Special People...
Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 1:33 pm
A m8 of mine sent this to me.
>
>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.
>
>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!!
>
>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.
>
>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!!
and quite nice 
