By Jim Love
EMSafety.net
Leaving home to go to work on Christmas morning is never easy. Especially when you have young children. Later, responding to a call that same Christmas morning for an unknown medical seems odd. Christmas or Easter — these should be some of the slowest days of the year.
After all the holidays are about family and good food, good times. The siren wail seems a little more glum, a little more gloomy.
Upon arrival we found a 30-something female who had died hours earlier. A woman — a mother with two small children sitting around the tree. A woman — a wife whose husband cries silent tears. A family changed forever.
It’s at times like this when you realize that need never takes a holiday and that compassion is year round. It’s why the theme for this year’s EMS Week, “Anytime, Anywhere,” is so very real and accurate.
It’s at times like this you hug your own kids just a little longer. It’s likely your kids, your spouse, will never know why.
Keep them in your mind and heart this year. Thank them for allowing you to do what you do. Finally, my very real thanks to you all.
Jim Love began his EMS career in 1974. Since that time he has worked providing direct patient care, and has been an FTO. He transitioned to management and has held many positions over the years including operations and later focusing on training, safety and risk management. His most recent position was National Director of Safety and Risk for AMR. Prior to that, he was the Regional Director of Safety and Risk, CES and Fleet Services, also for AMR. He worked extensively on the development of all three Safety Concept Vehicles co-built by AMR and AEV. He maintains an EMS Safety site and blog, EMSafety.net, and can be contacted at drjlove007@gmail.com.