C
Carl & Polly & Bob (GA)
Guest
The number of PZI kitties that have had hypo-like numbers lately is surprising. I think it has happened a half dozen times in the past month....
When this sort of thing happens, of course it is extremely stressful for the "bean on the scene", as I am sure they can attest?
Many of us have been here for a while, and have witnessed hypos in PZI, Health, Lantus, etc. One thing that I have found, and I learned this in LantusLand, is that it is much easier if only one advise-giver is posting in the thread. It helps to have lots of eyes on what is going on, but it can be overwhelming for the person with the hypo in front of them to try to respond to several people at once. Plus, there is always the chance that two or more of "us" might give confusing or conflicting advice.
One of my "duties" in my day job is to act as a First Responder in an emergency. That might include accidents, drownings, heart attacks, all sort of "fun stuff". We all get CPR/AED/First Aid training every year, but one other thing we have to learn is how to "take charge of the scene" in an emergency. The general rule that is followed is the first person on the scene, no matter how "senior" they are, is the "person in charge". To translate that to FDMB, it would be the first person who replies to the person who has posted the "Emergency" thread.
The "next" person who notices that something is going on would see who has already responded. The first thing you should do is PM the first responder, to let them know you are with them, and to ask if you can help. They may ask you to take over, which is fine, as long as only one person is posting. It would be okay if you post once, just to let the person know that you are "there" watching. Each person who arrives in the thread should do the same thing....let the first responder know you are there to help if needed.
One person should act as the "time keeper". If the advice is for the person to test every 15 minutes, someone should watch the clock to make sure they are testing on schedule. With all the stress of the hypo, plus posting, time moves at abnormal speed. Watching kitty is hard enough, especially when you also have to post replies. There might not be a clock visible either.
Another thing that is helpful...some of us, myself included, will sometimes sign on and choose to be "hidden". If you do that, keep in mind that you are not visible to the people on the forum. One good thing to do is sign out, un-hide yourself, and sign back in. That way people know you are there, and they can see your name at the bottom of the page when they are in the thread. It is reassuring for people in a crisis to be aware that there are a lot of people watching, even if they aren't saying something. It also helps the "first responder" to know who else might be around to ask for help or added advice.
So, this is what I believe, from a "spectator" point of view...
You don't want to confuse the bean.
You don't want to overwhelm the bean.
You want to let the bean know you are there watching.
You want to let the first responder know you are there to help if needed.
You want to keep "chatter" to a minimum.
You want to stick around until the crisis is over, unless you can't, and if you need to leave, you should let the first responder know that.
After the crisis is over, make sure to let everyone know that they did a great job!
Anyway, that's my thoughts. Feel free to add comments if you think this won't work, or if I left good stuff out.
Carl
When this sort of thing happens, of course it is extremely stressful for the "bean on the scene", as I am sure they can attest?
Many of us have been here for a while, and have witnessed hypos in PZI, Health, Lantus, etc. One thing that I have found, and I learned this in LantusLand, is that it is much easier if only one advise-giver is posting in the thread. It helps to have lots of eyes on what is going on, but it can be overwhelming for the person with the hypo in front of them to try to respond to several people at once. Plus, there is always the chance that two or more of "us" might give confusing or conflicting advice.
One of my "duties" in my day job is to act as a First Responder in an emergency. That might include accidents, drownings, heart attacks, all sort of "fun stuff". We all get CPR/AED/First Aid training every year, but one other thing we have to learn is how to "take charge of the scene" in an emergency. The general rule that is followed is the first person on the scene, no matter how "senior" they are, is the "person in charge". To translate that to FDMB, it would be the first person who replies to the person who has posted the "Emergency" thread.
The "next" person who notices that something is going on would see who has already responded. The first thing you should do is PM the first responder, to let them know you are with them, and to ask if you can help. They may ask you to take over, which is fine, as long as only one person is posting. It would be okay if you post once, just to let the person know that you are "there" watching. Each person who arrives in the thread should do the same thing....let the first responder know you are there to help if needed.
One person should act as the "time keeper". If the advice is for the person to test every 15 minutes, someone should watch the clock to make sure they are testing on schedule. With all the stress of the hypo, plus posting, time moves at abnormal speed. Watching kitty is hard enough, especially when you also have to post replies. There might not be a clock visible either.
Another thing that is helpful...some of us, myself included, will sometimes sign on and choose to be "hidden". If you do that, keep in mind that you are not visible to the people on the forum. One good thing to do is sign out, un-hide yourself, and sign back in. That way people know you are there, and they can see your name at the bottom of the page when they are in the thread. It is reassuring for people in a crisis to be aware that there are a lot of people watching, even if they aren't saying something. It also helps the "first responder" to know who else might be around to ask for help or added advice.
So, this is what I believe, from a "spectator" point of view...
You don't want to confuse the bean.
You don't want to overwhelm the bean.
You want to let the bean know you are there watching.
You want to let the first responder know you are there to help if needed.
You want to keep "chatter" to a minimum.
You want to stick around until the crisis is over, unless you can't, and if you need to leave, you should let the first responder know that.
After the crisis is over, make sure to let everyone know that they did a great job!
Anyway, that's my thoughts. Feel free to add comments if you think this won't work, or if I left good stuff out.
Carl
