[y66]

Cowboys and pit crews by Atul Gawande. Everything this guy writes is good.

[mgoetze]

I was expecting a story about a poker hand.

[PassedOut]

Thanks for the link! Truly a great article.

[barmar]

Coincidentally, I just finished reading his book "The Checklist Manifesto". He makes a very good case in it.

[y66]

 barmar, on 2011-May-31, 22:18, said:

Coincidentally, I just finished reading his book "The Checklist Manifesto". He makes a very good case in it.

Will check that out. Just finished Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder. Couldn't put it down.

[y66]

We had a medical emergency in my family this week that has not yet been resolved.

That pit crews vs cowboys metaphor seems esp. apt now. Based on this weeks events, I would extend pit crews to include family members and add that it is mandatory for family members to collect and process all information and ask as many intelligent questions as needed to satisfy themselves that all bases have been covered.

This is probably obvious to all sensible people.

Unfortunately, in this case, I viewed my role mainly as ambulance driver, expediter and information provider. I made sure that all relevant information I could think of had been provided. But then I stopped asking questions. That was a pit crew failure on my part, possibly with dire consequences, that won't happen again.

[PassedOut]

 y66, on 2011-June-09, 07:37, said:

Unfortunately, in this case, I viewed my role mainly as ambulance driver, expediter and information provider. I made sure that all relevant information I could think of had been provided. But then I stopped asking questions. That was a pit crew failure on my part, possibly with dire consequences, that won't happen again.

I had a situation a couple of years ago when my performance in a medical emergency was unsatisfactory.

On an out-of-state trip my wife fainted and fell to the floor. Then she insisted that she was not sick enough for me to call an ambulance, despite my urging. About 15 minutes later she began to shiver and shake, and only then did I make the call. She got sicker and sicker, and in the ambulance had projectile vomiting. It turned out okay -- she spent some time in the hospital there and then we got her to the Mayo Clinic for followup treatment. But I won't make that mistake again, and I'm taking to heart what you've posted. Thanks for the heads up.

And here's hoping that everything turns out okay for you.

[y66]

Swimming With Sharks, at 61 By TARA PARKER-POPE


Photo: Nicole Bengiveno/The New York Times

Quote

At the age of 61, Diana Nyad is taking on an athletic challenge that she could not complete in her 20s. She plans to swim about 60 hours in the churning sea, 103 miles across the Straits of Florida from Cuba to Key West.

Every hour and a half, she will stop to tread water for a few minutes as she swallows a liquid mixture of predigested protein and eats an occasional bit of banana or dollop of peanut butter. She will most likely hallucinate and endure the stings of countless jellyfish. Along the way, sea salt will swell her tongue to cartoonish proportions and rub her skin raw….

Ms. Nyad attempted this swim once before, unsuccessfully, in 1978 at the age of 28. She swam inside a shark cage for 41 hours 49 minutes until the raucous weather and powerful current pushed her far off course and she was forced to give up. She had traveled only 50 miles. (One year later, she swam 102 miles from Bimini, in the Bahamas, to Jupiter, Fla., without a shark cage. She still holds the record for the world’s longest ocean swim.)

This time, armed with better technology and a battered but tough body, she is certain she will make it. “Physically, I am much stronger than I was before, although I was faster in my 20s,” said Ms. Nyad, who looks sturdy enough to defy a linebacker. “I feel strong, powerful, and endurance-wise, I’m fit.”