PICKING THE BEST AIR AMBULANCE PROVIDER IN THE PHILIPPINES

An air ambulance is our emergency room in the sky. 

I've been blogging about Airgurus' Air Ambulance services in the country for quite some time now and I have received direct emails from people wishing they have read my blogs when they needed medical air transport for their loved ones and/or friends as they openly admitted to me that that they should have picked the right air ambulance provider.

Some of these people made grave mistakes. Some people have gone for lower rates, some have gone for the newest aircraft, some for the nearest available aircraft and all three somehow have contributed to non-satisfactory medical transfer of patients resulting to complaints, complications, etc.

When needing an Air Ambulance in the Philippines, it's not just about picking the newest, fastest, so-called medically-equipped aircraft or the nearest available aircraft to transport patients by air... there is so much more... after all, it's about life I'm talking about! Time is muscle and understandably, we can't afford to lose time but a minute of deliberating which air ambulance provider we should get will make a big difference. 

It's a given fact... All aircraft are just a few hours away from any point of origin around the Philippine Archipelago. In fact, anyone with an aircraft can do it. However, an air ambulance as I have earlier mentioned, is our emergency room in the sky which means... only a highly-skilled pilot, a medically-souped-up aircraft, a highly-experienced flight doctor and an equally highly-experienced medical flight/nurse can provide patients... the best critical air care should anything happen during transit. 

When I speak about the words "highly-experienced", the most important points to be considered in choosing an air ambulance provider:

1. A lot of flying hours done.

Doing Medevac especially on bad weather conditions is not easy as practicing medicine in the sky presents its own difficulties. Only those with the most number of flying hours or years of flying done for the sole purpose of Medevac are the ones I would trust my own life with.

2. A vast expertise on handling patients with various medical cases, injuries, etc. in tight quarters of an air ambulance. 

The depletion of oxygen and changing air pressure are always medical challenges. Medevac pilots and their dedicated medical flight crew with many flying Medevac hours served,know this very well. I wouldn't count on an air ambulance provider banking on constant changes of medical doctors and nurses, volunteers, newly-grads and newbies.

3. An in-depth intensive care experience by air.

The noise, vibrations and the temperature of the aircraft can present problems for the patient's health and comfort. Hundreds or thousands feet in the air in tight, sometimes turbulent cabins of a turboprop aircraft and helicopters, the medical flight crew restart hearts, insert breathing tubes, deliver babies and save lives.

With all 3 points to consider, I only know of one Air Ambulance provider in the Philippines who does it professionally and it is Airgurus. Aside from the fact that they are the only aircraft provider with a state-of-the-art medical equipment with litter kit (double-deck stretcher) they always have successful medevac operations, the most number of medevac services served and most of all, they do not allow putting a life in the hands of volunteering doctors and nurses as they have a dedicated medical flight crew.

How to contact Airgurus?

For serious inquiries only, contact +632 6248274 | +632 2749758 | +639 925 889 2987 | +63 917 885 7911or email them at info@airgurus.ph. For fast quotation, please visit the website www.airgurus.ph.

APPRECIATING PHILIPPINES: MY AERIAL COLLECTION PART 1

I love flying around my country via helicopters because of the so many things beautiful things I see at a bird's-eye view.  Photography is one of my hobbies that I get to enjoy as I go along with the captain, the executives of Airgurus, friends and clients anywhere in the Philippines.

I started taking aerial shots of beautiful places all over the country last January as we, at Airgurus, covered the IronMan Challenge 2011. There is just one too many. Everything actually is beautiful from above and last weekend, I once again had a chance to enjoy aerial photography. 

Thanks to my childhood best friend, Capt. Harry Lero of Airgurus Ltd. Co. for making me appreciate and love my country more each time!

To know more about touring and sightseeing via helicopters, visit the Airgurus website www.airgurus.ph

ARE THERE DANGERS ON FACEBOOK VIDEO CALLING?

It is awesome! Launched by Facebook a few hours ago is the Skype-style video chat feature. Thousands worldwide just got the taste of this great new feature by the social media site. The much awaited feature is indeed a great improvement to messaging system.

Seconds after it was confirmed released, I immediately tested it with a friend and as I was on it, I can't help but wonder the imminent dangers of exposing yourself on such a new and cool application.


The first one that entered my mind are the criminals. Most of us don't really know most of the friends we have on Facebook. Security analysts have warned us before of the precautionary measures to avoid exposing ourselves to criminals who, have not been slow to catch on at all. When they migrated to Twitter and Facebook, I wonder now.... will there be dangers on this new feature too?

Joining social networking sites is really fun and entertaining. I am hooked on Facebook and Google+ and I don't really care about who's going to be better that these two. I'm just one who likes to get in touch with friends once in awhile. However, we do have to be concerned of some of the dangers or what-not-to-do's and the biggest issue will be PRIVACY. 


As always, it will be a problem. Although these huge social networking sites constantly find ways to make it secure for us, we are the ones responsible for our own exposures.  I can think of only 3 things that can serve as guide on how to avoid getting into trouble when using Facebook Video Calling:


1. Keeping your profile on high privacy is the best solution.
There's a writing there on the top of your FB page that says "Accounts" where you will see the drop-down menu showing you Privacy Settings. Use that. Take good time to read and understand everything. 


2. Never reveal anything private to strangers. 
As I have mentioned earlier, you never know that it could be a criminal that you are enjoying a video call with. The migration of web criminals can extend to this new feature... starting off with being nice and sweet and eventually gathering information from you... information that can be disastrous. Despite the excitement and thrill of talking to strangers, fraud problems and identity theft might soon bite your ass.


3. Be appropriately dressed when opening a video call even to friends.
Your friends just might video-call you and post an inappropriate photo or embarrassing photo of you. I tested this with my second friend. She came out and I got to capture a screenshot of her that I know wasn't to her approval. I mean, being caught off-guarded can be a disaster. We all don't want such. So, just to warn her, I shared it to her privately and so, she understood what might happen. Just be dressed appropriately and look nice. 

There are of course, a lot more as we go on living in an era of internet wonders, but I can only think of these for now....what I see that will pose imminent dangers to us. Try to keep your private life safe. Enjoy social networking! Enjoy this cool feature but...  be safe as always!

DEMON FISH by JULIET EILPERIN

I never feared water since I was a child. My 4 older brothers, all of them strong swimmers taught me how to swim pretty damn well. But since the age gap was too far from my brothers as I am menopausal baby, I grew up learning about so many things in the ocean life among friends and strangers.

Photo by Neil Hammerschlag for the book, Demon Fish

Jaws... I used to watch the movie in the 80's just before a horrible thing unfolded right before my eyes in one scuba diving adventure as a teen.  For many years, I haven't been open about this. I kept silent. I had countless nightmares witnessing a shark attack of a scuba diving buddy who taught me the basics... one of the many unaccounted for shark attacks in the Philippines. In my belief, shark attacks are a rare occurrence in my country but what I have witnessed indeed when I was young, was perhaps, one from a ferocious creature which I think was a bull shark.

It took me a long time to recover but my love for water is just undeniable and although I stopped watching Jaws movies and its' sequels, I still love water and now I'm back to exploring them soon again. I think I am ready. 

Me... contemplating about exploring the deep.

Just a few minutes ago, my attention was caught by a news from The Huffington Post ... Demon Fish: New Book Explores The Hidden World of Sharks by Juliet Eilperin. It is a new book that explores the way humans and cultures around the world interact with the ocean's top predators. 

The cover of the book, Demon Fish by Juliet Eilperin

This national environment report for The Washington Post written by Juliet Eilperin, the book gives us an up-close look at understanding both the mystery and power behind these creatures and the large imprint they have cemented in the human mind long before "Jaws" came on the scene. This is the shark book for the person who wants to understand both what sharks are, and what sharks mean. I bit into it and just bought the book from Amazon right away after watching this video...

Here's a summary of the book:

“Demon Fish: Travels Through the Hidden World of Sharks” provides a global look at the often surprising and inexplicable ways people and cultures relate to, and engage with, the ocean’s top predator. Juliet Eilperin begins her journey in Papua New Guinea, where sharks play a unique role in creation myths, and where the practice of shark calling-summoning sharks by magic-still flourishes. She takes us to Hong Kong and mainland China, where we glimpse the gruesome finning practices that supply the prime ingredient for status-imbuing shark fin soup. In Miami, we meet Mark “The Shark” Quartiano, shark-fishing guide to the stars. And wherever she travels-from Japan to the Yucatan peninsula, from Indonesia to Cape Town South Africa- Eilperin illuminates the ways in which the mythological significance attributed to these animals has made them objects of reverence, fear, and fascination, and of misperceptions that may eventually lead to their extinction.

With a reporter’s instinct for a good story and a scientist’s curiosity, she offers us an up-close and in-depth understanding of these extraordinary, mysterious creatures, in the most entertaining and illuminating shark encounter you’re likely to find outside a steel cage.

I can't wait for the delivery of Juliet Eilperin's book. This will be the first book that I will read page after page in so many years for sure. I was stuck to reading about things online for far too long that I believe this book will take me to a magnificent journey offline to find me some answers. Pick up a copy of "Demon Fish" here to learn more. I'm sure you will enjoy it as I will when my delivery comes.