i wish you could know

[mrFDNY]

hi all,
someone sent me this.i felt i should pass it on.


I wish you could know


I wish you could comprehend a wife's horror, at 3 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 that everything possible was done to try to save his life.
I wish you could know my thoughts as I respond to another call "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 the doctor pronounces dead the beautiful five-year old girl that I have been trying to save for the past 25 minutes, who will never go on her first date or again say the words, "I love you, Mommy."
I wish you could know the frustration I feel in the cab of the ambulance, my hand pressing, again and again, on the siren 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 teenage girl from the remains of her automobile. "What if this were my sister, my girlfriend, or a friend? What would her parents' reaction 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 through the door and greet my family, not having the heart to tell them about my day.
I wish you could know how it feels to dispatch Paramedics and EMTs, how our heart drops when we call for them and no one answers, or to hear a bone-chilling 9-1-1 call from a child or a wife in need of assistance.
I wish you could feel the hurt when people verbally, and sometimes physically, abuse us or belittle what we do, or when they express their attitude of "It will never happen to me."


I wish you could realize the physical, emotional, and mental drain of missed meals, lost sleep, and relinquished social activities, in addition to all the tragedy my eyes have seen.


I wish you could know the bonds of brotherhood, the self-satisfaction of saving a life, being able to be there in times of crisis, or restoring order from chaos.
I wish you could understand what it feels like to have a little boy tugging at your arm and asking, "Is Mommy okay?" of not even being able to meet his eyes without tears in your own, not knowing what to say,


Or having to hold back a long time friend who watches as CPR is being performed on his buddy while they take him away in an ambulance. You knew all along he did not have his seat belt on, knowledge that becomes too familiar.
Unless you have lived this kind of life, you will never truly understand or appreciate who I am, who we are, or what our job really means to us...
I wish you could though.

 

[Forevryoung]

Yay us who do it every day...

I volunteer as an EMT and I wish people COULD know.

Maybe they would thank us more often and call us for the b*ll stuff less often (having an ear ache for four days is NOT an emergency Yes, that was my 4am call a few weeks ago).

 

[luvthatduke]

We love our first responders, God bless each one!!

 

[Pin Wizard]

They certainly are a special bunch of people. To do that on a daily basis takes a special person.

 

[newholidayx2]

this goes not only for EMTs but for all OR and ER workers - thank you everyone

DH has seen more than his share of tragedies working in the OR the past 20+ yrs. He only shares some of them with me. I have heard of the many battles btwn patient & hospital employee, the many deaths, the many accidents, the dead babies handed to DH to be brought to the morgue, his conversations w/parents telling them that a loved one has passed. We have friends/acquaintances who have asked to have DH bring them to the OR.
DH right this min is bringing a friend/coworker to see his doctor to discuss his radiation therapy. I know about the support from his coworkers - it really is a strong bond.

 

[JESW]

Thanks - for everything that you and others do for us. My BIL was a fireman in Boston years ago and had to retire due to an injury. (He was a tillerman) The stories he would tell us... The ones that bothered me the most were about the scum who would come in to ROB the fire department when they were out on calls.....

Jill

 

[pattyT]

THANK YOU!
thank you for all you do and thank you for sharing that!

 

[funhouse8]

What a powerful lettter. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. You are appreciated so much. Thank you, Thank you!

 

[Poohnatic]

Thank you. The mental pictures speak of things only the strongest of people can put up with day in and day out.

Suzanne

 

[gradtchr]

Thank you. That speaks volumes of those who are true heros everyday.

 

[SillyMe]

Thank you and to everyone else in this line of work. I can't imagine how you make it through everything that you see and experience every day.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Thanks, meFDNY. Many of those thoughts are what I hear, or probably more honestly, feel, from our son, Vince. he does not talk about it too much, but I can feel it. One day, I did have a conversation with him, of his previous day. Included delivering a baby, losing an older gentleman to a heart attack. Joy and sadness, all in a day's work.

Thanks to all of you.

 

[simba928]

Thank you so much for posting that ladder. My dad is a volunteer fire fighter and when I read that, I got a deeper appreciation than I already had for him and other fire fighters. I honestly appreciate EVERYTHING you do. I am so glad that there are people like you and my dad in this world that truly want to help people.

 

[Tantor]

I live next door and across the street from fireman. The one next door saved my hubby's life when hubby was stung by wasps and went into anaphylactic shock and was turning blue.We had no idea he was allergic. I almost lost my husband. I thank my neighbour everyday.

 

[Sparx]

wow thanks for posting this

 

[Feralpeg]

EMTs are mortal angels put here to help us until it is our time to leave this earth.

 

[O2BNWDW]

What a touching essay
Thank you all for all the work that you do. Just know that there are people out here who respect and appreciate what you do.
My DB is a police officer and I worry about him all the time.

pet peeve - people who don't clear out of the way for emergency vehicles.

 

[L107ANGEL]

That was nothing short of beautifull I would like to thank you and each and everyone who serves our communties in such a profound way