Here in the North, winter can be a time of “hibernation,” where the short days and inhospitible outdoor weather can contribute to a winter malaise. Even now, several days in the single digits and nights in the double digits below zero are forecast, making the thought of outdoor fun somewhat more difficult.

One suggestion we here at Midwest Disaster Medical have to beat the Winter Doldrums is: Study and train! It doesn’t have to be with us, though we’d be honored and happy to help you learn some useful medical skills. No, any study and training will do.

*Get out your First Aid Manual, read it and write an outline of it to cement it in your brain.

*Go through your emergency car, bugout, or Get Home bag. All the meds still within expiration date? What about that item you took from the bag that you swore you’d replace? Is it in there?

*Have your CCW? When was the last time you (safely!) practiced your draw? Try doing 100 draws a night for 2 weeks!

*Remember that “how-to” book you bought, but never found time to read? Take 30 minutes a night and read it cover to cover, then read it again while making an outline of it in a notebook.

*Taken a blood pressure lately? Hassle your wife, kids, parents or friends into submitting to one. Accept our challenge to check 5 blood pressures this week!

*How old are your smoke detector batteries? Got a cartridge-style CO detector? How old is it? Time for a new one?

*Check your fire extinguishers. How old are they? Still in the green?

*When was the last time you started your generator? Ran it under load?

Take a few minutes and break out of the Winter Doldrums by making sure yoru skills and equipment are ready to meet any challenge.

As mentioned in an earlier post, a few guys from AR-15.com attended the Austere Medic course. Someone was kind enough to point out the reviews they posted.

“Kuraki” wrote:  “I would recommend the Austere Medic by Midwest Disaster Medical to anyone worried about a disaster or collapse, and how they might obtain or provide medical care for their family/friends in such a situation.”

“BulletcatchR” said:  “I would highly recommend this class.”

“FMD” typed:  “I can and will recommend this class to anyone seeking more than basic first-aid/CPR/GSW class.  It’s not an EMT-B in a box, but I dare say most of us don’t need or want that.  As an expansion of what do do beyond pre-hospital care for a time when there may not BE a hospital, it’s an excellent beginning.”

These students provided a much more in-depth review of the course, which you can read here: http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_8_21/525427_Review_of_Midwest_Disaster_Medical___Austere_Medic_class.html

If you have been involved in preparedness for any length of time, you will have heard of a book entitled “Lights Out” by David Crawford. If you haven’t perhaps you should check it out!

There has been some exciting news in the past few months: Lights Out is being made into a movie…Actually, a trilogy is planned! This project is exciting to us for a number of reasons. The producer of the film is NOT a Hollywood bigshot. His name is Travis Fox, and he’s a prepper.

Travis has already turned down full funding from a studio that wanted all the good guys to be “underpriviledged minorities” and the bad guys to be “racist whites,” and to add lots of explosions.

Unfortunately, there’s a catch. For Travis to make this movie the way it should be made, he needs help. Financial help -though if you live in Georgia he might accept some physical help!

This is not just a donation. You get SOMETHING for your contribution, beside the knowlege that you brought a great story to the screen. The contributor packages have some pretty decent items in them, especially at the higher contribution levels.

So help Lights Out come to the big screen. It just may change some minds about the importance of preparing for hard times.

Visit the Lights Out site here: http://shop.lightsoutsaga.com/

In some situations, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts: Police officers and paramedics have partners. People get married. Snipers have spotters. Pilots have co-pilots. We can often do more when we work together.

With this in mind, Midwest Disaster Medical is offering a special through November 1st for the November course: If you sign up with a friend, an aquaintance, or even an internet contact, the second person’s course fee is only $150. It’s simple to do, and you can take advantage of this offer in two ways. 1) Send in both registrations together. 2) Send in the registrations separately, but indicate the other persons name on each registration. That’s it!

Drop us a line if you have questions.

The April 20-21st class has been completed, and boy, was it a lively one! Lots of excellent questions and discussion.

Tip of the hat to the boys from AR15.com: Great to have you there!

Next class dates will be announced soon.

The last registration has been received!

Watch for an announcement regarding the next course date. If you want to get a jump on the competition, drop us a line and we’ll send you an e-mail directly when the date is decided.

We have 3 slots remaining in the April class.

If you are interested in one of them, e-mail us at info@midwestdisastermedical.com

The $50 discount for early enrollment ends on February 28th.

Don’t let this opportunity for substantial savings on the course fee pass you by! Contact us today for an enrollment packet.