my story

Born in California as the first to Italian immigrant parents, I guess I was exposed to adversity and ambition before I could walk. Watching my dad live the American dream through hard work and sacrifice taught me the value of the moment. Just like any first born, when I seek to do things I still look for his approval. He may not have loved my chosen career field (“why do you want to be around all that blood and guts?”) but he would have liked what I accomplished with it. Including this book.

I became an EMT in 2008 and started out as an ER Tech in a trauma center at St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center in Grand Junction, Colorado. Literally, the perfect place to start! It was a great foundation for what was to come. I still feel their presence and hear their advice years later. The field experience started at a volunteer Fire Department and then the city. I got my Paramedic in 2011 followed by my AAS in 2012. For three years Charlotte, NC was home and I started flying in 2015. I became a Critical Care Paramedic and gave up 911 for a year before the bright lights of Vegas came calling. Las Vegas allowed Critical Care Paramedics to run all calls, so it was a no brainer and across the country I went again. Vegas gives me the opportunity to run literally every single kind of call you can think of. Unfortunately, that included the worst mass shooting in US history. Seeing that level of human destruction was horrible. But seeing how effectively it was overcome by the combined efforts of every agency, bystander, hospital staff member, and rescuer on the street was life changing and marked us all permanently. It was then that I heard about The Code Green Campaign and everything they did for all of the Las Vegas First Responders. And the Las Vegas Resiliency Center for the incredible help they brought to all the citizens of Las Vegas during the aftermath of the tragedy.

That brings you to right now… Why did I make this book?

It started when I realized I suck at math… Right in the middle of paramedic school! Timing is everything, and I needed help. I gathered all the charts, “cheat sheets”, and illustrations of algorithms I could find. I was compiling quite the stack, and felt confident I was the answer man when it came to calculations. Nope… I became the juggler, the bad magician trying to pull the right card out of the deck. An impressive half inch thick deck rubber banded with the edges faded and rounded. Not great. But, years of redundancy and repetitive treatments helped me memorize a lot and the stack dwindled. GCS and pupil size is pretty standard stuff after a while…

Then came CCT school and flight. The top of the ladder for a medic. And the stakes of course go up with the acuity, environment, and level of medicine applied there. So, here come all the cheat sheets again! Figuring out a drip rate at 0300 is daunting and shuffling through the cards even more embarrassing as family sits there watching. Apps are great, but I won’t be touching my phone in full PPE. So, after a couple of years of formulating, double checking, and fine tuning, THE Critical Care Pocket Guide was born. Full of the real essential formulas and drip charts you really need, and not a lot of the “filler” stuff you don’t. I’m talking about pressor drip rates, ideal body weight chart, RACE scale (which is new in almost all major EMS systems across the country), pediatric drug dosages (my personal favorite), and the PCR form itself. Easy to read and complete with all the essential questions to ask for a proper report, it even includes two blank heavy card stock pages for your own personal formulas, notes, or whatever you use to make you a more effective provider! How many of us write on the envelope the paperwork is in? Or worse, our gloves?! When the pad is used up, you have the covers with the charts and formulas bound neatly that fold out and easily fit in any flight suit, scrubs pocket or lanyard, or EMS cargo pocket.

I had only a few criteria. It had to be durable, small enough to fit in the pocket comfortably, packed just enough with the right information to be valuable, easy to use and copy to a PCR, and it had to support a great cause for EMS. I think I accomplished all of those things with this pad, and I hope you think so too.

Thank you for letting me add value to your job and thanks for looking!