Just For You

[Guest guest]

What I wish people knew about EMS, Firefighters, Dispatchers, & LawEnforcement.I

wish you could know what it is like to search a burning bedroomfor trapped

children at 3 AM, flames rolling above your head, yourpalms and knees burning as

you crawl, the floor sagging under your weight as thekitchen below you burns.I

wish you could comprehend a husband's horror at 6 in the morning asI check his

wife of 40 years for a pulse and find none.I start CPRanyway, hoping to bring

her back, knowing intuitively it is too late.But wanting her husband and family

to know everything possible wasdone to try to save her life.I wish you knew the

unique smell of burning insulation, the taste ofsoot-filled mucus, the feeling

of intense heat through your turnoutgear, the sound of flames crackling, the

eeriness of being able to seeabsolutely nothing in dense smoke-sensations that

I've become toofamiliar with.I wish you could read my mind as I respond to a

building fire " Isthis 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 withthe patient? Is it minor or life-threatening? Is the caller really

indistress 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 deadthe beautiful five-year old girl

that I have been trying to saveduring the past 25 minutes, who will never go on

her first date or say thewords, " I love you Mommy " again.I wish you could know

the frustration I feel in the cab of the engineor unit the driver with his foot

pressing down hard on the pedal, myarm tugging again and again at the air horn

chain, as you fail toyield the right-of-way at an intersection or in

traffic.When you need ushowever, your first comment upon our arrival will be,

" It took youforever to get here! " I wish you could know my thoughts as I help

extricate a girl ofteenage years from the remains of her automobile. " What if

this was mydaughter, sister, my girlfriend or a friend? What is her

parent'sreaction going to be when they open the door to find a police officer

with hatin hand? " I wish you could know how it feels to walk in the back door and

greetmy parents and family, not having the heart to tell them that I nearlydid

not come back from the last call.I wish you could know how it feels dispatching

officers, firefightersand EMT's out and when we call for them and our heart

drops because noone answers back or to here a bone chilling 911 call of a child

or wifeneeding assistance.I wish you could feel the hurt as people verbally, and

sometimesphysically, abuse us or belittle what I do, or as they express

theirattitudes of " It will never happen to me. " I wish you could realize the

physical, emotional and mental drain ormissed meals, lost sleep and forgone

social activities, in addition toall the tragedy my eyes have seen.I wish you

could know the brotherhood and self-satisfaction ofhelping save a life or

preserving someone's property, or being able tobe there in time of crisis, or

creating order from total chaos.I wish you could understand what it feels like

to have a little boytugging at your arm and asking, " Is Mommy okay? " Not even

being ableto 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

CPRdone on him as you take him away in the Medic Unit.You know all alonghe did

not have his seat belt on.A sensation that I have become too familiarwith.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

YOURAREA.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 WAYQUICKLY, THEN PRAY

FOR THEM!

_________________________________________________________________

Suspicious message? There’s an alert for that.

http://windowslive.com/Explore/hotmail?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_hotmail_acq_broad2_1220\

08

[Guest guest]

Jarrod,

I read your posting with great interest. People ask me why I'm a cop and a

medic, why I'm on the tactical team and the first person through the door. They

ask me how I can get into freezing water that you can't see more than an inch

away and why I risk my life to find someone. They ask me why I take the time and

talk to the woman that just found out her son was murdered and why I explain the

law, what will or won't happen in the coming months and why someone did

something that may have looked foolish or insane.

I'm proud of my profession, all of them and I want people to know why I do

something because they really don't know, except by watching CSI and the like on

TV. I'm human andI care. Why?Because my maker made me that way. I get burned out

and I see the red lights and siren and wonder what is happening, then I

remember, without those that care, it would be utter chaos. We may not

accomplish every thing we set out to do but we make that extraordinary attempt

to try. I believe there is a place of rest for those of us that work in our

professions and it was put there by a higher being to show thanks for taking

care of everyone else. Whether we are medics, cops, firemen, hospital works

makes no difference. It takes a special breed of people to do what we do. None

of us receive a bonus or extra day off if we save a live and very seldom do we

even get a thank you but deep inside me I feel something strange but good. I

believe it is partially satisfaction whether we won or lost, we

did our best knowing there are too many other people standing by the outside

gaulking and looking and talking about how crazy we are for doing what we do.I

am deeply proud of myself and those with me and I think that higher being is

too. Most of us could not go to work at 8 or 9 am and sit in an office or drive

around town BS'ing to make our salary and believe me I'm glad. Medic, stick

those IV's in me when I need them and I promise I'll come back and hug and kiss

you. Fireman, come by the burned out house and yard or in back of the firehall

and left me cook you a steak on the grill and shake your hand, Mr, Policeman,

come by and let me vaccuum out your car and wash it while you drink a glass of

iced tea of a cup of coffee. I love you all.

In case no one, including your boss has thanked you in quite a while, please

let me say thanks. I wish I could give you more for what you did but for now

thanks will have to do. Thank you.

Mike Stedman

Cop

Medic

Diver

Dive Medic

Combat Air Ops

jarrod greene wrote:

What I wish people knew about EMS, Firefighters, Dispatchers, & LawEnforcement.I

wish you could know what it is like to search a burning bedroomfor trapped

children at 3 AM, flames rolling above your head, yourpalms and knees burning as

you crawl, the floor sagging under your weight as thekitchen below you burns.I

wish you could comprehend a husband's horror at 6 in the morning asI check his

wife of 40 years for a pulse and find none.I start CPRanyway, hoping to bring

her back, knowing intuitively it is too late.But wanting her husband and family

to know everything possible wasdone to try to save her life.I wish you knew the

unique smell of burning insulation, the taste ofsoot-filled mucus, the feeling

of intense heat through your turnoutgear, the sound of flames crackling, the

eeriness of being able to seeabsolutely nothing in dense smoke-sensations that

I've become toofamiliar with.I wish you could read my mind as I respond to a

building fire " Isthis 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 withthe patient? Is it minor or

life-threatening? Is the caller really indistress 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

deadthe beautiful five-year old girl that I have been trying to saveduring the

past 25 minutes, who will never go on her first date or say thewords, " I love

you Mommy " again.I wish you could know the frustration I feel in the cab of the

engineor unit the driver with his foot pressing down hard on the pedal, myarm

tugging again and again at the air horn chain, as you fail toyield the

right-of-way at an intersection or in traffic.When you need ushowever, your

first comment upon our arrival will be, " It took youforever to get here! " I wish

you could know my thoughts as I help extricate a girl ofteenage years from the

remains of her automobile. " What if this was mydaughter,

sister, my girlfriend or a friend? What is her parent'sreaction going to be

when they open the door to find a police officer with hatin hand? " I wish you

could know how it feels to walk in the back door and greetmy parents and family,

not having the heart to tell them that I nearlydid not come back from the last

call.I wish you could know how it feels dispatching officers, firefightersand

EMT's out and when we call for them and our heart drops because noone answers

back or to here a bone chilling 911 call of a child or wifeneeding assistance.I

wish you could feel the hurt as people verbally, and sometimesphysically, abuse

us or belittle what I do, or as they express theirattitudes of " It will never

happen to me. " I wish you could realize the physical, emotional and mental drain

ormissed meals, lost sleep and forgone social activities, in addition toall the

tragedy my eyes have seen.I wish you could know the brotherhood and

self-satisfaction ofhelping save a life or

preserving someone's property, or being able tobe there in time of crisis, or

creating order from total chaos.I wish you could understand what it feels like

to have a little boytugging at your arm and asking, " Is Mommy okay? " Not even

being ableto 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

CPRdone on him as you take him away in the Medic Unit.You know all alonghe did

not have his seat belt on.A sensation that I have become too familiarwith.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

YOURAREA.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

WAYQUICKLY, THEN PRAY FOR THEM!

_________________________________________________________________

Suspicious message? There’s an alert for that.

http://windowslive.com/Explore/hotmail?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_hotmail_acq_broad2_1220\

08