Back to reality

I woke this morning, feeling, as I usually do, fairly rested.
I'm in a decent mood, the sun is shining, and overall, it's just a beautiful day.
The Steelers won last night, and i'm happy for them.
Not for they way in which they won, (the zebra's made some
gawdawful calls) but still, enjoying it.
I did a bit of running around, came home, put Poot down for a nappy,
then sat my ass at the computer to check some email, read some blogs, and hey, maybe even write something!
As I was looking through my emails, I noticed one that was sent to me by a good friend whom I used to work with a very long time ago.
It reminded me of so many things I loved and hated, when I was a firefighter,
and an EMT, and a 911 Dispatcher.

I wanted to share it with y'all today.

I wish you knew...............
(Written by one who does)

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 to 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, "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 2 X 4 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, who will never go on her first date or say the words, "I Love you Mommy" 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, "What took you so long 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 or
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 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, who we are, or what our job really means to us........I wish you could though.

PLEASE 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, THEN PRAY FOR THEM!


Happy Monday ....