EMS POETRY/ POÉSIE SMU
English - Anglais |
French - Français |
Dedicated to Paramedics, Fire and Police Officers and their Dispatchers:
Author unknown
I wish you could comprehend a wife's horror at 6 in the morning as I check her husband of 40 years for a pulse and find none. I start CPR anyway, hoping to bring him back, knowing intuitively it is too late. But wanting his wife and family to know everything possible was done to try and save his life.
I wish you knew the unique smell of burning insulation, the taste of soot-filled mucus, the feeling of intense heat through your turnout gear, the sound of flames crackling, the eeriness of being able to see absolutely nothing in dense smoke-sensations that I've become too familiar with.
I wish you could read my mind as I respond to a call. "Is this a false alarm or a working fire? How is the building constructed? What Hazards awaits me? Is anyone trapped?". Or to call and ask what is wrong with the patient? Is it minor or life threatening? Is the caller really in distress or is he waiting for us with a 2x4 or a gun?
I wish you could be in the emergency room, as a doctor pronounces dead, the beautiful five-year old girl that I have been trying to save during the past 25 minutes, knowing she will never go on her first date or say the words, "I love you Mommy", ever again.
I wish you could know the frustration I feel in the cab of the ambulance or engine or cruiser, the driver with his foot pressing down hard on the pedal, my arm tugging again and again at the air horn chain, as you fail to yield the right-of-way at an intersection or in traffic. When you need us however, your first comment upon our arrival will be, "It took you forever to get here!"
I wish you could know my thoughts as I help extricate a girl of teenage years from the remains of her automobile. What if this was my daughter, sister, my girlfriend or a friend? What were her parents reaction going to be when they opened the door to find a police officer with hat in hand?
I wish you could know how it feels to walk in the back door and greet my parents and family, not having the heart to tell them that I nearly did not come back from the last call.
I wish you could know how it feels dispatching officers, firefighters and paramedics out and when we call for them and our heart drops because no one answers back or to here a bone chilling 911 call of a child or wife needing assistance.
I wish you could feel the hurt as people verbally and sometimes physically abuse us or belittle what we do, or as they express their attitudes of "It will never happen to me".
I wish you could realize the physical, emotional and mental drain of missed meals, lost sleep and forgone social activities, in addition to all the tragedy my eyes have seen.
I wish you could know the brotherhood and self-satisfaction of helping save a life or preserving someone's property, or being able to be there in time of crisis, or creating order from total chaos.
I wish you could understand what it feels like to
have a little boy tugging at your arm and asking, "Is my Mommy okay?", not even
being able to look in his eyes without tears from your own and not knowing what
to say. Or to have to hold back a long time friend who watches his buddy having
CPR done on him as they take him away in the Medic Unit. You know all along he
did not have his seat belt on. A sensation that I have become too familiar with.
Unless you have lived with this kind of life, you will never truly understand or
appreciate who I am, we are, or what our job really means to us...I wish you
could though.
PLEASE APPRECIATE AND SUPPORT THE LOCAL
EMS PARAMEDICS, 911 DISPATCHERS, FIREFIGHTERS, and LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS IN
YOUR AREA. ONE DAY THEY'LL PROBABLY BE SAVING YOUR PROPERTY OR YOUR OWN LIFE.
WHEN YOU SEE THEM COMING WITH LIGHTS FLASHING, MOVE OUT OF THE WAY QUICKLY, and
THEN PLEASE PRAY FOR THEM!
LIVES LOST
Author unknown
As the pager tones sounded for that dreaded call,
The adrenaline pumped, the fear wound up in a ball.
"Two car MVA with injuries" the dispatcher confessed,
My fears grew worse as I got dressed.
At the station, everyone came,
Firefighters, EMTs, off-duty policemen who were the same.
They all knew it would be bad,
We all prayed that or some family, tonight would not turn sad.
At the scene, steam hissed, people bawled,
We counted five people in all.
Two adults and two kids in one car, one drunk in the other,
Killed on impact were a father and a mother.
We told the chief to come and see,
The police were needed, so was the M.E.
We covered the first two so the kids couldn't see,
Their parents had ceased to be.
The drunk driver had a mere scratch,
The other injuries would be no match.
A boy and a girl,who were both wearing seatbelts,
All we could see were just some welts.
Unannounced to us, because that was all we could see,
Both kids had closed head injuries.
Pulses dropped, blood pressures went sky high,
We knew what that meant, but we weren't about to let them die.
We left the scene, racing down the road,
Lights and sirens, that was our code.
We got to the hospital not a moment too soon,
As we lept from the rig, we saw the full moon.
We got back to our senses, rushed the kids inside,
Time was of the essence, since two had already died.
The police arrived at the hospital you know,
The drunk driver between them, his head hung low.
The kids went from the E.R. to the O.R. in no time flat,
The police said the mother was Veronica, the father was Matt.
Paperwork was finished, the rig equipment cleaned,
We hung aroud for awhile, but hours it seemed.
We waited and waited for news from nurse Able,
Our hopes were soon dashed, both kids died on the table.
When we got to the firehouse, everyone was still there,
They were just talking, saving us a chair.
We all talked, some of us cried,
Over the fact that one was alive, and a family had died.
The funerals were held sometime later, we were asked to attend,
We all went, it helped us to mend.
Family was there, friends were too,
They all thanked us, for it was the best that we could do.
NOT ENOUGH
Daniel Ramage 15/10/02
We handed over our patient and waited outside,
We'd saved another life, our hearts filled with pride.
All of a sudden out of the blue,
The radio crackled and screamed - "Twenty-two"
I lunged for the handset, no smile on my face,
Was someone in trouble? Should we make pace?
The dispatcher informed us we wont have to ride,
Our patients a transfer, he was right inside.
We loaded our stretcher, not sure what we'd find,
Went through the door, the cold air behind,
Straight for the Trauma room, both of us went,
Where the last two hours our patient had spent.
Our patient, a male, all battered and bruised,
As a punching bag he'd clearly been used.
He'd been stabbed many times by some sort of knife,
And was trying very hard to hold onto life.
All the Doctors and Nurses did, was complain,
They said they'd phoned for us again and again.
I looked at the patient, who was nearly dead,
The words, "I can't handle this" ran through my head.
This patient was critical, had not a chance,
We need a paramedic, who was more advanced.
My partner agreed and radioed in,
As the feeling of death crept under my skin.
I looked on at his Sats. as they dropped lower,
The Doctor just seemed to go slower and slower.
All of a sudden his heart rate was none,
The patient was dying, he was nearly done.
We started to Resus. A prayer in our head,
Please Lord; don't let this patient be dead.
We bagged and compressed with all our might,
Hoping our patient was willing to fight.
The Resus. Went longer than it normally would,
We did everything that we possibly could.
The Doctor said, "Stop, this patient is blue."
There was not a thing more that we could do.
This patient he died and others will come,
There's not one thing in this job that is fun.
I've thought about quitting, forgetting the sirens loud
yelp,
But there people out there in need of my help.
SOMETIMES
(Author Unknown)
Lights flash, sirens blare
into the deep, dark air.
EOA, AED, life saving equipment against death,
Even for the guy that ODed on meth.
Saving lives is what we do,
Our hearts are in their place, our care is true.
Some live, some die,
Most are afraid to ask why.
Sometimes we try, sometimes they die,
Familys find it hard to say goodbye.
Our hearts try to be strong through jokes and cold hearts,
Then reality hits and life, death parts.
We feel we must do what we can,
In those hospitals, in those big vans.
Who are we you ask?
Saving lives is our jobs, it is our task.
Never giving more than any less,
We are a team, we are E.M.S.!
THE MISUNDERSTOOD
(Author Unknown)
Us, the willing
Led by the unknowing
Are doing the impossible
For the ungreatful.
We have been doing it for so long
With so little
That we are now qualified to do anything
With nothing.
TO THE ONE I LOVE
by Christopher Wynslow, SrA, USAF
Firefighter / EMT - III
Elmendorf Fire & Emergency Services
rescuephoto@msn.com
To the one I LOVE,
I became involved in emergency service work because
there is a need for people to help others who are in trouble. Sometimes there
are calls I respond to, that are difficult to talk about even with the person
you love and trust most in the world.
Please accept that.
There are at times experiences I suffer which hurt
me very deeply, and I might bring my suffering home. Sometimes my feelings
bother me so much so that I can't even talk about them. Maybe it's because I
don't want you to even imagine what I've suffered or maybe it's because I'm
afraid you won't fully understand the depth of my feelings. During these times
I'll become moody or irritable, and I may not SEEM to care much about your
feelings or problems even though I DO CARE very much.
Please accept that.
You love me for who and what I am. I choose to do
what I do because it is so important to me and to those I help, and although
it's sometimes very difficult and maybe even dangerous, I love doing what I do,
and I do it well. In short, I'm proud of what I am, and I hope that you are
proud of me.
There are times, though, when I feel that I didn't do enough - so many people
out there depend on me; there are even times I get frustrated and even angry at
my co-workers, myself and the victims of tragedy. There are times that the
horrors I have to deal with just overwhelm me. That's when I have to sort
things out by myself, or others who were there with me.
Please accept that.
So PLEASE, if I have a really bad call and just
can't talk, it isn't because I don't love and care for you. It's not because I
doubt your love and concern for me. I'm just not ready to open up. When this
happens, don't try to understand - just accept the fact that I'm hurting - and
that I'll talk to you when I can.
I PROMISE.
LES MAL COMPRIS
(traduit du poem anglais: THE MISUNDERSTOOD)
(Auteur Inconnu)
Nous, les "prêts à faire"
Dirigés par les "sans connaissances"
Faisons l'impossible
Pour les ingrats.
Nous le faisons depuis si longtemps
Avec si peu
Que maintenant nous sommes qualifiés pour faire n'importe quoi
Avec rien.
