FireHall Beads - Ed's Place - beading news from Ed

Ed’s Place

Welcome to the first edition of Ed’s Place on our FireHall Beads web page.

I can’t tell you how proud I am of Marlea getting our shop up and running! Congratulations, sweetheart, for turning your dreams into reality!

If you haven’t been into our shop yet, please do. And you’ll see a painting near the cash register of Marlea’s Grandmother, Marie Majors. Marie painted herself as she saw herself in her dreams: A graceful long legged ballerina.

Marie may have been graceful, I don’t know–I never met her. Marlea has told me that she was not a thin woman, she was rather portly. Marie also could never be a dancer, as she had suffered disfiguring polio as a child. But she did become a painter, and through that art she became the ballerina she had always wanted to be.

Now, Marlea, like her Grandmother, is using her own art, jewelry making, to pursue and achieve her dreams, too.

As Marlea has told you, the name “FireHall Beads” is a nod to my thirty years in the Kirkland Fire Department. And since I know very little (so far) about beads and beading, I’ll use my place to tell you about some of the things I know and that might help you.

Most “Fire” departments in the US today also provide emergency medical services to their communities. Of the 6,000+ calls that my department answers each year, about two-thirds of them are of a medical nature: Accidents, Medical emergencies, etc. It’s a similar proportion with virtually every firefighter and their community that I’ve spoken with over the years.

None of those folks who request the FD’s help started their day expecting to call 9-1-1. To each of them, their contact with me, or my associates, was a genuine emergency. The FD responders bring a calm to the storm by sorting through the facts, and then applying our tools and training to meet the needs of the caller. There are some things that you can do — TODAY — to help us help you if, or when, you or a loved one have an emergency. Here’s two:

First–Go outside your home this evening. Go out into the street and look for your address numbers. Where are they? Can you read them? Are they large enough to be read? Are they white numbers on your white trim (Lack of Contrast)? Has your landscaping and plants grown up to obscure them? Do you have to stand at only one unique spot to see them at all? Have I asked you to answer so many questions that your neighbor is now out in the street asking you what you’re doing?

Good. Ask your neighbor to find your numbers while you’re finding theirs. If either you or your neighbor has any problem spotting those house numbers, then you’ve got work to do. ‘Nuff said on that.

Second–All of us are getting older, and very likely, we take pills for one thing or another: Vitamins, special herbs for this or that, and medications. They affect us in some way. They often improve the quality of our lives. They sometimes can seem to be a pain to remember. If you talk to a pharmacist, she’ll tell you that no drug (and dosage) affects two different people exactly the same way. She’ll also tell you that if your (physical or mental) health condition at a particular moment is different, then a drug may affect the same person (you) in a different way. If you have an emergency, or if you EVER visit a doctor, those pills can be VERY important to helping you get appropriate care.

MAKE A LIST OF ALL YOUR MEDICATIONS, SUPPLEMENTS (with their dosage), AND ALLERGIES. Do this also for any seniors in your life. Keep a copy of yours in your wallet or purse, and put another copy where your housemates/family can locate it if you’re unable to do so. Call you local FD’s NON-emergency phone number to see if they have a special spot in the home where they would like to see it kept.

Sometimes, the emergencies I am called to are directly–even exclusively — linked to medication (and/or supplement) issues. New medications … not taking medications … eating or not eating at the right time with a medication … supplements affecting medications. But whether or not the emergency is in any way involved with a medication or supplement, your responder will be asking, “What medications (and supplements) has the patient taken in the last 24 hours?”, and, “Is the patient allergic to any medications (or substances)?” Sometimes, your responder will be searching a house for medicine cabinets, medicine drawers, medicine boxes, etc., to try to find out this information because a spouse (or other responsible person) cannot keep knowledgeable about this information. You will be helping the patient if you know where their list is and can provide it to the responders.

Doctors virtually never do house calls the way your FD responders do, but their need to get full and complete information on medicines and supplements of their patients is essential. It may be limited to the memory capability of their patient. This list will help them to assure you are getting appropriate medications, and not taking conflicting medications or supplements.

EVERY time a medication is changed, added, or dropped, make a new list and destroy the old one(s).

BTW– OCB (Obsessive-Compulsive Beading) can be treated by regular visits to FireHall Beads, and need not be included on your list of medications and supplements and allergies!

I hope each and every one of you and yours have happy and healthy holidays this year!