On April 14th a good friend and co-worker passed away unexpectedly. I’ve written two posts about our last conversation and the bond that is built around work families. It’s been hard for us at work but I can’t even begin to imagine what his family is going through. I’m sure they are doing everything they can to manage but let’s help them do more then just manage. A fundraiser has been put together for the family. It will take place tomorrow May 2nd between 5p.m. and 8p.m. at Uccello’s of Wayland 700 W Superior St. Let’s do everything we can to fill Uccello’s to its maximum capacity and support the Tatrow family. I have provided the flyer that the Sheriff’s department created and I ask that you share this post with as many people possible in support of this fundraiser. Cheers!
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Within the Trenches Ep 46
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Today’s episode of Within the Trenches touches on the topic of stress and physical and mental issues in 9-1-1. As 9-1-1 dispatchers, we have heard it all. We have taken every call from the most ridiculous to the most horrific. If you’re like me, the calls that involve children are the ones that affect you most. I once took a call from a nine-year-old girl who had come home from school and found her mom passed out in the living room. She told me that her mom was not moving and her face was blue. I told her how to do CPR and she did it the best she could until help arrived. Although she did a great job her mom had already passed. She had had an overdose and died long before her daughter got home. I remember the little girl being scared but never lost it. Maybe it was the shock of the situation. Whatever it was, it’s a call I’ll never forget.Towards the end of my dispatch career I began to feel burnt out. I enjoyed my job but the politics, long hours, workplace drama and stress began to eat at me. It’s something that people don’t understand unless you have done the job. The stress can be so great that some dispatchers have crashed and burned. How come no one, other than the dispatchers themselves, have noticed or addressed this? It’s something that wasn’t out there before but within the past year there have been numerous news articles covering the constant stress and physical and mental state of 9-1-1 dispatchers.
Whitney and I have done episodes in the past about CISM and EMDR but I wanted to do another one. In this episode I spoke with Michelle, assistant professor with Northern Illinois University who has been doing research on 9-1-1 dispatchers for the past few years concentrating on mental and physical health. There is a lot to learn in this episode. There was so much we could touch on that we are going to do a second episode to cover the rest. Michelle’s research is ongoing and if you would like to participate you can do so by clicking the link below. There is also a description. As always you can email the show at wttpodcast@gmail.com.
We are currently looking for participants to enroll in our current studies. We are recruiting experienced TCs (at least one year of experience as a TC) and they can be currently working, have left the occupation, or retired from the job. Experienced TCs can complete a 1.5-2 hour survey online that they complete in multiple sittings. We are also doing follow up surveys that are much shorter (45 minutes) at 6 months and 12 months after the first survey. For each survey completed, the TC gets entered for a chance to win one of two $100 cash prizes. There will be three drawings – one after we’re finished collecting the baseline survey, one after we’re done collecting the 6 month survey, and one after the 12 month survey. The survey is hoping to get a good estimate of the psychological and physical health complaints of TCs and is a follow up to the pilot project. We’re also hoping to understand much more about what predicts poor health over time for this population.
We also hope to enroll trainees. They just have to be within their first 4 months of training. These participants complete a 1.5-2 hour survey and get $30 for completing it, as well as a chance to win one of two $100 cash prizes. In addition, we do shorter follow up surveys (45 min in length) and hold drawings for each of the subsequent time points that a trainee completes the survey. We hope that they will stay enrolled, even if they do not complete training or leave the job. The survey is looking at factors that predict adverse mental health and job attrition over time to help improve training efforts, hiring practices, and telecommunicator well-being.
Episode topics –
- Blue Mazda call
- Michelle’s intro and research interest
- What elements contribute to PTSD
- And more
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A Hot Tottie for the Impatient
Yesterday marked about a year since I have been sick. I have not had a cold, the flu, or anything. I consider myself lucky that I don’t get sick as much as most people. Getting sick once a year is awesome and if I had to thank one thing that has helped me, besides sheer will power, is the sweet sweet nectar of the Gods known as the Hot Tottie. This is an excellent drink and does wonders when ill. About a year ago I tried this as a way to battle whatever sickness I had and it worked. In the beginning I thought it was crazy. I mean, heat up Whiskey and drink it with lemon, tea, and honey? Nah, it could never work, but I was completely wrong. Like the majority of men, I too become a weak pathetic fool when ill. After laying around and not being able to do anything, I finally decided to make a Hot Tottie. If you Google a recipe for this drink you will find several thousand recipes and almost all of them require 20 minutes worth of simmering and such. I did what I had to but in all honesty I have no patience for something like this. Although I kept my cool for this I wanted to try something else that was a lot faster.
So here I am, typing away and drinking a Hot Tottie because my ass is sick. As I stated before, yesterday was my official sick day. I felt like crap. Switching from hot to cold body temperatures accompanied by body aches. I went out to the store and bought a bottle of Whiskey for a Hot Tottie and once I drank this sweet nectar I started feeling a lot better. I know, you’re probably thinking it was the booze but with this drink you don’t get an actual buzz from it. Instead the majority of the symptoms go away and fast. It’s a day later and I feel a million times better. I definitely recommend this drink for anyone who is feeling ill and if you’re like me you will need a recipe that targets the fact that your impatient. The following recipe is a quick fix for the Hot Tottie. Stay healthy this flu and general sickness season and enjoy the wonders of the Hot Tottie.
In a normal coffee cup add –
Half cup of water
Half cup of Whiskey
Microwave for 2 minutes
When finished add 1 tea bag of Chamomile tea
2 Splashes of Lemon Juice
1 1/2 Tablespoons of Honey
And stir (Optional) Add 2 Cinnamon sticks but the Honey should be enough for a sweet taste.
There you have it! A Hot Tottie for the Impatient. Make sure to drink it while hot for best results. Happy Drinking!
