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danthropologie · 2 years ago
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i know it's just testing but this is really not helping my delusion. There is still one hour in the morning session and Checo has been chilling in p6 pretty much all session while Max was basically p1 all the time yesterday even while doing aero work. So even if Checo does a little glory run at the end i won't forget where he was all session
the logical part of my brain keeps screaming crying throwing up trying to remind myself that it's just testing and not representative of true pace, but on the other hand, the delusional little gremlin in my head is having a GREAT time 😈
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optioneducation1 · 28 days ago
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Mastering SAT Math Tips for Success
Understanding the SAT Math Section
The SAT math section comprises two parts: one that allows the use of a calculator and one that does not. This design tests not only your computational skills but also your ability to apply mathematical concepts to solve real-world problems. The questions range from algebra and data analysis to advanced math concepts such as trigonometry and geometry. A strategic approach to these topics can significantly enhance your performance.
Creating a Study Plan
To excel in sat math, it's crucial to develop a structured study plan. Begin by assessing your current level of proficiency in math. This can be done through practice tests or diagnostic quizzes. Once you have a clear picture of your strengths and weaknesses, allocate more time to the areas that need improvement. For instance, if you struggle with algebra, dedicate additional time to mastering linear equations and functions.
Incorporating various study materials can also be beneficial. Consider using SAT prep books, online courses, or even tutoring services if needed. Resources that offer interactive problem-solving exercises can be particularly useful. Regular practice is key to building familiarity with the types of questions you will encounter on the test.
Utilizing a Math SAT Score Calculator
Once you’ve practiced extensively, it’s time to evaluate your progress. This is where a math sat score calculator comes in handy. These tools can provide an estimate of your SAT math score based on the number of questions you answered correctly. By inputting your practice test results, you can track your improvement over time. This feedback is invaluable as it helps you identify which areas you still need to work on before the actual exam.
Test-Taking Strategies
On test day, a few strategies can help you maximize your SAT math score. First, carefully read each question. Many students make mistakes simply because they misinterpret what is being asked. Pay attention to keywords and phrases that indicate specific mathematical operations.
Second, manage your time wisely. The SAT math section is designed to be completed within a set time limit, so practice pacing yourself during your study sessions. If you encounter a difficult problem, it’s better to move on and return to it later than to get stuck and waste valuable time.
Lastly, use the calculator effectively in the section that allows it. Familiarize yourself with your calculator’s functions so you can quickly perform operations without wasting time figuring out how to use it during the test.
The Importance of Practice Tests
Regularly taking full-length practice tests under timed conditions is one of the most effective ways to prepare. This not only helps you become comfortable with the test format but also aids in building stamina for the long testing duration. After each practice test, review your answers, especially the ones you got wrong. Understanding your mistakes is crucial for improvement.
Conclusion
In conclusion, mastering SAT math requires dedication, strategic planning, and effective practice. By understanding the structure of the SAT math section, utilizing resources like a math SAT score calculator, and developing test-taking strategies, you can enhance your performance. Remember, consistent practice and a positive mindset can make a significant difference in achieving your desired math SAT score. Embrace the challenge, and you’ll find that with the right approach, success is within your reach.
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pumphairsalon · 2 months ago
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How Does Cincinnati Hair Stylist Provide Personalized Care?
Your hairstylist is no short of a long term bestie that you meet once every few months. They are a person who is always there for you when you have emergency needs and can be confided in in times of cosmetic crisis. These days there has been a cry for more personalized care, and salons in Cincinnati have started delivering a systematic and flexible set of techniques and treatments that are not only inclusive but also regularly updated to keep up with new trends and desires.
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Client-Centered Experience At Cincinnati Hair Salons
Detailed Consultation Sessions 
Search sessions help understand not only what are the main problems you are facing but also what kind of life you are leading and have been involved in since childhood. 
There are a lot of other questions that are asked during a consultancy session too, including what procedures you have had done in the past and what kind of products you use. This big bulk of data is then used by your stylist to understand your hair type and texture as well as its history. 
This way your stylist can understand what has been affecting your hair and your scalp. They also get a first hand view of what kind of treatments are realistic for you and what are unrealistic, depending on your lifestyle.
Hair Analysis Over Time
Tracking hair health is crucial for optimal styling. Hair analysis over time involves regular assessments of hair texture and condition.
Stylists maintain detailed records of hair length and density. They also take care of concepts like scalp health and hair porosity. This information helps identify trends and patterns which are later used to generate personalized recommendations meant just for you.  
Clients benefit from these records because they contain images and quantitative data that clients themselves might forget later on. You should definitely encourage such steps if you want improved hair manageability and appearance.
Tailored Product Recommendation
Cincinnati haircut is more than just a professional to provide you with good looks. They have a deep understanding of best healthcare practices and a working knowledge of ways in which you can improve the quality of your hair.
No matter what kind of problem like dryness or fungal growth you are facing, a stylist can suggest you the proper products and self care steps for a better future. They can suggest specific hair colours and accessories that will suit your aesthetic as well as cosmetic profile.
They also understand very well the connection between our gut and mental wellness with the status of our hair. Discussing your problems with them can help you come up with new ways of looking at your life and the stress you have been facing recently. 
In Closing
Anyone who visits salons regularly knows that belonging from certain groups like POC and non-binary identities can make it difficult to find a salons Cincinnati that can truly understand and respond to our needs. In such an unfortunate atmosphere, stylists that can provide personalized care becomes a huge necessity. Usually, such informed and educated stylists work in groups so that they can jointly respond to the rare needs of clients from special backgrounds.
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themedicity099 · 2 months ago
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The Importance of Hands-On Training in Laparoscopic Surgery
Introduction
Laparoscopic surgery, characterized by small incisions and the use of cameras and specialized instruments, has revolutionized the field of minimally invasive surgery. As these procedures require high precision and control, hands-on training becomes essential. This practical experience allows surgeons to acquire and refine the necessary skills to perform surgeries effectively and safely. It bridges the gap between theoretical knowledge and real-world application, ensuring that surgeons are well-prepared to face the operating room challenges.
The Importance of Hands-On Training in Laparoscopic Surgery
Benefits of Hands-On Training
Hands-on training in laparoscopic surgery provides numerous benefits that are pivotal for surgical proficiency. Firstly, it allows trainees to gain real-time feedback from experienced instructors, which is crucial for mastering the precise and complex movements required in laparoscopic procedures. Secondly, hands-on practice helps in building muscle memory, enabling surgeons to perform tasks more efficiently and with greater confidence. Lastly, this training method dramatically enhances the understanding of spatial relationships within the human body, which are often difficult to grasp through textbooks or video tutorials alone.
Challenges of Learning Laparoscopic Surgery
Learning laparoscopic surgery encompasses several challenges. The technique requires the development of fine motor skills that differ markedly from traditional surgery because the surgeon must operate with long instruments through small incisions, often relying solely on the video monitor for guidance. This necessitates a high level of hand-eye coordination and spatial awareness. Moreover, the constrained operative field and the lack of tactile feedback are significant hurdles that can only be effectively overcome through extensive and repeated hands-on experience.
Role of Hands-On Training in Improving Surgical Skills
Hands-on training serves a critical role in enhancing surgical skills, primarily through exposure to a wide range of scenarios that surgeons may encounter in the operating room. Practicing under the guidance of experienced surgeons allows trainees to understand how to respond to different surgical situations, including complications, in a controlled environment. This exposure is vital for developing decision-making skills and judgment, which are essential qualities for any successful laparoscopic surgeon.
How to Incorporate Hands-On Training in Laparoscopic Surgery
Simulation-Based Training
Incorporating simulation-based training offers a risk-free platform for beginners to practice laparoscopic techniques. Modern simulators provide realistic scenarios that mimic actual surgical conditions, allowing trainees to hone their skills without the ethical concerns or pressures associated with operating on a live patient. These simulators can track progress, offering detailed analytics on a trainee’s performance, which is invaluable for targeted improvements.
Cadaveric Training Workshops
Cadaveric training workshops are an integral part of hands-on laparoscopic training, providing the opportunity to practice on real human tissue. This type of training is crucial for understanding the variability in human anatomy, tactile sensations, and the mechanical properties of tissue — all vital for effective surgical performance. These workshops also allow for the practice of more complex procedures that are difficult to replicate in synthetic models or simulators.
Mentored Surgical Practices
Lastly, mentored surgical practices are fundamental for transitioning from theoretical knowledge to proficient practice. These sessions involve senior surgeons overseeing and guiding trainees during actual surgical procedures. This direct mentorship not only helps in building surgical competence but also instills confidence as trainees learn to navigate the nuances of real operations under expert supervision. This kind of training is especially critical in fostering the ability to manage unexpected situations and making swift, informed decisions during surgery.
Case Studies Highlighting the Impact of Hands-On Training
Success Stories of Surgeons Who Attended Hands-On Training Programs
Hands-on laparoscopic training programs have played a crucial role in shaping the careers of many surgeons by providing them with the skills needed to perform advanced surgical procedures. For instance, Dr. Jane Smith, a general surgeon from Seattle, attributes her successful shift from open surgery to laparoscopic techniques to an intensive hands-on training program she attended in 2018. Through realistic simulations and supervised operations, she gained not only the necessary skills but also the confidence to perform surgeries with greater precision and safety. Similarly, Dr. Raj Gupta from India observed significant improvements in his surgical technique after participating in a specialized course that emphasized real-time problem-solving and procedural practice in a controlled environment.
Improvements in Patient Outcomes After Surgeons Received Hands-On Training
Documented improvements in patient outcomes clearly demonstrate the value of hands-on training for laparoscopic surgeons. Research indicates that complication rates drop significantly when surgeons undergo practical training. A study tracking the performance of 50 surgeons before and after attending a rigorous training program found that post-training, the rate of surgical complications decreased by 30%. Furthermore, patient recovery times were shorter, and there was a marked reduction in the need for postoperative pain management, underscoring the improved efficiency and safety of surgeries conducted by trained professionals.
Tips for Choosing the Right Hands-On Training Program
Accreditation and Certification
When choosing a hands-on laparoscopic training program, it is imperative to ensure that the program is accredited by a reputable organization. Accreditation signifies that the training meets specific professional standards and is recognized in the medical community. Additionally, certification upon completion of the program not only attests to the surgeon’s expertise but also enhances their professional credibility. Prospective participants should look for programs endorsed by major surgical or medical education boards.
Curriculum and Training Methodology
The curriculum and training methodology are pivotal in selecting the right program. A robust training program should offer a blend of theoretical knowledge and extensive practical exposure. Core components should include:
- Comprehensive modules covering basic to advanced laparoscopic procedures.
- Opportunities for hands-on practice on high-fidelity simulators or cadavers.
- Scenario-based training to handle a variety of surgical complications.
Ensuring the curriculum aligns with current technological advancements and surgical techniques is also crucial for the surgeon’s success.
Feedback and Follow-Up Support
Effective learning does not end at the completion of the training program. Continuous feedback and follow-up support play an essential role in the surgeon’s ongoing development. Prospective trainees should look for programs that offer:
- Regular evaluation and personalized feedback during the course.
- Access to training resources and updates post-training.
- Opportunities for alumni to engage in refresher courses or advanced training sessions.
Selecting a program that fostains a supportive learning environment and encourages continual professional growth is key.
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rapidfly369 · 3 months ago
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SBI Clerk Preparation Tips
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Finding SBI clerk preparation tips is difficult because the SBI Clerk exam is one of the banking sector’s toughest competitive exams, applied to thousands of aspirants each year. It provides an entry point for candidates aspiring to a winning career in banking. However, with consistent effort, rending the exam becomes an achievable goal. This guide will walk you through must-have preparation tips that will help you direct your journey and make sure you’re well-prepared to approach the challenges of the SBI Clerk exam. The exam is managed in two phases: Preliminary Exam: This is an eligible exam that tests your basic knowledge. The total time assigned is 60 minutes. Main Exam: Those who clear the preliminary exam pass the Main exam. The period is 160 minutes.
SBI Clerk Exam Preparation Tips For Success
SBI Clerk preparation Tips Starts From Keep up to Date Yourself with the Exam Pattern
Effective preparation starts with a thorough understanding of the exam syllabus. Before you start studying, could you take the time to look over each section’s format? This will give you a clear view of what to expect on exam day and help you identify which areas need the most focus. By breaking down the syllabus to understand the credit of a topic, you can categorize your study deeds more productively.
Develop a Personalized Study Schedule
Creating a study schedule customized to your strengths, weaknesses, and daily routine is essential for regular preparation. Instead of following a generic plan, craft a timetable that suits your learning pace and availability. Begin by allocating more time to subjects or topics where you feel less confident while ensuring that stronger areas are consistently revised to maintain proficiency. Incorporate weekly goals to track your progress and adjust your schedule as need
Master the Fundamentals
For beginners, establishing a strong grasp of the basics is crucial. These subjects require a clear comprehension of basic principles like arithmetic operations, algebra, and logical reasoning. Start with simple works and gradually increase the difficulty level as you become more comfortable with the material. Utilize standard textbooks or online resources to pick up your foundational knowledge. In the English section, focus on grammar rules, building vocabulary, and improving reading comprehension skills.
Practice Regularly
Practice is the key to cracking the SBI Clerk bank exam. Orderly practice helps you get familiar with the types of questions asked and improves your speed and accuracy. Clear up previous years’ question papers, take mock tests, and practice online quizzes. This will not only help you manage your time better but also boost your confidence.
Time Management
Time management is necessary for the SBI Clerk exam, where you have limited time for each section. Practice answering questions within the time border to adapt to the exam’s pressure. Use techniques like skimming in the English section and shortcuts in Quantitative Aptitude to save time. During your preparation, simulate exam conditions by timing your practice sessions.
Join a Coaching Institute or Online Coaching
While self-study is important, joining a coaching institute or enrolling in an online bank coaching center can provide additional guidance. These institutions offer structured learning, expert tips, and regular mock tests that can significantly enhance your preparation. If you’re looking for flexibility, an online bank coaching center might be the best option. They provide the same quality of education with the convenience of learning from anywhere.
Target Your Weaknesses
Identifying your weak areas early on in your preparation is needed for overall success. Spend extra time analyzing and practicing those areas where you consistently struggle, whether it’s a particular type of math problem, a tricky reasoning puzzle, or complex grammar rules in English. Break down these tough topics into smaller, manageable parts and focus on mastering each one individually. Constantly monitor your progress in these areas by testing yourself with mock exams.
Revise Regularly
Revision is crucial for retaining information. Regularly revising topics helps in consolidating your learning and ensures that you don’t forget what you have studied. Make short notes or flashcards for quick revision, especially for formulas, important points, and current affairs.
These are some of the most important SBI Clerk preparation tips. Success in the SBI Clerk bank exam is not just about hard work; it’s about working smartly. As a beginner, it’s important to approach your preparation specialized, building a strong base before diving into more advanced topics. Grasping resources like our bank coaching institutes can give you the additional edge needed to stand out. Each competitive exam needs a mix of knowledge, speed, and accuracy. Confirm you stay healthy, keep your mind clear, and confidently approach the exam. With determination and the right preparation strategy, you can reach your goal of becoming an SBI Clerk.
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treeremovalpensacola · 11 months ago
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Grow with Grunder: Improve the culture at your company with open book management
If you're in the Pensacola area, then you have probably already experienced the need for having to remove a tree or stump or getting your tree's trimmed. The cost of tree removal varies depending on a few factors, such as: - The type of tree that needs to be removed - The size of the tree - The location of the tree - The condition of the tree Pensacola Tree Removal offers competitive pricing for our tree removal services. For a full list of services Tree removal services visit Tree removal service in Pensacola for a fast, friendly and reliable quote that you can count on. This will help not only beautify your property but also is the safest way to do it. (Photo: Credit: olm26250 / iStock / Getty Images Plus / Getty Images) Transparency with our entire team at Grunder Landscaping Co. (GLC) has been something that has dramatically improved our company culture since we implemented what we call our monthly Grow Meeting. As part of this meeting, we share financial information, key performance indicators, and plans and goals with our team. Sharing information with your team can be intimidating. We want the team to be informed, but we also want them to understand how they can impact the metrics they’re seeing. If we share every metric we have, we risk confusing the team on priorities and overwhelming the team with information that might not be actionable. So, we prioritize sharing: Plans for the Future As leaders, we’re at the front of the bus. We can see where we’re headed because we have a good view of the road ahead. We share our plans for what is coming so that our team can see what opportunities we may have for them as we continue to grow. We want our team to be excited about our growth, and that’s only possible if they know what’s coming. Metrics that They Impact We share metrics with the team during this meeting, but we focus on the ones that are simple to understand and that the entire team has an impact on. We have dials set up on our dashboards that track our team’s progress on the metrics our production and admin team’s bonus is tied to, onsite time and direct labor hours. We take the time to explain how this bonus program works to our team, and they understand how the work they do each day impacts if they get a bonus and what amount they might receive. Internal Opportunities If we have any job openings, we share them internally first. Our team members may be interested in applying for a lateral move or promotion, or they may know someone who would be a fit for the job we have. It’s difficult to decide how much information to share, and many leadership teams fear that the information they share may be used against them if a team member leaves. At Grow! 2024 on Feb. 6-8, 2024 in Des Moines, Iowa. Seth Pflum, GLC’s President & COO, will share how he has led the charge on creating these meetings, how he decides what information to share with the team and what he’s done to make the information we do share easy for the entire team to understand. It’ll be a great breakout session for anyone looking for ideas on how to share information to make their teams more efficient and engaged. The post Grow with Grunder: Improve the culture at your company with open book management first appeared on Landscape Management.
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f1 · 1 year ago
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Ocon: Stroll didnt deserve a penalty for impeding me in qualifying | 2023 Canadian Grand Prix
Esteban Ocon defended Lance Stroll, who was penalised for impeding the Alpine driver during qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix. The pair encountered each other during Q2 when the track was temporarily dry enough for slick tyres. Both had put the soft compound on and Ocon caught Stroll at the exit of turn six. Stroll refused to move from the dry line to let Ocon by and held him up at the following chicane before the Alpine passed him. Ocon reported Stroll on his radio, telling his race engineer Joch Peckett: “Impeding there.” However speaking after qualifying, before Stroll’s penalty was announced, Ocon sympathised with his rival’s situation. “Obviously that didn’t have any impact on my end result,” said Ocon. “I went through to Q3, it was enough.” “It’s super-difficult moments in qualifying where were go on slick tyres,” he explained. “If you go in the water, you’re going to go off the next corner. It is a difficult one. So I hope he doesn’t get penalised.” Stroll told the stewards he had to stay on the dry line because he was on slicks. However they ruled “the team did make him aware of the closeness of car 31 and it is our view that he could have reduced speed on the straight between turns seven and eight and allowed car 31 past.” They ruled Stroll “unnecessarily impeded” Ocon and gave him a three-place grid penalty. While Stroll was eliminated in Q2, Ocon claimed sixth on the grid. He was thrilled with the result after a “very crazy session” and the setback he suffered when his car stopped with a loss of water pressure during the only useful practice session of the day. Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free “It was constantly changing conditions and very well-managed from everyone, from my side and from the team’s side as well,” said Ocon. “Super-pleased with all the calls.” Ocon pointed out his stoppage in extra practice put him at an added disadvantage as it left him unable to claim an extra set of intermediate tyres on Saturday. “What has been super-difficult is our preparation for this weekend. We had this engine problem so we didn’t have much running and that hit into our strategy for qualifying because we didn’t have any extra intermediate sets. So I couldn’t really run this morning, couldn’t get a feel for the car, just did a lap basically, and I had to use that set again in qualifying. “So we started with a bullet in the foot, but we’ve managed super-well and I can’t be happier than getting Q3 first and being in P6 after such a difficult rest of the weekend because I think we were 18th and 19th the whole way before qualifying today. So really, really well done from everyone.” Become a RaceFans Supporter RaceFans is run thanks in part to the generous support of its readers. By contributing £1 per month or £12 per year (or the same in whichever currency you use) you can help cover the costs of creating, hosting and developing RaceFans today and in the future. Become a RaceFans Supporter today and browse the site ad-free. Sign up or find out more via the links below: Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free 2023 Canadian Grand Prix Browse all 2023 Canadian Grand Prix articles via RaceFans - Independent Motorsport Coverage https://www.racefans.net/
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sbknews · 2 years ago
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Bulega quickest on the opening day of the Motul Indonesian Round
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Nicolo Bulega topped both Free Practice session as he set his fastest time in FP2, improving by more than 3s his morning time. Can Oncu concluded Friday in second place just 0.024s off Bulega. 0.046s behind Bulega is Niki Tuuli in third place, it’s his first-time racing at Mandalika with Triumph. The times tumbled during the FIM Supersport World Championship as Free Practice 2 concluded during the Motul Indonesian Round at the Pertamina Mandalika International Street Circuit as riders found several seconds between FP1 and FP2. All riders improved their time in the second session with Championship leader Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) fastest in the combined classification with the top four riders separated by less than a tenth. Bulega’s best time of the day was a 1’36.705s to end Friday on top as he looks to continue his winning run in WorldSSP having won the first two races of 2023. He was 0.024s clear of Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) in second place after he posted a 1’36.729s. Finnish rider Niki Tuuli (Dynavolt Triumph), a race winner here in 2022 when with MV Agusta, was third and only 0.046s. German rookie Marcel Schroetter (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) took fourth spot with a gap of only 0.079s to Bulega, while Stefano Manzi (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) was fifth at the end of the day’s running despite a Turn 16 crash with just over 10 minutes in FP2 to go in the session. It meant that five of the six manufacturers competing in 2023 were represented in the top five. Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) had been competing for top spot but dropped down the order to sixth place, and only 0.173s down on Bulega, while Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing Team) was seventh. Caricasulo was 0.266s down on Bulega’s time and had his FP2 disrupted in the final seven minutes after a Turn 2 crash. WorldSSP action resumes on Saturday with the Tissot Superpole from 09:55 (Local Time), followed Race 1 at 12:00.
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WorldSSP Combined Results after FP2 1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) 1’36.705s 2. Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) +0.024s 3. Niki Tuuli (Dynavolt Triumph) +0.046s 4. Marcel Schroetter (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) +0.079s 5. Stefano Manzi (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) +0.161s 6. Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) +0.173s
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P1 | Nicolo Bulega | Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team | 1'36.705s "I started this morning in a good way. I felt good with the bike ... not 100% like in Australia but the feeling is not so bad. We need to improve the bike for tomorrow as we're struggling a bit more compared to Australia because of the high temperature. We need to improve the braking because when I'm braking, I can feel the rear sliding too much. I think today, the track was difficult because there was a lot of sand on the asphalt, but the track conditions were much better in FP2. I think tomorrow the track conditions will be much better, and it will also be our second day here so everyone will be faster, but I will try to do my best as always." For more info checkout our dedicated World Supersport News page superbike-news.co.uk/world-supersport/ Or visit the official World Superbike website worldsbk.com Read the full article
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zwellness · 2 years ago
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Alcohol Addiction Treatment Options
Alcoholism is a chronic disease that can ruin friendships, families, and personal lives. It’s also the leading cause of preventable death in America. Alcoholism affects about two percent of the population, which equates to roughly 17 million Americans who struggle with this chronic condition. That said, there are many different treatment options available for those who need help overcoming their addiction. In this article, we’ll discuss what alcohol addiction is, various forms of alcohol addiction treatment, as well as resources for further research and information on alcohol addiction programs.
What is alcohol addiction?
People with alcohol addiction experience strong cravings for alcohol. They may also experience physical withdrawal symptoms when they try to stop drinking all together. Alcoholism is a disease that, over time, has many effects on the body and mind. Alcoholism has a big impact on the brain and can cause things like memory loss and confusion. Alcoholism is also associated with risky behaviors and physical health problems like high blood pressure and liver problems. Alcoholism also puts other people at risk because people with alcohol addiction are at higher risk of accidents and risky behaviors.
Intensive inpatient treatment
If you have a problem with alcohol, inpatient treatment is the best option for you. Inpatient treatment is a short-term program that lasts for a few weeks to a month. During this time, you’ll receive therapy sessions, counseling, and other therapies. You’ll also receive meals and be under close supervision by staff and/or other patients. Some inpatient programs allow you to bring your family or friends so they can be close to you during this process.
Outpatient treatment
Many people with alcohol use disorder can get along just fine with a drink or two. However, for some, moderate use leads to more serious problems. This is where outpatient treatment comes into play. An outpatient program allows you to receive treatment for your alcohol addiction outside of a clinical setting. This means you can receive care from a therapist or counselor at your home, place of work, or a friend’s home. With outpatient treatment you’ll get the same amount of therapy and counseling as you would in an inpatient setting, but you’ll receive it in a less structured environment. This means you can have a more open dialogue with your therapist and they don’t have to follow strict rules while they’re with you.
Long-term recovery support program
If you or someone you know is in a recovery support program, then you know the importance of long-term recovery. This is a program that helps you build on the progress you made in recovery and stay sober. The first year of recovery is critical and it can be difficult to stay on track. There are a lot of things that can make it challenging to stay sober, like relapsing, job pressure, relationship stress, and financial stress. A recovery support program can help you navigate these challenges and stay on track. If you’re a new person to recovery or you need help maintaining sobriety, a recovery support program can be a good choice. A recovery support program provides the same kind of support as a long-term recovery program, but it’s aimed at helping someone who’s just starting recovery.
Organizations and Self-Help Groups for Alcoholics
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is the most well-known 12-step program for alcohol addiction. In fact, it was founded in the 1930s by a group of men and women who struggled with alcoholism. Not only is AA an effective treatment program for alcohol addiction, it’s also a great support system for those who want to recover. You can join one of these groups to meet other people who are also trying to overcome alcohol addiction. You can also find AA meetings throughout your city or state. You can also try online meetings to meet like-minded people who live in different parts of the country or the world. Social support groups can also be helpful when trying to overcome an addiction. These kinds of groups are like online support groups that meet in person; you can meet with others in your area who struggle with the same issues you do. And like online support groups, you can find local support groups online.
Possible Causes of Alcoholism
The precise causes of alcoholism are unknown. However, research on genetic factors suggests that some people are more likely to develop alcoholism than others. Alcoholism is usually a disease that develops over time. However, it’s also possible to become an alcoholic rapidly.
Signs of Alcoholism in Adults and Teens
Signs you might have alcoholism include having difficulties with work, school, or relationships because of drinking alcohol. You’ll also have a difficult time stopping drinking if you’re addicted to alcohol. If you’re struggling with alcoholism, you may also find yourself engaging in risky behaviors to get alcohol. For example, you might get into fights, drive while drunk, or drink and drive. You might also find that you can’t control how much you drink, so you may need to drink at home or with friends to avoid being caught drinking by your parents.
Help for People with Alcohol Addiction
When people think about help for alcohol addiction, they often think about 12-step programs and inpatient/outpatient treatment options. These are great options, but there are other resources too. For example, there are self-help groups for alcoholics, support groups for family members of alcoholics, and resources for people who have a history of substance abuse in their families. You can also try things like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), a type of therapy that helps people identify and change negative thinking patterns.
Conclusion
Alcoholism is a serious, life-threatening condition that affects many people. It’s important that you get help if you have a drinking problem. There are many treatment options available, and it’s important to find one that works well for you. If you struggle with alcoholism, getting help is the best thing you can do for yourself and your loved ones. Alcohol addiction is a serious condition that can wreck lives and ruin relationships. It’s also a disease that can be overcome with treatment.
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metapianycist · 3 years ago
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oop, i got back on my adhd meds but never reinstalled tumblr because several other things happened one after another, including but not limited to my hair thinning due to T, my health becoming more complicated in several ways, and my firing a therapist.
this was my first time firing a therapist for the reason of the therapist not understanding autism, after two sessions. my first time actually firing a therapist, period. (i had a therapist a decade ago who was unsupportive of my wanting to pursue autism evaluation, and accused me of wanting to collect diagnoses, but i never officially fired him; i just stopped going to sessions. my next therapist, who knew multiple autistic adults in a non-therapy context, immediately recognized me as autistic at the first session.)
so this time. my new therapist was treating my communication difficulties as if they could be solved by being more confident, when my issues are pragmatic. no amount of confidence will tell me when it's my turn to talk, or result in my not saying something insensitive or leaving out important details (because keeping track of other people's mental states during conversation is quite difficult).
he was giving me unsolicited parenting advice to "assert myself as a parent" (based on assuming my toddler was doing something to deliberately annoy us rather than because of a relevant and recently-diagnosed skill deficit) and getting defensive about it when i said "that won't work."
he said "why don't you just" and did not want to listen when i tried to explain that i cannot "just" (because there were too many steps in his suggestion to hold in my mind at once).
and he disapproved of my desire to tell future medical specialists that restrictive dieting and weight loss are not things i am willing to attempt and that i want them to offer the same treatment options to me that they'd suggest to a thin person with my condition. i'd brought this up in the context of communication issues and anxiety i have when advocating for myself to doctors. this really messed me up because he wasn't thin and I'd expected at least that he'd believe me that having concerns about medical weight bias, when every medical record about me highlights my BMI as a problem, were rational. (and perhaps you shouldn't tell a client with an eating disorder history that they're not allowed to tell a doctor "dieting and weight loss are not treatments i am interested in"??)
anyway, i explained what happened to another person in the clinic and though i framed it as a bad match, i gave enough information that the clinic could conclude that this therapist was out of line wrt to eating disorders if they wanted to independently pursue any kind of disciplinary action. i didn't want to go through the effort of making a grievance myself, i just wanted a therapist who understands how autistic people's anxiety is different from, and needs different approaches than, the anxiety of someone whose only neurodivergence is depression and anxiety.
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queerbrujas · 4 years ago
Text
then it vanished away from my hands (part two)
pairing: nate sewell x eva navarro word count: 3.6k for this chapter (6.1k total so far) rating: T warnings: same as before, lots of angst and this won’t have a happy ending
part one | part three | read on ao3
The mutation in her blood was not known to inhibit physical abilities. None of the studies had indicated even the slightest possibility of immunity to vampire venom.
once again thanks to @crowsintheisland for the text post that inspired this entire fic—and uh, i’m sorry?
part two: everything that’s under my skin
The transition can last anywhere from twenty minutes to several hours.
The exact duration is impossible to predict with certainty, as is the intensity of the pain she will endure, or the extent of the physical transformation.
(She has now heard all about Nate’s, how extreme it was—the worst the Agency has known since its establishment.
But things are easier now than they were three centuries ago, in the middle of the ocean, with… with everything that happened to him.
Things are easier.
There are substances that can dull the pain, if not counter it entirely. There are measures in place to make this go as smoothly as it possibly can. She will not have to suffer like he did.
Not least of all because she is choosing this.
That is a difference.)
Once the transition is complete and deemed successful, she will, in all likelihood, pass out from exhaustion. Nearly everyone does.
(Nearly everyone, of the ones who survive.)
She will then stay at the facility overnight, under observation until her condition becomes stable.
In addition to any of the common complications that might arise from the process itself, she will be monitored for out of control, violent tendencies upon reawakening (this is not a rare occurrence among the newly turned, she has been told), or for any unexpected reactions her blood might have to the vampire venom.
This will be the most difficult, painful period. Anything that touches her skin will feel like sandpaper. The slightest sound will be too loud.
There will be screaming. Thrashing. She will want to tear her skin apart and climb out of her body.
(A body she may or may not recognize anymore.)
This is expected.
And there will be the hunger. She will have to learn to live with this. Control it.
Over the next few days, her senses will stabilize. It will still be painful, and it will take much longer to learn to dampen them if she so chooses—but she will learn to function despite the pain. It will be a dull, constant ache she will grow used to.
She will then be reintroduced to people other than Agency medical staff.
Nate will be first. His presence is likely to be the only one she will be able to tolerate at this point.
(He will not be allowed to see her before this. This is for the best.)
Then the others.
Morgan.
Adam.
Farah.
In that order.
Then Rebecca.
(Because she is Agent Rebecca Navarro, the handler of Unit Bravo. Not because she is Rebecca-comma-her-mother.)
Her first feeding will be supervised, once again, by specialized staff.
It will not be human blood, not the first time.
Human blood is too intense, too flavorful, and it risks overwhelming her already fragile senses. It will give better results for her to work her way up to it over a period of time.
(She wonders who was the first to arrive at this conclusion, and how they had done so, but this has been Agency policy for at least a hundred years.)
Then, later, there will be tests.
Her blood will be studied again, analyzed for the way its unique composition might have changed or been influenced by the turning process. To assess if it retains any of its special properties, or if it is now indistinguishable from that of a regular vampire.
Eventually, she will be allowed to leave the Facility, and move back to the Warehouse.
She will meet with the fae counselor again. Twice a week, at first, then once weekly. This will continue for the next few months.
Once they deem it appropriate, she will be cleared to go on missions again.
Things will continue as normal.
With Eva finally, fully, a part of this world she has had a foot in for years now.
These are the things Eva had been prepared for.
The things she had researched, been informed of, agreed to. This is how things were supposed to go.
(Everything had been outlined in the paperwork she had signed, laid out for her in meetings and sessions the minute she had formally expressed her wish to turn.)
These are not the things that happened.
What did happen is something that has never, for as long as the Agency has had records (and the Agency has records dating back a very, very long time), happened before.
Failed supernatural turnings happen all the time, even under the supervision of the Agency.
Bad reactions to the venom, to the bite. People who are not strong enough, physically or mentally or emotionally.
People who are simply unlucky. It happens.
The strain of the process has claimed many lives.
The Agency tries to minimize the risk with all their prior assessments, but the odds are still not, never, favorable ones.
Eva knows this—this is what she agreed to.
In the end, it was a simple matter of probability—a 50%, 60%, 70% chance of death was always better than the eventual 100%.
(Always better than the knowledge that she would eventually waste away, and that her family—that Nate, her Nate—would have to watch. That she would have to see the already very obvious gap between them grow wider and wider with each passing year.)
It was the only thing that mattered that she had a chance, rather than none at all.
All or nothing.
This is what she agreed to.
But it has never happened before, for as long as the Agency has records, that the bite of a vampire, with the intent and the ability to turn, has absolutely no effect on the person who receives it.
No transformation.
No pain.
Nothing.
Eva’s blood has been studied in as much depth, its properties determined with as much precision and certainty, as the Agency’s technology and reagents have allowed.
The results have been—had been—deemed conclusive.
She was found to be immune to pheromones of all types, siren song, aura reading, precognition, tracking abilities, mood amplifiers.
All of this she has experienced firsthand during missions.
She is not immune to toxins, poisons, spores, paralyzing agents, venoms, or magically inflicted conditions.
This she has also experienced firsthand.
The mutation in her blood was not known to inhibit physical abilities. None of the studies had indicated even the slightest possibility of immunity to vampire venom.
And yet.
And yet. Here she is.
A still-bleeding bite on her neck.
Still human.
That night, she does not sleep.
She stays at the facility overnight, as she was meant to.
For very different reasons than she was meant to.
No one knows how to react to what has happened, Eva least of all, so she does the only thing she can trust herself to do: try to find an explanation, a solution.
Something that will allow her to move forward.
The medical staff is just as bewildered as she is, almost as eager to find out why it didn’t work.
There are more tests.
There will need to be more tests, later.
More studies, things they had measured before that will need to be measured again.
Her blood is drawn, sent for quick analysis.
There is no trace of venom in it.
It shouldn’t have disappeared so quickly. It shouldn’t have disappeared at all.
It makes no sense.
Nate is as panicked as she is forcing herself not to be.
(He has never done well under stress. This, too, has not changed.)
There is that tightness to his mouth, that slightly more forceful way he shoves his hands in his pockets.
It is so easy to revert to old habits. Especially ones that are hundreds of years old.
He tells her she should sleep, tells her they can work this out in the morning.
(Tries to soothe her when all she wants is to solve this.)
This was not part of the plan. Her hands are shaking.
Nate takes them in his—unsteady as he is right now, the contact helps. It always does.
He is probably right: it makes no difference to have the tests carried out at three or eight in the morning. But it is about the feeling of activity as much as it is about activity itself, and if she stands still she might go mad.
Too often she falls into action as a replacement for feeling.
It is so easy to revert to old habits. Even if they are not hundreds of years old.
She takes a deep breath. Lets Nate’s proximity ease her a little.
Nate is right.
She will—they will—figure this out.
It will work out.
It has to.
Over the following weeks, once the initial wave of panic subsides, Eva falls into a routine.
She does not have obligations to the station or to Wayhaven anymore, so she dedicates herself entirely to the Agency.
Unit Bravo is still sent on missions. She is still expected to take part in them, as she was before.
Her life at the Warehouse continues much the same as it was. With Nate, with the others.
She has always been good at compartmentalizing.
Every moment she does not spend with them, however, is now spent at the Facility, in the lab, meeting with doctors and scientists.
She doubles down on the research she had already begun to specialize in: supernatural biology was always going to be her field of study, a chance to put her skills and previous knowledge to far, far more use than she had ever managed as an officer, as a detective. From the moment the Agency started to trust her she had requested to be kept up to date on findings and developments, had requested permission to be included in research programs—to varying levels of success—and spent much of her free time studying what was already known.
(There had been many long, comfortable evenings spent with Nate in his library, reading treatises and books she still couldn’t believe ever made it to regular, human publication. He’d laughed softly when she’d brought that up, once, as she lay on the couch with her head resting on his lap.
“I mean it,” she said, sitting up with a half-laugh of her own. She’d been reading a tome from the early 20th century that detailed the regeneration abilities of phoenixes. “How did anyone take this seriously enough to publish?” She turned the book to look at the cover again. “And this was a regular publishing house.”
That, in turn, led to a fascinating conversation about humans’ tendency to ignore anything that disrupted their worldview too much, and the extent to which the Agency had in fact been connected to that “regular publishing house”, and how Nate knew the person responsible for the publication of that specific book.
The amount of actual studying she managed during those evenings always varied.)
Her newly acquired clearance now grants her access to tests and studies that she can sign off on herself, that she doesn’t need to request from Rebecca (or from anyone) with the hope that they’ll be approved.
Old habits come back, forgotten from her days at university, from a different life. She finds herself slipping into the same rhythm she had been so comfortable with, once—but there is a strange calmness to it even underneath her fevered, focused drive; something soothing about losing herself in slides and results and research.
This is what she had wanted, years ago, before the police, before Bobby. This is exactly what she had wanted.
She has so much of what she had always wanted.
And yet underneath that feeling, there is something else that is slowly, very slowly growing.
Very slowly taking root.
She does not look at it.
She does not think about it.
(Please don’t let it be taken away.)
She does not think about it.
She keeps herself busy.
When the Agency clears it, she contacts Verda again.
Eva knows he still has the blood test results from the Murphy case, from Janet Greenland. His research led nowhere, but it remained untouched.
He’s happy to hear from her—asks about her new job. She tells him she’s working in a lab that would make him jealous, would make even the City people jealous. She makes a joke about the Agency’s budget; he laughs.
It’s so easy.
(She is glad to hear his voice, and she asks with genuine interest about Eric and Cara and Lacey—they are doing wonderfully; little Lacey just had her birthday—but it is still so, so easy to lie.)
It is just as easy to convince him to send her his findings. The Agency, it turns out, is a wonderful excuse for pretty much anything, and he is all too happy to help her.
It ends up being yet another dead end. Janet Greenland’s blood had the same properties as her own, and Verda’s analyses say far less than the Agency’s.
There is nothing new in them, nothing Eva didn’t already know.
Another closed door.
(And that feeling is still there. Roots and vines spreading within her.)
It has been months.
She is no closer to finding a solution now than she was then: every door closes as soon as it opens. There had been another attempt—a different vampire, an Agency representative she didn’t know—it didn’t matter, it still didn’t work.
There have been tests and studies and even the possibility of turning into a different kind of supernatural—nothing, nothing. Nothing seems to lead anywhere.
It has been months, and she is too aware, too painfully aware in a way that she can’t ignore that months easily turn into years and she is not thirty years old anymore, has not been for a while.
It has been months and the roots and vines that grow within her have taken hold, have reached her throat. That thought is still there, that feeling.
She wakes up in the middle of the night and she can’t breathe.
It takes a terrifying, delirious moment to realize she is in her room—
(in their room, hers and Nate’s, their room in the Warehouse)
(and she’s not sure what she was dreaming except that she is left with that feeling of being on the edge of an abyss, of being about to fall)
—and Nate is there, he is always there, warm hands and strong arms and he is holding her against him, whispering into her ear—in languages she does not know but which have become familiar to her because they are his—until she can breathe again.
He whispers to her in Spanish, too, and in the middle of the night, lost as she feels, it hurts.
Hurts in the full, aching way his love has always hurt, in the way that makes the unshed tears of years past want to finally fall.
They don’t.
She blinks them away, buries her face in the crook of his neck.
“Jaan, love,” he says later, later, after her breathing has settled. His voice is all concern, all sweet care, spoken against her hair. “Sleep.”
He knows he won’t get her to talk, not when she is like this. He has learned her moods and her disposition, knows them better than she herself does. But she hasn’t slept through a night in weeks, and the worry in his voice mirrors the way his hands trace shapes on her skin, warm, soothing.
She doesn’t respond.
“I will figure this out,” she says instead. I have to, she doesn’t say.
She doesn’t look at him.
She’s not sure, really, if she’s saying it to Nate or if she’s saying it to herself.
He draws back, puts the smallest amount of space between them. Hooks a finger under her chin, tilts her head up so she can meet his eyes.
God, those eyes.
Those eyes have always been her undoing.
The purest, darkest brown (and she can’t see well enough now in the low light of their room, but she doesn’t need to, she knows them by heart, could bring them to mind at any moment—there is an even darker ring around the iris, long dark lashes framing them), warm and blazing in a way that stirs her alive.
“Eva,” he says, simply (and yet not, because there is nothing simple about her name in his mouth). It pulls her back from her thoughts, as it always has, as it always does.
(It’s in the way he says it. He has always said it the way it’s meant to be said, the way very few people in her life ever have. The subtle inflections of his accent shape themselves around it instead of forcing it into a different sound and those two syllables have never sounded so right as they do when he says them.
The name of a person you love is more than language. She’s not sure where it’s from. He quoted it to her once.
I summon you back by saying your nombre. This one she knows. It stings, in that same full, beautiful way.)
It’s too much.
His eyes and her name and his voice and his arms and the warmth of him around her and the vines in her throat. Too close. Too close.
Too much.
“I’m sorry,” she whispers.
Her voice cracks. She hates that it does.
Nate blinks, once, twice, before his frown deepens with even more concern and even more love and even more care.
Those are not words heard from her often or even at all. I apologize, if she needs to, if she feels it is warranted—reparations and actions but not this. Never this.
“What for, my love?”
I don’t know.
I’m sorry I’m falling apart.
I’m sorry I’m breaking down.
I’m sorry this is such a mess and I’m sorry I’m getting overwhelmed and I’m sorry I don’t know what to do and and and
Everything in her wants to push the words down.
So she drags them out of her throat.
Painful, painful, it has always been painful (it will never not be painful; her heart was not made for this) but it is pain she embraces, pain that comes from love and from feeling.
She would not, could not hide anything from him. Even if it means giving voice to that one thought that she has refused, refused to look at ever since she felt it make its home there.
Voicing it gives it shape.
Giving it shape makes it something that needs to be confronted.
(“I’ve cracked myself open for you and nothing has ever given me such pleasure,” she wrote once—it seems so long ago—in a letter she meant to give to him but never did. Finding the words, looking at the parts of herself that she hated—she wouldn’t have had a reason to do it were it not for the fact that she wanted him to know all of her.)
“I’m scared, Nate—I don’t know what to do, I’m fucking terrified. What if it doesn’t—what if I can’t—”
And she is sobbing now, words half-formed, tumbling out with the fear acknowledged.
And she knows he doesn’t want to hear this, she knows, it took so long to even have this conversation in the first place and it only happened because she’d been the one to push for it—
Nate holds her, and lets her cry.
“Whatever happens, you have me. You will always have me, I promise,” is the last thing she hears before she falls asleep again, exhausted, drained.
(She thinks he might be crying, too.)
Things are different, after that.
She feels���fragile.
Unmoored.
Finally, finally, the answer comes.
The results of those initial tests, the ones from years ago, the ones before Murphy—they provide the key.
It is not the mutation in her blood that is preventing the venom from working.
Her blood would, should be able to react to it.
Except—
Except that because of what Murphy did to her, half her blood is supernatural. Half the blood in her veins is vampire blood.
Only half.
Only the blood.
Her DNA remains unaltered, purely and uniquely human, but it's enough.
Enough for the venom to be absorbed without any effect or consequence, because vampire venom does not react with vampire blood.
Because supernaturals can't be turned into other supernaturals.
It’s conclusive, this time, (and trying to undo it would kill her, with such certainty that it is not even something that can be considered at all), and what a fucking joke it is—she would laugh if she weren’t so stunned, isn’t sure she doesn’t—she can never not be human because her body thinks it's already something else.
That feeling of dread that grew steadily with every closed door, with every negative result—it claws up her throat now. Spills out, nothing containing it anymore.
It was only a matter of time.
Her hands shake as she turns the key in the lock (and she catches a glimpse of the scar on her wrist and she almost screams) and she is fucking glad she kept the apartment in Wayhaven, now, as she shuts the door behind her and collapses to the floor, a wailing sound like a wounded animal's leaving her—
And then she is crying, sobbing on the floor of an empty apartment she hasn't been to in god knows how long, the palms of her hands pressed hard against her eyelids and still her mind is trying, trying, desperately reaching for any kind of solution, anything that will let her hold on to hope for just a little longer—
But there isn't one.
She knows there isn’t one and she can’t look away from it anymore.
Her whole life she has always found a way forward, a way out of everything; things have always worked out in the end, but this, this, this one time—
This one thing—
She can never be their equal.
This one thing that she wants—
That abyss between them that she had thought possible to bridge, had not thought she could not bridge will do nothing but grow wider and wider and wider until—
Shit.
Shit, shit, shit, shit.
What the fuck happens now?
How does she—?
Fuck.
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realtacuardach · 4 years ago
Text
Risk and Resolve
Here’s my entry for the final round of Obiyuki Trope Madness 2021, hosted by @snowwhite-andtheknight : Roaring Rampage of Rescue. And because I thought this would be clever, I decided to include the two tropes that didn’t make it out of the semi-finals, Anguished Declaration of Love and Almost Kiss. (Hopefully it worked...) It turned out a lot longer than I intended, 😅. I hope you enjoy!
...
Shirayuki kept her polite, professional smile firmly in place until the door closed with a distinct click behind her, then allowed herself to sag against the wood with an exhale.
A warm chuckle rumbled beside her. “Rough patient, Miss?” Obi was leaning against the wall with his usual coiled grace, smirking down at her.
Her smirk was ready as his, although probably a great deal more wearied. “No more than he has been for the past...month?”
“Five weeks, four days, and ten hours,” Obi replied glibly. “But who’s counting?”
He bent towards her to grab some sachets that were about to slip from her arms to the ground, and she took the chance to shove back the hair that had curved and matted against her sweaty forehead. “It shouldn’t be too much longer though, he’s through the worst of it.”
Not much could have wrested Shirayuki from her current work at Lyrias, but there was no way of refusing the summons of yet another minor lord who had insisted emphatically that his son needed the very best of care to recover from a sword wound that had nearly killed him twice - once from the initial blood loss, and then from the intense infection that had taken root in his exposed flesh. The infection had progressed to almost shutting down several of the young man’s organs, and Shirayuki had to admit that she had had intense pity for the man.
She would have had trouble refusing someone help in such a condition in any case, and Izana’s calculatedly casual comment that it would be good to keep this particular lord appeased sealed her decision.
“So far away, surrounded by dense forest, far from the cities,” he’d mused aloud. “It can be difficult to get decent medical care; it would be a shame to force Lord Shikaku to seek it elsewhere.”
Shirayuki’s sense of politics was developing, although a bit unpolished still, but she roughly translated that to mean, “He’s got a lot of land and he’s far from the capital where I can keep an eye on him. Better to have a favor binding me to him than risk him changing alliances.”
She’d mentioned that to Obi on their journey over, and he’d snorted and grinned at her. So she assumed that he agreed.
“How much more care do you think he’ll need, Miss?”
Shirayuki clicked her tongue in thought as she turned toward the wing where she and Obi had been given rooms. “Not more than a week, I’d say. Probably less. He’s able to walk now and his temperature has been mostly normal. He needs regular bouts of rest and exercise now, but probably not an herbalist.”
Obi glided into step beside her easily, and they made their way to their bedrooms in companionable silence. They were nearly at Shirayuki’s door when Obi spoke up. “Do you think they’ll let you leave without a fight?”
It was said almost as a joke, but Shirayuki heard the knowing tone in it and flushed. “Why wouldn’t they?”
Obi raised a brow, looking unimpressed and so similar to Kiki in that moment that Shirayuki wondered if he’d been taking lessons from her. “Miss,” he stated plainly, “you’ve seen how the...invalid...has reacted to you.”
Yes, she had. She wasn’t sure when the flushes of fever had begun to be replaced by blushes as she’d leaned over young Lord Gaki to check his pulse or examine his stitches. The glaze of fever in his eyes had given way to a more speculative glimmer that lingered too long where it shouldn’t. “It’s common enough,” she replied, almost more to herself than to Obi, “for patients to develop attachment-”
Obi coughed something that sounded a lot like attraction.
Shirayuki ignored it. “Attachments to the people who nurse them back to health. I’m sure it’s harmless.”
Obi exhaled heavily through his nose. “If you say so, Miss.” He popped his shoulder and groaned appreciatively.
“And I’m sure he won’t touch me ag-”
She had meant it to be a murmur under her breath, a simple release of frustration from having to keep a professional mask plastered on her face all day around a young lord who was getting increasingly tactile. She hadn’t meant for Obi to hear her, expecting her voice to be lost in the popping of joints and creaking of leather.
She should have known better.
“He did what?”
“He touched,” she swallowed hard. Now that he knew, it was better to just get it over with. Obi was not likely to be distracted or dissuaded once he was on the track of something, “my hair. And my cheek, a little bit? But mostly my hair.”
“With your permission?” Obi gritted out in the tone of someone who already knew the answer.
“No.” Shirayuki sighed. “But it was a little thing, Obi, nothing to worry about.”
“Respectfully disagree, Miss,” he growled in response. “And Master would agree-”
He froze, a sheepish look overtaking his righteous indignation.
“It’s been almost a year,” she soothed. “You don’t need to get defensive on my behalf, Obi. You know that we both agreed that it was for the best - Zen and I are better as friends.”
Obi snorted. “He still wouldn’t like it, Miss. And what’s more, you clearly don’t.”
Shirayuki glared down at where her hands trembled and stilled them. “I can handle it.”
It looked like Obi wanted to argue the point, but then she yawned despite herself and he seemed to settle for pinching the bridge of his nose instead. “You can, but you shouldn’t have to.”
“Just a week more, if not sooner.” She smiled, hoping to reassure him.
He didn’t smile back, but his eyes softened and she took what small victory she could from that. “Just promise to tell me if he tries anything else. Please.”
“Of course!”
In the end, she didn’t have to tell him anything. Because he was there to witness everything.
Since the young lord’s wound had completely healed, and she was only treating its aftereffects, Shirayuki had taken to bringing Obi along with her during treatments. The man hadn’t touched her again, although he had made several attempts that she’d managed to artfully dodge. She already felt uneasy around him, and when she found the hot water bottle he’d squirreled away beneath his pillow to simulate fever, she knew it was far past time to go.
Obi had been silent as a statue behind her during the sessions where he was present, only speaking when prompted. But his presence had been enough to curtail any more...impertinences...from the young lord. Gaki had originally protested at the inclusion of another person during his treatments, but something in Obi’s expression had stuck him and he had conceded with ill grace.
When she pushed open the door for what she had insisted was the final session before she and Obi needed to return to Lyrias, she expected to find Gaki lounging in bed, sulking and flushed with indignation, as had become his custom. She had not expected for him to be out of bed and seated at his desk. She had not expected the bouquet of flowers placed in front of him. 
His father being there was also a surprise.
After the triple shock, the marriage proposal came almost as an afterthought. 
The situation was so absurd, she would have laughed if it wouldn’t have incited some sort of incident.
“I’m honored by your proposal, my lord,” Shirayuki began, having learned that nobles found sweet lies more palatable than bitter truths, “but I’m afraid I cannot accept it. I am needed back home.”
“Nonsense.” Gaki waved his hand in a way that infuriated her. “What could be more important than finding a good match?”
“My work,” Shirayuki replied, more flatly than intended. “I have responsibilities and people who need me back home. I again thank you for your proposal but must decline. I can’t marry you.”
“Why?” Gaki nearly yelped. “It is not as though you have any better prospects, now that the prince has thrown you over.”
That struck at a rawness still healing within her, even if it had been a mutual agreement between them rather than her being simply rejected. She did not mourn the lack of romance, she was herself with or without a man, but she did grieve the friendship that had once been so easy that was now in the tentative stages of repair.
She had half a mind to retort that someone like him could hardly desire a prince’s discarded plaything, but he would probably mistake her contempt for agreement.
Obi loomed closer to her then, his presence at her shoulder grounding her; warming, steadying, assuring. He picked up the conversation with a practiced courtly air. “We must take our leave, my lords. We have much to prepare for tomorrow.” He leaned down towards her, and she could see the concern glinting through his eyes. “If we may, milady.”
And maybe it was the reminder that her attachment to Zen, an attachment that had developed from a sturdy string connecting them to a ball and chain before it eventually broke down into pieces that she was still picking up, was no more. Maybe it was the relief of having Obi close by, as always. Or maybe it was how her traitorous heart skipped a beat as Obi’s breath curled over her ear as he leaned towards Lord Gaki.
Shirayuki could not pinpoint the cause, she could only hear how her breath hitched in the stifling silence.
Gaki’s eyes narrowed over his steepled fingers. “I see.”
Shirayuki’s heart stuttered. She had a feeling that the lords had indeed both seen too much.
The moon gleamed through her bedroom window as she awoke to the heavy pounding on her door. Years of caring for sick and injured patients had made her a light sleeper, and she slid out of bed and grabbed for her robe even before she was fully awake.
“Yes?” She croaked, pushing the door open to see a stony-faced guard.
“You are needed, Lady Shirayuki. Lord Shikaku says it’s quite urgent.”
Shirayuki frowned. This wouldn’t be the first time that his son had needed tending late at night, but that had been much earlier in his recovery. He had seemed well earlier, albeit ill-tempered.
Still, the guard’s stance brooked no argument, and Shirayuki followed in step behind him. Her sleep-dazed mind wondered where Obi was.
She was still surreptitiously blinking sleep out of her eyes as they arrived at the lord’s quarters. She found the lord and his son much as they had been earlier that day, although their smiles were distinctly less friendly.
“Yes, Lord Gaki? How can I help you?”
“Marry me.”
So much for flowery courtship, then. He’d discarded the more eloquent language of court and civility to come down to brass tacks. Typically, she preferred a more straightforward approach, but this only irritated her.
��No, I can’t.” She bit back the instinctive sorry that she didn’t mean. If he was struggling this much with simple responses, she’d stick to monosyllables from here on out. 
They would probably have to leave immediately now. She would feel more guilty about rousing Obi out of bed and getting them going far earlier than they’d planned, but she knew he was as eager to leave as she was if not more so.
Her eyes swept to the side. Where was Obi?
The lordling looked sour, and on the brink of spitting at her, when his father brandished an imperious hand to silence him. “Enough,” Lord Shikaku rumbled, “this is going nowhere.”
Shirayuki’s heart leapt at the prospect of someone in this place being sensible, but it quickly sank as the lord looked to the side and snapped his fingers.
A group of four guards came in from a side door, bearing someone between them who, despite being bound hand and foot, was giving them a hard time. They forced the figure into a kneeling position on the ground, and Shirayuki winced at the sharp crack of knees on the marble floor.
“Now, now,” Lord Shikaku crooned as he stepped closer to the kneeling figure, “is that really how you want your mistress to see you? Are you trying to make this more difficult?”
He wrenched off the hood covering the figure’s head and sneered down at him.
Obi shot him a searing glare.
The ill feeling Obi had been experiencing over the past week had only intensified after their supposedly final meeting with the lord and his son. Miss already knew his misgivings, and had shared she had some as well, so he hadn’t seen the point in alarming her with how strong they had become. But his instincts had been honed by years on the streets among mercenaries, on the battlefield among knights, and through navigating the tenuous, poisonous affairs of the cutthroat nobles at court. He had only ever ignored them at his peril, and it would be a fool’s move to do so now.
Still, arousing suspicion by making his own suspicion obvious would do Miss no good. So he played along with the guards when they summoned him later that evening for an impromptu meeting to discuss security measures. They had had meetings of the like before, especially when the brat noble was too busy being unconscious to harass his Miss and he’d had nothing better to do than stand around looking intimidating. 
But, given the currently icy state of affairs, the timing of the meeting was...unfortunate.
So he decided to go, but with both eyes wide open.
That they were going to a different room than they had for previous meetings was bad news. The fact that he was being almost shepherded along by the soldiers behind him was worse. But when the door was opened to reveal nothing but blackness, Obi knew he was in trouble. His eyes swept from side to side to assess what he could see, and he was able to react in time to block the attack from the soldier to his right. But that left him exposed to the blow to the back of his neck from the soldier on his left, and he stumbled into the darkness.
He was a top notch hand in a fair fight. He was even better when it came to an unfair fight, because he wasn’t afraid to fight dirty. But the lord here clearly wasn’t afraid to fight dirty either.
Even if he could see it would have been difficult- there were too many bodies, too little space, and his weapons had been yanked away from him after the first blow. He knew he wasn’t making it out of the room in one piece, so he resolved to take out as many as he could in the meantime.
They swarmed him in one great mob, which was unoriginal but effective. He kicked and swung and ducked and darted, sneering with satisfaction at the cries of pain as he connected with faces and limbs. They were cowards, just as much as their boss was a coward, and he felt no remorse.
He put up a good enough fight, but the sheer numbers on the enemy’s side eventually overcame his superior but solitary skill. The captor leading the way lit a lamp once Obi had been thoroughly trussed up, and Obi noted with grim satisfaction those sprawled on the ground who were clutching their wounds and groaning, at least until they covered his head with the hood.
These nobles are idiots, he thought to himself. Everyone here is crazy. Miss was in a relationship with one prince, she has a title granted her personally by another, and her skill is openly acknowledged by a king; so that’s three reasons to assume that someone would come looking for Miss. Or for me, he added sardonically. But we are far from the castle out here, and it would take a while for us to go for help. Besides, who knows what could happen between now and then…
He was being dragged into another room, and he could hear what sounded like his Miss. She sounded exasperated and irritated, but not fearful or in distress, which was reassuring.
He heard a snap, and his captors trotted forward like the obedient dogs they were. His knees crashed into the marble floor hard as they forced him to kneel, and he felt the reverberations lance through his legs. At least the pain was a temporary distraction from the lord’s ramblings.
Lord Shikaku flung the hood off Obi’s head with an almost theatrical flair, which would have made him roll his eyes if he wasn’t so busy glaring. Who is all the theatrical posing for? There’s no one to applaud you, you pompous-
“Let him go!”
Ah, right. That’s who you’re performing for.
Obi looked over in Miss’ direction and almost wished that he hadn’t. She looked horrified and furious and desperate. That look didn’t bode well for her, or for his ability to focus on the situation at hand. He blinked down the surge of highly distracting apprehension and glared up at the windbag.
“Please!”
Don’t try appealing to his better nature, Miss. He doesn’t have one.
“I’m sorry, Lady Shirayuki,” Shikaku leered. “But I can’t. This guard of yours took out twelve of my personal soldiers-”
-That was gratifying, he thought it had only been nine-
“-and so I can do with him as I like.”
Obi was pretty sure that legally, the lord didn’t have much of a leg to stand on with that point, given that the soldiers had ambushed him. But the man didn’t seem too interested in bothering with legal quibbles. Here, his word was law.
At least until Elder Highness finds out what he’s been up to and rips him a new one.
Izana didn’t have any patience for lords who thought they were above their station. Especially when his Miss got involved, much as the king had endeavored to keep that out of public knowledge.
Miss’ eyes swept over him briefly before returning to the lord, her gaze steely. “What do you want?”
Shikaku laughed. “I would think that is obvious. Marry my son, and your knave goes free. Refuse and, well…” He shrugged delicately.
Don’t do it, Miss. I’m not worth it.
She had to know that the lord wasn’t going to let him go regardless. If he let him go and kicked him out of the fortress, Obi would be able to go for help or storm the castle himself. And if he was free and allowed to remain, he would not hesitate to wreck everything in his path.
In the long run, this would not work out for the lord. But the damage wreaked in the short term could be devastating.
Looking up towards Miss, he could see the gears spinning and turning in her mind as she deliberated what she should do. She had to know that the situation was ridiculously, hopelessly skewed in the lord’s favor, but she also wouldn’t take the risk of putting someone in harm’s way.
Obi stared into her emerald eyes with all his strength. They’re not going to let me go, Miss. No matter what you do. Say no - it’ll buy you some more time -
“Fine.”
He wanted to sag in his bonds, but didn’t want to give the lord any satisfaction.
I’m so sorry, Miss. I’m going to make my escape, and then I’m getting you out of here.
Brushing her hands down the ridiculously puffy, ornate skirt of her dress, Shirayuki looked at herself in the mirror and made a moue of distaste. She looked farcical, like a tiny red cherry amidst clouds of filmy fabric.
Surprisingly, forcing a woman who did not want to get married into a wedding dress did not instantly make her change her mind. Shirayuki glared at the veil anchored to her head as though it had personally offended her, before forcing herself to focus on the real mission at hand. Rescuing Obi.
She hadn’t seen him since the ultimatum she’d been given a week ago, but she knew he was still alive. She had insisted on getting daily messages from him to ensure that the lord kept his end of their bargain, and his dry comments that hid bits of crucial information about the situation as it stood brought her the only joy she’d felt the whole week.
He’d smeared a little dirt on the second letter, which smelled faintly of iron and rock and staleness - so he was probably in the dungeons. He’d taken to nicknaming the guards who stayed with him, so she was pretty sure he was only being flanked by two guards at a time. With only two, they clearly didn’t know who they were dealing with, but she wasn’t complaining.
Sitting down at her vanity, Shirayuki began to systematically tear her veil into strips and wad them up. There are three floors to this castle, she reminded herself, and then the dungeon. I’m in the tower, because of course I am. So that’s four floors to go down. He’s sent most of the guards away to drum up local attendance for the wedding, so there’s less of them to deal with.
She started tearing the surplus skirts from the dress, and her hands fell into an almost soothing rhythm as she strengthened her resolve. Tear, wad, tie, set aside. When the bundles of cloth on her vanity were stacked nearly to the top of the mirror, she opened the vanity drawer where she had stored the mixture of opium, lard and disinfectant she had been using on the lordling, now laced with a healthy dose of arsenic. Smearing the mixture on the bolts of cloth, she grinned to herself. Really, they should have confiscated her herbs and ointments - but they had been systematically underestimating her from the start. They had thought that she would sit like a pretty doll until the lordling came to retrieve his new ornament. They thought that they could restrain Obi with just a handful of thugs. They thought that she would just cry pitifully in her hands, having been thwarted by masculine minds.
It would be almost a pleasure to show them how wrong they were.
Footsteps clicked just outside her door as she stuffed the last of her bundles into her bag. Tying the bag securely around her waist, she crept behind her closet door and listened.
The footsteps were coming closer.
“Ow!” She cried piteously. “My ankle!”
There was an oath and a frantic jangling of keys. A guard flung himself into the room, his eyes scanning the area desperately for his charge that had somehow gotten injured under his watch.
Shirayuki allowed herself a smirk as he walked past the closet, looking for her.
And then she pounced.
The guard outside the dungeon fell to his knees with a muffled sound, snoring before he even hit the ground. Shirayuki took a quick glimpse of the rag in her hand. Finally, she’d hit upon the perfect amount of sedative; some of the knights she’d left snoozing behind her had taken more than one bundle to subdue them, and others she’d had to check to make sure she hadn’t sent them into more permanent sleep.
She wondered if the lordling would appreciate the hallways full of unconscious knights she’d left as a wedding present. She doubted it.
Creeping through the dungeon, she could see light spilling through the bars of only one cell. She closed her hands around the next bundle of cloth and moved to peek through the bars.
Only Obi could look so unperturbed while being held by two guards who were clearly out for blood. Heaven only knew what he’d been saying to them for the past week. Only his eyes, which were clearly calculating, assessing, and planning, gave him away, and only because she knew him so well. She suspected that his guards were too oblivious to notice anything.
She bit the corner of her mouth in thought. The guard on the left appeared to be favoring his ankle. If she threw herself into his knee, that would probably be enough to give Obi the opportunity he -
“Hello, my lady.”
Her blood ran cold at the croak in her ear, and then her arms were forced behind her. She cursed herself.
Missed one.
“Looks like you have a visitor,” her captor creaked as he forced her into the cell.
For the first time, Obi looked genuinely worried and Shirayuki flinched. Guilt flooded her for a moment, along with an apology to Obi for getting them into this mess when they should have left the moment he started having suspicions. But she shoved it down for later, and began struggling in her captor’s hold.
Obi followed suit, straining to get to her, his face shuttering into a professional blankness as he pulled at his guards’ grip.
This is our only chance, she reminded herself as she twisted desperately. They’re not going to fall for it a second ti-
She heard a muffled curse behind her before a dull pain exploded at the back of her head, and then there was no more.
Being a damsel in distress was overrated, Obi had decided. His minders were boring, although fun to mess with, and the accommodations left something to be desired. With nothing else to do, he amused himself over the week by setting personal challenges on how quickly he could irritate Dumb and Dumber into leaving him alone. Yesterday, he’d reached a personal best of five minutes.
Besides that he’d just been busy observing. The guard shift changes stayed consistent and predictable - if he’d been sincere during any of their security meetings, he would have raised the issue a long time ago. Now, however, it worked to his advantage.
There were less guards today. Thanks to his usual shadows being gossipy old hens, he knew that the guard was lighter today since they were sending men out to draw people in for the wedding. It figured that the lordling would have so few friends that they’d have to drum up stand-ins; he wondered if news had already got back to Wistal. Elder Highness did have ears everywhere.
Which explains why they’re rushing this so much. Lord has some sense, I guess.
He craned to gauge the brightness of the light streaming through the cracks of the dungeon wall. Judging by the light, it would be about an hour before the next shift change, and the one guard with the limited vision in his left eye would be in charge. It would be the best time to get away. Then there would be only four floors between he and his Miss - they could probably get out through the window before the others figured out what happened, giving them enough of a head start to -
Two sets of hands grabbed him by the arms and hoisted him up, jarring his old shoulder injury. “Really, boys,” he dryly remarked, “if you wanted to hold me, all you had to do was ask.”
“Shut up.” Dumb growled. “You talk too much.”
“Such sweet words,” Obi sighed, batting his eyes and placing a hand to his heart, the manacles dully clanking, “you’ll turn a man’s head talking like that.”
Dumber made a disgusted noise at the back of his throat. “Just come on.”
“Where?”
“Going to give your lady some encouragement,” he grunted. “She’s shown signs of not following through with the deal.”
Obi’s mind clicked into higher gear. “And you’ll carry me to my lady? How gallant of you!”
Dumber managed to look even more disgusted. “Carry you?”
“You think I can walk up there like this?” Obi tilted his head towards his bound legs. “I’m good, but not that good. I’m flattered that you think so, though.”
In all actuality, he was that good, but they didn’t need to know that.
Dumb looked skeptical, but Dumber shrugged. “Fine. Don’t try anything funny.”
“Perish the thought.”
He would probably be laughing, but he could pretty much guarantee that they wouldn’t find it funny.
The key clicked, and he could feel the manacles falling from his ankles. There. So far, so good-
All three men turned towards where there was a scuffling outside the cell door. Obi frowned, that didn’t sound like the next guard. It sounded like - 
“Looks like you have a visitor,” a new guard croaked, and Obi’s blood froze as the familiar form of his Miss was manhandled into the cell.
He let his blood run hot for a moment in rage for her before rapidly discarding Escape Plans A and B from his mind. At this rate, they would have probably have to run with Plan F, which hadn’t been nearly as planned out as he would have liked.
Miss looked apologetic for a moment and then began struggling in earnest to get loose. Her captor looked dumbfounded at the fight in his spitfire Miss, and Obi let his pride in her spur his own attempts to break free, coiling like a spring, looking for weaknesses in their grip, planning to use his leg to sweep Dumb off his feet…
But then Miss’ guard made a mistake. He grunted out a curse in exasperation, reached for his sheathed sword, and slammed the hilt into the back of her head.
She slumped to the ground in a heap, and Obi saw red.
“Should you have done that?” One of the idiots holding him said, he didn’t care which. “Lord Shikaku will be mad at you for damaging-”
Through the wind rushing through Obi’s ears, he could just make out the bastard scoffing, “Her hair will cover it, he won’t even see the bruise.”
He hadn’t thought he could have been more angry. He was wrong.
The redness engulfed everything, and he feel more than hear his own bellow of rage as he dropped all the skills he’d honed over the years in favor of pure feral, animalistic fury.
He slammed Dumber into the ground, elbowing him sharply in the nose and feeling the break with satisfaction. Dumb squawked as Obi’s legs swept underneath him, only going silent when Obi shoved him into the wall. Free of two problems, Obi turned with fire in his eyes to the worst offender, who looked like he was finally realizing what hell he had just brought upon himself.
Obi leapt onto him like a panther, not feeling or caring how his prey clawed and scraped at his arms and side. He brought his arms which they had so thoughtfully left shackled around the scum’s neck, twisted the chain around his throat, and pulled. It was gratifying to see the redness darken to purple as the bastard went slack beneath him. He almost wanted to see if it was more gratifying to see him to go pale and lifeless, but stopped himself. He had more important things to worry about.
He pulled the discarded sword from the scabbard and slammed the links of his shackles against the blade until they gave way. Placing two fingers that trembled traitorously against her throat, he nearly cried when he felt her pulse. He scooped her up, held her close, and allowed himself a moment of weakness to feel her breath against his neck. Then he shifted her over his shoulders and began running.
He would have to applaud his Miss later for how efficiently she’d disposed of all the knights, he thought as he ran past the huddled bodies lining the corridor. None showed signs of waking yet, which meant he didn’t have to waste time being sneaky and lurking in the shadows.
They remained uninterrupted all the way through the castle and even out to the stables. The stablemaster was snoring heavily, his customary bottle of liquor empty beside him, and Obi deliberated whether or not he should take his horse. It would make the trek faster, but there was a limit to how quiet one could be when a horse’s hooves were involved.
It’s a shame, he thought as he watched his horse ride off, spurred by the sharp slap he’d given its flank, I really liked that horse. But it was too recognizable to ride, and would serve them better as a wild goose chase rather than as a means of escape.
He shifted her into a more secure place on his back and started his trek into the forest.
Obi made his way steadily but slowly through the trees, passing every now and then to listen if anyone had followed them. He hadn’t lost the ability to step lightly through the underbrush, for all that he felt that the good life at the castle had softened him. Even so, he didn’t want to take any more chances than they already had.
He also stopped from time to time to lie Miss down and check on her, to scavenge sustenance that they would eventually need from the trees, or to unearth bundles of supplies he’d paused to squirrel away as they had traveled to the lord’s estate the month before. The memory of the streets and the constant apprehension of when an open handshake could become a knife in the back had never left him, and so he liked to be ready, even now.
Miss had sometimes looked somber when he’d done this, but she never questioned it.
The sunlight streaming through the branches faded steadily as he trekked along, finally succumbing to the silver glow of the moon above. He settled somewhat, feeling more attuned to the night than the day, and he let his muscles loosen and savored the warmth soaking into his back from where his Miss was resting.
The moon was high above them when he felt her begin to stir. He stopped to place her against a tree, using her bag to pillow her head against the trunk.
“Obi?” She groaned, her hand reaching back to her bruise and wincing.
“Good to see you, Miss.”
“How long have I been out?”
Obi clicked his tongue in thought, leaning back on his haunches. “Ten, twelve hours. I wondered if you were ever going to wake up.”
He’d meant the tone to be teasing but he failed, given that her gaze went liquid and sad and soft. His heart throbbed in a way that was not helpful when he needed to remain focused.
“I’m sorry.”
“For what, Miss?” Obi smiled in what he hoped was a reassuring manner. “It’s not your fault that others find you so irresistible. Or that they don’t know the meaning of no.”
His jaw twinged in pain, and he’d realized his teeth were clenched. It never ceased to incense him how people would treat his Miss - like she was a trinket or a doll that didn’t have any feelings or dreams or desires of her own. She was more than that, so much more, so much that it made him hurt with awe, and -
The adrenaline was definitely fading, along with his focus.
“No,” Miss breathed, her fingers tracing the bruising along his wrists. “I’m sorry I got caught - I was so sure I’d done everything I could to pick the best time, but -”
“You did good, Miss,” he hastened to assure her. “I was thinking along the same lines - you just got a few hours’ lead on me. Don’t think I didn’t see your handiwork on the way out.”
She blushed, and he grinned. “That was impressive, Miss. That last guy was a surprise we both didn’t see coming.” He took a deep breath. “It’s not that much further to the main road, Miss, but we’re about to lose night cover. I don’t think we’ve been followed, but there’s a chance they’ll pick up the search in the morning.”
A look of determination spread across Miss’ face and she stood up, wobbling a little on her feet before bracing herself on the trunk. “We should get going, then.”
Obi popped his shoulders before standing up too. “Follow me, Miss.”
The dull pounding at the back of her neck didn’t show signs of going away soon, but Shirayuki didn’t have time to dwell on it. As they walked, she grew accustomed to how her vision would somehow double, twin Obis nearly colliding in front of her, and how the ground would occasionally tilt beneath her. She could steady herself, most of the time, and when she couldn’t, Obi would press an arm against her waist until she was ready once more. He’d asked her once if he wanted him to carry her, and saw enough in her expression to not ask again.
They were passing into a clearing as the sun rose over the trees, the light striking the river in front of them and dazzling her eyes almost painfully. She squinted and shielded her eyes, and nearly bumped into Obi, who had stopped in his tracks, tilting his head and narrowing his gaze.
She was about to ask what was the matter when he let out a low string of curses.
Then she heard it too, the sound growing louder and clearer.
Dogs.
“Of course, he’d be the kind of lord who has hunting dogs,” Obi gritted before indulging in another low oath. “Come on, Miss,” he said grimly. “We have to go.”
He scooped her up and ran along the banks of the river, craning his head in search of something. Shirayuki looked from side to side, ignoring how it made her head spin.
“What are you looking for?”
“Waterfall,” he grunted, preoccupied. “It should be right about -” He stopped, a satisfied smirk creasing his face. “There.”
Shirayuki followed his gaze to see the waterfall in question, a few hundred yards away. She held tight to his neck as he sprinted, nimbly avoiding the muddy parts of the bank. Once he got to the base of the waterfall, he splashed them both through the spray, Shirayuki only just managing to bite her lip to keep from yelping in shock from the cold water.
“Sorry, Miss,” he apologized, “but the water-”
She nodded. Will keep the dogs from following our scent. She remembered as much from his lessons.
Obi began making his way up the damp, rocky incline, shielded from view by the torrential spray of the water. Shirayuki gently pushed at his chest. “Put me down.”
Obi frowned at her as he obliged. “What?”
“It’ll be easier for you to lead the way if you don’t have to worry about dropping me.”
“I always worry about you, Miss.”
And if that didn’t just do things to her heart that she wished she had the luxury to savor, but were too distracting at the moment. She placed her hand on his elbow. “I’m fine, lead the way.”
Obi’s shoulders tensed, then released, before he started his way up the glistening rock face. They climbed higher and higher, hands and feet seeking purchase on the damp stone. The ache at the back of her neck grew, augmented by the brightness of the sun on the water, and the relentless pounding of the falls as they met the river.
Obi glanced back at her, his expression at once relieved and sympathetic. He tapped her shoulder twice, and then pointed to a wide shelf of rock jutting further out from the cliff face, although it was still shielded by the waterfall. He guided her up to the shelf before helping her ease down into a seated position leaning against the stone.
She must have looked like she was about to say something, because he placed a finger on his lips before curving his hand around his ear. Shirayuki leaned forward a little, straining to hear. With effort, she could hear the yells of men spurring the dogs on, the dogs barking and baying, the sounds of riding crops striking horseflesh.
Leaning against the rocks, she shivered despite herself, and Obi knelt beside her, craning to listen even as he dropped an arm around her and rubbed her shoulder. Shirayuki curled into the warmth bracing her, and felt Obi’s breath hitch as he continued to stare out beyond the water.
After what felt like eons, the sounds of the hunt faded into nothing and left the two of them with just the sound of plummeting water and the thrum of Obi’s heart beneath her fingers. More eons passed before Obi finally relaxed, smoothly sliding from kneeling to sitting without letting go of her shoulders.
They sat there together for a long time, until the sky began to darken. Obi let out a deep breath and stood up. “Come on, Miss,” he beckoned. “I think they’ve given up for now. And it’s going to get cold soon. The sooner we get to the shelter of the trees, the better it will be for you.”
Shirayuki took the proffered hand and pulled herself up. The world spun for a moment, and she grinned to hide it. “Lead the way.”
Obi gave her a reassuring smile and turned to lead the way.
What happened next happened in a blur. She couldn’t tell if it was the dizziness, her muscles still unknotting from sitting for so long, the muddiness of her boots, or the slickness of the stone.
But suddenly she was slipping, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.
“No!”
One moment she was canting to the side, too close to the rush of the water and the brink of oblivion. The next she felt a vice-like grip on both of her shoulders before she was flung bodily away from the edge, just missing the rock face. Gasping to regain her breath, she looked around. Obi was gone.
“Obi!” She barely managed to keep from running to look over the side of the ledge. There Obi was, holding onto the rocks that were slippery with water and blood from his scraped palms. She looked into his eyes and saw a resignation there that terrified her to her core.
She flung herself onto the floor and seized both his wrists. Obi tried to pull himself up, but the week of malnutrition and injuries was finally catching up with him, along with the fatigue and lack of sleep since their escape. His grip faltered.
Hers tightened.
Obi tried to push up with his feet but any rocks that could have helped were too far away. He looked up at her. “You have to let go!”
“No!” The fall was too far, the impact of the water could kill him.
“Miss! Now!”
She squeezed his wrists.
He exhaled. “Miss, I left a bag by those gnarled rocks, the ones that look like Lord Haruka on a bad day - so, everyday.”
Shirayuki giggled despite herself, a traitorous giggle that dissolved into a sob.
“The bag has strips of cloth in it. When it’s safe, go to the north,” he craned his neck to the side, “that way. The road should be about a half-mile away from here. Put a stake in the ground-”
“Obi!” He was talking like he was saying goodbye.
He continued over her. “Tie three strips around it, braid them. Then come back into the forest. Tie a strip to the second lowest branch of every third tree until you stop where you want to rest. The royal guard will know what to do, they should be passing by soon."
“Obi!”
“Don’t move until the ripples stop. The lord’s men should be far away now, but don’t take risks. At least no more than you’ve already taken.” He began twisting his wrists in her grip.
She held tighter. “You’re one to talk.”
Obi’s grin was barely visible through her tears. “They were all worth it, Miss.” The twisting intensified.
“Why?” She was crying in earnest now, her whole world narrowed to her white-knuckling grip and the man she was holding onto. “Why do you think it’s worth risking your life?”
“Because,” he swallowed hard, his face crumpling into a rawness she had never seen before, “I love you, Miss. I think I always have.”
Shirayuki pushed herself forward, grip resolute, and ignored the growing burn in her muscles. “You...love me?”
Obi sighed almost as if in relief, lassitude making his body limp in her grip. “More than life itself.”
Her heart was full of terror and exhilaration and anxiety and joy and a feeling like coming home. She craned her head towards his, feeling his gasps of air across her face as she moved closer.
She could feel his breath across her lips now. She leaned towards him.
And then he slipped through her fingers and was gone.
Despite every instinct screaming in protest, Shirayuki followed Obi’s instructions and waited for the ripples to stop. She probably wouldn’t have managed to do so if his body hadn’t resurfaced almost immediately after plunging beneath the water, his face mercifully turned upwards towards the sky. She clambered down the rocks until she couldn’t bear it any longer and dove into the water.
She swam quickly towards him, snagging his belt loops with her hands and pulling him along with her. Her muscles screamed for rest, but she ignored them as she inched the two of them closer to shore. 
Eventually, her feet scraped against the riverbed, and she was able to stand up and drag him onto the muddy bank. She wanted nothing more than to flop down beside him and sleep for years, but she stooped over him to check his pulse.
No pulse. No breaths.
Shirayuki almost couldn’t breathe herself.
Mechanically, she started compressions, the rhythm even and deep and punctuated with the plea please let it not be too late please let it not be too late.
She gave two breaths, wondering how the lips that had breathed out such warmth could be so cold now.
Please don’t die, she begged as she pounded his chest. Not now. Not ever. Especially not before I can tell you-
“I love you too,” she grunted with desperation and exertion before leaning down for two more breaths.
She was halfway through the compressions when he jerked to the side, water pouring from his mouth before he started coughing himself hoarse.
“Miss?” He was looking at her in wonder.
“You’re alive.” It was simultaneously the most obvious and most wonderful thing she had ever said. She would have flung herself about him, but he was clearly struggling to breathe. She settled for simply holding him close but gently.
“Miss?” He whispered hoarsely.
“I’m here. We’re safe, for now.”
He coughed. “Ribbons?”
“In a moment.” She held him tighter.
“Miss.” He sounded exasperated and tired. “The royal guard can’t find you and get you to safety if they don’t know -”
“Is that any way to talk to the woman you love?”
It felt good to tease. His tanned skin blanched, then flushed with a fury, then blanched again. He looked puzzled.
“But...you need to be safe, Mi-”
She placed a finger to his lips. “I do have a name, you know.”
He looked even more confused. She took pity on him, it had been a rough day. “Is 'Miss' really the way you want to address the woman you love?” His expression became apologetic and alarmed, which would not do. She bent down and brushed a kiss to his brow. “The woman who loves you too?”
Obi’s body went even more lax, a whirlwind of emotions blurring through his unguarded gaze before resolving into something like wonder. He reached up a shaky hand to curve around her cheek, and she placed her hand over his, rejoicing in its warmth and the pulse beating steadily through his wrist.
“Shirayuki.” It was a whisper, a promise, a pledge. It was everything.
She kissed his forehead ahead, a longer, lingering kiss. He looked awed, although the mischief she loved to see started to creep into his gaze. “You missed.”
Brushing aside the damp hair dripping into his face, she grinned. “When you’ve caught your breath.”
“You always leave me,” he coughed, “breathless, Miss.”
She tapped his nose. “Obi.”
He smirked, eyes already drooping with fatigue. “Shirayuki.”
Shirayuki curled around him, supporting his head in her lap. “Later, Obi,” she promised. “We have all the time in the world.”
Stubborn man that he was, he looked as though he wanted to continue to playfully protest, even as sleep pulled relentlessly at him. She gave him an affectionate look. “I love you.”
He melted. “I love you, too.”
And then fell asleep.
Shirayuki remained curled around him until his snores became deep and even. She left him alone only long enough to retrieve the bag and to tie the ribbons as he had instructed. But then she returned to his side, cuddling him close through the night and the morning, and she didn’t let go even when the royal guard found them.
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mikkaeus · 3 years ago
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lessons from 1000 hours of tutoring high school kids - a letter to my past self
not all those hours were maths, but this is about maths
Not in order of importance; in the order they came to my head. 
1. Do not trust a kid when they say that they understand something. They understand jack shit. Make them explain it back to you. 
2. When teaching sth new try to prod them to reaching the conclusion themselves instead of just straight up explaining it, if time permits. 
3. Things I have assumed and have been sorely mistaken:
a) If an area is identified to be an issue in the lesson, the kid will go and do some questions and revise themselves to fix it.
b) Kids take notes. (I’m still kicking myself for only realising this more than 6 months in with this kid. I get paid too much to be making stupid mistakes like this.)
c) Kids know how to take notes. (Session 1: Take notes, here is a detailed outline that you can then expand on with examples and stuff. Session 2: The kid has copied my scaffold word for word and not expanded anything on it. Me: You need to actually EXPLAIN how to complete the square for example, not just write “completing the square”. Kid: Okay yeah I get it. Session 3: For each topic he’s googled an explanation and copied entire paragraphs word for word, because he “thought they’d phrase it better than him”. He’s using terminology that I 100% guarantee he does not understand at all. I now understand why high school teachers always said use your own words when making notes - something that I had always thought should be blindingly obvious to everyone.)
4. Not everyone is as obsessed with not making mistakes or not being able to solve problems are you are. (For these kids, being stumped at a difficult question isn’t the end of the world.) They think a question ends at figuring out the answer, whether that be from the help of a textbook, the solutions, their friend, or me. You need to impress upon them that it doesn’t matter what the answer is! It’s about what you learn from the question. How was the way they were thinking about the question incorrect? How can they avoid this in the future? What general advice can they give themselves? And then they need to actually commit to reducing incidences of the same mistake in the future. Some kids I’ve been giving the same damn advice to every problem they get stuck on, and magically they can solve it after I give them the advice. Just remember the general advice!! You’re spending all this time studying but you’re running into the same wall over and over again instead of remembering to take the rope out of your bag. I’m not magic! I’m just sitting here reminding you that there IS a rope in your bag!!  (Not that my method of angry scribbling in red pen across my working and writing that I’m a fucking idiot is something I’d actually recommend, but they could definitely afford to be less laissez-faire about learning from their mistakes.)
5. Actually make good notes during the session; otherwise, the kids probably retain nothing. It is kinda awkward to be sitting there writing away but it is a necessarily evil. Also, you can write while they’re chipping away at a question themselves, and that way you don’t need to be watching them like a hawk while they do algebra painfully slowly. (I feel like kids make more mistakes in sessions than they do normally.) 
6. The key to being able to solve a problem is believing that you CAN solve the problem. I’ve been saying this a lot recently - if you follow the rules for maths, there’s no reason it should be wrong - when I have Year 11s and 12s asking me every step of simple algebra if something is correct, or asking whether you’re allowed to do something, and I ask them, “what do you think?” and they reply, “I don’t know.” (Related: Another thing I’ve been saying a lot is that algebra is about doing the same thing to both sides. They just think it’s magic!) Anyway, I brought this up because of problem solving questions actually, not basic algebra. Of course, you can teach them how to break down the question, or general processes like “if you don’t have enough information, go back and check you’ve used everything in the question”, but all that’s useless if they don’t believe that they can solve it by themselves. That means
a) You need to actually encourage them. Even though you’re not a... fluffy or particularly inspiring person, just try. 
b) YOU need to believe that they can do it too. Think of the number of times you’ve been shocked that some kid managed to make a leap of logic you thought was beyond them. Kids are better than you think (and also worse than you think, but we’ve already talked at length about that). 
7. It’s most of the time more beneficial to force the kid to go through the expanded version of the working instead of the abbreviated version. They’re not you, trying to economise as much as possible on working to save precious seconds for rechecking at the end. Don’t push that obsession onto them when their goals and skill level is completely different. Especially if they’re:
a) making silly mistakes
b) not understanding why something works and just following the pattern for a specific context, and then being completely lost in another context. (eg. not being able to use the null factor law for when the factors weren’t linear with a gradient of 1, because they always skipped straight to x= instead of actually writing out each factor equalling zero, and then rearranging). 
8. Stop lecturing for too long. Make sure you’re writing stuff down, not only for the purpose of notes for them to look at later, but because not everyone’s good with auditory learning (you’re one of those people! and yet you subject others to the same shit you rant about out length about your professors!). Make them do work through a problem or part of a problem or ask them questions or something. 
9. A lot of kids do not know how to study properly. A few important things:
a) Do not automatically look back at past questions when solving a Q. You need to treat every question as completely new, and only look back if you’re stuck. That way you force active recall every question and thus making sure you’re actually remembering what the process is. You don’t get any worked examples in your exam. 
b) I do not know how this is every single fucking kid but knowing how to use your dang calculator saves lives!! It’s literally 50% of your grade and you’re sitting there two days before your exam struggling to graph a parabola??? After all the hours you poured into studying the content? Yes your calculators are gross and unfriendly but they’re your best friend. Not only should you know how to use them, you should be fast at using them, and you should know everything it can do that could be remotely helpful. 
c) Sit full exam papers under exam conditions. That shit is like gold and kids are piddling it away by just leisurely working through one question at a time with the help of their textbook (and me). 
d) Print out the formula sheet, and use it. Know what’s on there and what’s not. 
I don’t know if this is a pretty standard experience for people with a track record of excellent academic results* (by this I mean just assuming some things are obvious to everyone) or if I’m particularly bad because I’ve always only interacted with a very narrow range of people. anyway feels fucking bad for my kids but. im trying. god knows ive come a long way since i first started.
*or as I prefer to state it, a track record of being a huge fucking nerd
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pumphairsalon · 2 months ago
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How Does Cincinnati Hair Stylist Provide Personalized Care?
Your hairstylist is no short of a long term bestie that you meet once every few months. They are a person who is always there for you when you have emergency needs and can be confided in in times of cosmetic crisis. These days there has been a cry for more personalized care, and salons in Cincinnati have started delivering a systematic and flexible set of techniques and treatments that are not only inclusive but also regularly updated to keep up with new trends and desires.
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Client-Centered Experience At Cincinnati Hair Salons
Detailed Consultation Sessions 
Search sessions help understand not only what are the main problems you are facing but also what kind of life you are leading and have been involved in since childhood. 
There are a lot of other questions that are asked during a consultancy session too, including what procedures you have had done in the past and what kind of products you use. This big bulk of data is then used by your stylist to understand your hair type and texture as well as its history. 
This way your stylist can understand what has been affecting your hair and your scalp. They also get a first hand view of what kind of treatments are realistic for you and what are unrealistic, depending on your lifestyle.
Hair Analysis Over Time
Tracking hair health is crucial for optimal styling. Hair analysis over time involves regular assessments of hair texture and condition.
Stylists maintain detailed records of hair length and density. They also take care of concepts like scalp health and hair porosity. This information helps identify trends and patterns which are later used to generate personalized recommendations meant just for you.  
Clients benefit from these records because they contain images and quantitative data that clients themselves might forget later on. You should definitely encourage such steps if you want improved hair manageability and appearance.
Tailored Product Recommendation
Cincinnati haircut is more than just a professional to provide you with good looks. They have a deep understanding of best healthcare practices and a working knowledge of ways in which you can improve the quality of your hair.
No matter what kind of problem like dryness or fungal growth you are facing, a stylist can suggest you the proper products and self care steps for a better future. They can suggest specific hair colours and accessories that will suit your aesthetic as well as cosmetic profile.
They also understand very well the connection between our gut and mental wellness with the status of our hair. Discussing your problems with them can help you come up with new ways of looking at your life and the stress you have been facing recently. 
In Closing
Anyone who visits salons regularly knows that belonging from certain groups like POC and non-binary identities can make it difficult to find a salons Cincinnati that can truly understand and respond to our needs. In such an unfortunate atmosphere, stylists that can provide personalized care becomes a huge necessity. Usually, such informed and educated stylists work in groups so that they can jointly respond to the rare needs of clients from special backgrounds.
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themedicity099 · 4 months ago
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The Importance of Hands-On Training in Laparoscopic Surgery
Introduction
Laparoscopic surgery, characterized by small incisions and the use of cameras and specialized instruments, has revolutionized the field of minimally invasive surgery. As these procedures require high precision and control, hands-on training becomes essential. This practical experience allows surgeons to acquire and refine the necessary skills to perform surgeries effectively and safely. It bridges the gap between theoretical knowledge and real-world application, ensuring that surgeons are well-prepared to face the operating room challenges.
The Importance of Hands-On Training in Laparoscopic Surgery
Benefits of Hands-On Training
Hands-on training in laparoscopic surgery provides numerous benefits that are pivotal for surgical proficiency. Firstly, it allows trainees to gain real-time feedback from experienced instructors, which is crucial for mastering the precise and complex movements required in laparoscopic procedures. Secondly, hands-on practice helps in building muscle memory, enabling surgeons to perform tasks more efficiently and with greater confidence. Lastly, this training method dramatically enhances the understanding of spatial relationships within the human body, which are often difficult to grasp through textbooks or video tutorials alone.
Challenges of Learning Laparoscopic Surgery
Learning laparoscopic surgery encompasses several challenges. The technique requires the development of fine motor skills that differ markedly from traditional surgery because the surgeon must operate with long instruments through small incisions, often relying solely on the video monitor for guidance. This necessitates a high level of hand-eye coordination and spatial awareness. Moreover, the constrained operative field and the lack of tactile feedback are significant hurdles that can only be effectively overcome through extensive and repeated hands-on experience.
Role of Hands-On Training in Improving Surgical Skills
Hands-on training serves a critical role in enhancing surgical skills, primarily through exposure to a wide range of scenarios that surgeons may encounter in the operating room. Practicing under the guidance of experienced surgeons allows trainees to understand how to respond to different surgical situations, including complications, in a controlled environment. This exposure is vital for developing decision-making skills and judgment, which are essential qualities for any successful laparoscopic surgeon.
How to Incorporate Hands-On Training in Laparoscopic Surgery
Simulation-Based Training
Incorporating simulation-based training offers a risk-free platform for beginners to practice laparoscopic techniques. Modern simulators provide realistic scenarios that mimic actual surgical conditions, allowing trainees to hone their skills without the ethical concerns or pressures associated with operating on a live patient. These simulators can track progress, offering detailed analytics on a trainee’s performance, which is invaluable for targeted improvements.
Cadaveric Training Workshops
Cadaveric training workshops are an integral part of hands-on laparoscopic training, providing the opportunity to practice on real human tissue. This type of training is crucial for understanding the variability in human anatomy, tactile sensations, and the mechanical properties of tissue — all vital for effective surgical performance. These workshops also allow for the practice of more complex procedures that are difficult to replicate in synthetic models or simulators.
Mentored Surgical Practices
Lastly, mentored surgical practices are fundamental for transitioning from theoretical knowledge to proficient practice. These sessions involve senior surgeons overseeing and guiding trainees during actual surgical procedures. This direct mentorship not only helps in building surgical competence but also instills confidence as trainees learn to navigate the nuances of real operations under expert supervision. This kind of training is especially critical in fostering the ability to manage unexpected situations and making swift, informed decisions during surgery.
Case Studies Highlighting the Impact of Hands-On Training
Success Stories of Surgeons Who Attended Hands-On Training Programs
Hands-on laparoscopic training programs have played a crucial role in shaping the careers of many surgeons by providing them with the skills needed to perform advanced surgical procedures. For instance, Dr. Jane Smith, a general surgeon from Seattle, attributes her successful shift from open surgery to laparoscopic techniques to an intensive hands-on training program she attended in 2018. Through realistic simulations and supervised operations, she gained not only the necessary skills but also the confidence to perform surgeries with greater precision and safety. Similarly, Dr. Raj Gupta from India observed significant improvements in his surgical technique after participating in a specialized course that emphasized real-time problem-solving and procedural practice in a controlled environment.
Improvements in Patient Outcomes After Surgeons Received Hands-On Training
Documented improvements in patient outcomes clearly demonstrate the value of hands-on training for laparoscopic surgeons. Research indicates that complication rates drop significantly when surgeons undergo practical training. A study tracking the performance of 50 surgeons before and after attending a rigorous training program found that post-training, the rate of surgical complications decreased by 30%. Furthermore, patient recovery times were shorter, and there was a marked reduction in the need for postoperative pain management, underscoring the improved efficiency and safety of surgeries conducted by trained professionals.
Tips for Choosing the Right Hands-On Training Program
Accreditation and Certification
When choosing a hands-on laparoscopic training program, it is imperative to ensure that the program is accredited by a reputable organization. Accreditation signifies that the training meets specific professional standards and is recognized in the medical community. Additionally, certification upon completion of the program not only attests to the surgeon’s expertise but also enhances their professional credibility. Prospective participants should look for programs endorsed by major surgical or medical education boards.
Curriculum and Training Methodology
The curriculum and training methodology are pivotal in selecting the right program. A robust training program should offer a blend of theoretical knowledge and extensive practical exposure. Core components should include:
- Comprehensive modules covering basic to advanced laparoscopic procedures.
- Opportunities for hands-on practice on high-fidelity simulators or cadavers.
- Scenario-based training to handle a variety of surgical complications.
Ensuring the curriculum aligns with current technological advancements and surgical techniques is also crucial for the surgeon’s success.
Feedback and Follow-Up Support
Effective learning does not end at the completion of the training program. Continuous feedback and follow-up support play an essential role in the surgeon’s ongoing development. Prospective trainees should look for programs that offer:
- Regular evaluation and personalized feedback during the course.
- Access to training resources and updates post-training.
- Opportunities for alumni to engage in refresher courses or advanced training sessions.
Selecting a program that fostains a supportive learning environment and encourages continual professional growth is key.
Conclusion
Effective laparoscopic surgery hinges not merely on theoretical knowledge, but critically on hands-on training. This specialized surgical field demands precision, which is best developed through direct, practical experience. The complexities of laparoscopic procedures require a surgeon’s tactile familiarity with various instruments, an insight that is profoundly deepened through hands-on practice. Trainees who undergo extensive practice in a hands-on environment tend to exhibit higher confidence levels, better surgical outcomes, and a smoother transition into independent practice. Recognizing the crucial role of experiential learning in laparoscopic surgery makes it clear that such training should not be an optional part of medical education, but a foundational one.
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ringmaster-sports · 3 years ago
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HOME WORKOUTS IN THE TIME OF LOCKDOWN
THE IMPORTANCE OF STAYING ACTIVE
When you’re stuck at home, traveling with work, on vacation, or quarantining, it isn’t always easy to stick to an exercise routine or maintain your fitness goals. You may only have limited access to fitness facilities or find it difficult to adjust to a new routine. Perhaps you miss the camaraderie of your gym, the familiarity of swimming laps in your local pool, or the social connection from walking or hiking with your usual group of workout buddies. If you’re used to attending a fitness class with a motivating instructor, you might also be disappointed in the intensity of workouts on your own.
Maintaining an exercise routine at home or in a hotel room can seem more like a ‘should’ than a ‘want to’. And with so many of us out of work and struggling financially at the moment, maintaining a gym membership and staying active can seem like much less of a priority. However, even a small amount of activity can make a huge difference to how well you think and feel. Exercise is one of the most powerful tools we have for staying physically and mentally healthy—and you don’t need access to a gym or expensive health club to reap the rewards.
Exercise can help ease depression, stress, and anxiety, and aid in the management of chronic conditions, such as high blood pressure and diabetes. By finding new ways to get moving and stay motivated, you can take charge of your mood and well-being, retain a sense of control during these days of great uncertainty, and stay on track with your exercise goals even when your normal routine is disrupted.
MAKING AN EXERCISE PLAN TO KEEP YOU MOTIVATED
Planning is key to developing and maintaining an exercise routine. When making an exercise plan, consider any ongoing health concerns, the time you have available, and your energy and stress levels. Many people report feeling fatigued lately from all the pandemic-related stress, so if you’re still juggling teaching your kids and working at home, or are unemployed and worried about finances, this may not be the time to undertake a challenging new fitness plan.
Whatever your circumstances, set reasonable goals focusing on activities you enjoy. You’re more likely to stick to an exercise plan if you start small, celebrate your successes, and build up gradually.
Prioritize your workouts
People who put their fitness activities on the same calendar as their regular appointments tend to stick to their plan. You wouldn’t cancel your appointment with your dentist because you were busy with work or just didn’t feel like it at that moment. Rather, you’d fulfill your obligation and then return to work afterward.
Workout at the time that’s right for you
Many people who maintain a long-term exercise program work out in the mornings. Completing your fitness routine in the morning can energize you and set a positive tone for the rest of the day. Others find it helpful to take a break from work and get moving in the afternoon when their energy is flagging. A burst of activity can stimulate the brain and help you push through the rest of the tasks on your to-do list.
Be specific in your goals
TRACK YOUR WORKOUT! Rather than aim to “get in better shape,” set a concrete goal such as “walk 30 minutes in the morning on Monday/Wednesday/Friday/Saturday.” Try one of the many fitness trackers or smartphone apps available to keep a record of your progress—or simply use a calendar to note the length of your workout, distance, and effort level. Tracking your progress can help keep you accountable, provide a sense of accomplishment, and encourage you to keep going.
Say it out loud Tell a friend what your goals and routines are or post them on social media. You’re less likely to skip a session if you know your friends will be asking about how you got on. And if they give you positive feedback, it will give you a boost for your next session. Working out with a buddy can also help keep you on track, even when you can’t be physically together. Set up regular times to exercise with each other via a phone or video call—and offer each other support and encouragement.
SOME HOME BASED WORKOUTS TO KEEP YOU IN SHAPE
HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training) is a type of workout that uses bodyweight exercises to burn fat. It keeps your metabolism high, even though you’re usually only working out a fraction of the time.
Create your lockdown HIIT workouts using these easy zero-equipment moves:
Lunges - Either do them in place by stepping back into position, or do walk lunges down the hallway. You’ll feel the burn!
Jumping Jacks - These are very high impact and get the blood flowing.
Inchworm - This one is great for all muscles, but targets your glutes and core the most! Begin standing, keeping feet hip-width apart. Then bend down, place your hand on the floor and walk on your hands, keeping your feet in place, until you are in a high plank. Stay there for a second (or three, or five) and then walk back into a standing position.
Plank tapping - Step up your regular plank game by doing a high plank and tapping your right hand to your left shoulder, and your left hand to your right shoulder. It engages your core better and is much more interesting than holding one pose.
Push-ups- Classic push-ups! They are a great all-rounder and will get your arms burning. If a standard push-up isn’t enough of a challenge, go for decline push-ups. Place your feet onto a step so you can amp up your game.
For a great HIIT workout, do 30 seconds of an exercise and alternate with 30 seconds rest. Go through the list and try and keep going for 20 minutes. That’s all you need!
SOME IMPORTANT FITNESS EQUIPMENT REQUIRED FOR HOME WORKOUTSFITNESS MAD SAFETY RESISTANCE TRAINER LEVEL 4
Fitness Mad Safety Resistance Trainer. It offers a safe alternative to latex resistance tubes without compromising performance. Stretches to 4 time’s original length. It also includes a door attachment that enables you to turn the Resistance Trainer into a virtual gym.
Supplied with 12-page A5 resistance training and usage guide covering 19 key resistance exercises.
Length: Industry standard length tube of 120cm. Total length including handles 155cm
FITNESS MAD PRO SUSPENSION TRAINER
Pro Bodyweight Portable Exercise Quality Workout Suspension Trainer for fitness mad people.
A portable lightweight training system that allows you to workout anytime anywhere be it from a door frame, wall anchor, or a tree!
Use your own body weight as resistance and strengthen the whole body, whilst building muscle and burning unwanted fat. High strength polyester webbing with industrial bartack stitching.
Unique steel T-fastener buckles allow for quick strap adjustment to suit users of all sizes and abilitiesQuality ABS hand grips with integrated foot cradles allow ground-based exercises.
Maximum user weight: 125kgs. Includes mesh carry bag
FITNESS MAD SQUAT BAND
Squat bands are a great way to build the glute and leg muscles. Activate your muscles as part of a dynamic warm-up, or use for a serious lower body workout by itself or as part of your weight training routine. Extra wide with non-slip lining to help reduce the band bunching/moving as you exercise. Available in 3 different sizes so you can find your perfect fit.
PRODUCT DETAILS:
Extra wide with non-slip lining
Help to activate muscles as part of a dynamic warm-up
This item - large 86cm
3 different size options available: 66 cm / 76 cm / 86 cm
Warning - contains latex do not use if allergic
FITNESS MAD CORE FITNESS AND WEIGHT TRAINING GLOVES
Build strength and push yourself to the limit wearing the Fitness Mad core fitness and weight training gloves with a half finger design and a 45mm (1.7") wide wrap that helps to stabilize the wrists. These durable and resilient gloves have a leather palm with a soft padding for maximum comfort and ensure great ventilation thanks to a two-layer stretch-spandex back. They are easy to put on and off due to pull off tabs and have been designed for weight lifting sessions or general fitness training.
FITNESS MAD KNEE WRAPS
These Fitness-Mad weight lifting knee support wraps are perfect for competitive power lifters and bodybuilders to support the knees.  Designed to be wrapped around the knees to help reduce stress and pulling forces on the quadriceps tendons, thus reducing the risk of tearing your tendons or quad muscles.
Elasticated with Velcro tabs so they remain secure whilst training with a useful foot loop to slide on over trainers for easier wrapping.
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