Practice shots

Just happen to have the camera today, chilling in my bag. Decided to break it out and get some snaps. This is a really fun team and I am happy to be working with them. The practices are fun and the games are intense. Prior to this assignment, I wasn't much of a soccer fan, if at all, but I have grown to like the sport.

BurnWatch '09 - Day 15

Warning: Cool shots of a burn follows (I'm tired of issuing these warnings)



I'm no dermatologist, but I believe it is healing very well. What I do know for sure is, the first time when this happened to me (when I was 8yrs), I don't remember it healing this quickly.




You can see the skin beginning to form again. This is very exciting. Kind of looks like leopard print, no?

I haven't really done much research on burn treatments; just kind of been relying on my own knowledge and the advice of the nurses at the health center, although I've only gone to see them once. I haven't had any reason to go back and see them. The process is going well and I have had absolutely zero complications. Today was the first day I went outdoors with it uncovered, which was a little nerve-racking, but I didn't worry too much, I was just walking to the parking garage across the road.

I did happen to look up (and by 'look up' I mean Google) images of burns. My exact search terms were 'exhaust pipe burns' and some interesting things came up. More pictures of exhaust pipes, than burns, but I cam across one woman's blog where she is strongly considering surgical procedures to rid her leg of the burns. My take on that is "live with it." Allow it to be a reminder to respect the machines. Although her circumstance is a little different than mine, simply being she appears to be a housewife/mother, and doesn't want the appearance of an 'ugly' scar on her leg. Me, on the other hand, I am a guy. Kind of sexist? Probably not! I'm not implying 'I like scars' because I am a guy, it's just that in my lifetime, I will probably be wearing more long pants than her (easy one), and not subject to social ridicules of "women needing to have perfect skin," therefore, I can get away with having a "cool" scar. Plus, I am a biker, and the way I see it, it's a sort of 'right of passage' thing.

-Silly me

BurnWatch '09 - Day 10

WARNING: Wild shots below (okay, not that wild)




As you can see, it is healing quite nicely. Still, there is some redness toward the center, with the majority of the outer surroundings a healthy pinkish color. That is a positive sign of the skin cells being properly regenerated. I'm not a lizard.



This is a shot immediately after removing the dressings. The above shot is after I washed it and cleaned a little bit of excess gunk off. I just used soap and warm water.




This is also a shot after immediately removing the bandages. I like this shot because it is a good map of just where it is the most sensitive. The center-red portion is the most sensitive, and less, obviously, as you head outward. Also, I like this shot because you can began to see the little dots of skin beginning to return.

BurnWatch '09 - Day 7

Warning: Graphic photos ahead




As Burn Watch moves into day 7, as you can see, I am clearly well into the healing phase, and I think the worst of it has passed. My usual routine includes wearing it wrapped during the day, and removing the bandages at night while I am home (in my own germs). Yes, I sleep with it uncovered. My dressings of choice are

1. 1% Silver Sulfadiazine cream (Silvidine), as a topical cream
2. 3"x4" non-adherent pad, as a sterile covering
3. Cover-all tape (sticky), to hold the non-adherent pad in place
4. Powerflex wrap, to hold everything in place, but also for looks
5. Tongue depresser, for Silvidine application
   

The shots below are after a shower in which I wash the old silvidine and any small amount of fluids that were discharged during the day. I usually don't wrap the powerflex to tight because I want to be able to walk comfortably and have my calf muscles still be able to contract. It doesn't bleed at all; if anything, just a tiny, tiny amount.

BurnWatch '09 - Day 3

Warning: Pictures may be too graphic for the weak-stomached individual. But they're not that bad, wimp!


As you can see the heat blister has "popped" or peeled, I guess, and revealed underneath the "meat" of my leg. I say popped because in the previous post, you can see my finger running across the affected site, as the skin somewhat rolls under my fingers. That is because there was "pressure" within the burn, and it felt really warm, compared to the other parts of my leg. So, I did what any Athletic Trainer would do, and immediately applied ice, and compression. Of course, I dressed up an anti-adherent pad just to reduce any friction, but I believe my gastrocnemius (calf) constantly contracting/relaxing is what caused the skin to "pop" therefore, opening up the burn. I will go see Dr. Miller tomorrow, who is our Athletic Dept. team physician.

Us vs. ULa La

Shots from our road game versus Univ of Louisiana-Lafayette. About a 5 hour ride of fun from Nacogdoches, along H 49. We won, by the way, but I can't seem to remember the score. I think it was 3-2. Afterwards, to celebrate we ate good at Prejean's Cajun food.

Ky's foot contusion. As a new Athletic Trainer, I live for these moments. Big ups to her for toughing it out, too =)

My "Welcome to the World of Motorcycles" moment

Alright, alright...just stop it right there, if you are one of those people who typically say "I told you so," then you might as well just stop reading right now. It's so easy for people to say that "I told you so" in retrospect, but there's no way you could ever predict what will happen in the future....so hold all judgements, unless of course, you are a fortune-telling, mind-reading, faux Ms. Cleo, in which you should have warned me.



Usually, any "Welcome..." moments in the motorcycle world involves a crash, or a near-crash; but as with any situation from sports, to work, or academia, a "Welcome..." moment is anything that gives you a wake-up call, or a lesson, with the results of you respecting whatever you do, much, much, more. This just happens to be an incident of me being careless.



This afternoon while parking, I had to go out of my way to run over a locust (cicada, to some) that was conveniently sitting in my usual parking spot. Now, the ironic thing here is, I think it was already dead. They usually start buzzing whenever they hear anything that resembles the sound they make, which my exhaust pipe does. Nevertheless, I ran it over. I cut the engine, threw it in Neutral, and just positioned myself to run right over the big, nasty, freaky looking bug. While still on the bike, I just backpedaled into my parking spot making sure to be close enough to my locking-spot, and just before I could dismount the bike..."WHAM!!!" My leg caught a piece of the exhaust pipe. Yes, I was wearing shorts. I was returning from covering Soccer practice, and on my way to meet my coworkers for a training session.


Some have said this is Karma for killing my locust/cicada bug-brother. But, I don't think so because, like I said, I think it may have already been dead. Those who are familiar with this species of bug know they tend to just lay there doing nothing until you step right by them, then, they want to start buzzing the hell out of everything, scaring the living-$#%! out of you. I consider this payback, not karma

So, I am now chronicling the progression of my what-seems-to-be 3rd degree burn, by posting pics, and giving my notes as to texture, size, color, feel, etc., until I reach a point where it no longer has to be covered in bandages. I'm calling it BurnWatch '09. Some have said this is Karma for killing my locust/cicada bug-brother. But, I don't think so because, like I said, I think it may have already been dead. Those who are familiar with this species of bug know they tend to just lay there doing nothing until you step right by them, then, they want to start buzzing the hell out of everything, scaring the living-$#%! out of you. I consider this payback, not karma



WARNING: Pictures may be a little gross for the weak-stomached individual
















If you look closely, about 2-3 inches below the burnsite, you can kind of make out an oval-looking dark spot, which is a scar, from when this VERY SAME thing happened when I was 7yrs. old.

Why I decided to buy a motorcycle

Kinda kept this one on the low-low, but not really, though. "On the low-low" as in, didn't tell my family members; and as in family members, I really mean my Grandmother, because if she had found out, she would definitely disapprove, and although I am an adult and think/work/earn for myself, if she says "No," then it ain't goin' down! So, I did what any thinking/working/earning adult would do in this situation, and I didn't tell her =)

Needless to say, I went out and bought a motorcycle.

Why? I've always had a fascination with bikes since a little kid when my Uncle Ricky first took me on a ride on his Harley, and I was sooo scared that (even though we only went around the block), that I had my eyes closed the entire time. Then my cousin (his son) began riding mini-bikes and scooters, which only fed into my fascination and admiration. My brother soon after got one of those old Honda scooters, you know the big red ones with the 8" wheels, for like $300 and we'd ride that - before it broke down. But I suppose the height of my fascination came when Giovanni (you may know him as the Red Bull guy) and I went on a weekend-long trip to MotoGP in 2006 at Laguna Seca Raceway, and it was there, where I really learned about the lifestyle, comradery, and fraternity-like inclusiveness that comes with being a part of this culture.

Ever since that weekend, I just needed a reason to get one. And that reason came in the form of an indirect "demand" from an unnamed Program Director, and I began my search in Februrary-March 2009 to buy my first motorcycle. The research was extensive, from reading online reports, messaging friends on Facebook, registering for Forums asking questions, making phone calls, studying California/Texas motorcycle laws, calling dealerships, scouring Craigslist.org, etc. I was all over the place.

Finally got entered in a Safety course, which I highly recommend, and not just for the Insurance break, but to actually learn something new, or reinfornce what you already did know. Passed the course, and passed the written test (on the 3rd try! Hey, the questions were sooooo vaque; they're intentionally that way, too), and now the only thing left was to track down the perfect bike. Well, maybe not perfect, but affordable, stylish, economical, low-maintainence, fast, dependable, and downright fun! Ladies and gentleman, I present to you, Mean Green

I love this motorcycle, and the pictures here don't do it any justice; it is a beauty in-person. Rode it from Houston to Nacogdoches in a little over 4 hours. I'm still sore... =)

Not enough Trainer stuff

As you scroll down through past post, you may realize I'm not really talking about anything related to Athletic Training. Well, part of that is because I've been on Summer vacation, and the other part is simply the things outside of AT are a little more interesting - at least, for people (other than AT's) to read. But I've come to realize, this blog was originally created for AT-related stuff, so I plan to focus a little more of that from now on. But of course, I'll throw in my little random encounters/thoughts/pictures from time-to-time.

Dwele and The Dreamer

Photo credits to Yolanda


Upset that I paid $40.00 for a 3-song performance, but glad I got a chance to meet one of the most connected, most genuine, talented artist in the game right now. The show was billed Jon B. with special guest Dwele. I thought to myself, shouldn't that be the other way around? Don't get me wrong, Jon B. rocked the house, performing a lot of his hits (I forgot the man had THAT many hits), but Dwele is what's "it" right now. Clearly, a lot of the folks in the audience was there for Jon B. but Dwele was shown a lot of love, from folks who seemingly didn't know about him.

Danielle Crittenden: When Love Turns to Scandal

Thoughtful piece on South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford's scandal, which has been lightly covered in the recent week, due to the many famous deaths. Still, I found this blog by Danielle Crittendon to be very interesting in her attempt not to discover why 'men cheat on their wives', but, to explore the unexplainable formula for a successful marriage. I encourage you to read the opinionated commenters, too, as their supplemental insight is as entertaining, and valuable as the article - it's well worth it!

Danielle Crittenden: When Love Turns to Scandal



Here are some of the Reader's Comments that caught my eye.


The real problem is that marriage is an outmoded institution. Marriage is a legacy of the feudal era, when corrupt religious officials worked hand-in-glove with rich land owners to bind serfs together in marriage to make them more controllable. Our outmoded laws merely perpetuated this archaic arrangement, and the result is the turmoil we see around us today. If we lived in a civilized nation, couples would have the option of entering into civil unions of a few years that could be renewed -- or not -- like driver's licenses. Of course, we don't live in a civilized nation, so that's quite impossible. -Merlin7

Marriage existed prior to the feudal era. -larissa68

.... if Maria and Mark do forge ahead with their relationship ... Maria will find out she loves a man who was shaped by his wife ... how long will the "love" last then? .... when he has no power, few friends and less money ... with children visiting every other weekend -Headsortails

One only have to ready the email exchanges from Sanford to his friend to understand why he went forward with the relationship. They are madly in love with each other and with that in the picture there was no turning back. Can you picture him exchanging such emails with his wife? NO. The routine of marriage life does not have patient for such romantic exchanges, more so when you have a "state" to govern. No one can tell me that Sanford didn't think of the negative consequences of the friendship, (I refuse to call it an affair btw) yet he went with it because he was in love. Right now is the most difficult period for him because he is hurting and has NOBODY to talk to about it. Faith based or clinical therapy cannot help him because he CANNOT fully be candid on how he feels exactly -- he is married, has a state to run and everyone has denounced his actions, he is suffering from the loss of his friend, the hurt he caused his wife and kids, the disappointment he garnered from public. That's why I feel sorry for him, just as Ms. Danielle mentioned above. I never even heard of him, nor cared for any republican governors. But I really appreciate his honesty. His situation was unlike Spizter, (no class) Edwards and Clinton (liers) and I hope he will not go ahead saying that the devil made him do it or some stupid nonsense like that. -tokesan

Oh, BeJeBus! It's NOT epic luvvvvvv story. It's a m.i.d.l.i.f.e. c.r.i.s.i.s. man who wanted to get his f.r.e.a.k. on away from the p.r.y.i.n.g eyes of the press. And, it's a woman who IS STILL married to another man wanting to do the same. And, a woman who had a boyfriend in Argentina while also p.l.a.y.i.n.g. around with a married man. And, if you think this is the first time for the Gov, it ain't. He just got c.a.u.g.h.t. this time. No guy who writes p.r.o.s.e. like that and not to his wife, is not a P.L.A.Y.E.R."he is hurting and has NOBODY to talk to about it."And, I'm sure that's the line he gave Maria to start the affair with her. -Wiseronenow


Blah blahIt's not about fidelity or infidelity. Relationships break up all the time and nothing is going to change that.It's about how you behave when confronted with these situations:Do you come clean and let the truth set you free, or do you start a campaign of lies, coverups, frauds, and illegal activities to cover your shame. -frantaylor

There are many more comments that caught my eye, but were too long to post.

One Dark Week

Wow...

A shout from President Obama, to me? Sorta....

Cool signature, Prez!



-The Dreamer

Half-shocked

Watching Leno's last night on "The Tonight Show" and he's doing a best-of Jay Walking, when I notice this huge tatoo on this young lady's arm...orange hair...hmmm; it's Oakland's very own Keyshia Cole. Now if you've never seen Jay Walking, Leno typically makes fun of the people he's interviewing, or rather they make fun of themselves by answering common-knowledge questions - WRONG! Now, the question posed to our beloved Ms. Cole was actually a name-this-person question. Jay was holding a picture of this man












Our dear Keyshia has no CLUE!!! I'm not sure if this was intentional or not, but..c'mon!!! I know this man may not have been the most popular figure in (especially) traditional Westcoast liberal politics, or even Black families, but even then, both sides (left & right) could undoubtedly answer the question. And I am a huge believer in being able to recognize our public, and notable leaders. Also I do, however, realize had she gotten it right, that never would have been broadcasted. I would like to ask Keyshia if she remembers that day, and more importantly..."do you now have an answer?"

Liberation

You know...just because someone passes, doesn't mean they're really gone. Pictured above is JP Reddy, father and husband; whose sun has set in our world, but has risen in another. We've only met Four times, and although two of those four were while your daughter Ashleigh and I dated, despite the circumstances, I would have still remembered each occasion distinctly because you had the personality that I am naturally attracted to. Confident, yet doesn't have to be the life of the party and be the center of attention. Saavy, and knowledgable about various topics, like food and my eventual favorite - gambling (21, anybody?). Loving, to both the women in your family, and to everyone around. Respected, in your profession, leader in your family, and friend to all.

The first time we met, or when you saw me, was during move-out Saturday at USF, as I struggled to load my big red recliner into the back of a '02 Dodge Neon (Ashleigh tells me this story haha). I must've invented about 50 different ways to try and get that thing in there. The second, I believe it was at Ashleigh's graduation dinner, where I was so glad (and nervous) to meet the ENTIRE family, but that day, I had to play the 'cool' type. We didn't get to chat much then, probably because I unconciously kept my distance, but your presence was certainly felt. The third was dinner at Mela in San Francisco, which was between yourself, Ashleigh, and I. Turned out like you liked me. You kept the conversation friendly, gushing over the Lakers who were making a playoff push at the time, and gave an excellent recommendation as to what to order. Thank you for not recommending anything too Spicy! haha. And the fourth was during a December 2006 trip where I found myself as a guest in your home. You let me in, and like every other dad, I imagine, you kept a close eye although you had become familiar with me. You may have looked away a few times, but I never left the corner of your eye haha, which is just fine to me. And I still remember the Blackjack tips you gave me...I'll make sure to put those to good use.

I never really knew how to deal with death, as not many close to me have died, not until 2003 when my only-uncle Ricky passed. As I grew older, as you can imagine, more folks have since moved on, and writing these tributes have become my method of how to deal. Thanks Ashleigh for giving me permission to express this, and I hope this helps you, and those closest.

It's a hard road of hope, but bright stars do line the pavement. Wherever you go, I'm positive there will be room for ya! JP Reddy, my brother, you have raised a strong, smart, and beautiful daughter, and have built a wonderful family that I have had the pleasure of meeting several times (Hi! Mom) and cool-as-ever son, and I pray you no longer have any worries, because your job is done. We got it from here. Remember, you are loved...

Read his Obituary written by Ashleigh Reddy

Having one of my creative moments

The return of Alien bug

AJ and I are chilling out, playing some Madden right before we have to head over to Lufkin HS to cover physical exams...that's when this huge ass thing jumps on the window screen!!! I immediately noticed it from the other day, when it was on my other window...I guess it was back looking for another entry point. It's all good, I'll be back in the Bay Area next Sunday where we eat bugs, they don't eat us

Another Obama-inspired piece

"Progress"

• Done with acrylic paint on 9 x 16 x 2 wood block
• Pencil-traced circles done with Maria stencil, a method invented by my coworker, Maria Alvarado
• Used a U shaped wood-shaver to carve around edges of circles, gave it a 'popping' effect
• Shouts to SFA Art Dept. for the supplies and Maria for making it happen

Can't wait til I see the Bay

WTF???!? I woke up, looked out my 3rd floor window for my morning stretch, and damn near pissed in my city-boy boxers when this big azz alien looking creature was on the other side of my glass...I tapped on it and everything, it wasn't afraid of humans.

That's it...I'm converting to Mac

So.........I've been without a computer, or MY computer/laptop, for almost one month now. And I've had it with viruses and bullsh*t like that. What the fu*k is spyware, and adware, and malware, all the gotdamn wares anyway???!?!?!?! Who the f*ck makes all this $&%# to extremely frustrate folks like me? All I'm tryna do is make it through this first year of Graduate school!!! That's it!

I'm telling you...if you're reading this Mr. Spyware-Trojan man-virus making-sonnab*tch...don't let me catch you slippin' G, it's gon be problems

Much props to Julie ;-) for letting me borrow the old Dell jumpoff. It came through in the clutch when I needed it. Hell, I used it to post these entries...

Rotation VIII

Football

Football…for being such a popular sport, why is it such an unpopular rotation? The reason is because it has long been established as the sport which belongs to the undergrads. It’s not the 6:45am start time, because even that isn’t 6:00am. It’s not the tremendous amount of taping because even that is valuable practice we could all use. It’s not even the demanding athletes and their excessive use of profanity, because even they are real cool folks and it turns out, after talking and living with them, you have a ton in common! It’s a sport/rotation where grads will never have the majority control. And that’s perfectly okay. At one point, we were all undergraduates and needed somewhere to start. I don’t believe this to be a problem, it is simply an explanation. It would probably be the same if the tables were turned and a majority of grads were hanging around instead of undergrads. And that is the reason I wasn’t looking forward to football. But, this time, it was different.

Before moving to Texas, I remember browsing SFA Sports Medicine website with Dan Miller, the Head Athletic Trainer from Chabot Community College, and we came across Sandy Miller’s profile. I asked Dan, “What makes this guy a 4x Hall of Fame athletic trainer? If most of the knowledge about treating an ankle sprain is fairly common, what makes him better than you or any single athletic trainer better than any other athletic trainer?”

Dan replied, “I can’t say, but if anything, he is probably a helluva teacher, and can probably get his instructions and message across, so other people can understand, easier and more effectively than other athletic trainers.” I remember this conversation very distinctly because I have since wondered how does one athletic trainer distinguish themselves from others, if they essentially know the same thing.

And over the past two weeks, Dan’s response finally came to light. His answer made sense then, but even more so now, because Sandy does have this unique way of getting things done. Now, I have only known the guy for two semesters, but these past two weeks have allowed me to put Dan’s response into context with Sandy’s personal actions. The first time I had football as a rotation; I only taped ankles, and passed out water. This time around, I still taped ankles and passed out water, but I could tell he trusts me a lot more because we (Jorge and I) were more involved with daily treatments and rehab and entering information onto eSims. Of course, the undergrads were involved with data entry also (mostly Forges), but the pinnacle of the rotation came when Sandy trusts me with a new injury, in terms of setup, patient positioning, application, and taking a detailed enough history to enter into eSims. That was really cool for me because I remember asking Sandy, “Did you say enter him a New Injury, or Update, because I’m going to need the initial impressions, and MOI, details, etc.” And in his subtle voice, Sandy replies, “There he is right there,” implying to get the information from the athlete. So I did. I was a little surprised because I thought that would be something he would want to do, but turns out, it wasn’t. May not seem like a big deal, but it kind of was. The timing was perfect.

It is things like that which made this rotation incredibly enjoyable this time around. I really felt like I could put everything I learned in the classroom to use, especially from the therapeutic modalities class, and upper extremity class, when explaining to an athlete why they are positioned a certain way, or why the treatment will be more effective if there shoulder is in this direction, and not in that direction. I strongly feel I accomplished a lot.