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"To Our Town from the EMTs" Author Unknown - We're sorry if we wake you in the
middle of the night, Poem submitted by Diane Saunders a retired EMT of 12 years for Middleton EMS, Middleton, Wisconsin and now on a disaster medical assistance Team (MN-1 DMAT) Naked Therapy Some people believe first responders are immune
from the terrible things they witness, enabling them to go about their daily
duties as if they are a common chore. This, however, couldn't be farther from
the truth. Everyone needs something to help him or her decompress. Under stress,
your sense of humor is one of the first things to go. But if you can laugh at
the situation, you'll be amazed at how much better you feel. Frances Kibbe, an
E.M.T-B from a Massachusetts Ambulance Company, uses one such example of this
therapy. Looking back, she recalls the time she responded to the state police
barracks for an unknown medical complaint. There, she discovered a young female,
sitting calmly, and in no obvious distress. Witnesses had stated that the
patient, for unknown reasons, had earlier flipped out at a local gas station,
screaming and yelling at the clerk. Hoping the patient's current docile behavior
would continue, E.M.T. Kibbe started her examination. Kibbe's hope soon ran out
though as the patient again went on her emotional outburst, threatening to punch
and kick anyone near. With things soon calmed, E.M.T Kibbe, along with another
first responder, started their transport to the local hospital. Arriving at the
E.R without incident, Kibbe quickly turned over care of the patient and headed
for a private room to start her paperwork. Suddenly, commotion broke out in the
hall. From a back room, Kibbe stuck her head out, witnessing the female patient
she had just transported, running down the corridor as naked as the first day
she was born, three large guards in hot pursuit. Ducking back into the safety of
her little niche, Kibbe next heard a loud thud, followed by the long squeaking
sound of bare skin sliding across the floor. All Frances Kibbe could think about
is how much that must have hurt. Using humor however, allowed her to move from
the grim and bare it, to the grin and share it. LONG DISTANCE WIFE PROBLEMS Police department communication centers receive hundreds if not thousands of calls each year. Most are legitimate in nature requiring quick thinking and immediate dispatch of emergency services. Some, however, are examples of why people shouldn't be allowed in public unsupervised. Back in the middle sixty's, one such instance of this moronic behavior happened to Sacramento Police Department Officer Kevin Mulderrig. While assigned to the communications center, he received the following phone call from an irate husband. The man was complaining about his wife, saying that she was nagging constantly at him and that he wanted the police to come and take care of her. Noting the bad reception on the phone line and believing it was probably a long distance call, Officer Mulderrig asked where he was calling from. With confidence in his voice, the male caller replied "Los Angeles." Hearing this, Officer Mulderrig questioned back, "Sir, do you know this is the Sacramento Police Department? Why don't you phone the Los Angeles Police Department with your spousal complaint?" Without hesitation, the man replied, "I did that. They told me that there was nothing they could do about it, and if I didn't like it, I should phone Sacramento (State Capitol) and that's exactly what I am doing." In the emergency service, we call this action-job security. Kevin Mulderrig, Lt. (Retired) Sacramento Police Department. Service - July 1, 1958 - December 28, 1989 Bottoms Up Even the best of plans sometimes go wrong. Fortunately, with training and experience, first responders make the best out of a bad situation and sometimes have fun doing it. Responding to a man down call, Lt. Mike Gurr of a Florida Fire Company and his crew discovered an elderly man down on a wooden boat dock. Being forewarned of the docks deteriorating condition, Lt. Gurr decided to let the lighter members of his crew assess the man while his larger frame body assisted on the concrete seawall next door. Unbeknownst to him and his crew though, the dock was in worse shape than first thought. While attempting to put the older man on a backboard, the wooden dock gave way, dropping all involved 8' down into a deepwater canal. Fear for his crew quickly set in as Lt. Gurr raced back to the truck for a rope. Upon his return though, fear turned to laughter as he saw the patient doing his best impression of an ostrich, his butt sticking straight up in the air, his face buried in the murky mud below. If that wasn't enough, Lt. Gurr next spotted the man's hair piece floating by, heading out to sea. Luckily, all involved were not seriously hurt. It just goes to show you, all's well that ENDS well. Mike Gurr, Lieutenant |
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