A blog post from a fan.. If you all like it well enough I will attempt to attach the link in a later comment.. "In the beginning" _____________________________ Well, I can’t really say this is the beginning… I’ve been an EMT-B in Arizona since 2006. So before all of you salty dogs start trying to warn me about the odd hours, strain on relationships, and burnout, I already understand it.As a volunteer, I’ve lived it. There is one private ambulance company where I live and it’s extremely difficult to get hired unless you know someone – or unless you’re a paramedic.I’m that nerd in the firehouse who likes to read textbooks and medical journals for fun. Some of the guys have called me “Tex” because of the hat (take a peek at my Instagram page to see what I mean), but some have taken to calling me “Professor” because I have a wealth of absolutely useless knowledge rattling around upstairs. If there is something someone wants to know, I’m the one they ask.I have a knack for memorization. As a Basic I’m not taught much about medications, but I read about them and know their uses anyway. I’ve learned by reading most of the paramedic protocols and treatments. A friend even taught me how to intubate (no, I don’t try to do it, I don’t live in an episode of Chicago Fire). I love EMS. The work is sometimes difficult; hearing a mother beg me at the top of her lungs to save her baby after she pulled it out of the pool is something I’ll never get used to. A lot of the time, because I’m also a grief counselor, I get to be there if a doctor decides nothing can be done. I’ve watched family members of terminally ill and elderly patients beg us to keep working their loved one despite the DNR stuck to the fridge with a magnet. And, sadly, a few of the men that I have worked with – among them police officers and firefighters – have paid the ultimate price. It’s not easy, but the rewards when a little kid gives me a hug or when I get to help save someone far outweigh the sadness that comes with what I do.Like most who get into this line of work, I want to do something decent with my life. A man I hadn’t seen in several years saw me in uniform on a call where a family had been displaced by a catastrophic fire and asked me what led me to be an EMT. Out of nowhere, I said, “I’m paying my penance.” Do I do this because I want my life to mean something? Do I do it because I feel like I haven’t lived up to what others expected of me? Maybe. Whatever the reasons, I feel more at home in a fire station or driving around in an ambulance than I do anywhere else in the world.Well…except maybe Texas.I know what I was created to do. I have my work cut out for me. I need to lose weight, so I’m adhering to a strict diet and I’m exercising every day (cardio and weight training). Some of what needs to be done is simple. My two biggest enemies, however, are time and money.You see, paramedic school here is full-time. It runs over 20 hours a semester. I wouldn’t be able to work full-time. I’d still have to have a job to pay the bills, but part-time work wouldn’t pay the bills. I made too much money last year to be considered for most federal grants and if I get accepted to a program next year it starts quickly enough that I’d be right down to the wire in being able to actually pay for school – thanks to the requirements of the grant and loan programs run by the government.I refuse to give up, though. In martial arts, if I had a particularly difficult movement or form to learn, I would break it down, study others more advanced than me, and keep working until I learned it and could execute it perfectly. I approach every problem in similar fashion – take it apart in my head, then work at it a piece at a time until I have it worked out. Maybe this is the first step to getting it worked out.Share your stories (just remember what your department SOP’s are about sharing publicly! Don’t get yourself in trouble!), your jokes, and your memories, and offer some encouragement to your brothers and sisters here. No matter where you are you’re family.
Posted on: Thu, 12 Sep 2013 10:00:39 +0000
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