Introduction

Hello,

My name is Phil McHugh. For those of you who don't know, I've been studying for the past 10 months at College Ahuntsic in Prehospital care. I'm about to wrap up my studies and am starting stage in a few days. In this blog I will account my calls that I do during my stage. I will explain the calls, how I reacted, what I did wrong, what I should've done, and how the call made me feel. This is more for personal use so I remember by journey, but also for those who are interested in becoming a Paramedic and wonders what it might be like, and for two of my friends who plan to follow in my footsteps and become a Medic.

The Beginning: I said before that I've been studying for 10 months to become a Paramedic, but I've really been preparing for it my whole life. My Father is one of the best and most respected Paramedics in Canada, and his influence on me is enormous. I don't really remember ever being told what my father did for a living, but I always remember being proud of it. Growing up I attending some of the classes my father would give on CPR and what not, and it was normal for me to be 5 years old and know CPR, (both me and my sister knew CPR when we were very young) I always felt very safe growing up, whenever I was sick, I never panicked and felt comforted knowing that my father knew what he was talking about, and I knew I wanted to, one day give the same sort of support for my kids.
When I finished high school I had no idea what I wanted to do, so I quickly took the first job I could. I worked at a customs broker for 6 years and realized that I didn't want to do that anymore. I was not an office person who could fall into a routine of a 9 to 5 job. I always knew I wanted to be a Paramedic but if I were to tell you it's been a life long passion of mine I'd be lying. After about 2 years at this customs agency, I started thinking about going back to school to become a Paramedic but didn't follow through with it, because of my stubbornness of not wanting to do it in French, so I brushed the thought aside and continued working at that Customs job.

Realization: In May 2007 I began to experience severe abdominal pains. Fed up of the pain and the sleepless nights I decided to get checked out at Montreal General Hospital. After doing some tests I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis, and because of my severe dehydration I was told to stay at the hospital for a week so I could be monitored. My Mother, My Father, My Friends, The Doctors, and the Nurses were so great to me, I realized that I need to do something more with my life. The way the Nurses treated just confirmed my thought that I want to do something in the medical field to help people. When I got out of the hospital I started the process of registering for school and ended up starting my classes at College Ahuntsic on November 19th 2007.

Today: Here we are July 24th 2008, two days after my 24th birthday and I feel as though I'm just starting my life. On Monday July 28th I will do my first day of Stage in Chateauguay from 6:00 pm until 6:00 am. I will be covering Chateauguay, Lery, Mercier, Beauhornois, and St Isidore. I will be doing my shift with two female Paramedics who's names I will change for privacy sake, once I think of two names to use.
Everyone has influenced me and helped me throughout my studies but these next people I would like to thank personally.

Gary McHugh
Yveline McHugh
Melissa McHugh
Rene Durand
Michel Demeo
Pat Bertrand
Claude LaBarre
Pierre Lahaie
Charles Alexandre Campbell
Pierre Bayard
Richard Leblanc
Leo Scampanella
CoCo Hui
Nelly Stipdonk
All the Teachers at Ahuntsic in SPU
and everyone in Group 89.

Please Stay tuned....
Phil