Maybe I'm going to catch flack from this, and I can have a hard time explaining my process or thoughts, I'm still new to this, and I have a habit tangenting, but here I go.
If you save even one person, I think that makes it worth it. Giving someone extra time is something you can't put a value on. Not sure how long all the patients lived after, but even a small amount of time is no small feat.
Maybe his track record isn't as impressive as yours or even to everyone else's for his job, or he didn't thank enough people. But I agree, many EMS are treated like less than important. Any good PR for one of us is good for all of us (as previously mentioned). Same goes for bad. I'm sure we've all seen that video from last week or so.
Yes, I'm only a student and "I've been doing X longer than you've been alive" is something I've heard because of my age, but we can become dulled or calloused to things we've heard, done, or said many times and I think it's good to step back and remember why we're here. (I'm not saying all experienced EMTs are senile pine cones)
The outside world will never understand what all it takes to save a life. So why expect them to?
I had an interview as a falconer, and they refused to let me even see the article until it was printed, and even with my careful selection of words, they still misquoted me, put incorrect information, even got my bird's name wrong as well as the species. We've got no idea what was actually said versus what the story ran.
Growing up, I never saw some sports player as very cool, I never thought being famous was worth it, I didn't think being a radio singer (the kind everyone knows) was what made you awesome. Someone makes clothes and a single item costs hundreds because of the letters on the side. Okay, sure, you're skilled like that. But, not really a priority to me.
I read history books and the news about soldiers in battle who risked everything to defend their lands or fellow solders, many of them dying for it.
Police officers going out every day, knowing they're likely to encounter someone who will try to kill them (eventually). But they put that vest on and saddle up anyway.
Firefighters who rush into burning houses because someone got stuck inside, the ones that go out to fight the big wildfires, even though it can be extremely dangerous or unpredictable.
EMTs/Paramedics that spend countless hours leaning valuable and underrated skills, to work long shifts so when a voice calls out, you answer.
Lay people who see a disaster, an emergency, and respond, instead of taking videos and yelling "Someone should help them". That angers me. I feel like yelling back "You!".
Doctors, nurses and other medical staff, many go to school for years so they can be pointed at, that they don't want to cure people because they'd lose money. But they help anyway.
Those and many more people I can't count. Search and rescue and all of that.
I was to young to remember the 9/11, but I still get angry and upset, all of the chaos, the tragedy, the sorrow and pain. Entire fire companies gone, those who rushed in after the first tower feel, only for the second one to. A terrible day.
Seeing people's last words, their last moments, or hearing the audio... that's something else. Pictures of people jumping from a burning building, the shock when they learned it was not a small plane, that moment when America stood still for a time.
Yet with all of that, people saw and they came. Many of them did not return. They had wives and husband, brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, boyfriends and girlfriend, best friends, every reason to say "I can't do that, that's too dangerous and I could die" but they didn't.
But those were my heroes. Some guy can run across a field really fast, and the crowd goes wild. You answer a call to a 3 car MVC at 3 AM and people forget you exist. Someone makes a video about "Cash me outside" or whatever, and they're rich, have a show. You show up when called and people are angry at you. Politicians life, crowds cheer. People will be angry at what you did, even if they did nothing, or only made things worse.
People can be quick to forget what's really important.
No, I'm not saying nobody is ever grateful or happy for what you've done, the time and money you've spent to master your skills and equipment, that you're pariahs or "lepers". Because the public general has a good impression of first responders.
Those people are my heroes. Volunteer or career. You don the uniform and go out to help those who need it. Maybe of them, unsung heroes. It just feels more like a Batman treatment than Spider-Man.
Fire departments make more for doing similar care for patients, so it's even more important to show value in what we do. From what I understand, there's a shortage of medical staff, including EMTs/medics. Hopefully that's properly recognised and pay and other things are taken more seriously.
I don't think it's bad they're paid a decent wage, I'm happy they don't have to continually fight for that. But , I get what you're saying, that we shouldn't have to either. But I think that gives us another leg to stand on.
Even though they didn't give a detailed list of the whole process and every person involved, we know there's more to it than that.
Is that wrong? Skewed? Biased? Maybe. Is it bad? I don't think so.
But I guarantee you, someone, some kid somewhere is reading that headline or article and thinking "That guy's a real hero, that who I want to be some day"
www.ems1.com
