I Self-Published. But mostly about the state of the world

I had an unexpected block of holidays off in August. I was going to blog about how excited I was, mostly because I self published this:

I finished edits in the spring and then I let my sister and aunt have a go at it. If you’ve been following along at all on Facebook, you’ll know I had print copies and the newer version of the covers will not have those pretty inserts in the corners (It’s a formatting issue) so you can find them online or hit me up at a show or whatever.

Not that I’m convinced I’ll be doing a show any time soon.

I showed up at work on August 23 and I wasn’t on the flowsheet. The boys got geoposted or sent on something right away, so I contacted my superintendant and ensured we weren’t short a body to staff a truck. I still did On Call that evening from home and was ready to work the next day (we were short trucks, but I wouldn’t have had a partner) so it turned out that with the kerfuffle of vacation, I was scheduled the tour off. I was given the option to keep it or work, I kept it.

Then August 24, I got a letter telling me about my job’s mandatory V_X policy.

I was livid. I’m not pro or anti, except when it comes to patient choice. I won’t talk about what I’ve seen from the hospitals. Not only because I have class, but I am governed by something called the Personal Healthcare Information Act (PHIA). It allows me to go into a house and look for healthcare information if the patient can’t answer for themselves. It also prohibits me from being at a pub and talking about your mother’s medication to other people. I get invited into people’s lives sometimes on their worst days, and I’ve been pulled aside and told in no uncertain terms that I can’t talk about what I saw concerning my coworkers in need. (Clearly if they bring it up, that is fine).

My very first class for being a first responder was Firefighting. I was in a relatively small classroom of guys, and what I remember was after we introduced each other, one of the first things we talked about was Consent. I figured this was no-brainer stuff, but it was important to always let people know what we were doing, among other things build some rapport with your patient if things aren’t critical, which the majority of the calls aren’t. I learned when I put on a uniform, and there’s a certain amount of honor I didn’t earn that I carry with me. I’m very aware that when I’m in uniform I’m in the public eye, and when I’m at events where people barely know me but they find out what I’m about, it carries weight.

My life revolves around The Personal Healthcare Information Act. I took training with my former union to know about workplace responsibility concerning medical conditions. I know what the laws are.

I’m so sorry if you’ve been forced out of work or were coerced into taking something you didn’t want. It’s wrong, and it doesn’t matter if the effect was beneficial.

I’m so sorry if you lost your business from these lockdowns. I tried to support small businesses the best I could since this started.

I’m sorry that all of this pushed so many people back into poverty.

I’m sorry that the government has been terrorizing their own citizens. I trained for this; the majority of you didn’t.

I can’t believe what I’ve seen coming out of Australia. My heart’s with you if you’ve been marching for freedom around the world. I’ve gone to several rallies, and from where I’m standing, this is feeling biblical. I’m not professing a timeline, but it feels like time is short, and in a way, that’s a good thing. In a way, I’ve always found that hard times have made me reflect about what’s really important. And for me, I haven’t been able to edit Rogue Healer 3 or think about what I’d like to do for say, Inktober or NaNoWriMo.

No, I’m not about to lose my job. But if it comes down to it, I’m used to not having much, and for me, PHIA and keeping true to the Nuremberg Code is my line in the sand. I got into this job to save lives and for my occupation to have some higher meaning. I never met my paternal grandfather; he died when my dad was around 12. He fought off Germans with an artillery cannon. I wonder what he’d say about watching cops beat on unarmed civilians for protesting for their basic human rights.

R.J. Hore and Larry Flewin will be at Comic Con if it still happens in Winnipeg later this month. I’m not going events so long as segregation is going to happen. I’ll give them some copies of my books, but either anyone can go or I’m not going.

I want to believe that love will find a way, but honestly I think the world is in for dark times ahead. No matter what happens, keep loving each other. So many people are scared, and I’d be lying if I was to say that I’m not worried about not only my people of Canada, but people around the world. I’m not saying there is no reason to be afraid at times, but sometimes, the worst enemy is the fear your own mind creates. There’s good things worth fighting for, even if it seems like you’re fighting alone.

When you chose to do the right thing over the easy thing, you are never alone.

Wherever you are, may the Good Lord Bless you and keep you, and give you peace.