I learned a lot about the difference between  teaching young adults EMT and Paramedic classes and teaching first graders.  My first day I was calling on the loudest kids.  Ms. Ruether later helped me out and explained how she chooses the quiet children thereby rewarding silence rather than awarding obnoxious behavior.

Thank you Ms. Ruether and thank you class. I learned that I do not have the patients to be a first grade teacher.  But I would like the summer off!

Thank You cards from the kids.

Try the Mystery Quest this year.  Aimed at adults and teens you take on the task of looking for clues to save the Queen.  You may look for informants and try to solve the mystery of who is threatening the Queens life.  For those who have not been to the Faire, this is a very interactive Faire with all of the actors roaming among the visitors.  Some of those visiting even dress up.

The children may participate in a quest of their own.  By searching the Realm, the children collect stamps to record where they have been.  My kids did this when they were younger.  It’s fun for the young kids because they are Knighted by the King and Queen when they present their book of stamps at a special ceremony.

The Faire runs May 19,20 May 26,27,28 and June 2,3 and June 9,10. Located at Rotary Park, Wentzville gates open at 10:00am and close at 6:00pm.  Daily prices are $14.95 Adults and $7.95 children (6-13) a season pass can be purchased for $49.95 adults and $29.95 children.

I’ve had fun at the Faire every year that I was able to go.  This year Our Urgent Care is a sponsor and you can see our ad in the Faire Program on page 22.

YUMMM

brown color. The sizzle as one breaks open…the resulting fire that you douse with your beer …you get the idea. The cook out is as pleasurable as the food. It’s even

better when you add friends and family.

So this year, as summer arrives, I am looking forward to a summer full of cook-outs. Unfortunately, though, I have been

advised to lower my fat intake. So the other night I found Chicken and Apple Bratwurst by Schnucks. I talked to one of the folks working in the meat department and was told they make the sausages from skinless thigh meat. They add the chopped up apple and spices so the exact nutritional info is not known. The closest we could come up with was the chicken brat has 50% less fat and about 200 calories per sausage. A regular brat has about 26g of fat and 283 calories. The chicken brats cook much leaner. I cooked up some regular pork brats at the same time and the difference in how they snapped and crackled over the flame was quite noticeable.

As far as taste goes, the wife and kids didn’t like the taste or the smell but I thought they were pretty good. I think what they didn’t like was that it was different. They don’t smell like a brat should smell. They have a sweet cinnamon smell. The first bite is a bit of a surprise. There is a distinct cinnamon and apple flavor. But after the first bite your taste buds settle in for what turned out to be a flavorful sausage.

I’ll be stocking up on Schnuck’s chicken and apple brats this summer. I won’t stop cooking the pork brats because that’s what the family likes but for my own health I’ll enjoy the chicken sausage just as much.

SCRUBS posing strong just before the event begins.

Isn’t SCRUBS a handsome Panda Bear?

The Baby/Kid Expo began at 8:00am and from the start we could see we were going to have a busy day.  We brought our banner the poster board signs, plenty of brochures and magnets, candy and of course SCRUBS.

Having a good time SCRUBS?

As you can see we were competing with the Doctors of Natural Health in the background.

While I talked to the parents, SCRUBS gave out High Fives, hugs and handshakes.

Sorry for the blurry pic but this little girl came running, full speed, into SCRUBS arms.

Sometimes SCRUBS gets a little full of himself and strikes a pose!

I think bodybuilders call this the "Atlas"

There were a lot of things for the kids to do.  There were inflatables like the Bounce Castle and a giant slide. SCRUBS had fun teasing the kids in the Bounce Castle.

SCRUBS did his best to not scare the little ones. Here’s SCRUBS trying to get a wee one to shake hands.

I can’t until next year. Our Urgent Care is going to have SCRUBS, games and give aways.  Hope to see you all next year.

See You again next year!

The reason staph is so prevalent with wrestlers is the skin to skin contact and skin to mat contact that is unavoidable due to the nature of the sport. Staph and it’s mutated cousin methicillian resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) have been known to kill.

Years ago the presence of staph was minimal and wrestlers didn’t worry about contracting diseases. The worst a wrestler had to worry about was mat burns and cauliflower ears. But today’s athlete has this nasty bacteria to worry about. It is estimated that as much as 30% of the population carry staph on their skin or in their nose. Wrestlers contract staph infections from skin to skin contact, from skin to mat contact and from sharing head gear and towels.

In 2008 a high school wrestler from Florida died from complications of staph infection. If the infection goes untreated, the staph can enter the blood stream and become fatal.

Staph can present like a pimple, bug bite or ingrown hair follicle. Over the course of a few days the pimple progressively grows in into a boil.  Once the infection is the size of a boil and/or it is accompanied by fever and chills it is imperative for the athlete to seek medical attention. The boil will need to be surgically lanced and cleaned and antibiotics are required. This can be done in a doctor’s office, urgent care or ER. Do not under any circumstance lance the boil yourself. In extreme cases, the staph may be MRSA. This means it is resistant to many of the well known antibiotics and the athlete will most likely need to be hospitalized and given IV antibiotics.

The best way to avoid an infection of any kind is to follow good hygiene. Wrestlers need to insist on cleaning the mats after every practice or competition. Wrestlers should not share equipment such as shoes, headgear or towels. Everyone needs to shower after wrestling and use an antibiotic soap. If an athlete notices a painful pimple or boil, especially if accompanied by fever, he should contact his coach, trainer and parents immediately and seek medical attention. That wrestler should not wrestle until cleared by a physician.

Wrestling is a great sport dating back to ancient Greece. It would be a tragedy if school officials found the sport too dangerous due to communicable diseases. If you’re a parent of a wrestler be sure to explain the risks to your student athlete. If you’re a wrestler take some responsibility and practice good personal hygiene. Don’t share equipment and encourage your teammates to do the same.

I began my career in EMS in 1997 at Abbott Ambulance as a very eager and excited EMT. I was enrolled in paramedic school and received my paramedic license in 1998. I later moved on to different entities including Christian Hospital EMS, Ladue Fire Department, St. Charles County Ambulance District, and currently Our Urgent Care. I gained a lot experience and knowledge in all the places I worked as well as met amazing paramedics.

My decision to apply and later become hired at Our Urgent Care was for several reasons. I have always wanted to become an RN to expand my knowledge and open doors of opportunity that I did not have in EMS. Our Urgent Care was the perfect fit for me. It has allowed me to practice in different areas of medicine that I would have never had the opportunity to learn had I remained in EMS. I have been allowed the opportunity to advance my skills and knowledge of clinical medicine, meet new people, and still remain part of a patient care team.

I have found that like EMS, Urgent Care provides a wide variety of patients that I come in contact with for brief periods of time. I feel I am able to provide care to numerous patients throughout the day creating a feeling as though I have made a difference. I truly enjoy working with people and providing compassionate, timely care. Our Urgent Care provides me with the opportunity to exercise my knowledge, provide patient care and while still learning new things everyday.

 Kim Ezell, EMT-P

A Note From Kevin Guerra, Director of Our Urgent Care:

Kim is an excellent example of the great staff we have at Our Urgent Care.  We couldn’t care for the number of patients that we see every day without the tireless effort and dedication of our staff.

Thank You Kim for writing such a great testimonial of your love for emergency and urgent care medicine.

Are you having back pain,

Or twisted an ankle and now have a sprain?

Maybe you suffer from an ear ache,

Or experience a bone break.

You might have symptoms of a rash,

Or cut your finger and have a gash.

Asthma maybe your condition,

Just come in for treatment with a clinician.

If you suffer from dehydration,

A provider can see you at one of 3 locations.

Maryland Heights, Wentzville, and St. Charles is where we can be found,

If you are in St. Louis or around.

 We have on staff x-ray technicians

As well as trained emergency physicians.

So if it is medical assistance you seek,

And you cannot see your primary doctor for a week

Stop by “OUR URGENT CARE”

Where the mascot is a panda bear.

                                                       -By Chrisi  Tainter

A good belly laugh can really center a person. Have you ever been with friends or family and the laughter and humor is flowing without effort and for those moments any depression or pain that may have been weighing you down are gone…you are centered, unencumbered. If only you could keep that feeling forever.

There have been studies that have shown a link between humor, laughter and positive attitude with improved health and improved self esteem. There was a study done where undergrad college students answered questions on a Coping Humor Scale (CHS) and the Situational Humor Response Questionnaire (SHRQ). They found that those with the highest scores had lower levels of loneliness, depression and stress. They also had higher self esteem. They deduced that students with a sense of humor perceived themselves as having a higher quality of life.

Humor has been used in different settings and for different reasons. One group of people that were studied were Midwestern females in their 50′s diagnosed with breast cancer. The patients were asked about the coping mechanisms that they used for depression and pain. Topping the list was prayer and spiritual healing. After prayer was support groups, humor and massage. These coping mechanisms fall under something called complementary therapy (CT). CT is those things that may not heal or cure but make us feel better. Of course humor alone cannot heal a disease. But used in conjunction with conventional medicine, CT can alleviate pain and negative feelings.

As a paramedic, I have transported thousands of patients and humor has been a tool, in my med bag, that I used when I felt is was appropriate. There have also been times in my career, when working with a new medic and the inexperienced partner pulls humor from the bag at just the wrong time. Believe me it can be disastrous. When the patient doesn’t laugh and the family gives a disapproving stare…that is when damage control and a heart felt apology is required.

I believe in humor as a mental health staple. Everyday we need people around us who make us smile and lend some laughter to our day. An apple a day may be healthy but a laugh a day can give you immediate gratification.

Most adults should get 6-8 hours of sleep per night. Your lazy teenager that stays up all night and sleeps all day is actually obeying his sleep hormones. His sleep messengers don’t kick in till about 1am. Ours, as adults, kick in around 10:00pm.

Sleep is closely tied to good health. But experts and scientist don’t know exactly why we sleep. They know for sure that all mammals sleep. But why? Maybe to regenerate our bodies and brains. The reason we know sleep is so important is because those who suffer from any of the long list of sleep disorders can attest to the health issues tied to there sleep disorder.

Disorders include but are not limited to:

1. Sleep Apnea
2. Snoring
3. Insomnia
4. Sleep Deprivation
5. Restless Leg Syndrome
6. Night Terrors (Sleep Terrors)

Any of these disorders can cause sleep problems for both the person who suffers from it and their partner.

Did you know that you can accumulate a sleep debt? A sleep debt occurs when you do not get enough sleep, night after night. Think of it like a bank account. If your sleep account is balanced at 8 hours of sleep per night and you go out with your friends for 3 or 4 nights and only get 4-6 hours of sleep you are now sleep deprived, your account is low. Symptoms of being sleep deprived include being drowsy during the day, nodding off at your work station and needing a greater amount of stimuli to stay awake. Some people have physical problems like stomach upset and decreased appetite. The only way to bring your account current is to sleep in, let’s say, on Sunday. Once you are well rested you need to go to bed early enough to keep your body well rested in the next week.

Are you thinking to yourself, “I do go to bed on time and I still fall asleep at my desk. I need 4 cups of coffee to keep me going in the morning.” You, my friend, may have an addiction to caffeine. Being reliant on stimulants like coffee and nicotine will cause your body to rebel until the drug of choice is fed to your starving addiction.

Do you dream at night? Do you have nightmares? A dream can be described as “a vivid, complex, hallucinatory experience generally accepted as real by the dreamer.” (Dement).  Scientist know that all mammals sleep but do animals other than humans dream? The answer is yes. MIT scientists studied rats and found that their brain waves, while asleep, exhibited the same brain waves as when they were awake running on a circular track.

No one knows why we dream. Some dreams are pleasant and we are disappointed when we wake up and the beautiful supermodel is gone. Some dreams are terrifying and cause panic until you awaken, relieved, to find we are not naked at school but home safely in bed. Why do we have these dreams? Again scientist hardly understand sleep so they have only theories concerning dreams.

One theory presented by Sigmund Freud was that dreams are latent sexual and physical/emotional desires. That theory is all but forgotten by modern psychiatrist. But that is where we get dream analysis. Like a horoscope, they are fun to read but they are not based in science.

Another theory by Harvard University psychiatrist, James Allen Hobson, is that the brain is randomly firing neurons as we sleep. These random neurons are interpreted by our brains as dreams. He does believe that we can think about the dreams we remember and relate them to our lives possibly making them useful.

Sleep is needed by all of us. Some enjoy it more than others. Leonardo da Vinci the greatest of DREAMERS believed he could get by on short 10-20 minute sleep intervals sleeping no more than 2 hours a day. I enjoy sleeping too much to give this a try but those who have tried it boast of the added free time. I would squander that free time watching more TV or playing video games.

Sleep and dream scholars are trying to learn the how’s and why’s of sleep. In the future, we may find the gene or part of the brain that causes sleep and dreams. Maybe our children will raise their children taking a pill that simulates sleep thus allowing them to work 18 hour days. How cool would it be if college students could take a “sleep substitute” pill giving them an additional 6-8 hours to study (party).

I don’t look forward to the sleep substitute pill. I enjoy bed time when the house becomes quiet and the kids are in bed. It’s then that I decompress from the day, read a little or watch something other than Nicktoons. Ultimately, I don’t have to worry about a society that doesn’t sleep. I don’t think it will happen in my life time…or will it? There is already a pill for shift workers that find it difficult to stay awake through the night and sleep during the day. The affliction that is being treated is excessive sleepiness (ES) secondary to shift work disorder (SWD). The drug is used to combat sleepiness thus allowing the night worker to stay awake during his or her shift. The sleep substitute pill is coming!