ago!) to be fitting.

Nathan Roundy is a manager at the BYU Laundry where I used to work, and an LDS bishop. We had been talking about overcoming challenges in our lives, and he said, "Even if you fail over and over and over, it's never failure until you give up on yourself." I'm sure all of us have tried over and over to defeat some one inclination or habit or addiction, only to fail and fail again. But, if we hold tight to the thought of overcoming, if we refuse to give up, we can win in the end. We just need to have faith in ourselves and work until our guts dry up. And no, I don't know what that phrase means exactly. But the point remains, and is still valid, that most of the time we fail to overcome our challenges because there is a part of us that doesn't really believe we can, that almost wants us to fail because it is easier than working for success. That part of us which is not really content to stay where he is, but is too afraid to change, is the voice which whispers to us that it is all right to give up after we fail once, or twice, or a thousand times. He is miserable and wants company in his misery, and true failure is agreeing with him. True failure is giving in and giving up, because to accept mediocrity is to accept our own damnation.

Beta

So...with the transition to Blogger's Beta version, you can call me Jordan-olol. I'm a Beta-Blogger!

Get it? A Beta-Blogger?

Yeah, well, I thought it was amusing.

A Musing. Get it? Like the title of my blog? Well, Alison thought that was funny.

Aristotle

I took a History of Philosophy class at BYU and was much impressed by some of the teachings of Aristotle. The theme that impacted me most was the idea that the way of true happiness lies in living a virtuous life according to the pursuit of the highest good, regardless of hardship. Lesser happiness lies in the pursuit of lesser ideals. For example, the world may consider a man happy who strives for and attains riches, but as this is not man's highest ideal we know that this individual cannot truly be happy.

From a gospel perspective, there are many striving for the ideals of the terrestrial or even telestial kingdoms, who seek for riches or power or the fine-twined linens we have all seen around us; there are those who fruitlessly seek happiness even in the depravity of their own lusts. But, although they may seemingly attain a sort of fulfillment or even transient contentment from such pursuits, we may know with a surety--for it is a law!--that such persons feel within themselves a hollowness, what the late Neil Maxwell called the "emptiness and boredom of secularism." These people do not understand the purpose of their existence, and although they certainly would not admit this to anyone else, their spirits recognize the departure from their ordained course. Their wickedness never was, nor ever can be, true happiness, and neither can our wickedness, however slight or glaring, ever result in anything but misery.

We must hold fast to the vision of our own exaltation which the Holy Ghost plants, through the spirit of prophecy and revelation, into our hearts. We must be "sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God." We must overcome the world, or we ourselves will be overcome.

My Pockets

Speaking of my pockets, here is a list of what is typically in my pockets when I am at work:

1 stethoscope (I guess technically it is attached to my waistband)
1 William Shakespeare notebook
3-5 folded-up pieces of lined paper (contents vary: to-do lists, homework lists, ideas, etc.)
1-2 ball-point pens
1 Sharpie
1 penlight (for neuro checks)
1-2 tubes of miscellaneous ointments (mostly Nystatin cream lately; for treatments)
1 piece of paper with the current day's residents and notes on it
1 set work keys
5-15 alcohol preps
1 set home/car keys
1 wallet
1 cell phone
1 tube lip balm
2-3 pair latex gloves
2-3 tissues
1 pair bandage scissors
1 copy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
Plus...
2-3 lancets, 1 glucometer, 1 bottle test strips (if I am getting blood sugars)
4-6 4X4 gauze pads, 1 spray bottle of wound cleanser, 1 tube barrier ointment, 3-4 non-adherent pads, 2-3 packets bacitracin ointment, 2-3 vials normal saline, 2-3 gauze rolls, 1 tube a&d ointment (if I am doing wound care)

As you can imagine, I look ridiculous when I need to empty out my pockets for any reason while I am dressed for work. On the other hand, I usually feel prepared...

Inaugural Post

I came across a note I made on a piece of paper, and I can't throw the paper away until I've transferred the note to another place. This is what I do: I will have a thought, grab a piece of paper, write down the thought, and then put the paper in my breast pocket (I always try to wear button-up shirts for this very reason). It sits there until I have something else to note. If I have a day without the right shirt and my papers aren't with me, I use a new piece and add it to the pile later. At any one time I have five to ten pieces of paper in my pocket. Every once in a while, I will consolidate all the thoughts/to-do lists which are still relevant onto a fresh sheet and the pile diminishes.

What I need, I've decided, is a new Palm or other PDA. That way, I can just keep adding to my notepad entries or to-do list. Unfortunately, my last Palm died repeatedly, rendering it effectively useless as a tool for convenience. Until I can afford a new one, I'm stuck with the old-fashioned method. And, because I eventually would like to only carry one or two papers in my pocket (plus, of course, my handy dandy William Shakespeare notebook), I need a convenient place to transfer these files which will not fit in my pockets. Hence, the blog.

Anyway, the thought of the day is this, written down while I was attending a Diabetes education class in Layton, UT: men who are chronically hyperglycemic yet too lazy to get treatment should be aware that the number 1 complaint of men with uncontrolled Type II Diabetes is erectile dysfunction.