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Thanking Those who REALLY Deserve it – Merry Christmas

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I originally meant to post this during Thanksgiving, but this season seems appropriate enough. I love Christmas. It’s my most favorite time of year. I love family, friends, cooking, and giving gifts. I love Christmas parties, I love the fellowship, and I love being kind to everyone and having them not look at me strangely… ok *as* strangely as they do other times of the year.

And also, I tell people “Merry Christmas”. I don’t say “Happy Holidays”, “Happy Winder Holiday”, or “My lawyer sez to tell you ‘good luck”. If someone responds with “Happy Chanukah”, or “Happy Kwanza”, or “Happy MishMash Shaloob” I’m not offended by it and I’m happy that they wished me the sentiment so there ya go.

Oh, and to my UK friends, Merry Frumpydumples to ye’

So what’s my Christmas post going to be? Well, it’s about thanking who’s really important to thank. As you all know, I’m a volunteer paramedic and firefighter as well as being a career paramedic and firefighter. This time of year in the small towns, it’s pretty common to have people stop by and offer up sweet treats and tell us “Thank you” for what we do for them. Let me make the blanket statement that I really appreciate it folks, even if my waist line and my pending diabetes doesn’t. However, I don’t think that I deserve your thanks.

I have always gotten more from my service to others than I could ever hope to give back to it. I love EMS and I love the Fire Department and I love helping people. I identify with it and I couldn’t imagine my life without it. Even after a solid decade of running my “Life Under the Lights” I can’t imagine doing anything else. I am rewarded a thousand times over by every smile I get, every person I comfort, and every person that I am privileged enough to come into contact with as a caregiver.

So who should the people that wish to thank us actually be thanking?

Well , first thank my wife for every time that I’ve had to get up and leave for a volunteer call in the middle of a family dinner. Thank my kid for every time that I’ve missed out on play time, or story time, or nap time because the pager called me away. Thank my family for all of the times that they’ve had to do without me because I was working mandatory overtime. Thank my wife too for all the nights she sleeps alone because I’m on a 24 and am sleeping at the station. Thank my friends for all the times that I’ve stood them up on plans because I’ve gotten stuck running calls. Thank everyone who cares that I spend time with them, because a lot of the time I could be doing that I’m off caring for everybody else.

Thank the same people for every volunteer or public safety person you know… because without the caring and understanding of the people that truly matter in life for us, we couldn’t be out there doing it for you. They’re the heroes here.

That, and one more thing. I was never in the Military and I probably should have been. This may not be much, but Thank You to all of our Military Men and Women out there serving for me and my family. I can’t write enough to say how much I deeply, and truly appreciate your sacrifice… but from the most humble part of my heart, Thank You for everything you do. The same thanks goes to your families and loved ones as well.

Merry Christmas, Every one.

Posted by on December 24, 2009 • Filed under: 2009, Ambulance, appreciation, Emergency Medical Services, EMS, EMS ethics, EMS Health & Safety, EMS Motivation, EMS pep talk, EMS Topics, fire, Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighter, Firefighter Safety & Health, In the Line of Duty, Line of Duty, News, Paramedic, pride, profession, professionalism

EMS Week 2009 – Letter to the Editor

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*** Note!! – I’m getting a lot of traffic sent by Google looking for EMS Week thank you letters. There are more than one on this site. This is just the one that was indexed first and pops up first. Look at the home page to see more.

Here is a letter to the editor that I sent to a local paper in honor of EMS week. You may change the name of the service and the geographic location and use it for your service if you wish. EMS Week is May 17th through the 23rd 2009.

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You may never give it a second thought but we’re here for you. When the unthinkable happens Emergency Medical Professionals are standing ready to swoop in and help you and your loved ones. Whether it’s a serious medical condition or accident, EMTs and Paramedics are quietly and heroically performing lifesaving tasks in our communities every day.

EMS Week 2009 will be celebrated this year the week of May 17th to the 23rd. It is a national awareness week highlighting the vital services provided every day by the Emergency Medical Services professionals throughout every community in the United States. Here in (GEOGRAPHIC AREA) we are lucky to be served by dedicated EMTs and Paramedics who give of themselves in many capacities to ensure that our lives are protected.

The (is the 911 ambulance provider for the (GEOGRAPHIC AREA). In addition, we provide (SOME OTHER SERVICES IN SOME AREAS). We would like to thank the citizens in our service area for all of the support that they have given us in the past and would like to take this opportunity to express our continued passion for health in our community. We pledge to continue providing the highest quality Emergency Medical Services and Medical Transportation and to continuously find new and innovative ways to improve our quality and service to our community.

In order to do this we are calling on our citizens to support us by taking a few steps of their own. First, everyone should learn CPR. It is a simple and easy way to make a big impact in the lives of your neighbors and loved ones. With the odds of surviving sudden cardiac arrest decreasing roughly 10% per minute without adequate CPR and Defibrillation, good early CPR saves lives. If everyone knew this lifesaving skill just think of what we could do and who we could save. Please contact our office or your local hospital to find out about upcoming classes.

Second, everyone should learn the warning signs for heart attack and stroke. Studies have shown that 60% of people call a friend or family member when they realize that they may be having a serious medical problem. You should know that approximately 1% of cardiac tissue dies per minute in an untreated heart attack. Paramedic ambulances provide lifesaving medications that can stop or slow down this damage and can be at your side within minutes of a call to 911. This treatment is not only lifesaving, it also can greatly improve your quality of life after the attack.

Again, thank you to our citizens for their support. We encourage the public to say hello to our EMTs and Paramedics as they see them around town and also to contact our office for more information on any of the above topics. Please also see our website at Http://proems.blogspot.com

Sincerely,

Ckemtp NREMT-Paramedic

Anytown Ambulance Service and Malt Shop, Inc

Posted by on May 11, 2009 • Filed under: 2009, EMS, EMS practice, EMS Week 2009, EMT, Fire department, information, Letter, letter to the editor, newspaper, Paramedic, Public relations, Week
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