#53 - Wilderness First Responder | Ryland Gardner (NOLS)

Whatcha know about vasogenic shock? Can you treat an open pneumothorax? Better learn your ABCs if you want to save a life! If you’ve been following this show for a while you may recall in episode 33 when Jamie Wheal challenged me to do a Wilderness First Responder training. Well, friends and countrymen, I DID THE THING! I scooted over to the Hygiene, Colorado fire station and spent 10 days learning wilderness medicine and splinting broken femurs. Today on the show I’m speaking to one of my instructors from that course, Mr Ryland Gardner. We talk about leadership, transformational experiences, and how to metabolize trauma. I share about my emotional experience during the mock night rescue and we offer a very brief crash course in Wilderness First Aid. Ryland has been teaching Wilderness Medicine since 2005. He has also taught environmental studies at Prescott College. He’s a volunteer firefighter with the Lyons fire department and when he’s not teaching or patching folks up he can be found surfing in Mexico and operating a bed and breakfast with his wife Shari. Life can still be a festival when it all goes wrong, but only if we develop our resiliency and practice the skills necessary to keep everyone safe. LINKS Ryland Gardner: https://www.nols.edu/en/employee_directory/profile/ryland-gardner/ NOLS Wilderness First Responder Program: https://www.nols.edu/en/coursefinder/courses/wilderness-first-responder-WFR/ Paragon Guides: https://paragonguides.com/