MVA photos

One of our Own, A repost from Bernice

For those that are in the field of EMS we often wonder where all the "good" people are. Stuck with partners that don't care or just don't get it, we dream every day for the elusive soul that is not only good at what they do, but you know they have your back no matter what. The same holds true for people not in EMS. When you find yourself dialing those three numbers for yourself, your mother, your friend, your child - you want someone there who can connect with you and earn your trust in seconds. So what are we to do when that person everyone wants to come running when they call 911 can't? What are we supposed to do? Well folks, this is your chance.

There is one such woman who puts her heart and soul into the job day in and day out. Her heart takes permanent residence on her sleeve while she cares for you physically and emotionally. This woman has worked her butt off to attend medic school. And wouldn't you know it has been faced with a barrier I hope we can all help her overcome. She is strong, passionate, loving and one of the coolest people I know. And she needs our help.

I know money is tight. I know we most of us don't "know" her, but I dare you to take five minutes and read through Epi's blog and tell me she doesn't deserve a chance to make her dream come true. She has worked so hard to get where she is today only to be stopped in her tracks.

I'm challenging all of you to three fives. Give five dollars, tell five friends and take five minutes to stop by Epi's blog and give her some words of encouragement.

I have put a donation button in the sidebar. Every last penny goes to Epi and getting her to medic school. I HATE asking for money but I can't think of anyone else that deserves this as much as she does.

Thank you all so much!

UPDATE: Epi gives a bit more of an explanation here. There have been several people wondering why I have been so vague as to why we are helping her out financially as well as with as much love and support we can muster and frankly as much as I would like to remove any doubt from your mind as to why she needs us, I don't want to cross lines of revealing more personal information than she is comfortable giving out. The bottom line is we have all been there at one point or another. When everything seems to fall apart and the one good thing you had your sights on gets taken away. If you have any more questions, please feel free to ask. But as I said before, I'm not sure how much I can truly share beyond what she has already.

Thank you for your understanding.

You can get to the donate link at http://callitasiseefit.blogspot.com/. Just look for the pay pal logo... JS

The puppy

Let me tell you a story. I was the lead instructor for a fire cadet program. The cadets were ages 13-18. I had a very promising cadet. She was full of life and had a strong desire to learn. I taught her everything I could about being a good firefighter. When she turned 18 she wanted to be hired by the fire department I was working for. The fire chief at the time didn't want to hire cadets because he felt they might be to young and not mature. It took a great deal of talking to the chief to get her hired, but she did get the job. I was proud of her. Next she went into her EMT class. When it came time to do clinical rotations, I pulled some strings and got her to be able to do her clinicals with me on my ambulance, I taught her everything I could about being an EMT. After being on the fire department for about 8 months she got into some trouble. I came to her defense and got her corrective action greatly reduced by talking to the chief for her (I was the union Steward at the time). Shortly before I left the department this very same person that I help get to where she was turned on me. She started spreading rumors about me, under minding my work with cadets and probationary firefighters, and looking for any reason to report me to the chief. This really upset me, and still does. I bring this up because I found out this person reads my blog, and a year after I moved to a different fire department, she is still talking about me. It is like loving and training a puppy, and when the puppy grows into a dog it bites you! I think this is very shady.... JS

Ever birthed the 2nd coming?

see more Fail Blog

Yes, like every "experienced" (Read: "old") Medic I've had someone look me straight in the eye and say "I can't be pregnant!" or "No, I'm NOT pregnant, I told you!" or some variation on that... while in active labor.

I can imagine that this resulted from something like that.

South African TV commercial

This is from a South African TV commercial for an OTC antacid. You can probably tell that it was written by someone who speaks English as a second language. Funny as heck it is, if a little blue.

Where do I sign up to sell antacids?

(click on the pic for a bigger version)

Yes, this kid is freaking out because his MOM cancelled his World of Warcraft Account.

Ok, so maybe in EMS we've learned not to sweat the small stuff. Maybe I'm cynical and don't think that this is a big enough deal for a suburban teenager to freak out about. Maybe I don't thrash around in my well-apportioned, freshly-cleaned-by-mom room in such a manner that I don't knock over the lighthouse when, oh I don't know, someone dies in front of me or something like that.

I hate overly emotional people. I hate drama kings, queens, and vice versa. FTLOG people!

With youth like this, EMS will always have work. Did you see him hitting himself with a SHOE and punching... the MATTRESS because he was mad? Yea, that's tough.

The Drunk Crackhead - Part 2

Let me tell you the rest of the crack story.

We are at the jail with our patient. He is getting fingerprinted from our cot. There is a small holding cell in the room where he is being printed. In this cell is a drunk. There are 2 officers trying to get the drunks property (wallet, keys, money) into a property bag. The property bag is about 8 inches by 8 inches, and seals like a zip-lock bag. The drunk refuses to give them his property until they let him go to the bathroom. The officer tell him that they will let him go to the bathroom after he has turned over his property. The drunk still refuses and says he is going to piss on them. The officers are kind of distracted at this time because we are telling them the story of the stolen crack. So the drunk finally agrees to put his stuff in the property bag. The officers hand him the bag through the bars. But the drunk does not put his property in the bag. Instead he decides to urinate in the bag.The drunk is now laughing. He then hands the sealed bag, 1/2 full with urine to the officers. That makes the officers very upset. So, one officer goes into the cell and "removes" his property. When he comes out of the cell, he starts to hand the other officer the drunks property. The other officer opens up the property bag 1/2 filled with urine and places the drunks wallet, money and keys in the bag to soak. Needless to say the drunk was not laughing anymore. Then they filed the property and boxed it up. When the drunk gets released from jail, he will have a well marinated wallet. So I guess the cops got the last laugh. JS

See more from JS at http://fatfireman.blogspot.com