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July 24, 2011

MJ 214: Angelo's Podcast

Click for direct download mp3
This week Mitigation Journal becomes Angelo's Podcast! Angelo is the son of our Co-Host, Matt Comer.

Angelo needs our help.

Angelo needs a live transplant...soon.

Angelo is only 5 years old.

Most of his life he has been in and out of hospitals in an effort to figure out what is wrong. After years of being misdiagnosed, the cause of his sickness has been found. Angelo has Progressive Familial Intrahepatic Cholestasis (PFIC) type 2. This is a rare genetic disorder of the liver in which the liver cannot effectively pump bile out of the liver cells leading to liver damage and ultimately, liver failure. He also has severe cirrhosis (scarring) of the liver and is tormented daily by intractable and mutilating pruritus (itching). The only course of action for Angelo, in order for him to live, is to receive a liver transplant.

Tune in this week as we turn over the podcast to Matt in order to tell Angelo's story. Its a story of frustration with the medical community.

Its the story nightmare of reality for moms and dads.

Click the player below to listen on line or the MJ graphic (above) for a download mp3.

You can help. Join us at the next event to support Angelo's liver transpant:

September 3rd, 2011

4:00pm to 10:00pm at the North Greece Firemans Pavilion click here for info and directions...

If you can't join us, visit Angelo's Fund homepage or on Facebook. You can also click the Angelo's Fund tab at the top of Mitigation Journal blog page.

Click the player below to listen to Angelo's Podcast:

July 23, 2011

U.S. Boarder Patrol to blame for recent bus crash

Why was Canadian tour bus driver allowed to drive in U.S. with suspended license?

It looks like the U.S. Boarder Patrol took a page from the TSA playbook. A Canadian tour bus driver was allowed to enter the United States and drive his bus with a suspended license. The tour bus, with 53 passengers on-board, was traveling to New York City from Hamilton, Ontario.

The tour bus had been traveling on the NYS Thruway when the driver had to pull to the side of the road to fix a mechanical problem around 0130 hours on Friday, July 22. It is believed that shortly after pulling back into the travel lane, the bus was struck from behind by a tractor-trailer truck. The bus and the truck burst into flames.

The truck driver was killed, 30 passengers were injured, two critically.

Why was this tour bus driver allowed to even enter the United States with a suspended license. According to media reports, his license has been suspended for almost five years due to multiple speeding violations in the U.S.

How is it that the U.S. Boarder Patrol, who monitors the U.S. - Canadian crossings, missed this little fact? It's not like the guy is riding a bike into the U.S. - he's behind the wheel of a tour bus!

The point is that this incident was preventable. It could have been avoided if the Boarder Patrol checked the drivers status in the U.S. They either didn't bother to check or didn't have access to the drivers U.S. license information...both options worry me.

The Department of Homeland Security is a failed model of preparedness.

If the Boarder Patrol can't get a tour bus driver off the U.S. highways, how are they going to find other threats crossing the boarder? Has the Boarder Patrol been reading the TSA manual on Domestic Stupidity?

July 16, 2011

MJ 213: Getting Healthy, Instinctively


Click to download MJ 213
I've been working on dropping a few pounds and getting into reasonable physical condition over the last few months. Back in March, 2011, my doctor used the word "obese"...I didn't like the sound of that. So, I changed. Changed diet and lifestyle. I bought (Joanne bought) a road bike and started biking in addition to running. Much of this change was brought on due to the sudden death of a friend and experiencing a little episode of SVT/PSVT.

The good news is that I'm well on the way to a level of fitness I've not had before. Even (years ago) as an amateur fighter did I have the level of endurance and cardiovascular health I have now...and I'm just getting going!

There has been a good bit of help along the way. The Mitigation Journal Health and Wellness Consultant (Lori VanScoter, RN) has been providing some Health Coaching from the sidelines! This week on the podcast, Lori joins me to discuss an individualized health history review. We discuss general lifestyle, cholesterol, nutrition, exercise, and supplementation. The discussion is candid.

We'll be posting the video segments here in the blog over the next few weeks, too. In the meantime, listen to this weeks Mitigation Journal podcast. You can find all of the services Lori provides by going to her website Instinctively Healthy (http://www.lorivanscoter.com/)

Note: We're co-posting this on The Occasional Vagabond blog


July 11, 2011

MJ 212: Paramedic Ultrasound part two

Don't object until you have all the facts!

Click to Listen
We're back on Mitigation Journal podcast with Peter Bonadonna, EMT-P, CI/C, for part-two of our series on Paramedic Ultrasound. In part-one (MJ podcast 211) we reviewed the goals of ultrasound use, diagnostic ultrasound, training programs, and changes to paramedic practice and delivery of care.


In part-two, Peter answers the question: Ultrasound, why now? You'll have to listen to the podcast to hear the answer. 

Lets leave you with a few points:

1. Don't object unless you have all the facts. How do I get the facts? Listen to Paramedic Ultrasound podcast part one and podcast part two view our brief ultrasound video on the Training Videos tab, then visit the Paramedic Ultrasound tab above to go directly to www.paramedicultrasound.com.  

2. Training might not be as hard as you think.  Again, view the Ultrasound Video...see for yourself.


3. Why not now? Paramedic Ultrasound is an assessment tool that might just change the way we assess and triage certain patients. It may just be the next best thing since the pre-hospital 12-lead ECG!