(no subject)

[sunneyone]

Please feel free to share it as you see fit.

I wish you could know what it is like to search a burning bedroom for
trapped children at 3 AM, flames rolling above your head, your palms and
knees burning as you crawl, the floor sagging under your weight as the
kitchen below you burns.

I wish you could comprehend a wife's horror at 6 in the morning as I check
her husband of 40 years for a pulse and find none. I start CPR anyway,
hoping to bring him back, knowing intuitively it is too late. But wanting
his wife and family to know everything possible was done to try and save
his life.

I wish you knew the unique smell of burning insulation, the taste of
soot-filled mucus, the feeling of intense heat through your turnout gear,
the sound of flames crackling, the eeriness of being able to see absolutely
nothing in dense smoke-sensations that I've become too familiar with.

I wish you could read my mind as I respond to a building fire, Is this a
false alarm or a working fire? How is the building constructed? What
hazards await me? Is anyone trapped?" Or to call and ask what is wrong with the
patient? Is it minor or life threatening? Is the caller really in distress or is he waiting for us with a 2x4 or a gun?

I wish you could be in the emergency room, as a doctor pronounces dead, the beautiful five-year old girl that I have been trying to save during the past 25 minutes, knowing she will never go on her first date or say the words, "I love you Mommy", ever again.

I wish you could know the frustration I feel in the cab of the engine,
squad, or my personal vehicle, the driver with his foot pressing down hard
on the pedal, my arm tugging again and again at the air horn chain, as you
fail to yield the right-of-way at an intersection or in traffic. When you
need us however, your first comment upon our arrival will be, "It took you
forever to get here!"

I wish you could know my thoughts as I help extricate a girl of teenage
years from the remains of her automobile. What if this was my daughter,
sister, my girlfriend or a friend? What were her parents reaction going to
be when they opened the door to find a police officer with hat in hand?

I wish you could know how it feels to walk in the back door and greet my
parents and family, not having the heart to tell them that I nearly did not
come back from the last call.

I wish you could know how it feels dispatching officers, firefighters and
EMT's out and when we call for them and our heart drops because no one
answers back or to here a bone chilling 911 call of a child or wife needing
assistance.

I wish you could feel the hurt as people verbally and sometimes physically
abuse us or belittle what I do, or as they express their attitudes of "It
will never happen to me."

I wish you could realize the physical, emotional and mental drain of missed
meals, lost sleep and forgone social activities, in addition to all the
tragedy my eyes have seen.

I wish you could know the brotherhood and self-satisfaction of helping save
a life or preserving someone's property, or being able to be there in time
of crisis, or creating order from total chaos.

I wish you could understand what it feels like to have a little boy tugging
at your arm and asking, "Is my Mommy okay?", not even being able to look in
his eyes without tears from your own and not knowing what to say. Or to
have to hold back a long time friend who watches his buddy having CPR done
on him as they take him away in the Medic Unit. You know all along he did
not have his seat belt on. A sensation that I have become too familiar
with. Unless you have lived with this kind of life, you will never truly
understand or appreciate who I am, we are, or what our job really means to
us...I wish you could though.

KEEP SENDING THIS ON. APPRECIATE AND SUPPORT THE LOCAL EMS WORKERS, 911
DISPATCHERS, FIREFIGHTERS, and LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS IN YOUR AREA. ONE
DAY THEY'LL PROBABLY BE SAVING YOUR PROPERTY OR YOUR OWN LIFE.

WHEN YOU SEE THEM COMING WITH LIGHTS FLASHING, MOVE OUT OF THE WAY QUICKLY,and THEN PRAY FOR THEM.
from jsjeep4x4

Comments

[smalltownhero.livejournal.com]

Thank u for posting this

[sunneyone.livejournal.com]

you're welcome. thank you for posting it first. :)

[cuzmickeyluvsya.livejournal.com]

wow.....

[sunneyone.livejournal.com]

is that a "wow, how moving" or "wow, i can't believe she posted this tripe?"

[cuzmickeyluvsya.livejournal.com]

moving

[sunneyone.livejournal.com]

aaah, okay. i thought so. *hugs*

[dreamwalker1220.livejournal.com]

I'm most definitely posting this in both my journals. Thank you for posting it...It's a pity that most emergency workers never get the credit or the recognition they deserve. I know for a fact that all was done when my mother passed. In fact, all those that had been on the ambulance came to her funeral, one actually crying as he hugged me. Again, thanks for posting this. Anyone who is not grateful should be ashamed of themselves.

[sunneyone.livejournal.com]

*hugs* thank you so much for posting this.
i'm still so sorry about your mom.

[dreamwalker1220.livejournal.com]

*hugs back* It needs to be posted.

Thank you, love. That means a lot.

[sunneyone.livejournal.com]

*hugs* you're welcome.