the emt/paramedic

A while back I posted a question on what you all think a paramedic is.. I said i would post my project but it is far too large to do so.. but this is part of what I included in it. I have no idea who the author is but it says alot about the profession on a personal level. This always gets to me when I read it... HOpe you all like it..

When God made EMT's and Paramedics....

When the Lord made EMT's and Paramedics,
he was into his sixth day of overtime when an angel appeared and said.
"You're doing a lot of fiddling around on this one,"
And the Lord said,
"Have you read the specs on this order?"

An EMT/Paramedic has to be able to carry an injured person up a wet,
grassy hill in the dark, dodge stry bullets to reach a dying child unarmed, enter homes a health inspector wouldn't touch, and not wrinkle their uniform."

"He has to be able to lift three times his own weight, crawl into wrecked cars with barely enough room to move, and console a grieving mother as he is doing CPR on a baby he knows will never breathe again."

"He has to be in top mental condition at all times, running on no sleep, black coffee, and half eaten meals. And he has to have six pairs of hands."

The angel shook her head slowly and said, "Six pairs of hands.... no way."
"It's not the hands that are causing me problems," said the Lord, "It's the three pairs of eyes an EMT/Medic has to have."
"That's on the standard model?" asked the angel.

The Lord nodded. "One pair that sees open sores as he's drawing blood and asks the patient if they may be HIV positive," (When he already knows and wishes he'd taken that accounting job.)

"Another pair here ont he side of his head for his partner's safety. Another pair of eyes here int he front that can look reassuringly at a bleeding victim and say'You'll be alright ma'am' when he knows it isn't so."

"Lord," said the angel, touching his sleeve, "rest and work on this tomorrow."

"I can't," said the Lord, "I already have a model that can talk a 250 pound drunk out from behind a steering wheel without incident and feed a family of five on a private service paycheck."

The angel circled the model of the paramedic very slowly, "Can it think?" she asked.

"You bet," said the Lord. "It can tell you the symptoms of 100 illnesses, recite drug calculations in its sleep; intubate, defibrillate, medicate, andcontinue CPR nonstop over terrain that any doctor would fear... and still it keeps its sense of humor."

"This EMT/Medic also has phenominal control. He can deal with a multi-victim trauma, coax a frightened elderly person to unlock their door, comfort a murder victim's family, and then read in the daily paper how EMT's and Paramedics were unable to locate a house quickly enough, allowing a person to die. A house which had no street sign, no house numbers, no phone to call back."

Finally, the angel bent over and ran her hand across the cheek of the EMT/Paramedic.

"There's a leak," she pronounced. "I told you that you were trying to put too much into this model."

"That's not a leak." said the Lord, "It's a tear."
"What's the tear for?" asked the angel.
"It's for bottled-up emotions, for patients they tried in vain to save, for cmmitment to hope that they will make a difference in a person's chance to survive, for life."

"You're a genius," said the angel.

The Lord looked somber, "I didn't put it there."

author unknown.
 
Do you feel that way about what you do? It must be nice to have that kind of dedication. I've yet to find anything that isn't merely a means to an end.
 
I do, the damn thing gets me going everytime i read it..i got into the profession because it gives me the chance to be there to support ppl when they are scared, hurt and alone. something i never had and i hope that i can make a difference to the ppl i help. its not an easy job but i can't see doing anything else. :)
 
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