Hello !

 Hello, and welcome to my Blog. My name is Janel (The Safety Distupter) and I am starting this blog to reach out to all of the humans out there that are freakishly passionate, or even a bit lost or intimidated and would like to learn more about safety, safety products, how things work, regulations around, good habbits, and more. A little bit of everything if you will, because for me I believe that everyone has the right to be safe. 

Why? Well, first because I am a natural klutz. Throughout my life I have been one of those folks that could trip up stairs, fall on flat services with nothing in my way, run into poles (I literally broke my eye-socket with that one) and more. Because I was such a hazard to myself (and sometimes others) I spent a great deal of time in hospitals and doctors' offices. While I was there, I began to really appreciate the people that put me back together again, and when I graduated highschool, I began medical school. I attended for about 2.5 years, was actually pretty darn good at it. However, while I was there, I realized my inability to let go of the people in my care. I become emotionally attached to the people I cared for, and it was difficult for me to separate myself from their pain. So, I changed my focus and pivoted to occupational health and safety where I could help them prevent the injuries rather than sewing them up or re-setting the broken bits. 

Fast forward a few years. Enter the tiny humans. I am the blessed mother of two high-functioning autistic boys. Now for those of you that know, boys are all motor skills ..... and they like to test things out with little to no fear sometimes. In fact, my littlest guy was quite the escape artist and daredevil. As a parent, I mostly worry about the safety, health and wellbeing of my children. So, during the raising of these very active boys, I had to teach myself and engineer some very peculiar ways to keep the little buggers safe. 

Next, The Workplace. I have spent over 30 years (Eeek, that seems so long now !) helping to keep my "work-children and families" safe. This has ranged from the application of the occasional bandaid to calling a child's parents to say goodbye to them as their life slipped away on my watch. I have seen so much, helped so many, and unfortunately experienced many tragedies. What I can say is that I could help more than I couldn't. I was a "mom" figure to thousands and have even had the compliment from my teams that I was that little voice in their head keeping them safe. So why do you give two shits about that? Well, because I am here for you too. Just like I have helped hundreds and thousands of people in my care both personally and professionally, I am here to help those that wish it to navigate this very cumbersome and often daunting world of personal safety, occupational health, environmental health and sustainability, mental health and even things like dangerous goods compliance. The list of my strengths and experiences is fairly long. 

Now, before you go away thinking "Man that woman is very arrogant" I will tell you the same thing that I have always told all of my children and teams - I promise to be an example, I cannot always promise to be a good one. What does that mean? Well, I "f" things up too. You cannot spend 30+ years (Still stings) in this world without getting a few badges and bruises along the way for exceptional blunders. The advantage I have is the precious lessons I have learned from getting out there and screwing things up so epically. After all, if you're going to "f" it up.... do it with style :) 

So, if you are still actually reading to this point, I look forward to getting to know you, learning about your successes and challenges and hopefully being able to support you and provide a bit of insight to how I have done things, and potential solutions as you stumble through. (see what I did there? lol) Oh yeah, and by the way, we are going to have a great time! EVERYTHING I do has an element of fun - just like Mary Poppins. - Cheers 



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