Podcasts about intensive care

 This week, in our series on What You May Have Missed at ATS 2025, host Eddie Qian, MD, of the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, discusses post intensive care syndrome with Justin Banerdt, MD, MPH, Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Dr. Banerdt presented his research on the subject, “Characterizing Critical Illness Recovery Trajectories: Exploring Risk Factors for Post Intensive Care Syndrome”, at ATS 2025 this past May. Did you miss the ATS 2025 International Conference? Or were you unable to attend some key sessions? Go to conference.thoracic.org/program/conference-highlights/ to purchase your ATS Conference Highlight Package. Be sure to check out the Out of the Blue podcast from the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, which takes you out of the pages of the Blue Journal and into the minds of the most brilliant researchers in the fields of respiratory, critical care, and sleep medicine. Tune in wherever you listen to podcasts! 

Euroanaesthesia 2025: the annual meeting of the European Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, in Lisbon, Portugal. TopMedTalk were there, check out our coverage on our podcast timeline. We've released many bonus episodes over the last few weeks! In this piece Kate Leslie and Nick Margerrison speak with their guests Sarah Saxena, course director and professor of anaesthesiology at the University of Mons, Belgium and Mia Gisselbaek, an anaesthesiologist and PhD student in medical education at University of Geneva Hospital, Switzerland. Drs Saxena and Gisselbaek were members of the working group for the ESAIC Mellin-Olsen Declaration on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, which was signed at the opening ceremony of Euroanaesthesia 2025 in Lisbon, Portugal. The declaration can be found here: ESAIC Mellin-Olsen declaration on diversity, equity and inclusion. Eur J Anaesthesiol. 2025 May 2. doi: 10.1097/EJA.0000000000002186 A link to the machine learning algorithm for delirium developed by Drs Saxena and Gisselbaek can be found here https://delirium.streamlit.app

#Artifical Intelligence The Innovation Village at Euroanaesthesia 2025 hosted a series of riveting discussions about the fast-evolving technologies and practices in the fields of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care. Once again, it was a meeting space for healthcare professionals, Industry partners, and delegates to discuss this year's topics: Sustainability, AI & Connectivity, and Value-based Healthcare. Are the clinicians of tomorrow computer scientists? Behind this cheeky question, lies a number of other, much more practical ones, regarding the integration of AI in the clinical field. Explore these questions alongside Prof. Elena G. Bignami, Kai van Amsterdam, Dr Frédéric Michard, and Andreas Schabbach. 

We're at Euroanaesthesia 2025 in Lisbon, Portugal. Here we discuss the European Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care's initiatives, focusing on the innovations in the scientific program in anaesthesia and perioperative medicine, and the importance of inclusivity and diversity within the society. The episode also highlights the future direction of the society, the role of trainees, and offers insights into the upcoming Congress in Rotterdam. Listeners are encouraged to apply for roles and join the society for its educational resources and global networking opportunities. Presented by Kate Leslie with her guests, Michel Struys is Professor and Chair, Department of Anesthesiology, University of Groningen and University Medical Center Groningen, the Netherlands, and chair of the Scientific Committee of ESAIC, and Fabio Guarracino, Head of the Department of Cardiothoracic Anaesthesia and Intensive Care at Pisa University Hospital, Pisa, Italy, and incoming chair of the Scientific Committee of ESAIC.

Recorded at Euroanesthesia 2025 in Lisbon, Portugal, the annual meeting of the European Society of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care. The episode features an interview with Edoardo de Roberti, a former ESAIC president, who shares insights into the challenges and advancements in the field of anesthesiology. Key topics include patient safety, sustainability in medical practices, and the role of artificial intelligence in improving anesthesiology. Eduardo also discusses workforce shortages in Europe and the importance of maintaining a well-trained and happy workforce for optimal patient outcomes. Presented by Kate Leslie, with her guest Edoardo De Robertis, Professor and Director of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, Università degli Studi di Perugia, Italy, and former president of ESAIC. He currently serves on the National Anaesthesiologists Societies Committee (NASC).

Euroanaesthesia 2025 in Lisbon, Portugal. Here we look at the history and progress of the European Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care. We speak about the amalgamation of three separate societies into one, the inclusion of intensive care, key milestones like the Helsinki, Glasgow and Mellon-Olsen Declarations, and the significance of involving trainees. We also highlight the Society's efforts in promoting research and its relationship with the European Journal of Anaesthesiology. More here: https://journals.lww.com/ejanaesthesiology/ Presented by Kate Leslie with her guest, Stefan De Hert, emeritus professor of anesthesiology, University of Ghent, Belgium, and past president of ESAIC. He served on all major committees of the Society and is ideally placed to talk us through the achievements of the last 20 years.

Our guest, Chiara Robba, delves into her work on cerebral autoregulation in relation to critical illness. We explore the mechanisms of cerebral autoregulation in healthy and brain-injured patients, the potential of new monitoring technologies, and the importance of personalized patient care. The discussion also touches on the broader implications for managing blood pressure in various clinical scenarios, including sepsis and shoulder surgery. Presented by Kate Leslie and Monty Mythen with their guest, Chiara Robba who is Professor of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, IRCSS Policlinico San Martino, Genova, Italy; and Past Chair of the Neurointensive Care Section of European Society of Intensive Care Medicine.

Nederland kreeg twintig jaar geleden een nieuw zorgstelsel, waar veel op aan te merken is. ARMAND GIRBES, hoogleraar Intensive Care, schreef er een boek over, ook over zijn eigen ervaring als medisch specialist. In gesprek met SYP WYNIA voor WWTV is Girbes niet mals. Zijn boek heet niet voor niets ‘Zieke Zorg'. Het videogesprek is ook te bekijken als video https://www.wyniasweek.nl/video/ Girbes beschrijft hoe de zorgverzekeraars een dominante zorg spelen in het zorgstelsel, net als managers en stafmedewerkers die ook nooit een patiënt zien. De zorgverzekeraars concurreren helemaal niet, maar leggen volgens hem wel hun wil op. Volgens Girbes kan er rücksichtlos gehakt worden in het Nederlandse zorgstelsel. Zonder de zorgverzekeraars, zonder overbodige managers en zonder onnutte kwaliteitsindustrie zou Nederland beter af zijn. Girbes ziet niet de VS, maar eerder een land als Denemarken als voorbeeld voor de Nederlandse gezondheidszorg. ‘Zieke Zorg' van Armand Girbes is een uitgave van Mazirel Pers, kost 22,99 en is HIER https://www.bol.com/nl/nl/p/zieke-zorg/9300000228421038/?Referrer=ADVNLPPcef5b500cdbf92970065bba51d681434258&utm_source=1434258&utm_medium=Affiliates&utm_campaign=CPS&utm_content=txl te koop. Wynia's Week is er drie keer per week, het hele jaar door, met artikelen, columns, video's en podcasts. De vele supporters van onze vrije journalistiek maken dat mogelijk. Doet u al mee? https://www.wyniasweek.nl/doneren/ Hartelijk dank!

The TopMedTalk team takes you to Euroanaesthesia 2025: The European Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care annual meeting in Lisbon, Portugal. The Society is dedicated to supporting professionals in anaesthesiology and intensive care by serving as the hub for development and dissemination of valuable educational, scientific, research, and networking resources. This year we're bringing you interviews with some of the key players and speakers from the conference presented by our very own Professor Kate Leslie, Head of Research in the Department of Anaesthesia and Pain Management at Royal Melbourne Hospital.

This World Shared Practice Forum Podcast episode features a discussion on the article "Building Global Collaborative Research Networks in Pediatric Critical Care: A Roadmap," published in Lancet Child and Adolescent Health in February 2025. The conversation, led by Dr. Jeff Burns with guests Professor Luregn Schlapbach and Professor Padmanabhan Ramnarayan, explores the challenges and strategies for creating effective global research networks in pediatric critical care. The speakers highlight the importance of collaboration, the need for a robust evidence base, and the potential of large data models to drive the future of precision medicine and improve patient outcomes. LEARNING OBJECTIVES - Understand the current landscape and challenges of pediatric critical care research - Identify the key components and benefits of global collaborative research networks - Learn about the action plans and goals for advancing global pediatric critical care research AUTHORS Luregn Schlapbach, MD, PhD, Prof, FCICM Head, Department of Intensive Care and Neonatology University Children's Hospital in Zurich, Switzerland Padmanabhan "Ram" Ramnarayan, MBBS, MD, FRCPCH, FFICM Professor of Paediatric Critical Care Imperial College London Jeffrey Burns, MD, MPH Emeritus Chief Division of Critical Care Medicine Department of Anesthesiology, Critical Care and Pain Medicine Boston Children's Hospital Professor of Anesthesia Harvard Medical School DATE Initial publication date: May 26, 2025. ARTICLE REFERENCED Schlapbach LJ, Ramnarayan P, Gibbons KS, et al. Building global collaborative research networks in paediatric critical care: a roadmap. Lancet Child Adolesc Health. 2025;9(2):138-150. doi:10.1016/S2352-4642(24)00303-1 TRANSCRIPT https://cdn.bfldr.com/D6LGWP8S/at/7hptjhbmtkv8sqx7m86934/202505_WSP_Schlapbach_and_Ramnarayan_Transcript-3864x5000-258ba60.pdf Please visit: http://www.openpediatrics.org OPENPediatrics™ is an interactive digital learning platform for healthcare clinicians sponsored by Boston Children's Hospital and in collaboration with the World Federation of Pediatric Intensive and Critical Care Societies. It is designed to promote the exchange of knowledge between healthcare providers around the world caring for critically ill children in all resource settings. The content includes internationally recognized experts teaching the full range of topics on the care of critically ill children. All content is peer-reviewed and open-access thus at no expense to the user. For further information on how to enroll, please email: openpediatrics@childrens.harvard.edu CITATION Schlapbach LJ, Ramnarayan P, Burns JP. Building Global Pediatric Research Networks. 05/2025. OPENPediatrics. Online Podcast. https://soundcloud.com/openpediatrics/building-global-pediatric-research-networks-by-l-schlapbach-p-ramnarayan-openpediatrics.

Rosita Steenbeek is schrijver. Na haar studententijd vertrok ze naar Rome, waar ze midden in het culturele leven belandde. Ze raakte bevriend met grote namen als Alberto Moravia, Federico Fellini en Marcello Mastroianni. Vanuit Rome schreef ze voor onder andere Vrij Nederland en vertaalde ze werk van Moravia en Susanna Tamaro. Verder schreef ze succesvolle romans zoals ‘De laatste vrouw', ‘Intensive Care' en ‘Ander licht'.     Nu komt Steenbeek met haar nieuwe boek ‘Over antieke wegen'. Na het verlies van haar moeder ondernam Steenbeek samen met fotograaf Art Khachatrian een fietsreis van Rome naar Mycene. Ze volgden de eeuwenoude Via Appia dwars door Italië en staken vervolgens over naar Griekenland. Een zware fietstocht vol bergpassen en nachtelijke ritten werd een emotionele reis, waarin ontmoetingen met mythische plekken haar dichter bij het verleden en haar moeder brachten. Femke van der Laan gaat met Rosita Steenbeek in gesprek.

In this piece we discuss the latest news in medical publishing with Hugh Hemmings, editor-in-chief of the British Journal of Anaesthesia and Laszlo Vutskits, editor of Anesthesiology. We discuss the increasing volume of manuscripts being received by journals; the challenges of peer review, and initiatives to find and support new reviewers. Then we delve into the use of AI by authors and journals, and how this might influence publishing in the future. Presented by Andy Cumpstey and Kate Leslie on location at the Annual Scientific Meeting of the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists and Faculty of Pain Medicine in Cairns, Australia, with their guests, Dr Hugh Hemmings, Joseph F. Artusio Jr. Professor and Chair, Department of Anesthesiology, Weill-Cornell Medicine, New York, USA, and Dr Laszlo Vutskits, Head of Pediatric Anesthesia at the Department of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology and Intensive Care at the University Hospital of Geneva, Switzerland.

In this piece we discuss all things EEG with Chris Connor, an anesthesiologist and researcher from Boston, USA, and Jamie Sleigh, an anesthesiologist and researcher from Hamilton, New Zealand. We start by discussing the engineering behind the BIS algorithm, then move to interpreting the raw EEG, the spectrogram and burst suppression. Finally we discuss the ‘titration paradox' and how it might influence research and AI. Presented by Andy Cumpstey and Kate Leslie on location at the Annual Scientific Meeting of the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists and Faculty of Pain Medicine in Cairns, Australia, with their guests, Dr Chris Connor, Assistant Professor and Vice Chair ad interim for Research, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, USA, and Professor Jamie Sleigh, Professor of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, Waikato Clinical School, University of Auckland, New Zealand.

The World Federation of Pediatric Intensive & Critical Care Societies (WFPICCS), in collaboration with OPENPediatrics, recognizes World PICU Awareness Week 2025. This initiative aims to raise global awareness about the importance of PICUs and critical care wards worldwide, emphasizing how healthcare professionals in these units, regardless of resource setting, are driving change. Discover how innovation is reshaping pediatric intensive care across Latin America. From telemedicine and AI to regional data networks, leading experts share practical solutions and powerful success stories. HOST Manuel Enrique Soriano Aguilar, MD Pediatric Critical Care Medicine StarMédica Hospital Infantil Privado & Centro Médico ABC Past President of the Mexican Society of Pediatric Critical Care SLACIP (Latin-American Association of Pediatric Critical Care) Representative to the World Federation of Pediatric & Critical Care Societies (WFPICCS) Mexico GUESTS Emmanuelle Dexeus Gabriel Fernández Vera, Paediatric Critical Care Medicine/Big Data in Health Intensive Care Hospital General de Acapulco RENEO and PALS instructor, SLACIP social media spokesperson Mexico Ledis Maria Izquierdo Borrero, MD Paediatrician specialising in Critical Care Medicine and Paediatric Intensive Care. Master in Biomedical Engineering Chief UCIP Hospital Militar Central Associate Professor Universidad Militar Nueva Granada Colombia Alexandra Jimenez Chaves, MD Specialist in Paediatric Intensive Care Mg(c) Artificial Intelligence Support Services Coordinator at Colsubsidio Children's Clinic Teacher Colegio Mayor Nuestra Señora del Rosario Advanced Life Support in Paediatrics Instructor Founding Member Aipocrates (Think Tank Innovation in Health) Colombia Maria del Pilar Arias, MD Specialist in Paediatric Intensive Care - Master in Clinical Effectiveness - Master in Data Science and Knowledge Management Staff physician Intermediate Care Unit. Ricardo Gutierrez Children's Hospital Buenos Aires. Argentina Coordinator of the SATI-Q Quality Benchmarking Program (Argentinean Society of Intensive Care). DATE Initial publication date: May 4, 2025. TRANSCRIPTS English - https://cdn.bfldr.com/D6LGWP8S/as/89x7t8rcm3rbv32vnkxvjh6/WPAW-25_LATAM_Final_English Spanish - https://cdn.bfldr.com/D6LGWP8S/at/px9wtttsw8q68w2h68r8qcpx/WPAW-25_LATAM_Final_Spanish.pdf French - https://cdn.bfldr.com/D6LGWP8S/at/2pn95f94vc9vm9p633zq59/WPAW-25_LATAM_Final_French.pdf Portuguese - https://cdn.bfldr.com/D6LGWP8S/at/z6v47859hk7tpn8vzkvkrbm/WPAW-25_LATAM_Final_Portuguese.pdf Italian - https://cdn.bfldr.com/D6LGWP8S/at/gpqnjkkpth8g7ps84gfgkhr/WPAW-25_LATAM_Final_Italian.pdf German - https://cdn.bfldr.com/D6LGWP8S/at/76n5cr66m6cq9474hwr986tq/WPAW-25_LATAM_Final_German.pdf Arabic - https://cdn.bfldr.com/D6LGWP8S/at/785vh6cqkrsrr8mxf9xwtgkx/WPAW-25_LATAM_Final_Arabic.pdf Please visit: www.openpediatrics.org OPENPediatrics™ is an interactive digital learning platform for healthcare clinicians sponsored by Boston Children's Hospital and in collaboration with the World Federation of Pediatric Intensive and Critical Care Societies. It is designed to promote the exchange of knowledge between healthcare providers around the world caring for critically ill children in all resource settings. The content includes internationally recognized experts teaching the full range of topics on the care of critically ill children. All content is peer-reviewed and open-access, thus at no expense to the user. For further information on how to enroll, please email: openpediatrics@childrens.harvard.edu Please note: OPENPediatrics does not support or control any related videos in the sidebar; these are placed by YouTube. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Sally Gould is an Intensive Care Paramedic and joins Ant discuss the realities of her life on the frontline. From her earliest memories of life on the job, to coping with unpredictable and dangerous situations - this is a conversation is a revealing account of life as a paramedic. You can find out more about Sally's book, Frog: The Secret Diaries of a Paramedic, at simonandschuster.com.au. LINKS Follow Ant on Instagram, X, and Facebook Learn more about Ant on his website antmiddleton.com Follow Nova Podcasts on Instagram for videos from the podcast and behind the scenes content – @novapodcastsofficial. CREDITSHost: Ant MiddletonEditor: Adrian WaltonExecutive Producer: Anna Henvest Managing Producer: Elle Beattie Nova Entertainment acknowledges the traditional custodians of the land on which we recorded this podcast, the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation. We pay our respect to Elders past and present. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Immer mehr Menschen überleben kritische Erkrankungen. Aber Beatmung, Sedierung und die Eindrücke der Intensivstation hinterlassen Spuren. Das Post-Intensive-Care-Syndrom kann die Folge sein. Es ist nicht nur eine Herausforderung für Kliniken, sondern auch Hausarztpraxen. Mit Allgemeinmediziner Prof. Dr. med. Konrad Schmidt sprechen wir in dieser Folge darüber, wie die Überlebenden wieder ins Leben finden können.

Willy Massay is an Intensive Care and Emergency Room nurse who has served on the front lines of the gen)side in Gaza, providing life saving care in both Northern and Southern Gaza during multiple medical missions. Willy has just returned from Gaza and shares his experiences. He has worked with HEAL Palestine and other organizations and has been going to Gaza since 2017. He like many others are trying to get back to Gaza to help but are continually denied entry. He shares unforgettable stories in this discussion. There is a YouTube version where the photos mention are shown. Link is included herehttps://youtu.be/RQi_pyAcJdE?si=oBjJJE9efA4a7ImE

Metalheads!! Ben inflicts the new release by The Body and Intensive Care on his fellows.

Sunday 13th April 2025 @ 4pm Part 1 ‘Forest’ written by Isabel Cooke & recited by Becca Cooke ‘My Dilemma’ written by Angie Small & narrated by SRS ‘Intensive Care’ written narrated by Sally Runham ‘The Shout’ written narrated by Evie Coppard Part 2 Fi’s Diary #132 written & narrated by Fiona Ritchie ‘Matilde’           ditto ‘Child S’ written narrated by Evie Coppard Part 3  ‘A Candlelit Ghost’ written by Sally Runham narrated by Collette Parker 

Intensive Care | Pastor Matt by FOUNTAIN CHURCH

Here's what to expect on the podcast:Sherry's journey writing her first book 'Ella & the All-Stars'.Challenges in starting and running a nonprofit.How stories help children understand diversity, empathy, and anti-bullying.The importance of addressing bullying and promoting inclusion in schools. And much more! About Sherry:North Andover children's book author Sherry Cerino is a recently retired Registered Nurse with over 45 years of experience in both hospital and community settings. While working in Pediatrics, Maternal Child Health, Intensive Care, Long Term Care, Special Needs, and Rehabilitation, she worked with many culturally diverse children and adults with medical needs and disabilities, developing her strong passion for respect, kindness, and tolerance of differences.After the success and positive feedback from her first book, Ella & the All-Stars, Sherry started the nonprofit Ella's Way, an international collaboration of authors that promotes kindness and inclusion through children's books. All of the Ella's Way authors visit and read in elementary school classrooms, do community and civic presentations, and promote the mission of Ella's Way, which is to spread kindness.  Ella's Way is rapidly becoming a leader for donating books to areas in need all over the country. Connect with Sherry Cerino!Website: https://ellasway.com/index.htmlLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherry-cerino-aa15991b/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ellaswayinc/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064492854532----- If you're struggling, consider therapy with our sponsor, BetterHelp.Visit https://betterhelp.com/candicesnyder for a 10% discount on your first month of therapy.*This is a paid promotionIf you are in the United States and in crisis or any other person may be in danger -Suicide & Crisis Lifeline Dial 988----- Connect with Candice Snyder!Website: https://www.podpage.com/passion-purpose-and-possibilities-1/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/candicebsnyder?_rdrPassion, Purpose, and Possibilities Community Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/passionpurposeandpossibilitiescommunity/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/passionpurposepossibilities/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/candicesnyder/Shop For A Cause With Gifts That Give Back to Nonprofits: https://thekindnesscause.com/Fall In Love With Artists And Experience Joy And Calm: https://www.youtube.com/@movenartrelaxation

After an attempted murder left a man brutally injured, one cop decided to change the way police in Queensland respond to violent crimes. Queensland Police Sergeant Dustin Osborne is one of the best examples of how proactive policing can not only prevent crime, but save lives. He designed and implemented QPol’s groundbreaking Tactical First Aid Program. An initiative which has received global acclaim for its ability to train first responding police in critical medical intervention techniques. Join host Brent Sanders as he unpacks how Dustin copes with his role as a first responding police officer, and what is next for the future of police medicine. If you or anyone you know needs help: Lifeline (Crisis support and suicide prevention) 13 11 14 1800 Respect (National sexual assault, family and domestic violence counselling line) 1800 737 732 Men's Referral Service (National counselling, information and referral service for men looking to change their behaviour) 1300 766 491 Full Stop Australia (National violence and abuse trauma counselling and recovery Service) 1800 385 578 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This piece discusses significant advancements and ongoing challenges in anesthesia and perioperative medicine. Our guest shares his journey from his training days at the University of Basel to his influential work in patient safety across Europe; including pioneering efforts with incident reporting and simulation training inspired by collaborations with NASA. The conversation delves into the evolution of safety practices, the emphasis on human factors over technological advancements, and the complexities of teamwork and communication in the operating room. They explore the importance of standardized procedures, the necessity of adaptability in unstandardized situations, and the role of interdisciplinary collaboration in enhancing patient outcomes. We mention the Helsinki Decleration on Patient Safety in Anasethesiology (link below) and touch on the dissemination and integration of safety principles, the financial implications of quality and safety issues in hospitals, and the future direction of patient safety initiatives, emphasizing the need for continued investment in training and teamwork. Presented by Desiree Chappell with her guest, Sven Stander,  Senior leading physician in Intensive Care Medicine; Clinical Research, Intensive Care, Anesthesiology at The University Hospital Zurich. Link to the Helsinki Declaration on Patient Safey in Anaesthesiology is here: https://esaic.org/patient-safety/helsinki-declaration-on-patient-safety-in-anaesthesiology/

Listen to the Q&A between Wolfgang Buhre and Fulvio Pinelli as they discuss the surbey, “Anaesthesia practice in Europe: A survey of the National Anaesthesiologists Societies Committee of the European Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care”, found in the March 2025 issue of the EJA.

In this podcast episode we want to introduce you to our BCEN friend, Zach Kermitz. Zach began his career in collegiate EMS with the Florida State University Medical Response Unit, before moving on to rural EMS in northeastern North Carolina. After earning his BSN, he honed his skills in the Emergency Department, Intensive Care, and ground Critical Care Transport nursing across North Carolina, Utah, and New York. In late 2019, Zach transitioned into flight nursing, where he has further developed his leadership skills as a full-time flight RN in the Four Corners region of the southwest USA. It takes incremental steps to excel in nursing, and Zach will discuss how he took on specific challenges and gained confidence in his skills. This conversation focuses on the importance of continuous learning, humility, and collaboration in emergency medicine—particularly in ventilator management and toxicology. This episode is called, "A song of flight and poison." BCEN & Friends Podcast is presented by the Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing. We invite you to visit us online at https://bcen.org for additional information about emergency nursing certification, education, and much more. Episode introduction created using elevenlabs.io

EPISODE SUMMARY Join scientist and mindset & high-performance coach Claudia Garbutt and human performance & longevity expert Dr. Guénolé Addor, as they talk about all things that keep you healthy & happy for longer.   In this episode, we talk about: - Exciting breakthroughs in longevity medicine - Favorite biohacks for improving energy & focus - Building cutting-edge longevity clinics   EPISODE NOTES Dr. Addor is an established figure in the world of Anti-Aging and Longevity Medicine. With roots deeply anchored in Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Dr. Addor has successfully made the leap from a traditional medical background to become a leading consultant in longevity and regenerative medicine.  Currently based in Switzerland, he is dedicating his expertise to consulting, concierge medicine, and the establishment of cutting-edge longevity clinics. Educated at the University of Lausanne, Dr. Addor then worked as a medical doctor in the university hospital of CHUV, Lausanne. Here, he specialized in Anesthesiology and Intensive Care, contributing significantly to the field as a Senior Fellow and also leading the Transfusion Commission for Patient Blood Management. His dedication to medical innovation didn't stop there. Dr. Addor further honed his expertise by earning a certificate in Precision & Anti-Aging Medicine from the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine in 2022. Beyond his formal training and roles, Dr. Addor is a man of multifaceted talents and interests. An avid adventurer, his feats include the ascent of Himlung Himal in Nepal and sailing across the Atlantic Ocean.  Whether it's skiing down the slopes or kite surfing over the waves, Dr. Addor is just as comfortable in athletic gear as he is in a lab coat. A musician at heart, he also finds time to indulge his love for classical piano and jazz. Driven by an insatiable curiosity and a relentless pursuit for innovation, Dr. Addor continually seeks to integrate the latest advances in biohacking and regenerative medicine into his work. Now focused on consulting and concierge medicine, he is channeling his extensive knowledge and experience into building the next generation of longevity clinics.   Links: https://xlongevity.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/guenoleaddor/ https://www.instagram.com/draddormd/   ------------- Special THANKS to the episode sponsor Pulsetto!   Looking for a quick & easy way to activate your parasympathetic nervous system so that you can be more relaxed & fall asleep faster? Try Pulsetto!   Get a special 10% discount when you use my affiliate link: https://pulsetto.myshopify.com/wiredforsuccess  ---------   ------------ Click this link to listen on your favorite podcast player and if you enjoy the show, please leave a rating & review: https://linktr.ee/wiredforsuccess     ------------------   Music credit: Vittoro by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue)   -----------------   Disclaimer: Podcast Episodes might contain sponsored content.    

Requiem.Based on a post by FinalStand, in 13 parts. Listen to the ► Podcast at Explicit Novels. Once more, our esteemed academic Captain, Dr. Pierre O'Rourke Jean-Georges, led us through a rather confused and unhappy post-game liturgy in honor of; well in support of racial unity, I guessed. It was really hard to tell with the way he would ramble off-point every few minutes. The Football Team was in chairs on the floor of the gym with the Cheer Squad and Student Government. The rest of the student body was squeezed into the bleachers; very cozy.The Special Investigator also spoke briefly to the assembly, asking for our help on the case. The school was also hiring a 'Racial Grievance Counselor' who was, surprise, surprise, Dr. Nubia Franklin Jean-Georges; our Principal's wife. I was kind of curious who was making the school system pony up the money for her services as well as precisely when the 'interview' process had taken place.‘I wonder if she's qualified,' Kaelyne whispered.‘I wonder where they are going to stick her,' Vicky mused.‘Oh, I imagine she is going to get 'stuck' alright,' Mikhail snickered beneath his hand. Oh yeah, she was statuesque, smart, Black and projected complete confidence; right up my youngest triplets' alley.‘Ow,' he play-protested after Kaelyne smacked him.‘I did that for Taliyah,' she declared.‘She'll appreciate that,' I promised.‘I know she will,' Kaelyne smiled at me. After that disastrous Monday, Taliyah had been making steady headway in gaining Kaelyne's forgiveness which showed both her character (it was the right thing to do) and smarts (fear of my Mom).‘So; Alexander, what kind of bathing suit should I wear tomorrow?' Vicky teased our eldest.‘One made out of edible body paint,' he turned and winked. ‘Big Bob is gone all weekend to some Sheriff's convention in Miami, Florida. He goes to it every year.' Alexander being sexy-nice to Vicky was Also a good sign for our upcoming weekend.A withering glance from the Coach stilled our conversation. It was bad enough we were 'disrespecting' Darius' shindig. Our team had gotten their asses handed to them tonight in a game they should have won even without our star Running Back. It was easy to see having his father face criminal charges and loss of employment had shaken up Rashaan.His first outing as Team Captain had been a disaster; and now he had to sit here and listen to the various tributes to the guy he'd failed to replace instead of going anywhere else and getting shit-faced drunk and laid. The prognosis for both were pretty grim too,; what with the law enforcement being extra vigilant and the Cheer Squad being surprisingly inattentive to the Football Team's needs; which he was also getting blamed for.Darius had not only provided his players with victories, he had provided them status and perks as the premier athletes at school with the heritage of multiple highly successful teams being handed to them. Everyone 'looked the other way' because they were on the Football Team. All the girls wanted to be with them. Their parties always had plenty of alcohol and weed. They got good grades with minimal, if any, studying. Life had been good.Rashaan was having a horrific time maintaining that legacy. Not only could he not supply for his team, he couldn't even keep his own house in order. He had gone from 'three' hot-ass bitches (running true to type, the BBCs still refused to believe Taliyah had left him for Mikhail a week ago but now she, Sultana Berry and Randi Leigh Upshaw were openly gone) to none.Sure, they could still get 2nd and 3rd tier 'skanks', but just seeing all that prime booty walking around and knowing it Should be theirs and wasn't really bothered those student-athletes. A further complication was that under Darius, he kept the prime cunt specifically regulated both coming and going. That way the boys didn't have to worry about condoms, pregnancies and STDs.He kept the players clean by keeping the mouths, asses and vaginas they were fucking clean. No player stuck his cock into an unauthorized hole because if you did, Darius would destroy you. The object was to fuck who you wished in a safe hunting ground. Rashaan couldn't keep that level of discipline among either the women, or his own teammates.Rashaan also couldn't keep the booze and weed freely flowing. Darius hadn't shared his drug pipeline and wasn't likely to. Rashaan wasn't even trusted with the names of the entities capable and willing to buy and distribute alcohol to the under 21 crowd, plus Sheriff Big Bob's deputies were on the lookout for such shenanigans; more than happy to slap the cuffs on anyone 'Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor'.As a final blow, his dad was no longer Chief of Police. Sure, he was being promised that ruling would soon be reversed; but for Rashaan, it was yet another blow landing at an unfortunate time. His problems weren't mine, and I had more than enough of my own. He'd have to sink, or swim, on his own.We were released at 10:37 pm; far past the time for any of us to have any fun. The Cheer Squad angled for us as we left the bleachers with Taliyah looking particularly livid. A few football players were making a nuisance of themselves, but I sensed her troubles ran deeper.‘Hey, Betty Jo,' one of our linemen tried to separate out the pale-haired blonde, ‘let's head out and party.' Two more moved to put a wall between my brothers and her.‘I'm tired,' she complained.‘You'll feel better soon,' he promised.‘Without your help,' I grumbled. I wedged between the two, they put their hands on me and then Mikhail and Alexander drove fingers into each of their Solar Plexus. With them temporarily gasping for air, we put a perimeter around the other ladies while I put an arm around Betty Jo's waist.‘Boy,' the athlete hissed, ‘you best let go of this piece of ass.'Betty Jo's eyes flashed from him to me, caught between shame and hunger.‘I'm not a boy, your boy, or anyone, but my parent's boy,' I hardened. ‘I'd appreciate it you never demean Betty Jo like you just did either.'‘Is there a problem?' a White Deputy working his way through the crowd called out.‘This ain't over, Peckerwood,' the lineman snarled under his breath.‘Thanks for the warning, Dumbo,' I mocked him. He had big ears.‘It is Greg, Shithead,' he corrected me angrily.‘Separate; you two,' the Deputy demanded.‘Yes, officer,' I backed off. I had the girl which was the important thing.‘Vlad?' Brandy cuddled up to me as we left the auditorium.‘All's good,' I assured her. ‘Normal threats and insults. Nothing more.'‘Betty Jo; are you okay?' she turned her attention to the woman I was escorting along.‘Oh, I'm okay. Greg wanted to talk with me, but I'm not really interested in him anymore,' and then she smiled over at Alexander.‘He doesn't do it you for anymore?' Brandy teased.‘Who?' Betty Jo pursed her lips.‘Greg; the defensive tackle.'‘Oh him!' she seemed surprise. She was Alondra's cross-racial twin alright. ‘Yeah. He and the other guys just want to push and pump me; it feels so; boring really.'‘Not like Alexander?' Brandy led her along.‘Oh no!' she exulted. ‘Alexander makes me feel all tingly; and he doesn't call me bitch, or whore, or nothing like that,' she tacked on.The crowd was dissipating as we moved into the Parking Lot.Alexander was in the lead with Vicky and Alondra on either side should he need support. Mikhail was slightly detached off to my left, arm around Taliyah, deep in conversation with her. His normal cheerful carelessness was gone, replaced by a serious mein. Kaelyne was behind Alex, with the other cheerleaders spread out between us. At the rear of our clump, herding us along, was; Mom and Jewel; huh?They were chatting amiably, one adult to another, not a teenager to a mother. That worried me for reasons I couldn't pinpoint. A little tug from Brandy reminded me where I was suppose to be paying attention.‘Some of the girls are coming over tonight,' she murmured seductively.‘The only one I want to be with is you,' I frowned.A million mega-lumens-bright smile flashed across Brandy's face.‘Not bored with me?'‘How would that ever even be possible?' I gasped.More pure, unfiltered happiness from my Lady.‘You make me very happy, Vlad,' she snuggled in.‘Ditto, Princess,' I kissed the top of her head.‘Hey,' Betty Jo interrupted. ‘Are you anything like your brother?' (?? because, ya know, we were only identical triplets??)‘We are triplets, Betty Jo,' I instructed. ‘We are identical; in all physical regards.'‘Does that mean your dick is just as big?' she asked with innocent intent.‘Yes,' Brandy confirmed. ‘Yes, it is.'‘Oh; nice,' she smiled at Brandy.‘Betty Jo, why don't we get your stuff and head out?' Brandy suggested. Betty Jo left my side with that smile still on her lips. ‘Will I see you tonight?' Brandy directed my way.‘I'll try,' I grinned.‘Okay,' she winked then off she went to round up the others. Mikhail brushed passed me, going the other way; toward Mom.‘I'll be hanging out with Taliyah tonight, Mom,' he addressed our maternal unit.‘Is there a problem?' she studied him. Jewel was silently observant.‘I'm eighteen, tomorrow isn't a school day and I don't have any chores to do I'm aware of,' he ticked off his salient points.‘Why don't you say 'hello' to Ms. Lafontanté?' Mom was falsely polite.‘Hey, Jewel,' his words were brutally sparse of emotion.‘Hey, Mikhail,' she was somewhat amused.‘Hey, Vlad,' she was a tad more polite toward me.‘Hello, Jewel,' I projected much more civility than my brother. If Mom found it necessary to chat with Jewel, it was worth all our time to be more polite and Mikhail should have known better.‘Jewel, please give me a moment with my youngest,' Mom separated from that imposing young lady and walked five steps away with Mikhail.‘I'm glad we didn't have a misunderstanding last night,' I proffered.‘Why?' Jewel tilted her head and appeared to dissect my every word and move.‘Violence without purpose is beyond wasteful; it is stupid and the product of nonadaptive minds,' I stated.‘I don't recognize the quote,' she smiled after a moment.‘It is a Vladimir original,' I smiled back.‘I think I could have taken you,' she added.I had to think over that for a few seconds myself.‘Is that what you were talking to Mom about; asking to come over to our house and spar?'‘Perhaps; that and a few other things,' she allowed.Mom was coming back. Mikhail was going off with Taliyah. Why? I didn't know.‘Night Ms. Lafontanté,' Mom nodded.‘Good night, Ms. Samsonov. Night Vlad.'‘Night Jewel and; you would have lost,' I affirmed as I turned to leave.There was no reply. Before we split up; I was going back home with Alexander; she was hanging around until Dad finished up and dismissed the other Deputies; Mom gave me a shoulder 'bump'.‘Nice one,' she grinned up at me.‘Huh?'‘With Jewel.'‘She thought she could take me with a rattan practice weapon and I thought to dissuade her of that delusion,' I explained. It was the truth after all.‘Girls like Jewel; don't take 'no', or 'you can't do that' for an answer, Vlad,' she enlightened me.‘Even when it is the truth?'‘Especially if it is the truth,' she smirked. ‘Girls like Jewel want to change the World, not accept anyone's assignment for them in it.'‘Well; she is Mikhail's problem, not mine. He's hot for her. I'm perfectly happy with Brandy.'If only that was the way the World worked;Cheer Squad (12 Girls: 4 Black, 6 White and 2 Mixed)The Black girls were;·         Sultana Berry (Very Light fawn complexion).·         Vantrice Kirby (Very Dark umber complexion), (hair dyed florescent red-black striped, shoulder-length hair).·         Alondra Lamb (Very Light tawny complexion).·         Taliyah Malik; the Co-Captain.The White girls were;·         Brandy Crystal Carson is Co-Captain.·         Amber Lee Huffington, (Brunette hair).·         Mia Ryker, (blonde hair).·         Misty Dawn Sizemore, (Russet hair).·         Betty Jo Starling, (Blonde hair).·         Randi Leigh Upshaw, (Brunette hair).The mixed girls were;·         Le 'Pearl' Yates; (Raven-haired, half-Vietnamese/half-Black·         Noémie Lucie Desdunes (Creole) Zulu Princess Posse·         Jewel 'C. S.' Lafontanté·         Dana Owens·         Régine Hunt·         Maxine Shaw·         Shayla Karen White·         Sunny Cobb·         Lana Michelle Moore (the token white girl)Saturday: The Flashpoint.Note:  currently, Vlad is dating Brandy Crystal Carson {the Sheriff's daughter} and Mikhail is dating Taliyah Malik {the Madam Mayor's daughter} while Alexander remains somewhat unattached.)I wasn't able to make it to the Carson household Friday night, though I did learn about the reason Mikhail did: Thursday night the Malik family had begun to implode. Mamma Malik had gone to a separate bedroom; and locked the door. Papa Malik hadn't taken that well, deciding to bury himself in alcohol as an appropriate response. That had been Taliyah's Friday morning. A series of late-afternoon blistering communication exchanges with her parents hadn't helped much.I resolved to make it up to Brandy by going over early ~as in 7:00 a.m. on a Saturday morning, early; and waking her with kisses. She'd told me the passkey for the home's security system (and 'yes', it had been changed after she dumped Darius for me, just in case).I got there; and the Living Room looked like it needed more than a little cleaning. Pizza boxes and soda cans were strewn about the place. Apparently, Brandy and company hadn't gone straight to bed last night..From what I'd already been told, she had Taliyah (Malik), Noémie Lucie Desdunes, Amber Lee Huffington, Alondra Lamb, Misty Dawn Sizemore and Betty Jo Sterling already here. The other five members of the Cheer Squad would be arriving later this morning and all were planning on spending tonight (Saturday night).Noémie Lucie, Amber Lee and Misty Dawn were strong supporters of the Brandy and Taliyah co-captaincy of the Cheer Squad, so that explained their presence. Alondra and Betty Jo were here out of worry the members of the Football Team might try to 'kidnap' them, once they were off school grounds: so safety measures had been taken.With Robert 'Big Bob' Carson, the County Sheriff, away for the weekend at a Law Enforcement convention in Miami, Florida, he had wisely deposited at least one Samsonov guarding his northwestern Arkansas home last night. Surprisingly, Mikhail had sensed Taliyah's soul-hurt about the situation and wanted to be there for her. He'd put his burgeoning playboy tendencies aside when she really need him. His transformation last night had surprised both me and, to some degree, my Mom, Gayle Fonteneau Samsonov.No one was awake in the house yet. From the rich aroma wafting from the Kitchen, I could tell the automatic coffeemaker had already prepared a full pot and was keeping it warm. I dropped my book bag; sans books, but with a change of clothes, two swimsuits and a few other 'gifts from Mom'; by the sofa first, then began transferring plates and glasses from the Living Room to the dishwasher in the Kitchen. I thought I heard someone out on the front porch.No one knocked, so I finished the trip to the kitchen. I was on the way back when I was pretty sure I heard someone trying to get in; with no luck. You had to be a pretty stupid thief to try and break into the County's chief Law Dog's domicile, even if he was currently out of town. Then there were the four cars and two electric-blue with yellow lightning bolts KTM 690 Enduro R's motorbikes (mine and Mikhail's) in the driveway and front lawn for Pete's sake. It wasn't like the house looked deserted.Seeking the Carsons.Someone rang the doorbell. I wasn't sure how to take that. A quick double-check revealed the door had a spy hole and there was a security screen further into the room. I made use of the spy hole since it was closer. The object on the other side was the best disguised house burglar I'd ever seen, or heard about. I opened up the door, a sappy smile plastered to my slightly flushed face. At the last second I thought to shove my hard-on to the side in a doomed attempt to make it less obvious.‘Hello, how may I help you?' I greeted the gorgeous, mature, platinum-blonde feminine bombshell standing before me.‘Do the Carson's still live here?' she appeared distressed.‘Oh, yes Ma'am,' I bobbled my head. ‘Hi. I'm Vladimir Samsonov. The owner is out right now and I'm here for a party being thrown by his daughter, my girlfriend, Brandy.'Her face transformed from confusion and worry to secret amusement.‘It is a pleasure to meet you, Vladimir,' she put forth her hand. I gladly took this elegant, graciously offered extension of her luscious form. I ended up kissing her knuckles instead of shaking it as I understood that was the Southern Gentlemanly thing to do to a lady. Her eyes twinkled as she added, ‘I'm Jodi May Memphis Carson; Brandy's my daughter.'My heart caught in my throat. From what little I knew, a few months back, Brandy's Mom had run off with the previous Senior Deputy; Big Bob's #2 Man; a Black 'gentleman'; and Big Bob was still pissed about it. I'd never broached the subject with Brandy.So, how upset was Big Bob? Well, I hadn't recognized his gorgeous wife because Big Bob had taken all pictures of her down around the place and Brandy never talked about her. That was a pity because she was an absolute beauty. Her name and history would definitely explain the luggage she had with her too.No car was in evidence which suggested she'd arrived via hitchhiking, or taxi. There was no one outside expecting money, or checking to see if she was okay;‘Please,' I stepped aside. ‘Come on in. Don't worry about your luggage. I'll get it.'‘Thank you,' she stepped inside. ‘That is very gentlemanly of you.' Points for me!With two over-stuffed dress bags, two large suitcases and a roll-on, I definitely felt overburdened, and I was certainly getting my weight training in for this morning, but following Mrs. Carson into the house made all but one of my physical aches go away. I was certain she was talking to me.What she actually said; I had no idea. She had on this contour-hugging, pale lavender skirt and a white, nearly-transparent imitation Peasant blouse with a black mesh bra underneath. This was above unadorned, creamy-tanned calves and white, open-toed heels (4 inches maybe?). Her finger- and toe-nails were a dazzling, pale pink to accent the ensemble.With the way her hips rolled when she walked, each step made her firm ass bounce just a tad which also just happened to accentuate the luscious lines of those exquisite calves and thighs (what I could see of them). Her hair boiled down to her mid-back like a wild torrent of molten gold. I swear to God, I had this unnatural impulse to push her over the back of the sofa and fuck the ever-living soul out of her.‘Vladimir? Vlad?' Jodi May addressed me. Apparently she'd been asking me one, or more, questions while I had been daydreaming. She'd stopped and twisted at the hip so she could look at me. Her salacious twist of the lips and carnivorous eyes told me she knew exactly why I hadn't answered her and where my mind had wandered off to.‘I; I apologize, Mrs. Carson.'‘Call me Jodi May,' she purred.‘Wha-ha, Yes Ma'am!' I nodded vigorously.‘I was asking I thought Brandy was dating Darius Pope. What happened to him?'Ice flushed thru my veins and my brain re-engaged. She'd known about Brandy and Darius; to some degree anyway; and she'd run off with a Big Black Cock-Monster herself. As a mature woman, she was a 10+, but as a Mother, in my book, she wasn't rating so high all of a sudden.‘So you were aware Darius Pope treated your daughter like a cum dumpster?' my countenance hardened. ‘She was handed about the team for all of them to use?'I could see it in her eyes; the comprehension; the denial; the creation of some fantasy which allowed her to carry on with the illusion she'd done no wrong.‘All White men think that way,' she settled on an imperious frown. ‘Darius loves my daughter.'‘And he's got the copious amount of humiliating footage to prove me right too,' I glared. ‘Or would have had if my family not intervened. Now Brandy has someone who truly loves her and wants to protect her from predators who would treat her as nothing more than three nameless orifices, a smoking hot body and a pretty face.'‘As it currently stands, it turns out Darius pissed off one too many folks and somebody decided to beat the ever-living crap out of him and six of his boys; all at the same time. Darius ended up crippled, maybe for life. He is currently hospitalized, undergoing reconstructive surgery on both his knees; in Little Rock. That doesn't matter because by the time Darius got his, I'd already convinced Brandy she was better off with me and she's stuck with me ever since,' I concluded.‘Poor Darius,' Memphis grew all concerned, nostalgic and misty-eyed. Yep, Darius had fucked Brandy's Mom as well. A quick information rewind had me recalling this convention of Big Bob's was a 'yearly thing', making the return of his runaway wife to his stoop rather conveniently timed.‘Where do I put your bags?'That brought her back to the here-and-now and looking at me, not through me.‘I imagine the Master Suite might be a tad inappropriate,' I stated factually.‘Young man,' she studied me, ‘this is still my house and I'll hang my clothes were I wish.'‘Absolutely, Mrs. Carson,' I nodded. ‘It is just placing them in the Master Bedroom comes with a complementary call to your husband; in Miami; while doing so in the Guest Room, the one at the other end of the house (because this house had Three), comes with some forbearance. By all means; decide away. After all; it is your house.'‘How do you think Brandy will feel about you threating her Mamma this way?' she pouted remarkably like her daughter.‘She won't give a damn,' I gave back nothing.‘My daughter and I had a better understanding of; things,' she turned all hurt and aggrieved. 'Things' like Mamma's infidelity and running off with a Black stud; because Brandy was lying to her father about getting some of her own at school.‘Things a White boy wouldn't understand,' she dug in her claws.‘Possibly,' I shrugged. Her shit was getting heavy. ‘I'd appreciate it if you would make your decision now. I was planning on cleaning up down here before waking Brandy with a few 'good morning' kisses. I can top that off with the knowledge you are here as well.'‘Put my things in the; far; Guest Room,' she motioned in the proper direction with a head toss. ‘I'll wake my daughter. I'm sure she has missed me.'‘Good choice,' I nodded. ‘Here is a piece of unsolicited advice. Your family hasn't picked up an automotive fetish in your absence; your daughter has friends over for the weekend, so making a commotion might by; unfortunate.'My information perplexed her.‘She is probably alone,' Mamma Carson hazarded.‘Unlikely. Taliyah was pretty upset last night so I'm willing to bet they crashed out with my brother; in the Master Suite while the five others are in the Game Room making use of the three sofas, sleeping bags and bear skin rug,' I hypothesized right back.‘Brother?' she worked out from all that information.‘Please come along with me while I explain,' and off I went. Reluctantly, the delinquent Mamma followed. Mind you, the far Guest Room was hardly a hardship being 12'x18' with a queen-sized canopy bed, walk-in closet and 72' wall-mounted TV. The counter-top space was minimal and the bathroom was down the hall, but since this wasn't the sleep-occupancy part of the dwelling, it was pretty much hers alone.‘As I said 'I'm Vladimir Samsonov'. My Mom and Dad are Gayle and Nicolay Samsonov. He is the new Senior Deputy and has over two decades of experience with the Alaska Highway Patrol and a legacy of law enforcement going back hundreds of years.'‘Of greater importance to you, no doubt, is that my Mom is Gayle Fonteneau Samsonov, heir to the Fonteneau fortune and estate; which is what brought us to town; my Great-Aunt Matilda's death and her Willing us the whole deal,' I gave Jodi May Memphis the 4-1-1.‘Oh,' she pursed her lips. ‘How is the 'town' handling this?'‘What?'‘The return of Gayle Fonteneau?' she inquired. She was in the closet, hanging up what she needed to while I was in the room, ass resting on the bed.‘Why do you think they would be upset?'‘Let's just say Gayle and her crazy brother didn't leave Kingston on the best of terms,' she evaded.‘I already know about my Mom's rape and the town's denial. I know my Uncle Theo went into Kingston, found four of those bastards and beat them so badly none ever fully recovered. I know the Mayor and Great-Aunt Matilda struck a bargain so that Uncle Theo stayed out of jail. I know the Mayor has passed-on, as has my Great-Aunt. I know my Mother hasn't forgotten, or forgiven, a damn thing.'‘I'm sure Mayor Fox and Chief Quinterre are less than impressed,' she smiled at me. She knew the score. This was BBC Country.‘Chief Quinterre is no longer Chief. He lost his job last Thursday night; for molesting my Mom, having one of his buddies molest your daughter, and being caught at it by an Arkansas State Investigator. My Mom is supporting Mayor Fox's bid for the State Senate seat while Chinedu Malik is in the dog house for his philandering ways.'‘That's; something,' she muttered.‘Oh, and the previous High School Principal is no more. He attempted to put his hands on my Mother, so she put him in Intensive Care; including ripping his dick off,' I kept chatting. By the flashing of Memphis' big baby blues; that was another BBC she'd be missing. Sadly, I was no longer surprised.‘The new guy; well, you'd have to meet him to believe him. He's a treat.'‘How so?'‘How to describe him; He's a college-marinated, proudly bi-sexual, agnostic, married-to-a-freaking-Goddess, beefy, Black Canadian-Haitian-American Fruit Loop.'‘Huh?'‘I stand by my assessment,' I grinned. ‘Let me go get Brandy,' I headed for the door.‘Vladimir, Vlad, ah; is Brandy; okay?' Jodi May worried.‘I do my utmost to make her happy; and I; well, I'll let you talk with her and decide for yourself,' and then I left.I worried about what I was going to say when I found Brandy. As I had surmised, she was upstairs, in the Master Suite, on her Daddy's bed,

In this episode, Dr. Sergio Zanotti discusses rational fluid therapy. He is joined by Dr. Adrian Wong, a practicing intensive care medicine and anesthesia physician. Dr. Wong is a consultant and clinical lead at King's College Hospital, London. He also serves as a committee member for the Intensive Care Society FUSIC, examiner for the European Diploma of Intensive Care Medicine, on the executive committee of the International Fluid Academy. Additional resources: Intravenous fluid therapy in the perioperative and critical care setting” Executive summary of the International Fluid Academy (IFA). Malbrain ML, et al. Ann. Intensive Care 2020: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32449147/ Multidisciplinary expert panel report on fluid stewardship: perspectives and practice. Malbrain ML, et al. Annals of Intensive Care 2023: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37747558/ The emerging concept of fluid tolerance: A position paper. Kattan E, et al. Journal of Critical Care 2022: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35660844/ Everything you need to know about derescuscitation. Malbrain ML, et al. Intensive Care Med 2022: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35932335/ Start with Why. TED Talk presented by Simon Sinek: https://simonsinek.com/videos/ted-talks/ Books mentioned in this episode: Thinking Fast and Slow. By Daniel Kahneman: https://amzn.to/4hicUoj Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everybody to Take Action. By Simon Sinek: https://bit.ly/42hzt8n

TopMedTalk is at The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA)'s annual general meeting; Anesthesiology 2024. Here we discuss key anesthesia updates, emphasizing patient safety and comfort. Does the evidence support allowing clear liquids up to surgery to reduce thirst without raising risks? Do new challenges around GLP-1 drugs, which delay stomach emptying, call for tailored pre-op guidance? Also, should we be rethinking gabapentinoids, which recent studies show may not effectively reduce opioid use as once believed? Presented by Desiree Chappell, Monty Mythen and Mike Grocott with their guests, Girish P. Joshi, Professor, Anesthesiology and Pain Management at UT Southwestern Medical Center and Ben Gibbison, Associate Professor of Cardiac Anaesthesia and Intensive Care at the University of Bristol, Honorary Consultant at University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust.

Dr Philip Smith, Digital and Education Editor of Gut and Honorary Consultant Gastroenterologist at the Royal Liverpool Hospital, Liverpool, UK interviews Professor Suhua Jiang from the Department of Paediatrics, The First People's Hospital of Foshan, Foshan, People's Republic of China and Professor Lin Zhang, Assistant Professor from Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care and Lead Scientist, Microbiota I-Center (MagIC) in the Chinese University of Hong Kong, on the paper "Association of breast milk-derived arachidonic acid-induced infant gut dysbiosis with the onset of atopic dermatitis" published in paper copy in Gut in January 2025.   A close transcript of this podcast is available at this link: https://bit.ly/40jF5xo    Please subscribe to the Gut podcast on your favourite platform to get the latest podcast every month. If you enjoy our podcast, you can leave us a review or a comment on Apple Podcasts (https://apple.co/3UOTwqS) or Spotify (https://spoti.fi/3Ifxq9p).

What does integrating your faith with your work mean, especially when you're a doctor navigating ethical dilemmas, societal challenges, and mission opportunities in the Caribbean? In this episode of the Lausanne Movement Podcast, Dr. Khara Collymore-Lashley shares her journey of combining faith and vocation as a medical doctor in the Caribbean. From navigating the spiritual climate of the region to serving as the hands, feet, and voice of Jesus in her profession, Dr. Khara offers a profound perspective on mission in the workplace. Whether you're a medical professional, a ministry leader, or simply curious about faith in action, this episode will leave you encouraged and challenged. Faith Meets Profession: How Dr. Khara integrates her Christian faith with her medical career, navigating ethical challenges and serving as a light in a demanding field. The Caribbean Church's Challenges: Insights into the spiritual climate of the Caribbean, marked by evangelism, a lack of discipleship, and historical narratives needing redemption. Mission in the Workplace: Encouraging Christian doctors and professionals to view their work as mission fields, sharing Christ's love in everyday interactions. Opportunities for Medical Missions: Exploring both traditional and nontraditional pathways for Christian medical professionals to serve locally and globally. Don't miss this inspiring conversation! If you found it valuable, share it with a friend, leave us a review, and subscribe to the Lausanne Movement Podcast for more stories of faith and mission. Visit lausanne.org to learn how you can get involved. Links & Resources: Mercy Ships: https://www.mercyships.org International Christian Medical and Dental Association: https://icmda.net Hospital Christian Fellowship: https://www.hcfglobal.org Guest Bio: Khara is a medical doctor currently pursuing residency training in Anesthesia and Intensive Care. She is passionate about missions and has served bi-vocationally with the national IFES movement in St. Vincent and the Grenadines (ISCF) from 2015-2020. Currently she serves as the regional representative for the International Christian Medical and Dental Association in the Anglophone Caribbean and with the Lausanne regional leadership team for the Caribbean. Khara enjoys walks on the beach, reading, singing, and spending time with family and friends. One of her greatest desires is to see the Caribbean church engage fully in God's global mission. We'd love your feedback to help us to improve this podcast. Thank you!

Euroanaesthesia is recognised worldwide as one of the most important and influential annual congresses in anaesthesiology and intensive care. Organised by The European Society of Intensive Care Medicine (ESICM). This year, TopMedTalk is there in Munich, Germany, bringing you exclusive coverage. This piece focuses upon bringing education to a wider selection of people and new ways of disseminating information. Presented by Desiree Chappell and Kate Leslie with their guests, Markus Klimek, Director, Residency Training Program, Vice-Chairman, Associate Professor, Erasmus MC, Department of Anesthesiology and Joana Berger-Estilita, Consultant in Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care at Bern University Hospital Inselspital, University of Bern, Switzerland, co-Director of the ESICM European Perioperative Intensive Care Curriculum e-course.

Send us a textIn this conversation, Dr. Kyle Willse, a pediatric intensivist, shares insights on the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU).  The discussion is meant to provide a basic understanding as to how the  PICU operates and to help parents be an advocate for their children.   A must listen for anybody who has a child or a loved one in the PICU.Kyle Willse, DO, is board certified in Pediatrics and in Pediatric Critical Care.  For the past 5 years, he has worked at Cedars-Sinai hospital as an attending in the pediatric and congenital cardiac intensive care unit.  His comments in the podcast are his individual thoughts and opinions and do not represent Cedars Sinai.    Dr Jessica Hochman is a board certified pediatrician, mom to three children, and she is very passionate about the health and well being of children. Most of her educational videos are targeted towards general pediatric topics and presented in an easy to understand manner. For more content from Dr Jessica Hochman:Instagram: @AskDrJessicaYouTube channel: Ask Dr JessicaWebsite: www.askdrjessicamd.com-For a plant-based, USDA Organic certified vitamin supplement, check out : Llama Naturals Vitamin and use discount code: DRJESSICA20-To test your child's microbiome and get recommendations, check out: Tiny Health using code: DRJESSICA Do you have a future topic you'd like Dr Jessica Hochman to discuss? Email Dr Jessica Hochman askdrjessicamd@gmail.com.The information presented in Ask Dr Jessica is for general educational purposes only. She does not diagnose medical conditions or formulate treatment plans for specific individuals. If you have a concern about your child's health, be sure to call your child's health care provider.

Insults, Felix and Ash Men. In 25 parts, edited from the works of FinalStand. Listen and subscribe to the ► Podcast at Connected.. “Caring is a curse you dare not go without.” Saint Marie opened the door and went in with me following along. The meeting was in process. We were flashed concerned looks for multiple reasons; Pony-Goddess Saint Marie in her sports bra and boy shorts, me in biker pants, biking shoes and nothing else, and me being late. Katrina gave the two of us a momentary notice then proceeded with her meeting. "Katrina," Saint Marie interrupted. Katrina responded with an icy stare. "You are interrupting; make it quick," Katrina stated calmly. "Then I'll wait until you finish," Saint Marie responded with her own false politeness. She randomly meandered around Katrina's office making a nuisance of herself. I resumed my place in the line-up in time to get my work-review from Katrina. I rocked at my job. Apparently I was purloining corporate resources for a prototype gravity device that would crash the Moon into the Earth. My crime was that my project was over-budget; oh yeah, and I'd end all life on Earth. "Cáel, I am unsure if I should order you to work harder, or not to try so hard," Katrina worried. "First off, I apologize for being late and under-dressed today. I meant no disrespect and I have no excuse. I'm being stabbed repeatedly with a knife at three o'clock if that helps?" I offered. "Really?" Katrina arched an eyebrow. "Really," I confirmed. "Then I get to carry around one of those cool knives like the rest of this merry band here." "My breast implants; I'm going for a respectable 'B'; go in next Wednesday. Two weeks later and I'm off to Denmark to get my 'franks and beans' cut-off and tucked," I tried to sound serious. "A few hair extensions and I'll be one of the team for real," I grinned. "Katrina, why do you put up with this?" Saint Marie seethed. "Saint Marie, it is not your station to question me, or my orders," Katrina countered. "Still, a lesson is in order." "Daphne, do you like working with Cáel?" Katrina regarded her female 'new hire'. "He is more than funny; and very attractive," Daphne responded. "He provides insight into life that a normal Amazon wouldn't have access to. He instructs with humor and bravery in equal measure." "Fabiola?" "He is a waste of resources best put elsewhere," Fabiola insisted. "He is a source of dissension. We would be better training him and others like him to replace our diseased stock." I took some small level of comfort that the other 'new' hires were almost as offended as I was, though I couldn't show it. "Tigger?" "He was a vessel for the will of our ancestors," she replied. "What more proof do we need that he is necessary around here?" "Does anyone have anything different to add?" Katrina gazed over the others. No one spoke. "That's why (dead word spoken) Saint Marie," Katrina assumed a dark goddess-like aura. "Now apologize." "Apologize for questioning you?" Saint Marie snorted. "Hardly. You are using my people and my facilities to train a male in a manner not approved of by the Council." "I have Hayden's permission, but feel free to follow your convictions," Katrina nodded. "You have a daughter in outdoor training right now, Saint Marie. It would be utterly tragic if she experienced a crippling injury," Katrina sighed. "You wouldn't dare," Saint Marie took a few steps toward Katrina who stood up from her desk. "Dare? Hayden and I have tolerated your intransigence until now," Katrina glared. "Keep to your beliefs. Now you know the cost of standing in the way of progress," Katrina continued. "We cannot afford to remove you, but we can end your counter-productive thinking at this generation." "When the Council finds out you've overstepped your bounds it will be the end of you," Saint Marie kept coming. "We are a dying people, Saint Marie. Hayden and I are willing to kill as many of you as necessary so that our daughters will have daughters of their own," Katrina stated. "If you want to see who is truly overstepping, recall our oaths. We obey the High Priestess, the Council, our Houses and our duties. I am the Spear in Night and Death. You are the Golden Mare." "You wage war upon our many enemies. I ferret them out, within and beyond our society," Katrina educated us. "If I determine an Amazon is an enemy, I bring their name to Hayden for a final adjudication of the Ancestors. If the Ancestors deny you, then I must remove the enemy. You know how that goes." "My daughter is not the enemy," Saint Marie spat. "That is not our place to decide," Katrina gave a feral grin. "You should have been an Augur if you wanted that kind of knowledge. Besides, neither you nor your daughter are under sentence of death. She can live a long full life without an eye; or an arm." Saint Marie fidgeted, contemplating violence. "Everyone, but Cáel leave," Katrina ordered. Saint Marie was staying as clearly intended. After Dora shut the door, Katrina added, "Touch my male again, and I'll do something worse to you." "What I do to a male shouldn't matter," Saint Marie growled. "The New Directive matters to us all and I think Cáel Nyilas will be the only one to pass the first round of the program, so Hayden thinks he matters; as do I," Katrina glared right back. "He hit me," Saint Marie grumbled. "After you grabbed his jaw like you would an unruly child," Katrina countered. "He was a rebellious male," Copper Horse chick kept coming. "Saint Marie, where did you confront him? It wasn't a basket weaving class; it was a firing range," Katrina sighed in exasperation. "Cáel being on the range was the reason you came here. Why did you manhandle him?" A pregnant pause followed. "I was an hour late so I missed his practice time," Saint Marie admitted. "Cáel, I blame you," Katrina looked my way. "Yes Ma'am; Katrina," I nodded. What did I do now? "Cáel's presence makes normally controlled, rational women act in an abnormal fashion," Katrina informed Saint Marie. "I prefer to believe that than think we are incapable of accepting a lone outsider male amongst us," Katrina added. "If we treat him the way we treated our old male population we would be perpetuating our mistakes. He doesn't submit because that was the type of male we selected. Why is he learning how to fight? That should be obvious to you." "Care to enlighten me?" I requested. "No," the two women replied. Ah, what the fuck. "That's okay. I figured it out," I shrugged. "I was checking to see if I warranted the truth." Katrina put her face into her upraised hands. She may have wept a single tear. "You know nothing," Saint Marie stated dismissively. "He knows enough," Katrina shook her head. "Who would have told him?" Saint Marie looked back to Katrina suspiciously. "Why don't you ask him?" Katrina chuckled. Saint Marie turned back to me. "Was it Katrina?" Saint Marie threatened. "No and no 'one' person. It was two unrelated slip-ups by two unrelated Amazons," I said. "One referenced a previous time when the Amazons let men bear arms, which led to disaster. The other was the use of the term 'Ash Men' as a positive moniker." "That's all I know. I suspect there was a time when the Amazons let down their guard and allowed men to be equals, or semi-equals, in their society. There was a rebellion that left a bitter taste on the Amazon racial psyche. Somehow the Ash Men played a positive role in Amazon society. For some reason, you exterminated them," I concluded. Saint Marie flinched. "Why do you say that?" she studied me. "They are not around today and you are all hateful psychopaths," I explained. "Again, you know nothing," Saint Marie insisted. "Katrina, unless you are not finished insulting my intelligence, can I use your bathroom so that I can get dressed and go to work?" I looked at my boss. "Insult to your intelligence duly noted. When you are finished, report to Medical. They want to test a variety of gene-therapies on you," Katrina told me. I stumbled and stared. Katrina laughed. "Get to work." From the bathroom, I heard Saint Marie question Katrina. "Is he afraid of Medical, or is he worried about being a test subject?" she posed. "Neither; he's surprised that he had his job explained to him before he actually got there. It has never happened before," Katrina replied. "You send him on missions without him knowing what he's going to be doing?" Saint Marie grunted. "Yes. It makes him think on his feet," Katrina noted. "That is probably why his work is so substandard," Saint Marie remarked. "Cáel's work is not substandard. He may be the best new hire in the batch. I give him crappy reviews to keep him on his toes," Katrina snickered. "He knows what I'm doing, but he still keeps trying harder despite that," Katrina sounded amused. "Cáel is one of the few joys in my life; and if he doesn't finish getting dressed in the next 30 seconds I'm going to assign him to babysitting Marilynn at the hospital next." I hoped out of Katrina's bathroom; mostly dressed. "Is Marilynn okay?" I worried. "I didn't get the call last night, but I never imagined anything bad happened to her." Saint Marie appeared confused. "Someone gave her a bad drugs and she nearly overdosed," Katrina brought me up to date. "That is where Desiree is. Now go to work." Off I went. "He is enamored of Marilynn St. James?" I caught Saint Marie inquiring. "Oh no," Katrina answered. "He has rather a low opinion of her, but Cáel would run into a burning ammo dump to save Constanza. He is stupidly enchanting that way." I had one last hurdle. There were the 'new' hires talking with Felix. They were captured in his orbit and he was having a blast soaking up the attention. He was making real inroads with the ladies but he missed a fundamental aspect of his environment; who hunted who. "Cáel," Felix parted the women as he came my way. "How did you do last night? Didn't you and Gina hook-up? I'm done with her, so it isn't like you'd be poaching," he grinned. I sensed the emotional tidal shift. "Nah, both Gina and I were of the opinion you dumped her to have a one-night stand with Brooke, break her heart then toss her back to me," I shrugged. Felix glared. This wasn't how the 'game' was played. Where was my outrage? "Are you going to take her back?" Felix went all alpha-predator on me. Bad move. The only predators around here had to have tits; bulging pectorals didn't count. "If you do, go easy on her. She's sore," he kept grinning like the wolf he was. "Besides," he fished something flimsy and back out of his pocket, "he can return these to her." He tossed me Brooke's panties from last night. In Havenstone, Brooke was a 'nobody'; an outsider. She didn't matter. Felix taking a trophy from a woman did matter. I was different because I knew the score. Felix didn't have that luxury. I actually held them up, displaying Brooke's rather daring choice in evening lingerie. A little bit of education was in order. "Pretty clever; the old hiding the panties trick so you can exhibit them later," I chuckled. "I use it to get a call back. You clearly get off on mailing them to her parents, boyfriend, or husband as if having sex with you wasn't humiliation enough." Felix moved to the very edge of my personal space. "Now you are being a poor sport," he sneered. "What do you mean?" I remained cool. "I went over to Brooke's this morning. We critiqued your sexual performance. She found you truly impressive; just a little weak down the closing stretch." "She said that to make you feel less inadequate," Felix reposed. "Nah; she said that so she could have sex with me," I sighed. "I fought her off as long as I could, but she wrestled me down and rode me like the pony express. If you wore her out; well; ah, she recovers quickly and vigorously." "You are so full of shit," he laughed. "You got a pity fuck. Accept it." "Think what you will," I smirked. "I left her smiling. You left her in tears and isn't the woman's pleasure what it is all about?" Pandering to my audience. "I agree," Felix took back in his surroundings. Nice recovery except for; "So that's why you stole Brooke's panties and chose to publicly hurl them at me," I met his gaze, the bastard, "because she matters; most?" Felix could feel the room temperature dropping by the Kelvin. "It is how the game is played," he snarled. He was starting to clue in that things had gone wrong. How had they gone wrong? For starters, the only Alphas allowed in Havenstone didn't have dicks. Treating women, even outsider women, as if they were game pieces on a male's only board wouldn't wash here. I had coughed up the name of every woman I'd ever had intercourse with; but that was for the job, not for general consumption. Felix, by idiotically seducing all the new hires in Executive Services had showed them EXACTLY what he thought of them; outsider women to be taken as prizes. Reference the Greeks in the Trojan War for how the Amazons felt about that. This was not sympathy for world-wide femininity. This was terrorists attacking a school. When the Amazons found those terrorists, they killed them; not to save outsider children, but because the terrorist were fucking dangerous. Since Felix treated all women like trophies and conquest, he, by definition, would treat Amazon women the same way. Good job, Pinhead. Felix was a pretty smart guy. He finally realized I'd kicked his ass without lifting a finger. Felix couldn't figure out why he'd lost, only that he'd lost. Then we were back to Felix being the man who always has to win. He couldn't let go. He couldn't let me have my moment and depart in peace. This was made all the worse for I was the Bumpkin; the guy he'd dissed from Day One. "I guess I need to have another go at Brooke to set the record straight," Felix hissed quietly. "I'll make it easy on you," I laughed loudly. "I am tired of you hiding behind my acquaintances to get at me. I have a friend coming over at 5:10 pm, so give me an hour and I'll meet you on the mats." "Why should I?" he sneered. "What's on the line?" "Normally I fight for a cause, even if it is my own self-respect. I'm making an exception in your case; I'll fight you solely to kick your ass. Just cause you are a lousy human being. I know you are because I'm one too. Fight, or cluck; your choice." "I'll fight you," he smiled confidently. "I'll break you for everyone to see and then I'll take that luscious blonde." I had to laugh. "Good luck with that," I chuckled. I could see it now. Felix: 'You are now my prize'; Elsa: 'You are now in Intensive Care'. Woot! I couldn't lose.  (Somewhere in the midst of this nightmare, Cáel needs to earn a paycheck) Felix had the physical confrontation he wanted. Somewhere in the back of my mind was that I had to do something inane yet again; like consumer test Ginsu Spatulas, or the equivalent. Felix noted the open hostility directed his way, but had neither the knowledge, nor the empathy to give a fuck. The elevator closed on his smug face. Work time. "That didn't take you long at all," Saint Marie chortled from behind me. I jolted. "If I wasn't doing this, I'd be hand-feeding polar bears, so cut me some slack," I groaned. "I was under the impression that your pugnacity was more of a defense mechanism, not male bravado," Saint Marie probed. "I am as much surprised as you are about this. I don't even like the girl involved. I've never fought over a woman before, but Felix used that woman to get at me; ineffectively," I mused. "My emotions don't; you don't want to be hearing any of this, do you?" "No," Saint Marie said. I stared at her. She stared at me. "Yes?" "Have you ever done any bikini wrestling?" I blurted out. She blinked. "Gotta go. Work to do," and I fled. In the elevator I recognized one of the ladies from International Finance though I didn't know her name. "What happened to your face?" she asked. "Do you know who the Golden Mare is?" I replied. She nodded very respectfully. "Well, she hit me." The woman studied me. "I guess I shouldn't have hit her first." "You hit (dead word spoken) Saint Marie?" She gulped. "I'm stunned you are still alive." "You and me both," I sighed. "I'm starting to regret suggesting she take up bikini wrestling." Blink. "Tell me about it. I was looking into her eyes and that was the first thing to come to mind," I shrugged. "I repeat, I'm stunned you are still alive," she shook her head. "What do you mean? I think she'd look good in a bikini," I stated. The door opened to Medical. "Have a good day at work now," I smiled. "I'm off to crush marbles with a sledgehammer." My real job was to be a genetic guinea pig. I had to sit naked on a gurney and let them take blood and tissues samples. The sperm sample was fun. First I insisted that I'd been in a fight earlier in the morning and my elbows weren't up to the job. After confirming this, they had some poor 'new hire' jack me off. I held out as long as I could, to the point she gave me a blowjob; her first. Sadly, when senior medical technician informed her of the extinction of her oral virginity, they were both less than pleased yours truly. I reminded them that I didn't shoot off into her mouth, or anything so crude. Next I informed them of a little known fact that my first ejaculate of the day (no mention of Brooke by me) was sterile and we had to repeat the process. No such luck. Damn microscopes. To prove I was a lousy patient, I feigned a collapse and a lack of breathing. I didn't grapple with my CPR specialist. I very slowly and tenderly wrapped her up in my embrace. I told her that at the moment of utter darkness, her heartbeat brought me back to the light. I was a the point of penetration when a real doctor showed up and pulled the struggling Physician's Assistant away; she hadn't finished saving me, the young Amazon protested. At this point the team threatened to give me a sedative. I responded with 'is it chemical, or a blow to the head'. They smiled and said they'd give me both if I misbehaved again. My counter-offer was a request for some Neapolitan ice cream. They conceded the issue, I got my ice cream and stopped being a jack-ass. At 11:30 am, the first battery of tests concluded. As we were wrapping up, I asked why I had to be naked for the entire thing. They stared at me. Strangely, the Amazon who had prepped me for this nonsense had made herself scarce. Damn it. The doctors then gleefully informed me that I had to be naked for the second half of the test, after lunch. I asked why. They smiled. Bitches. As I was fixing my tie, my phone rang. "Hello, Android Cáel Nyilas here," I answered. There was some giggling; Brooke. "Hey, Android Cáel, this is flesh and blood Brooke Lee," she snickered. Man, I had turned her around emotionally in only a few hours. Screw Felix. "Have you eaten lunch yet?" she asked. I bit back my automatic response; asking if she was on the menu. We'd talked about Libra as I was leaving this morning. "You, me and Libra?" I suggested. Brooke put her hand over the phone; the dearth of background noise was the giveaway. "She may not want to see you," Brooke hedged. That meant Libra was listening in. "We talked about this earlier, Brooke," I sighed. "I want a chance to at least talk with her." Not totally false. I wanted to fuck her again. That necessitated some amount of conversation so I was willing to put forth the ergs of energy. "I'll make the effort," Brooke promised. Making Libra a deal-breaker might have been sugar-coated chocolate for Libra. It would have also made them both suspicious of my suspicions. "Please do your best," I said. "Where do you want meet?" "My place?" she teased. "Libra plus I would only have forty-five minutes with you, which is not nearly enough time," I reminded her. Sex. "Libra doesn't have to know," Brooke was now pressing Libra's buttons. "We are not going to go there," I insisted. They didn't own me and I didn't own them. We were bantering back and forth, playing with sexual innuendo of the relationship kind. A good aphrodisiac is a woman thinking you are foregoing sex with another woman to have sex with her. Best of all (for me) for hooking Libra and me back together, Libra was going to let Brooke fuck me yet again. Win-win-win. "We'll meet at Stanhope's," Brooke finished. I agreed to meet her there in ten minutes and off I went. Aisha, the Arabic swimsuit model/SD hottie called for me as I was heading out the door. I asked why. She didn't say so I ran for it. Screw them all; it was my lunch break. I made it to Stanhope's. I was fleet of foot and was getting the hang of hailing taxis. Libra was with Brooke at an outdoor table at Stanhope's. I didn't fake surprise. My cover was that I had faith in Brooke. I kissed Brooke while Libra gave me the cold shoulder. "Libra doesn't believe we've talked about her," Brooke opened up. "You are the one who keeps shouting out her name during orgasm," I sighed. "That's not a joking matter," Libra snapped viciously. "It made you talk to me," I winked. Libra growled. "I hate you," she seethed. "That is a perfectly normal, if heart-rending reaction to our past two encounters," I admitted. "I hope it hurt," Libra seethed. "Besides, I went out with Brian Fung last night." She was stating the obvious. I was okay with that. It left her open to my lie. "Have you moved on?" I moped. Libra not seeing me anymore made me want to cry. Missing her was utter anguish; it was written all over my face. Non-verbal deception is as important as the verbal kind. I was not beating a dead horse, I was coaxing a thoroughbred to the Triple Crown. Give the girl what she wants; verbally, sexually and, if you can pull it off convincingly, emotionally. "I don't know," Libra stated which meant 'no, she hadn't moved on'. "Let's go out tomorrow night," I suggested. Be bold enough to make the first move, but not so aggressive she feels pressured. Being a man isn't beating your chest; it is stepping up to get your ego battered by the girl. If it wasn't for my first, failed romantic attempt, I wouldn't be where I am today. It hurt like Hell when she publically rejected me. These days, my bed was always warm so the pain was well worth it. "Why not tonight?" Libra got combative. "Felix and I had a disagreement at work," I grinned. "We are settling the issue tonight at six." "What happened?" Brooke leaned in close to me, hungry for details. I was a bastard. "He loudly presented me with these," I slipped Brooke her panties under the table. "In the middle of my office and co-workers. Even my Boss heard it," I added. Brooke's deeply tanned complexion paled. Libra didn't see the panties, but she knew the score. "What did you do?" Libra pressed. "I told him Brooke was a grown woman and could make her own decisions about who she was with," I started. "Brooke is a wonderful lady and she should be courted based on that. Felix had this bizarre idea that I felt possessive about her and thought he was using Brooke to hurt me over a slight at work," I wove forth the basic truths. "I'm not going to fight Brooke's battles," I affirmed which meant that 'yes, I was going to fight Brooke's battles'. If you are a guy and you assume that the woman is actually hearing the words coming out of your mouth, you are deluded. The reverse is also the same. "If a man has a problem with me, he comes after me, not my friends," I grew stern. This meant Felix was not a man. It also meant that I considered Brooke, thus Libra, my friends. They were okay with that. This didn't mean they thought of me as a friend. It was similar to the family butler. I had to memorize every detail of their lives. If they remembered my birthday, I should feel blessed; symbolically speaking of course. I'd make an abysmal butler. "Did he hit you?" Libra leaned across the table and stroked my cheek right below the place Saint Marie had clocked me. "That? Nah. An Archer fish tried to shoot my eye out so now he's fish sticks," I replied. "With all your wounds," Libra hesitated, "Are you in the military?" "Libra, I'm a disaster as a civilian," I chuckled. "I'd make an impossible soldier. Half way through basic training I'd start showing up in a kilt; 'cause it makes me feel free and breezy down there'." "When they tried to make me change, I'd charge them with cultural insensitivity," I smiled. "What would you do if they let you get away with it?" Brooke snickered. "Take up horse archery; because you never know when you'll be without fuel and bullets on the modern battlefield," I postulated. "If they let me get away with that, I'd stay, but I'd join the airborne." "I like parachuting," Brooke nodded. "Have you ever done it?" She bet I hadn't and she was right. "Never before in this lifetime. I really want to see if I could get my horsed trained to do it first," I chortled. "Lord knows, nobody else has. The first Airmobile Horse Archery unit. That would be pretty cool." "The horse would break her legs," Libra frowned. "Use an air mattress platform for the horse to stand on, sort of like those air bags stuntmen use, but smaller," I reasoned. I wasn't sure if Brooke and Libra were more stunned about the plausibility of my suggestion, or that I had created it off the cuff. We ordered lunch and drinks. Service was very efficient so I had only pushed my salad aside to have my grilled shrimp replaced it when a shadow fell across our table. It was a stormy Aisha. "Cáel Nyilas, you are coming with me," she spoke with deceptive calm. "No," I replied then ate a shrimp. She put her hand on my shoulder. I brandished my fork. "Listen up," I grumbled. I tapped my wristwatch with my fork, "I've got 35 more minutes on my lunch break. I'm eating with friends; okay, almost friends; " "I'm Cáel's friend," Brooke rallied. Aisha bore down on my collarbone, so I stabbed at her hand with the fork. She moved it out of the way first. "Come now," she growled. "Very well," I sighed. "Since you certainly have never heard this from a man before meeting me, I'll clarify. NO, I'm not coming with you. Go away you annoying twit. If that was unclear, let me add; no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no and no." Aisha looked over her shoulder. There were two more SD chicklets. Woot! "Last chance to keep this simple," Aisha threatened. "Brooke and Libra, you need to stand up and back away," I instructed them as I stood up as well, "I'm going to need your chairs as weapons." The girls grabbed their food and backed up. "Don't make a scene," Aisha whispered. "Ex-squeeze me? I'm eating lunch. In thirty-five minutes I'll be back at work. You are the one being a total bitch for annoying the fuck out of me here," I glared. "All you had to do was tell me why you wanted me back at Havenstone, but you didn't feel the need, so now we have this stand-off." "It is not a stand-off and I don't explain myself to you," Aisha glared back. She even showed me she had a gun. I laughed, pulled out my phone. "What are you doing?" Aisha made a swipe for the phone. "Making me late for work," I chuckled. "I'm dialing 9 1 1." "Do that and you will be in a world of trouble," she threatened. "You haven't thought this out, have you, Aisha?" I snickered. "If it was important to my job, Katrina, or Medical would have called me. If it was a calamity, Hayden perhaps. Barring that, I can't wait to hear your excuse for starting a public brawl." "I told you to come with me and you had best obey," Aisha hissed. That was the tipping point. Recycling old, failed arguments is the sign that your opponent has lost. "Yeah; right," I shrugged. I sat back down and began eating. A second later, Brooke and Libra joined me. Aisha retreated to the curb and waited; and got ticketed because it was a No Parking Zone. "Who was that woman? I've seen her before," Brooke commented. "She's that woman from the first night we met," Libra answered. "She's not my boss so I don't care," I tried to recapture our earlier mood. It was only partially successful. The three SD ladies kept their eyes on us until dinner was cleared away and it was time to go back. I kissed both Brooke and Libra goodbye with a promise of a date the next night. When I tried to walk past Aisha, she grabbed my arm. From my point of view, a ride to work was a ride to work and this one was free. I travelled in silence. Miraculously, they didn't answer my request to go to Medical, though we were at least going up; and up; and up. Crap. They deposited me in Hayden's office then departed. It was Hayden, Katrina, Saint Marie, Elsa, and Tessa. The door shut ominously behind me. "Cáel, I like you," Hayden began. "Unless you are working on an assigned task, you are not allowed to defy a woman of Havenstone who gives you a clear concise order, especially one from the Security Detail." It didn't take me a second to formulate my treatise on the Rights of Man. "No." That didn't go over well. Into the emptiness, I forged ahead. "You can't expect for me to be given conflicting orders and expect me to succeed. You people have a chain of command for a reason. I follow that chain like every other member of Havenstone." "You are not a member of Havenstone," Hayden pointed out. That I had to think about. I scanned each impassive face in the room. I wanted to cry; not out of fear; out of frustration because I really had tried so hard to make this work. "You are all a bunch of cowards and I regret ever wanting to be part of this place," I spat. "Your opinion of us does not matter," Hayden started. "Cowardly act number one," I interrupted. Hayden's gaze hardened. "It is your time. You publically defied a Havenstone employee on a mission concerning you," she continued. "Cowardly acts number two and three," I growled. Now Saint Marie and Elsa closed in. I turned to face them. I wanted to go down swinging, no matter how futile the gesture. "Cowardly act number four; suddenly, when you desire, my insolence matters," I set myself for what was to come. "Don't fight," Tessa commanded softly. Katrina kept her own counsel. "That's your fucking problem, right there," I shouted. "This isn't the Sunshine Scouts. This is a martial society. I fight, because that is what every bitch here is broadcasting. I didn't hit Rhada when she hit me. I called for help, like any sane individual. When no help was forthcoming, I called for someone to get the police. Again, you did nothing." "Fuck you all. Rhada attacked me, so I put her down. Madi attacked me, so I put her down too; and it all your damn fault and not one of you has the courage to face that fact," I shouted. "You attack me for fighting back at the same time you tell me to fit in. Now which is it? Am I to fit in to a martial culture, or am I not? Make up your damn minds!" "You do not get to talk to us like that," Saint Marie murmured. "Somebody better talk to us like this," Katrina finally spoke. "Face facts: Cáel is here because he resists. He resists because that is the lesson we are teaching him, Sisters." "What do you mean?" Elsa regarded Katrina. "When Cáel is challenged physically and resists successfully, or even unsuccessfully, he grows in the estimation of our Sisters. No one admits it, but it is the truth. The harder he fights, the more he is valued. It is a very simple principle. He has never believed he is a member of the Host, a Runner, or even a recruit. He does not strive to be an Amazon of any kind," Katrina lectured. "Then we expect him to do ridiculous things like walk off with an Amazon he barely knows who doesn't even explain where he is going, or what he is supposed to do," Katrina shook her head. "Somehow we forecast his desire to be treated with a modicum of respect to be a threat? Respecting him does not make him an Amazon; it makes him a warrior in our cause." "The Council has not decided on that portion of the New Directive yet," Saint Marie stated. "Warrior-Fathers," Katrina declared firmly. "My niece, Aya; you all know of her; she went to camp this week and SHE formed her own war band with her fellow students. Fuck you all very much; It works!" "Katrina," Hayden cautioned. "Hayden, I am tired of this half-measure bullshit. There is no being half-alive. We live, or we die. We made a mistake then we made another one. Let's not make it three." I raised my hand. "Yes?" Hayden finally acknowledged me. "Can I go back to work now? Sitting here is like commenting on the rain. I have a lot to say, but it won't affect the rain one iota," I reasoned. "You are not going to run?" Tessa asked. I knew she was joking. "Well, I can't get past the front door. I can't escape out the garage and I left my diamond-tipped glasscutter and 150 meters of rope in my other jacket," I informed her. "I guess I'll have to use the 15 kg of C-4 I have stuck in my shorts. I know it makes me look like I took a colossal dump in my underwear, but trust me, it is only a weapon," I grinned. I tried to get around Elsa. She brushed her hand over my chest. "You are special," she purred. "You scare me," I mumbled. "I know," she grinned happily. "Bye Pony-Lady," I waved to Saint Marie. "Cáel," Hayden called out. I halted, but didn't turn around. "You will stop referring to the Marshal of the Amazon Host as 'Pony-Lady', is that clear?" "Yes Hayden. Good-bye Saint Marie," I said as I departed. "Are you sure he is not mentally defective?" Saint Marie questioned. "He is," Elsa replied. "He laughs at Death." See, what did I tell you? Now you can run out and pick up an infatuated female psychopath of your very own. (Later in the day) Knife-fighting class was taught by this painfully thin yet tall Amazon with mostly grey-white hair. There was nothing wrong with her reflexes, or sight. She regarded me, her only student, with passionless eyes. She had me sit down cross-legged, she did the same opposite me, and we spent an hour talking about the philosophy of knife-fighting. Knives were hardly ever the first weapon of choice. That was part of the lesson; knowing when to choose a knife to fight with. We talked about all kinds of blades, focusing on the short, hilt-less blades every Amazon carried. I had to get one special-made. It was the size of my palms. If the blade was too small, it would cut up my hand when I used it. Except for a few hand motions, it was verbal instruction. Knife from an advantage, knife from the front, and knife at a disadvantage. Each had its own set of rules to follow. It was cool. Me having a penis didn't bother her in the least. At the end of the lesson, I asked if I could call her Zen Master. She said 'no', her name was Pamela. I then asked if I could call her Zen Mistress Pamela. Smiling, she said 'no' again. My last attempt was 'Blossoming Petals of Death Pamela' at which point she laughed and told me to give it a rest. I found myself with a free hour so I raced down to the pool and took in a few laps. It was a crime against nature that all the Amazons were one-piece bathing suits. Here I was in my Speedo and no one to play with. That wasn't really true. After my first lap, two Amazon lasses tried to engage me in a race without actually talking to me. As they were turning back they realized I was keeping to my same strong, casual strokes in my own little World. That annoyed them so the next time around, one got into my lane, turned to face me and stopped. Right according to plan, or if you prefer, like stealing candy apple kisses from a lady. I almost ran into her. At the very last second, I pulled up, letting my body coast up against her. She was treading water and looking vibrant. Her treading water meant I didn't have to. One hand settled on her mid-back (friendly enough), but the other one cupped her right ass and immediately probed along her cleft and to her wet tunnelfrom behind. Her 'Happy Choice' pop-up indicators went off and I had a winner. I was sure I could have pointed a shotgun in this woman's face and she'd have spit on me. With my pelvice bumping up against her crotch, my finger wiggling around her suit for her tunnel, and my other arm keeping her close, she looked totally flummoxed. "What are you doing?" she whispered. I was sure she wanted to have that sound authoritative, not like plea for an instruction manual. "How about this," I replied quietly, "you keep your hands moving and I'll kick so that you can wrap your legs around my waist?" "Why would I want to do that?" she asked; while her legs wrapped around my waist. A little positon altering with my hand and I was having her pulse against me. "Deena?" the other Amazon called out. She was swimming in close proximity now. "I;” Deena responded to her comrade. "You are taking liberties," she chastised me even as an erotic smile graced her lips. "Please don't turn me in," I murmured to her. My lips were a few millimeters from hers. The other woman could clearly make out our physical relationship between us. "Stop that," the unnamed woman demanded. "Ah;” Deena moaned as I slipped two fingers past her swimsuit and into her slickness. The stranger tried to separate us, but Deena shook her head. "No; we are okay." "Stop it," I whispered. "Don't make me; don't make me; don't," and kissed. Total lie for the sake of our voyeur. Deena wasn't currently capable of making me doing anything. Why was I doing this? Out of control libido plus stress plus I still had Yasmin and Felix to deal with. Oh yeah, Deena being cute, firm and just curvaceous enough to be Grace Kelly feminine didn't hurt. "Why are we doing this?" Deena murmured sexily. "Am I making you happy?" I posed. She thought about it then nodded. "I thought being with a male would be more difficult," she countered. "Stop looking so athletic," I teased her, "and it will be easier for me to get away." Calling an Amazon 'pretty', or even 'beautiful' would have limited, if any affect. Better words were 'impressive, swift, healthy, fit and athletic, because that's what they valued in one another. Even 'scary' and 'frightening' were turning out to be good words to use. They never got enough male input to matter. "You are very healthy for a male," Deena purred back. "How healthy?" the other one asked. She was now more curious than offended with my audacity. "He's VERY healthy, Sharona," Deena smiled. "He has strong fingers as well." I knew the look Sharona shot me. It was the 'why her and not me?' The answer was clear to her; Deena had been bold, thus won. It was traditional Amazon culture. I was easier to blame me because I was the guy. All three of us knew the score. More kissing and kitty-petting ensued. It became even more rewarding when I eventually bumped into Deena's clit. I didn't have to do much. My finger rubbed against her nub, Deena really liked that and started humping my finger before I could do anything. Public sex had never been a stimuli for me. I didn't mind it and by the number of Amazons circling, or watching from poolside, they didn't mind what Deena was 'doing' to me either. There was no screaming, thunderclap of joy, or even a violent physical spasm. Deena pressed tight, made several yipping noises and came down whimpering happily. She was a truly content little camper; that was for sure. "You had sex!" one of the bystanders called out. I looked into Deena's eyes. "If you say 'yes', I'll wake up tomorrow morning in Baku Faso," I whispered. "No; no we weren't," Deena gave me a sultry look. "We were practicing lifeguarding techniques. Did I save your life?" "I'm Cáel," I breathed on her lips. "Yes, I feel like a whole new man." "We will have to hone your skills; real soon," Deena winked. That was not a request. That was 'come back, or I'll hunt you down'. "I normally cannot make it before five," I informed her. "That works for me," Deena pulled away. She gave a warm sigh as my fingers slipped out of her. I made for the side. As I pulled myself out, my equipment straining at the seams, several wonderful ladies surrounded me. "Do you think you are leaving?" they confronted me. "I have a five o'clock end-of-day meeting with Katrina," I calmly explained. Katrina was my 'Get out of Jail' free card that allowed me to escape the pool and the shower without becoming a scratching post. Amazons aren't animals; I'm just that sexy. Yes, I could pick up almost any girl at a club. I also had various Amazon pre-ordering collars with my name on it. By now my neck size was common knowledge. (Wednesday Evening) The stuff of my nightmares: I walk out from the end of day meeting with Katrina and the new hire ladies two see a gaggle of other women waiting for me, I assumed. I knew them all. Farah Winters recruited me from Bolingbrook, Umami Lhasa who was Tessa Carmichael's right-hand woman, Tessa herself; and Yasmin Palhavã, my Brazilian hottie and workout date. "Hi Cáel," they all greeted me. "Hey ladies," I did my best to look happy. "What's going on?" "Havenstone has offered me a job," Yasmin grinned. How could this possibly go wrong? Yasmin thought this place was run by a crazy cult, so why did she look at ease? She could be trying to infiltrate Havenstone; bad idea. She could have had a conversion; I hope her son would be okay. She was; high on drugs; okay, the last one was weak. "What department?" I kept going. "We are trying to convince her to start out in Security Services (the guards) then move her up to Financial Investigations due to her expertise with the Policia Federal in her homeland," Tessa said. "Cáel, by the look on your face, I know you are concerned. Ms. Carmichael; Tessa, has told me some things that put the situation in perspective," Yasmin gave me an all so sexy look. "You are far braver than I thought you were." "What? That I invested the entirety of my 401K on the comeback of Baleen Oil?" I joked. "My Son will be okay," Yasmin patted my hand. Was I that much of an open book? "Do you have an instinct to protect children?" Umami inquired. "Not before I got here, but then I didn't know anyone who would casually kill children either," I responded. I had to ask the next question. I couldn't be me and not. "Tessa, can I ask you a serious question?" I began. Tessa nodded. "Why was Yasmin 'read in' to Havenstone? I don't doubt for a second she's a qualified as an investigator, but this strikes me as highly unusual and even reckless for your; people." "It was this, or kill her," Tessa answered. "By the way, that was Yasmin's first question too." "Precisely, my question was 'are you going to kill me for that crazy cult stuff that went down last week?'" Yasmin corrected. "She said I had to answer two questions to decide that." In a bizarre, Amazon-style way, that made sense. Yes, Yasmin would beat her husband nearly to death for cheating on her; and shooting her, and she would willingly have sex again. I knew this because Buffy told me her backstory and it had Katrina asking her the two questions as well. "Yasmin, let me clarify this right now," I held my ground. "I'm cheating on you. Please don't hit me. It has been a bad day and the pain has just begun." And all the psycho-bitches laughed. "Let's go practice, É o meu P.A.," Yasmin chuckled. No one was going to tell me what the damn phrase meant. I dare not look it up on-line because if I did, and Yasmin saw that flicker of understanding in my eyes; bad things would happen to me in the bedroom. No, I needed an alibi witness. To be honest, I thought the bedroom was Paradise until some ladies (I'd cheated on; surprise, surprise) tied me to one. Having my body waxed by sadistic amateurs was only recently exceeded by being shot with an arrow on my pain meter. It is not something I like to talk about. They dyed my hair bright pink too. I ended up nailing the new assistant at the College infirmary, so it wasn't a total loss. Oh, and less I forget, they both took me back later, at the same time, without telling each other. It is a wonder I'm still alive. In an effort to keep that going, I took us to the non-blooded gym this time around. It wasn't as nice as the full-blooded one, but it was still very full service. The biggest difference I had noticed earlier was the lack of archaic weapons on the wall near the training mat. Yasmin and I decided on a 40/20 split; forty minute of working out and twenty minutes on the mats. Around 5:30 pm, Felix showed up. Like me, he automatically drew attention and he'd clearly been cultivating his aura. He barely spared me a glance, being absolutely confident he had the advantage in every aspect of our contest; both physically and socially. Within minutes a subliminal ripple moved through the crowd. I was spotting Yasmin so it took me a bit to figure out what was going on; full-bloods had entered. One by one, I picked out Daphne, Paula, Dora, Tigger, Violet and Oneida. They weren't coming at me; that would have kept things calm. No, 'my' ladies were circulating and I didn't need ESP to figure out what they were saying. In the ladies' wake, evil looks where shot Felix's way. Once more, he felt the undercurrent but misunderstood it. He thought I was seeding the crowd against him. One Amazon 'Runner' cleared up the nature of the disturbance, if not reason for the outrage. "Did you really take a woman's underwear to use as a trophy to throw in Cáel's face?" the disbelieving woman asked. Felix was fearless. "Of course not," he assured her. "One of Cáel's many one night stands stopped by my place, slept and forgot; something. That's all." Good play. Since I wasn't in on sabotaging Felix, I had no counter and I wasn't going to get into a he-said/he-said contest that would leave me looking petty. Poor Felix, he kept forgetting we worked for some really smart women. Around thirty women into Felix's counter-propaganda campaign, Daphne struck. She was confronted by a pro-Felix lady. "Really?" Daphne announced loudly. "Let's clear this up why don't we." She pulled out her phone, hit one number and said, "Please project that footage to the 'Runner' gym." Ten seconds later, Felix and my conversation was projected to every TV suspended around the room. Yes, even Felix's boast and getting in my face. This wasn't solely Daphne's doing. She didn't have that kind of weight. Oneida on the other hand; Felix barely missed a beat. "Nyilas, you pulled that all out of context," he growled. The best defense is a great offense. "Felix, I'm a guy. No way in Hell I have the kind of access to security tapes," I held up my hands, proclaiming my innocence. Felix missed the 'I'm a guy' part. The women didn't. Most of them know I skated the rules, but never broke them. Yes, Katrina liked me. Would she give me access to security? That was laughable. Felix was about to pack on the stupidity. "Fine, you had one of your cheerleaders do it," Felix counterthrust. Cheerleader was not a 'positive' Amazon role model. Cheerleaders were women who promised sexual reward to male warriors that defeated their enemies (a bit of a biased view). The bipolar normal world reaction to cheerleaders aside, I knew cheerleaders were athletes who worked hard to pull off relatively complex routines. Telling the Amazons this was pointless. If any woman in this room had known a cheerleader before surrendering their old existence to become lethal man-killers, they probably didn't like them. If they had been a cheerleader, they were keeping their mouths shut. "Are you implying we have lied and altered the official record of events?" Daphne sizzled. See, lying to me and Felix was expected. Lying to their fellow Amazons, despite the Blood Prestige rift, wasn't going to happen. Trust and loyalty were fundamental virtues here. I imagine Felix had read that passage in the Handbook. I hadn't believed it for the first two days either. I'd been educated since then. "I wouldn't put it past you," Felix glared right back at Daphne. Foolish; stupid. "Yasmin, I gotta go," I hissed to my Brazilian MILF then rushed to get to Felix. I wasn't doing it for Felix, the douche. I was doing it for Katrina and her New Directive. Felix had not officially fucked up; he was just being a jerk. Daphne sent Felix a wicked smirk. She'd kicked his ass. Felix knew his ass had been kicked yet still couldn't grasp the underlying principles behind his defeat; he was in a Woman's World. "Felix, let's warm up," I urged him once I was close enough to be heard. "After that stunt; you can go fuck yourself," Felix glowered. "Dude, it wasn't me, I swear," I met his gaze. "I'm here. You find your own space," Felix indicated another portion of the mat. "Felix, these ladies are about to kill you. You do not want to send me away," I whispered. Felix formed a rebuttal then looked around. "Why?" Felix whispered back. Felix was finally acknowledging he'd lost. Now he wanted to know why. "I can't explain it right now, but let's say 'cheerleader' was the wrong descriptive to use," I continued. "Calling them liars only dug the hole deeper. It is the way it is." Felix didn't understand my words, but understood the intent. He was in Oz without any knowledge of the tornado that had taken him there. We didn't spar together. I did stay close enough to make my intent clear; there would be no ambushing of Felix. You had to understand Amazon psychology to figure out why they weren't angry with me. I was exhibiting loyalty; especially to a person I hated. Amazons had blood feuds, the specifics I hadn't figured out. You could probably kick your opponent's ass. If you stabbed them in the back, there was no rock on the face of the Earth you could hide under. "He practices Muay, Thai, and Savate," Oneida snuck up on me. "I lend you my spirit," she added with deep compassion. I turned on her and placed my hand between her breasts. "No. No cheating in this fight," I insisted. That drew many stares. "Hold your spirit for the battles that matter, not for the resolution of male grievances. Your heart is fierce and I appreciate that, Oneida. No one's spirit is infinite, so marshal your resources carefully." Yes, I was lecturing Oneida; bad move. Yes, I was safeguarding her spirit, as would any of the other Amazons in the room; good move. Cloaking my lecture and concern in mystical terms; the win. "I care deeply for you too," Oneida gave me a demur look, "my Ash Man." Kill me. Kill me now. This culture didn't have a 'ready-set-go'. When one person was ready, they attack without warning. I almost forgot that and blind-sided Felix. I didn't hold back for him. I held back because I didn't want him to be a whiny baby about this whole thing. I gave him a nod, he nodded back then he attacked. Two piston kicks by Felix backed me up. He switched up with a reverse roundhouse. That was his mistake; I slipped inside his kick range. I came at him; left jab, left jab, and a right cross in such a rapid blur the audience later told me their brains didn't register the hits until after the fact. It was lights out for Felix. His body made a wet, thumping noise at it hit the mat. There was a hush. Everyone expected this fight to go the distance. I was more renowned for my stamina than punching power. Welcome to the world of light heavy-weight boxing. My problem with Madi had been I couldn't touch her. I hadn't even gone all out with Rhada and I dropped her with two jabs. A good number of 'martial artists' think of boxing as a primitive fighting form. It is. It has also been around forever because the principles are rather simple and effective. Either don't get hit, or soak up the hit (particularly for heavier fighters), set your opponent up and clobber then. Felix had meant to control me with his powerful kicks. Both Savate and Muay Thai have excellent fist and elbow blocks and strikes. It is simply difficult to switch your focus from kicking to blocking in the blink of an eye. That was less time than what I gave Felix. Most people think of boxers as freight trains, not snipers. In truth, we are both; locomotives approaching the speed of light (somewhat). Double back to all the options Savate and Maui Thai boxers have. They would never be afraid to take a risky kick because they can block in so many ways. Suddenly the issue became one of distance and balance. The boxer was at the kicker's ankle at the moment of supposed impact and closing. By the time the kicker realized the kick's over-extension the boxer was at his knee. The kicker still had a plethora of elbow, arm and hand blocks and grapples; except all his power has gone down that kicking leg, leaving him with on point of balance; his other leg. Sure he could get an arm up, but it only had the strength and weight of that limb to call upon. The upcoming hit? It had the mass times acceleration of the boxer's body coming at him. Good luck. Felix could have beaten me, except it would have taken time. Closing would have allowed him to use all those nifty elbow, palm and hand strikes. It would have also allowed me to do what boxers to best; box. This wouldn't give me an advantage, just leveled the playing field a bit. He didn't want to grapple. I had an entire school devoted to grappling while it was an addendum to what he did. Felix's saw me go to a boxing stance, and like most practitioners of Savate and Muay Thai, he laughed inside. He was going to make a mockery of me because my style sucked and his styles were the ones that best broke your enemies and caused them pain. He was going to knock me back with his kicks then close in and pummel me with every part of his body before I could slip into jujitsu. It would be lightning fast and bloody. Nice in theory; bad in practice. He should have worn me down with his stronger legs. Things fell apart when I stopped running away after the sec

Overcoming Scoliosis: Vanda's Journey and the Power of Intensive Treatment In this episode of "Scoliosis Treatment with Dr. Tony Nalda," we hear the powerful story of Vanda, a scoliosis patient who traveled from Europe to the Scoliosis Reduction Center for a specialized, coordinated approach to her condition. Her experience illustrates the challenges of scoliosis management, the long-term impacts of untreated scoliosis, and the benefits of a comprehensive, intensive treatment plan. The Early "Wait and See" Approach Vanda's scoliosis journey began at age 10, when a routine checkup revealed a mild curve. Initially, her doctor advised a “wait and see” approach, which led to years of minimal follow-up. Unfortunately, this approach is common but often means scoliosis progresses undetected until symptoms worsen. In Vanda's case, her mother eventually noticed asymmetry in her shoulders, prompting a further evaluation. By then, her curve had progressed significantly, and she was given a brace with the potential for surgery if there were no improvements. The "Snowball Effect" of Scoliosis Progression As Vanda entered adulthood, she had no awareness of scoliosis's potential to worsen over time. It wasn't until her 40s that she began experiencing discomfort, a result of what Dr. Nalda refers to as the “snowball effect.” Even small degrees of progression in adulthood add to existing curves, leading to significant pain and limited mobility as the spine degenerates under daily stresses. This progression can cause a cycle of increased discomfort and reduced quality of life in later years. Intensive Care at Scoliosis Reduction Center Seeking effective treatment options, Vanda discovered Dr. Tony Nalda's clinic in Celebration, Florida. Impressed by the personalized, coordinated approach, she made the decision to pursue intensive care there, knowing that similar comprehensive treatment wasn't available in Europe. The intensive treatment is designed to work at each patient's pace, allowing those with high motivation, like Vanda, to achieve substantial progress. In just three weeks, she saw her thoracic curve reduce from 58 to 40 degrees and her lumbar curve from 42 to 33 degrees—a life-changing improvement. The Value of a Coordinated, Comprehensive Approach Dr. Nalda emphasizes the importance of a unified treatment approach, combining various therapies, rehabilitation, exercises, and bracing in one location under one doctor's supervision. Unlike fragmented healthcare systems where patients often receive conflicting advice from different specialists, the Scoliosis Reduction Center's model ensures that each component of the treatment plan works in harmony for maximum effectiveness. Motivation and Results For Vanda, the commitment to travel, endure intensive care, and invest financially was worth it. Her motivation came from wanting the most effective treatment to avoid surgery and significantly improve her quality of life. The results were immediate and transformative, highlighting the value of a structured, multi-modal approach that prioritizes reducing scoliosis curvature early and effectively. Final Thoughts Vanda's journey is a testament to the power of an intensive, well-coordinated approach to scoliosis treatment. Her story serves as a reminder of the importance of proactive care and the impact of choosing the right treatment center. This episode is an inspiring look at the possibilities available for scoliosis patients worldwide who are seeking lasting solutions. To learn more about effective scoliosis treatments and patient success stories, subscribe to our podcast and join us in exploring how comprehensive care can change lives.   Artlist.io 847544

Cáel's tombstone: For the love of women, women put him here.In 25 parts, edited from the works of FinalStand.Listen and subscribe to the ► Podcast at Connected..