Dead-guy (not for the faint of heart) (seriously)

Before I get into this whole dead-guy thing, I need to explain a little background. Dr. B* (Lexi's supervising doctor) is also the medical examiner for Tillamook County.

So yesterday, I was in Tillamook waiting for Lex to get done when she calls and says she and Dr. B are headed over to the morgue to do a post-mortem exam on a body that had come in, and as luck would have it, I was invited along. So we get there and they pull the body out of the freezer, and at first it's wrapped in a blue tarp/body-bag thing with a zipper, and that gets opened up, and then it's wrapped in sheets (like bedsheets), and finally there's the body. Let me tell you, it was not pretty. He'd been dead for several days before they found him, lying on his side so all the blood and fluids had drained to that side. He was bloated from the gases involved with decomposition, discolored, and his skin had started to slough off. His finger tips were black, and the irises in his eyes had decayed from brown to a hazy gray color. All in all, not pretty. And then there was the smell. It wasn't the strongest odor or the most offensive, but it was pretty distinct and sick.

The body was ID'd and it was determined that he died either because of alcohol consumption or natural causes, not sure which, but it was in his sleep, on his right side, with his left arm draped across his body. This was known because 1) that's how he was found and 2) that's what the colors on his body told us. The blood had all pooled on the right side of his body, and the area where his left arm was resting against his body created pressure which kept the blood from that area, so there was no color there. They weren't able to get enough usable fluids to perform a tox-screen, but his medical history was known.

I didn't do anything other than stand there and observe of course, as that was my role in the whole thing, but I'm proud to report that I didn't get sick or nauseous or anything like that. In fact, we left the morgue and went to dinner at a Chinese restaurant (I wouldn't recommend it, but it was worth a try). The thought of touching the body and/or moving it made me a little queasy, but I think with time I could get over that. I mention this only because if and when I become a cop that will be something I have to deal with, at least once in awhile if not more frequently.

*Not his true name

Well, it's been forever since the last post. I don't really have too much to say - nothing's really changed in my life, but it's about time for a post so here it is. Since the beginning of July I've been volunteering a little at the Victim's Assistance Program in Tillamook County on Mondays and some on Thursdays. It's fun and it's led to a lot of contacts and shoulder-rubbing with a lot of cool people. Plus it's a good thing. Right now I'm not trained enough to really do anything more than type and print form letters or sit in court and take notes. I've also been on a ride-along with the Sheriff's Department, and got to tour the County Jail. Most of these things came from contacts volunteering at the VAP. In other news Lexie's cousin Jessica and her husband and baby are coming out on Thursday - that's going to be exciting. Oh, I almost forgot. This past weekend I took the motorcycle riding class, so I'm now almost motorcycle endorsed. The final step for that is to cough up gads of money for the DMV. I don't understand why it costs almost double to get a motorcycle endorsement than it does to get regular driver license - maybe it's to offset the reduced fuel revenue because motorcycles use less gas? Anywho, it was for the most part fun, with some beat-your-brains-out-with-a-brick moments. I was thinking about getting some pictures, but it's hard enough learning to ride a motorcycle without trying to use a cell phone as well (and the instructors probably would've thrown me off the range...), and I didn't feel comfortable asking the instructors to take pictures while they're watching us to make sure we don't do anything too stupid, so sorry...