Example essay

           The silence is broken by a loud tone coming from the black box that is clipped to everyone’s side; a familiar voice breaks in to give the next crew up an idea of where they are going and for what reason. I close my laptop with a sense of frustration; my English 101 work will have to wait a little bit longer. As my partner and I scurry across the parking lot to the garage, a few white speckles start falling from the sky; “I guess the weatherman was right” are the first words that are muttered from my partner after his brief nap. We open the garage door, climb into the ambulance and hit the switch to activate our emergency lights and sirens; my adrenalin starts to pump as I mentally prepare myself for the call. I love my second job for so many reasons; a few examples come to mind when I think of why.

Every Saturday, I would go to the nursing and rehab facility to pick-up my “Saturday morning date,” as she would say; I will call her “Amy” for privacy reasons.  Amy is a lady in her early 80’s who had recently had a hip replacement and was in the facility for her rehabilitation treatment.  She was very ill for a while after the surgery since her body was having a hard time fighting off an infection that she had acquired.  Our “Saturday date” would consist of me picking her up to take to dialysis and a return trip later in the day.  I would always walk into her room and let out a cheerful “Good morning Amy!”  She would turn her head, smile and respond with a “Good morning handsome!”  Over the weeks, Amy and I ended up getting to know each other pretty well.  She would tell me stories about her children and ask me how my son was doing; she would even be upset if I missed a Saturday with her.  I was always happy to see how Amy’s health was improving; with each and every passing week, I was able to see great improvements.  Last week, Amy got to finally go home after weeks of rehabilitation.  This weekend, I came to work and found a card in my mail box from her; simply stating how happy she was to have me pick her up every weekend.  That gave me a feeling that no words can describe.

Amy is an example of a patient that I had the pleasure of getting to know well; this does not happen with them all.  Jeff was also an older gentleman in his early 80’s who had called us because of a fall in the middle of the night.  He had dislocated his shoulder and remained on the kitchen floor until the following morning because he did not want to bother us so late.  I must admit that Jeff did not look very good when I first saw him that morning; his skin was pale and cold from being on the kitchen floor all evening and was in a slight state of shock.  We got Jeff to the emergency room and left him in the capable hands of the attending physician, not knowing what would become of him.  Later that day, we were called back to the hospital to take Jeff home.  I walked into Jeff’s room and immediately noticed that he at least looked much better.  As I began to ask Jeff how he was feeling, a big smile came across his face; Jeff had not remembered the fact that we had picked him but, had remembered my voice.  He told me that the sound of my voice was reassuring to him and put him at ease; he said that he knew that everything would be alright because he could hear the concern for his well being in my voice.  He thanked me and began to cry; another example of why I love my weekend job.

Even though there are many patients that I remember, the one that I will remember the most is also the one who made me want to become an EMT to begin with.  I was actually working as an armed security officer in some of the “not so pleasant” neighborhoods of St. Petersburg and Tampa, Florida.  Maria was a Russian immigrant who was also a diabetic.  I found her one night as I walked around an alley corner by her apartment complex; she had gone outside to empty her trash and could not remember her how to get home.  I asked her what her name was and received no more than a blank stare; I asked her where she lived and received nothing but a blank stare.  I could tell that Maria was in some sort of medical trouble since she was sweating excessively and didn’t even know her own name.  I immediately called for an ambulance and was told that she was going into diabetic shock and could have died if I had not found her.  After a can of coke and tube of glucose, Maria was feeling much better; the paramedic told her that I had found her and basically saved her life.  Every time that I worked that area, Maria would be sure to bring me something cold to drink and a snack at some point in the day; she told me that I was her hero. 

These are just a few examples of why I love to work in the emergency medical services field.  There are no words that can describe what it feels like to help another person in their time of need.  I have the privilege of helping every person that I meet in one way or another; it does not matter if I am performing patient care or driving the ambulance.  It is the small, unsolicited thank-you that makes it all worth it.  It is going to the grocery store and running into a patient feeling better that makes getting out of bed at three in the morning worth it.  I love my second job!