Tartitude in its red phase

When you move your blog to a new site, there’s a process one should follow to ease the transition.

1. Let your readers know a relocation is coming. Perhaps even get a few involved in the design. This will build anticipation and buy-in.

2. Set a date in advance.

3. Because any change is disruptive, offer incentive for people to stay connected. Theoretically this could be a lineup of cool guests, a contest, a giveaway, a free ebook, or something that would prove irresistible to your audience.

I know this. I’ve seen it masterfully done. It works.

But I’m afraid, being typical Jan, I’m going to suck at the execution. That’s okay. If I wait to do it perfectly, I’ll never act, and at Tartitude, we’re all about eating the fruit, not the rind. (Unless it’s in marmalade, because without the pretty colors and tartness of citrus peel, marmalade would just be boring jelly now, wouldn’t it?)

So. Without further ado, I’d like to introduce the cause for my recent silence:

http://janohara.net

The blog itself is at http://janohara.net/tartitude

I wanted to use this photo on the new site to symbolically express the three pillars of Tartitude: Art. Attitude. Vitamin C.
Molly told me I can’t. It’s “cheesy” and “looks photoshopped” and “gauche.” Remind me why I was so keen to have children…?

It’s a work in progress. I still have to move my links and repopulate the blogroll, etc., but it’s getting there.

Now what about you?

WordPress.com expressed a willingness to automatically resubscribe email readers. I’m going to take them up on it, and I’m hoping they’ll come through for me. I’m going to presume those of you who’ve subscribed will be willing to check the new place out, and if it doesn’t work for you, I understand. Just unsubscribe. (Though I hope it works for you!) Please note I’m not certain they will automatically move your “subscription”, so if you don’t want to risk it, do pre-emptively follow.

I haven’t figured out what to do for those of you on RSS readers. You’re on your own.

If you’ve linked to cherrytart.wordpress.com, I’m grateful. Please consider updating your links.

If you come visit, let me know if you have technical difficulties or challenges. I want the site to serve you.

This is a bittersweet moment, guys. I’ve been thinking about doing this for more than a year, but a few things have always held me back: the time, the concern about technical challenges, but mostly sentiment. This place is where I conducted my first interview (Laura Kinsale). It’s where I discovered I enjoyed blogging, got connected into the Writer Unboxed world. If not for this blog, I wouldn’t know many of you.

We’ve had good times here and more than a little zaniness. I hope to see you at the new digs, where I’m certain the insanity will continue.

If not, Zesties– if we part ways– be well. Life is all too fleeting. Go after what you want, seize it and make it your bitch.

Just do it in the other room, ’cause some of us are offended by deviant behavior.  ;)

/Tart Out

Below is the visual representation of a common expression.

Can you figure out what it means?

Turn to page two and scroll down for the answer. If you enjoy these, please feel free to share them with others.

Hope you can join us.

CORBS: 5 Little Letters that Can Keep the Drama on Your Page and Out of Your Critique Group

Can you figure out what it means?

Turn to page two and scroll down for the answer. If you enjoy these, please feel free to share them with others.

Can you figure out what it means?

Turn to page two and scroll down for the answer. If you enjoy these, please feel free to share them with others.

ETA: If you saw the first version, apologies! I had to change the labels in the image for it to make sense.

Did you ever worry about handlebars?

Me neither, which is why I’m writing this post with Frank’s full permission.

Last week, the ToolMaster (my husband) and Frank (my son) went on a training ride to prepare for this summer’s holiday biking trip. They were in the home stretch, sticking to relatively deserted city roads, their minds on getting a soda at the local 7-11 to celebrate. Then Frank rounded a corner at the low speed of 10 miles per hour. As best we can tell, he took it too sharply. His front wheel jack-knifed on him and he was abruptly pitched forward.

I got the phone call ten minutes later. Could I come pick them up? Frank seemed fine, but a minor abdominal cut was leaking fat globules.

I took one look at the 1-inch non-bleeding wound, which looked like a tear, and we loaded the bikes and were off to emergency.

Hours later, stitches in place, we went home and to bed. Separately.

I wasn’t concerned. The wound had been probed. Though the forceps went deep enough to make me squeamish, and we hadn’t identified exactly how the injury occurred, nothing had penetrated into his abdomen. Frank’s blood pressure and pulse were stable. The ER doctor didn’t even think he needed antibiotics.

The next morning, Frank was under the weather, feeling all manner of stiffness and pains. He was tired. But this was to be expected, right? We’d gotten home at 1 AM, so he was short of sleep. It’s normal for muscle aches to be worse the day after an accident.

Only when he mentioned a specific type of pain did I realize we were dealing with bigger issues—confirmed on the way to our van when Frank briefly passed out.

So, peeps, in the sense of the Chinese curse, we had interesting times. We had firefighters visit while we waited for the ambulance to arrive. (Unfortunately, Molly was too preoccupied with Frank’s condition to take advantage of the dating opportunities.)

After the CT, things sped up. I’ve retained a montage of video-like clips: the surgeon saying things like “free fluid in the abdomen” and “possible ostomy”.  The street clothes and watch and glasses removed. The cheerful-but-purposeful OR porter. The waiting room, bleak and chilled.

The ToolMaster’s eyes reflecting my fear…

In the end, Frank had the best possible outcome, given the circumstances. We think he landed on his handlebar, its brake lever causing the visible wound, its blunt end causing most of the damage. The contusion and shearing forces ripped some internal membranes and blood vessels, causing a slow leak of 700 mls of blood into his abdomen. He didn’t require a transfusion. They fixed the leak, closed him with tidy stitches and staples, and transferred him to the post-op ward, where his care was exceptional.

We’ve been home a few days now. Life is returning to normal.

However, I keep hearing from friends is that we were lucky — that while I’m upset with myself for failing to think like a doctor instead of a parent, my medical background helped. At least I knew what to look for. At least we got help before it was too late. So let’s fix some of the knowledge-gap right now, okay? Let’s arm you folks.

1. Know that while penetrating abdominal wounds provide drama, they aren’t necessarily what will cause disability or death. Blunt abdominal trauma, can be a silent, slow, but lethal danger. While this list is by no means comprehensive, watch for these warning signs:

• Increasing abdominal size (bloating)
• Increasing abdominal pain
• Diminished appetite, especially if it leads to vomiting
• Fever
• Pallor, lightheadedness, passing out
• Shoulder-tip pain: When blood or infection irritate the nerve which supplies the diaphragm, an affected person feels pain in the tip of their shoulder. It doesn’t respond to massage, though you might mask it with painkillers.

2. We think Frank’s superficial wound was caused by a bike lever. While this kind of injury might not be on your radar, it’s not at all uncommon. Don’t believe me? Look at these links.

Frank’s brake lever from one angle

How would you like to land on this?

• Boy, 10, OK after being impaled on bike handle
• Schoolgirl impaled on bike’s handlebars thanks her nurses
• Teen impaled on bike lever
• Video about a hand being impaled on a bike lever (Look at minute 2:11 for close-up).

And so on.

Someone who is design-savvy needs to reconfigure these. The minor bend on the end isn’t enough to prevent impalement, as evidenced by the images.

So parents, when you are selecting your bikes, notice the lever placement. Brakes are obviously mandatory, but some levers are more exposed and sharper than others.

3. Bicycle helmets are a necessity at all ages, and they must be replaced after one impact.

In the hullaballoo about his belly, one thing stood out: we weren’t being directed to a neuro ICU for a brain injury, because though he struck his head at the scene of the accident, Frank’s helmet did its job. The belly heals much better than the brain.

No, you can’t make your kids wear their helmets out of your sight, but have you stressed their importance? And what about you? Are you wearing your own helmet? Are you expecting your kids or teens to sacrifice coolness when you won’t?

How are you on biking safety?

If you’ve found this post helpful, please feel free to pass it on.  

I should be back later in the week with a non-medical post. To receive free e-mail updates from this blog, look to the green sign-up box in the right sidebar. Plus, connect with me on Twitter and Facebook.

Can you figure out what it is?

Turn to page two and scroll down for the answer. If you enjoy these, please feel free to share them with others.

Never mind. We can discuss that later.

Zesties, I don’t talk much about my former life as a family doctor on this blog. You get hints, dribbles and subtext. If you’re interested in knowing more—specifically about my philosophy and background—I’ll direct you to a guest post I’ve written.

Dr. Mitchel Singularis is an emergency physician. His blog, Physicians Non-Clinical Guide, is dedicated to broadening doctors’ ideas of their place in the world. (ie. Is there life outside of medical practice?)

To that end, at his kind invitation, I wrote: Yearning for a Writing Career? 11 Skills You Acquired in Medical School That Will Help in the Publishing World

Hope you can join us.

PS: Red Tash, you were the winning commenter of Lisa Brackmann’s Getaway. Congratulations! Lisa will be in touch to make mailing arrangements, etc. Thanks to all who participated.

To receive free e-mail updates about new posts on this blog, look to the green sign-up box in the right sidebar. Plus, connect with me on Twitter and Facebook.

Filed under: Guest Post Tagged: guest blogging, Jan O'Hara, medicine, Mitchel Singularis, Physicians Non-Clinical Guide, Tartitude, Writing ]]> http://cherrytart.wordpress.com/2012/05/29/thats-former-dr-tart-to-you/feed/ 0 hope101 doctor http://cherrytart.wordpress.com/2012/05/27/can-you-outsmart-the-tart-visual-pun-4/ http://cherrytart.wordpress.com/2012/05/27/can-you-outsmart-the-tart-visual-pun-4/#comments Sun, 27 May 2012 16:00:44 +0000 Jan O'Hara (Tartitude) http://cherrytart.wordpress.com/?p=8003 ]]> Below is the visual representation of a common expression.

Can you figure out what it means?

Turn to page two and scroll down for the answer. If you enjoy these, please feel free to share them with others.

31 Authors, 1 Model for a Writers’ Cooperative: Author Tawny Stokes on the Bandit Creek Series, if you’d like to join us.

While I’m here, me Zesties, it’s not too late to be entered to win a copy of NYT-bestselling Lisa Brackmann’s GETAWAY. Comment on Part I or II of our interview if you’d like to participate.