Intro from the cold north

[Old Road Dog and Sidekick]

Greetings to all!
i am an old medic road dog of 21 years ems/fire and my wife and i met there. she is an emt-b. excuse no caps, not fast typer.
i currently work f.t. ems and we just joined the small rural dept. not too many calls, something we enjoy and our last child is interested also.

wife had to attend first meeting alone as i had to work and she said she'd walked into inner city gangs less hostile. but i went with her today and it was better.

we have a small zoo at home, 10 kids, one at home, 4 grandkids and do civil war reenacting. i was a farmer for 20 years before ems/fire.

we live in an amish community and in the past they would ask for help with medical problems. so that will help if we have to run a call as we know most of them and speak some of their language.

wife and i were partners for 18 months on the rig and had a blast. saw funny, sad, horrible, and in between. i think she helped me out of a slump because she is dedicated to each and every patient as though it were the first and last.
i also just bought a used but good cummins diesel truck and am going to try my hand at veggie oil for fuel.
we are homesteaders and raise animals and food and do as much alternative energy as we can add to.
we share many passions/interests. it is ems that brought us together.
i'm just getting my feet wet on these forums, though i am computer geek. we use linux o/s and prefer it over others. we are ordained ministers, had a general store, and were on a dmat team for 3 years.

one thing i can tell you is that if you stay around long enough in this business, you are going to see it all. you may also see partners die and companies change and on and on.. take a deep breath and don't beat yourself up too bad. it is a true professional who critiques their own skill, because they want to be "great"..not just "good", and maybe just maybe save a life from time to time. or bring some comfort, relief, a prayer, or sing a song to an elderly man saying his last words or a baby on shaky ground.
this patient may have never been in an ambulance, is scared, may be in pain, and has no idea of the process. do what you can to help them. thats all you can do..

 

[Airwaygoddess]

Welcome to the tribe!

Welcome to the tribe!! What a wonderful intro!

 

[james]

I wish I had the insight that you and youe wife seem to have. Iam still new to the civilain part of EMS I am in the US Army and I too have seen some bad things and I wish I had the faith that you do.

 

[MMiz]

Welcome! I moved from the "Great North" to soutern country a year ago. I came for the job, but stayed for the sweet tea.

Great introduction, and welcome to EMTLife!

 

[Old Road Dog and Sidekick]

insight..and sweet tea..

we are both southerners. i'm from WV, wife from Chas.,sc. so we have to have pitchers of sweet tea in the frig! wife is good old southern cook.

insight is gained from life, experience from the same cup. if you can see your patient as another person, render care not judgement, treat them as your brother, your sister, your parents, you have it.
wife is long standing sober member of a 12 step group, with alot of ministry behind her and also a DV survivor. she is good at the psyche/etoh and so on calls. she became a nurse aide for awhile and says everyone should work as that in some capacity in their life. you see people in this field who have never gotten over themselves. and you see the ones who took the calls and and made a better human of their nature. thats your real professional.
when wife was newbie and did many transports, she carried a little cooler in the rig that held birthday hats, toys and bubbles. it was nothing to see her wheeling a patient (non-critical) into the ER singing happy birthday and everyone wearing a party hat...*grin*
it takes many hands to make light work as the good book says. a team can only be as good as the humanity that forms it. same is true of any organization. someone i used to know said to me once..pretend your patient is a large novel. you are writing only a page, a paragraph even, in that book. make it a good one.
when i was new to the field, i scrutinized my every step, thought, decision, mistake, and didn't allow myself much kudo for a success.
if a patient died, i took it on my shoulders. today, i get there, do what i can, and keep in mind that (my own thoughts) that God is in control and most of what will happen has already been decided. even the most brilliant efforts can be thwarted and yet, some of the most simple can result in active homeostasis.
one thing to do, always, is to try to take care of yourself too. good health, diet, some exercise, much laughter, good friends, faith if you can muster it, will go a long way to preventing burn out.

 

[firetender]

I'm very happy you're here. I look forward to hearing more of what you have to share.

Russ