Rockin the Rock

I love my job! So unpredictable. This is a few pictures of my first 24 hours this week. I am staying from Thursday to Tuesday and getting two weeks worth of work done in one drive. Oh yeah.
BTW - I was up for the full 24 hours and flying for 10 of them. So I'm a little tired, and itchy. Somewhere in Idaho is a bunch of fully satiated Mosquitoes.

Being lazy in the plane while my medic checks our equipment and the pilot and mechanics check the compass.

Yeah, we even have to calibrate our compass.

We pulled the plane out (WE is a very loose term) and the pilot drove (cause he didn't fly it) over to the FBO where we did circles.

While this guy (with the black case) stood outside with a calibrated compass. Safety first people! Safety first.

That is my medic asking him questions.

My job does not suck, now does it??

I dragged my medic and pilot to the "Boot Barn".  I was just curious as to what you put in the Boot Barns tent sale.  This weekend is the National High School Finals in town so lots of people are here and lots of stuff going on.  Plus, it's good for the community to see us and our badassness!

Sunset in the hot tub after my workout.  Very short lived.  I stayed on for the night to fly with the night shift nurse to take a aortic balloon pump.  

I was the pump nurse.

We had to fly to SLC to pick up the pump, which our program manager brought to us in his truck.  Here is two pilots, a nurse, paramedic and manager getting it into the plane.  it's heavy and we are in a loaner plane that is FAA approved to carry it, we (again, using the term loosely)had to get it fully secured.

If you notice a theme here, the company that manages our pilots and aircraft, AirMethods has very strict rules and follows all FAA mandates completely. Unless you have a plane or around a lot of planes it's difficult to even comprehend the safety that goes into air travel.  I have never felt unsafe in one of AirMed's ships.  The pilots are awesome!  They keep us informed and do such a great job.  This night I had 5 take-offs and landings.  FIVE!  Smooth as butter, all of them.  

Lucky girl, I am, working for such an awesome program at such an awesome hospital.  I wouldn't trade it for anything, even when I do fly all night.  The best thing about this flight is that we were able to transport a patient, with a IntraAortic Balloon Pump (Large balloon sits in the descending aorta to help with cardiac output) safely to a hospital better to care for his particular heart disease.

And that is what counts.

Blog on..................