Why do I do this?

As part of my personal growth, I signed on at work to be a first responder or ERT. This was done a couple years ago for several reasons. We were expecting child number one so I thought that would be great experience and I would also get the benefit of 40 hours of day shift training once a year.

The experiences thus far have been pretty light of which I am grateful. A typical run might be a diabetic episode, dizziness, cuts and abrasions or heart trouble. I have been out on lots of calls but lately with increased overtime for production, people are tired, fatigued and some just plain ornery. Last week we did have a very deep cut on a guys forearm which after the bleeding was controlled, the nurse asked me to look at, so I did. It was very pink and quite wide... YUCK! I handled that one very well though. Today as I was checking my emails, there was a series of three from the area spokes person. The end result was that we had a person suffer a massive hear attack and did not make it. God bless him and his family!

I am supposed to go to training next week with one of the guys who worked on him so it should be interesting. I guess he had quite a rough time after the man was transferred to EMT's and out of his care. I can only imagine how I would react. He went home early and reportedly was second guessing himself whether he had done enough. I hope and pray not to have this situation ever come up but one never knows, I guess that is why I signed on for this , so I can learn and hopefully know what to do when an emergency comes up.

In regards to my family, I hope to retain some training and be able to help when needed. With the different things we do like Geo caching and hiking, with two little ones, I am sure we are headed for a few bumps and bruises. My family also has some age to it so I hope if ever faced with trouble, I can keep composed in order to help.

I hate when I am faced with certain realities of which no one has any control. That can be very hard to accept. God help me...