Because the world needs to know I can't sleep

I'm serious. I woke up to a dream that a leopard appeared in front of my porch because of my stupidity of putting a sack of meat outside. The leopard also managed to break into two locked doors by using its dexterous mouth. It progressed to ransacking the kitchen and stealing my rice cooker. Out of all things, my rice cooker.

Enough of that bs. I am up at 0500 and I blame the night shifts. Being a shift worker is not the ideal for many people. I may be a little young, but I cannot sleep around the clock like many do. Its a gift to do so. There are other medicines that others use to cope, but I refuse.

I do not know how else to express my frustration of not being able to sleep. It certainly is not fun, and I cannot imagine how insonmia snags some people. Insonmia sucks, like ketchup stains on your white sweater. Anyhow, back to killing vampires online.

Sami Jo Small

This post is dedicated to Sami Jo Small. There is no need for introductions. But here are her stats. 5 Time World Champion, 3 Time Olympian (2 Gold, 1 Silver). Canadian Women's Ice Hockey goalie. I played volleyball with her tonight. Its a big deal, playing on the same team with an olympian. Even though we lost the first 4 games, we won the last 2. I'd like to think, because I was more focused on the later games more than on Sami (Not in a creepy way, but 'in awe' kinda way). Think about it...she is a Canadian Olympian, at which, during the battle of the pennicle of ultimate athletes, she won twice at what she is good at. I was just in awe, and still am. What were the chances that I would meet a 2 time gold Olympian up here!?

To my knowledge, she is up here as the Canadian Tire initiative "Jump Start", granting money to children who are interested or dedicated to being active. What a great initiative! Way to go Sami and Canadian Tire! I know we had our differences CT...but...good for you!

To be around a person of such success was such an exhilarating feeling. Playing on the vball team together...blew my mind. Before I knew who she was, she was just another pretty face who wanted to play vball. After knowing where she came from (She's from the Saug people! Effing awesome!!), I was in numbing awe, dumbfounded with words, but somehow was still myself around her. Its weird how an olympian is so calm and composed...I wanna be like that some day. She made me want to be humble and low-profile, but have some outrageous achievements (Which are yet to come...gotta get on that..) Anyhow,  I had to keep telling myself, "Keep your cool man...keep your cool...She is a two time gold medalist" I still acted like a child who went to Disneyland for the first time, but oh well. She is cool and I really like her. Another check on my bucketlist. =D

Just playing on the same team, she was always so encouraging and so fun! I really hope that we get that chance again. Who knows? I'll call her up when I'm back in the South! That's what I'll do...another creepy thing. What am I at now...473?

Pictures below. (I regret growing the facial hair for a full month...I was not in my best appearance)

1 Month Anniversary!

Life up here is good. It has been a month, and time is flying by! The adjustment phase is still in motion, but I'm definintely starting to feel my groove at this hopp'in place. People are great, friendly and fun. The three ingredients for livin a good life for good ol' Michael Li.

With the anniversary, first off...the beard. Its coming off. It has been a month, and I think it is become too disgusting for me comfort. For those that said I couldn't grow facial hair, you're kinda right. Nothing compared to Zach Galf.

Pictures are as follows!

This box carried medication bubble packs. Its not child resistant.

...Especially not the demonic female kids. That medication box has no chance.

First Home-made Northern Raisin Chocolate Bread =)

We got snow! Nothing gets me going like snow covering dead moss..

The view. Probably where the bears are hibernating right now.

I knew I was late for work as soon as I saw those shoe prints..Dang it.

Back to work!!

More pictures to follow folks!

Check out that Recreational Supervisor

Work has just been a straight line up in terms of learning curve. It ain’t a curve, it’s a vertical line up. Get a ruler, put it perpendicular to a flat surface. That’s Michael Li’s ‘learning curve’. And that will probably go on for approximately 6 months. I look forward to it. I sound bitter, but I know I will thrive in this environment =)

After work, I joined a program called ‘Get Active Fort Albany!’ It is run by a local worker. He explained his role, and how he is hired through the reserve and the Government of Ontario. Getting into how he gets his budget to operate his programs, is a gong show in itself. I don’t understand, and probably won’t ever.

So this ‘recreational supervisor’ (lets just call him RS) has an interesting story. He is originally from a reserve, but under a different band. Apparently, if you’re from a different reserve, people know. When does that happen in the city?! Usually, when you move into your new apartment/house, your neighbour doesn’t even know your name for at least a few months, let alone the entire community. Being from a different reserve, RS is already at a disadvantage, despite his Aboriginal status. He says that his education (high school graduate) is seen as a threat to a lot of the community residents. So, any opinion he has, or recommendations for change, gets shot down or sweeped under the carpet. If the community does not like you, they have the right to ban you from the community, and have the local police escort you out of the premises. It is all very interesting to hear about, but scary when I have to be careful on what I do or say.

A little background on this fellow…His high school education was in Sudbury, where he worked really hard to stay in because he got in through a northern heights basketball program, where only a selected few from the reserve can apply. During 12, he got exposed to basketball for the first time, and found that he really like it.

But he was a fat kid. Being 12, he weighed 200lbs. at a height of 5’. I don’t know if there is a spot for him on the BMI chart at the time. He knew that he was not going to be able to keep up with the other kids in his physique, so he started to work out, change his diet, practice his shooting technique in the mirror everyday, and now he is 6’3 at approx 160lbs. What determination eh? I am sure that this paragraph is something that is similar to a success story you read everyday, but listening to someone say it as their own is quite enlightening. It made me re-think what I have done in the past, to demonstrate such determination.

After being in the basketball program situated in Sudbury, he was on the high school team, which eventually qualified for the Ontario Federation Student Athletic Association (yea…its OFSAA). It’s a huge accomplishment when a school team qualifies for this tournament. They compete against schools around the province, and it is extremely competitive. RS made the basketball team 3 times in a row, and he is proud of it. He wasn’t a bench warmer either. He said he was either a starter or the first one off the bench. He says that looking back at his genetics, he was not given good genes at all. If he stopped to work out one day, just one day, there was a chance that he was would gain weight, that very day. Unbelievable.

His exact words were, ‘I know I don’t got no good genes, but that just means I gotta work three times harder than the rest. I always tell myself, hard work always beats talent. That’s what I am trying to teach these kids. Just hard work. That’s what I keep telling them. I’m not trying to make major changes in the front lines, cuz I’ll get shot down and kicked out. My goal is to get a team of kids into this OFSAA tournament, and let these kids have a taste of what its like to win, or know what’s out there, give them hope, give them a new perspective on life, I think I will have done my job.’

This coming from a 22 year old.

How was your sushi? Nvm that, I flew a plane.

How likely is it that you will bump into someone who is a licensed 747 pilot, a paramedic, a social worker, a teacher and an OPP Officer at the same time? Close to none. But I did. And he took some of us flying just this Sunday morning. What a cool way to start off your day eh?

It was wonderful. I didn’t quite expect that such a small plane was as comfortable as it was. I took a bunch of crappy pictures, but I loved every minute of it. Maybe he will let me fly the plane next time…haha. It is now my personal mission to hang out with him whenever he flies up here for a paramedic shift.

The 4 seater plane

Very nicely maintained

Doing some checks before flying

Take Off

View at 3,000 feet

Cruising at 160 mph

Fort Albany Lake... I think

Landing Strip

Northern vs Rural Hospital

Being able to spend time with new friends like the paramedics and nurses has been great. I am getting used to this environment very quickly. Everyone is extremely friendly and we are approached by others to join us to hang outs and social events. I keep being told that after working up north, it would be near impossible to get back to the rural hospital setting. It is very very different in terms of how the work is scheduled. I could see why too. After a couple of shifts at the hospital’s clinic, I realized that the work load is not bad at all. The appointments with nurses are usually follow-ups or routine checkups, which do not require a lot of time. On top of that, more than half the appointments are no-shows. So on an average day, the clinic could be very slow. So, the work pace is vastly different from a city hospital.

However, if there were to be a walk-in, the nurse in charge would have to triage the person, and then see them. This process could be a little time consuming because the presentation could be one thing, and the assessments/lab tests say otherwise. So, when there is a walk-in or emergent person coming into the clinic, the nurse would have to be prepared for anything. I find it extremely hard to fathom how an RN would be able to keep their assessments from toddler to the elderly at the protocol standard when the flow of patients come in waves. I might bite my tongue down the road, but that’s just what I have felt so far. Could you imagine having to deal with something you haven’t dealt with, in a long time? Nevermind the dramatics of the family bringing the person in and the amount of  pain or complaint the person is expressing. That just boggles my goggles. As a new nurse though, I do appreciate knowing that I will be exposed to a rainbow of things. Knowing that I will face something I do not know how to deal with, is surely a bitter sweet feeling.

Another interesting thing I found, was that everyone in the reserve, has a file on them. It is very strange to me at first, but it makes sense that everyone would have a file, because it is the only hospital in town. Even, on an emergency case, the patient would present their health card or status card and they would already have a file in the cabinet that shows their history. If only it was computerized, then the paper work could be cut down by 75%...if only. I thought that the paper work at my placement hospitals were too much, but its no different here.

 

Nursing/HCA Residences

James Bay General

Gym for the personnel, not very equipped yet

One of three gas pumps

Super pricey Northern Store/The Mall

JBGH

The reserve (more to come)

Reserve view from hospital

First day at work

Awesome. Just awesome. Everything from assessments to tests are the nurse's responsibility. I got shown the ropes today with another RN and although it was alot to take in, it was mostly learning how the hospital operates. It was really nice to learn that 'the lab' isn't just some mysterious black room where results get spitted out. The blood lab actually exists and real people do work on them. It was very interesting to see how the hospital operates, even on a moderately lesser budget and resources. Every department is reachable in a few steps, and if there are any issues, the Director of Patient Care could get informed and resolve it quickly.

Interesting thing happened just as the shift was shutting down...The paramedics came around and said that they came over just to meet me. Were they lying? Don't know. But the important thing is, they wanted to invite me to do P90X with them. They just started 4 days ago. How perfect is that? I thought it was brilliant timing. So, the plan is to stick to this program, and get jacked in 90 days. Usually, people would take pictures before and after the P90x program, but I figured taking a picture now would destroy what little masculinity I already portray. Anyhow, on top of that, beard growing.

The beard is happening, until it becomes a safety concern or when my boss requires a beard net.

Stay tuned.

I Didn't Know What To Expect

Talk about a bombardment of information. A brief meeting with the nurse educator was just that. There are binders and binders of mandatory information that we need to know and perform. For instance, complete neonatal assessments with equipments that I have never heard of. There are also a handful of assessments that we need to know, like istats for suspected MIs and other tests that we are required to perform. The nurse educator was very good at letting us know that she would go through the binder with us, which gave me a sigh of relief.

*Flight to Fort Albany*

“I did not know what to expect” was quite literal this time. The flight was nothing short of a scenic flight. Flying at an altitude of 8,000 ft. gave me a majestic view of the vast land of the reserve. It made me think, how the reserves were bordered, or if they were displaced unfairly. It looked like a lot of land that could be used isn’t. It sparked abit of an interest, as to how the aboriginals could make use of their land to expand and have healthier living conditions. Again, this was me thinking with my assumptions.

After landing, the airport was the size of a portable. Lugguages were on a steel trolley, for passengers to pick up. We also helped our ride to load the truck with hospital supplies that just came in via air. Interestingly, it was a pile of scattered boxes on the tarmac!

Living conditions wise is great, the house is a duplex, where the building is shared with two groups of people. Michelle and I are in house 6A. For anyone who is trying to track us. Good luck. The living conditions are certainly a step up from student housing.

We got a tour of the James Bay General Hospital (soon to be Weeneebayko Health Authority). And I was extremely surprised that there was equipment you would see in a city hospital. BUT, the neat thing is, that everything is on one floor AND nurses get to rotate onto different parts of the hospital. For example, you could be working at the LTC wing for two weeks, and then onto the ER/acute wing for the next two. With the added nursing skills, like venipuncture, suturing, prescribing medications etc, the scope of the RN just seems so limitless! With the MD a phone call away, the RNs’ responsibility is huge. Needless to say, being a new graduate into this expanded nursing role, is going to be extremely challenging. With that in mind, its comforting to know that the staff are very supportive and very welcoming of the new graduates.

Moosonee Airport

Heading up to FA on a large aircraft

Kashechewan from the plane

Fort Albany

Fort Albany Airport; Arrival & Departure

is the same door

Hospital supplies on the tarmac

Loaded and ready to go!

James Bay General =)

House 6

Kitchen

TV Room

Kitchen

Doesn't she look smashing?

Bed for the next year

                                                           Onto starting my career!

Another day at the Moose

Oct 19^th

After a hearty breakfast at the B&B, we met with the Assistant Executive Director of Patient Care (nicknamed TS). Talk about long ars job titles. Could you imagine the amount of space it would take on a name card? Definitely, not something you would want to say to your classmates at a high school reunion. But he probably doesn’t go to those, since he is so busy. He is a super intelligent guy though. I can tell by the degrees and certifications he has on the wall. (lawl).

About the orientation. He told us about the importance of being culturally sensitive and the loads of resources available to us to read and utilize. From medical Cree-English medical terminology to comprehensive assessments of a human body, it was all there. (What do I do when Michelle is not home? I’ll be reading all that info. while making her din din).

TS strongly encourages nurses to be active within the community and being competent with skills by taking up to date courses. For all those newby nurses out there, courses are fully comped with travel and meal allowances. It is a sweet deal. You learn and use it right away at your work, fully paid for! There is no limit to how many courses you take, but just the return of service of a year (flexible, depending on the amount they paid for). The emphasis was also put on our adaptation to the working environment and the steep learning slope it will present. Although he kept repeating that the fort Albany staff was supportive of learning, there was clearly no time to slack off. There are a slew of added nursing skills to be learned, in order to be completely independent at work. He said that the approximate time to complete the added nursing skills and gaining a familiarity to the environment was six months.

Six Months?!?! Not what I had expected. I had originally planned to only stay and work for a year, but after hearing this, I am not so sure anymore. I might need to stay longer. Seeing the work that the senior staff and management are putting into training and retaining nurses, I feel that I owe it to them to give back more of my time. But that’s for another time to think about.

I am feeling very afraid of work and the amount that I do not know. What the heck do I know? It seems that my knowledge bank is having an economic crisis of its own. Its got nadda. I would put more vulgar language to describe my frustration, but I’m on the internet, and I don’t want to destroy the purity of it.

Heading up to FA tomorrow. It is part of the unknown that scares me. What are my living conditions going to be like? How will I adapt? Will I be able to learn and perform well?

Best B&B in Moosonee.

James Bay General Mission Statement =)

Water Taxis.

James Bay Ambulances. What a beaut.

Day 1: Flying Up

October 18^th 2010

Waking up at 0430 to check in at 0630 for an 0830 provincial flight is nothing out of the ordinary for the good’ol Michael Li. He has a bad sense of time, and often finds himself late, even though he thinks he has given himself ample time to do things. But this time, its different. He CANNOT be late for this flight because he is going to Moosonee!! .. Why am I talking in third person? Geez Louise.

Anyhow, the itinerary was to fly from Pearson to Timmins, then transfer to another to Moosonee. Stay at Moosonee for a couple of days to get paper work and orientation. So here I am with Michelle (my partner in crime/work), on the plane flying to Timmins, and all I could think about is, “what the heck are we going to do in Moosonee?” We were not given anyone’s name, or what we were going to do in that town, or where we would be staying for the night. We reach Timmins, and the supposedly 40 minute layover became 2 hours. But no matter, being the social butterfly, we made fast friends with a couple of graduate students from University of Waterloo. They happen to also do their graduate work at Fort Albany, so it worked out perfectly. They were not all stuck up as I thought all graduate students would be. The one girl runs marathon’s (Skoko, if you’re reading this, she ran the same one that you did too) and was on the varsity figure skating team. The other girl rides horses professionally and can cook. (She was in my good books right when she said that).

So finally, we get to Moosonee and was told that our checked baggage didn’t come on the plane with us. Perfect. Air Creebec, I give you thumbs down. We meet the director of patient care for the James Bay General Hospital and he made sure we were acquainted with the staff at the Admin. Office. After a briefing from the Occupational nurse, we got chauffeured to eat! Finally some food! All I have had was a bowl of cereal at 0500 and random tidbits that the air stewardess graced us with. We settled for the Sky Ranch Restaurant for food. There was only 3 in town to choose from and we were told it was best one. Was it ranchy? No. I don’t even know what Ranchy is. We were shortly joined with the Director of care, and for the ease of my typing, we will nickname him JM. This guy is a 40-ish Frenchman originally from Quebec, who speaks English with a heavy accent, but is effing hilarious with a contagious laugh.

The company for dinner was nothing but fantastic. JM and his wife; an NP at the local clinic told us about the tips and who’s who at Fort Albany etc. It is always nice to have such energetic and welcoming people when you are at an unfamiliar place. I don’t think I’ve ever appreciated down to earth people that much, until now. So, for all the down to earth friends I have, I appreciate you.

Onto this B&B at Moosonee. Holy Mother of Ginger Bread House! One would not expect much from a B&B when the roads are dirt roads with pot holes, and mud puddles everywhere. What did I expect? An equivalent of a downtown hamilton motel with a half-functioning light sign advertising its cheap room rates. What is this lodge like? An extremely cozy and modern house with really welcoming hosts. I don’t know what the nightly rates are like, but since I’m not paying for it, let me be blissful about this. This B&B boasts 5 rooms, excluding the room that the owners live in. Each room has paintings, nice wall painting, clean wooden floors, equipped with homely comfortable furniture and up to date technology. When I am referring to technology, I’m not talking about outlets at the walls… I am talking about cable flat screen TVs, high speed router etc. Most importantly, everything is clean. If you know me, and maybe it comes with the profession, a clean living space goes a long way for me. I don’t have to inspect areas before using it, which is a great change from student housing. OH, and there is a live fireplace in the living room, where the logs crackle and warms up the room like it should. It is such a relaxing and quiet atmosphere, that anyone who stays here, wouldn’t want to leave. I am just hoping that our living accommodations will not disappoint us in Fort Albany. Damn this B&B for setting such a high standard!

Flying over Sudbury (Hi Marianne!)

B&B Breakfast Area

B&B Fireplace Area

Typing Up Blog From The Warmth of Fireplace

Pearson to Timmins. Legit.

My B&B Room

Michelle's B&B Living Room

Moose River B&B

Michelle checking on her frozen meats

Sad over broken meat stick

Happy about the rest of the meat sticks

My lovely partner in crime to FA