Advanced Wilderness Life Support (AWLS)

One year before recording this podcast, Matt was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Instead of canceling his goals, he elevated them with the plan to summit a 4000 m (13,000 foot) mountain.   The obstacles are real.  Listen to how he's overcoming them.

Most people know that ticks can cause disease.  And most people have heard of Lyme disease.  But there are many more and some are deadly.   Listen and learn about the many diseases that ticks put in us.  

You notice a red circular rash on your skin where a tick had bitten you.   It must be Lyme disease - right?   Think again!    While the causative agent is not known, the STARI rash is being seen more and more.  So, is it STARI or Lyme?  Listen and find out. 

Its fantastic to take your dog outdoors into the wild.  But you watch as they swallow water you would not drink. They sniff and eat things you would not touch. And then you wonder if they will get sick?  Giardia is everywhere.  Do dogs get it?.  How do you know if your pet has it?   What do you  do to treat it?  Can you get  a Giardia infection from them?  Listen and learn about doggie Giardia.

People know to where a personal flotation device  (PFD) when in and around water.  But how can a tiny thing support me?   What types of PFD's are there and which ones are  the best?  Listen to his important podcast about the essentials of the PFD and me.  

Broken legs are common skiing injuries.  But this one was a race against the cold and  pain.  Life lessons learned come from hindsight.  Let's listen and learn how to be better prepared when a great day turns bad. 

So many things can cause pain in the knee when we are outside recreating.  Trail runners  and  backpackers frequently feel the strain on their knees for sure.  Surpirsingly, some of the problems can be corrected by a simple change to our shoes.  Listen and find out about the Gooses's Foot and other knee problems caused by our feet. 

These worms go back and forth from humans to pigs and back to humans again.  They live in human intestines as tape worms, but can find themselves in our muscles, eyes and even our brains.  Listen and learn about the crazy life of the pork tapeworm. 

Few people do this beautiful sport but most people know about it.  When done safely it is not as extreme a sport as once thought.  Listen and learn about the medicine and safety of ice climbing.  

Ice fishing is one of the most beautiful outdoor sports possible.  It has its own unique medical issues that most people don't think about.  Listen and learn about fishing on ice - just not on thin ice.