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heh... way to drop the hammer Dust. I can respect that, and I will make time to deliver a proper response. In the mean time, you should know I will in the future make sure you are aware of any achievements and or set backs I ecounter in the EMS world. Catch you on the flip side, my friend.

I have an agreement with my HVAC guy: He doesn't do EMS things, and I don't do HVAC things, and we pay each other for each other's skill sets and knowledge.

After 10 years in EMS - the last 7 as a paramedic, I had a similar injury way back in 1985. My advice to you is to take a long view. I attempted to return to work way to early - and the aggravation to the original injury ended my career. I really loved doing my job, just like you. 25 years down the road, here is my advice: 1) As I said, take a long term view. You have to live with your body for the rest of your life. No matter how much pain you have experienced, it can get worse. I have had to deal with increasing, severe chronic pain. In recent years, I have become disabled as a result of it. After loosing function in my left leg, I had the first of four surgeries. Function improved, pain got worse. These days a neuro-stim implanted in my spine and 4 different daily meds make life bearable - but I can be active for only about four hours per day - on my good days. Please put your body first - after all, jobs change - but your body will be with you for the rest of your life. 2) There is life after EMS. I went back to school and became a minister - I pastored churches for 20 years, and even now I serve as Chaplain to a Civil Air Patrol squadron when my body lets me. I also ran a computer business for several years. Now that I am "retired" I get to spend time with family and especially my grand kids. My primary care provider is a former paramedic who went back to school and became a PA after he injured his back at work. Others have made suggestions in previous posts. EMS is in many ways a calling and a lifestyle, it's not just a job. This can really increase the sense of loss when you can't do it anymore. Hang in there - if you play you cards right, you can have a wonderful life. In spite of everything, I have been through I would not trade places with anyone. I hope this helps! Vince

Hilarious! But seriously, lets look at the facts. First aid guy come Paramedic, driving around with a shite load of gear in the boot of his car, carrying more crap on his belt than batman and judge dredd put together. Plays with handcuffs and OC spray. Talks about saving lives, how well he is respected and his hundred hours of "combat" training, "rescue ambulances", EMTB's deserve no respect, you "Buy the best eqipment and know how to use it", powers of arrest and all the other garbage you have here. Your first post here is about what toys you have hanging off your hips, yet your some kind of awesome paramedical pioneer who gets results, and yet i have barely seen a post in another thread about something clinicall orientated or one that didn't involve your whacker belt or how awesome you are. So are you a new troll or are you one we have had here before?

And how many of those that answer "zero" only do it to shut the little ghouls up? I absolutely HATE being asked "What's the worst thing you've ever seen?"! Obviously, the worst I've seen is the stuff I would most likely want to NOT remember.... Law Enforcement carries a side-arm because its part of their duty gear. OC spray, handcuffs and the other accoutrements that you profess to carry/possess 'just in case' are more related to Law Enforcement than they EVER will be related to EMS. Again, more geared toward Law Enforcement than EMS. You come off as someone who walks around like Billy Bad-ass, just LOOKING for a 'reason' to drop kick the shit out of someone for looking at you sideways, and you wonder why you're being called out on this and labeled a 'whacker'..... If everyone carried OC, we'd have a shit-load of people laying on the ground crying, slobbering and gasping for breath. There's a reason that not every chucklehead who wants it can get it..... The thing is...if you NEED handcuffs in EMS, you're probably in a situation that you would have been better off waiting for Law Enforcement to secure before you went running in like some 'junior coder'. It's that VERY attitude that will get you, your partner, or your patient FUBAR-ed in very short order....not to mention getting you standing before a judge/jury. Your arrogance isn't going to win you any friends around these here parts, pal. As far as respect....you're heading in the wrong direction with your posts and your attitude to EARN respect around here. Dismissing the EMT-B as 'insignificant' and unable to contribute anything of any value is the wrong way to look at it. Rather than dismiss them as 'insignificant', you should be fulfilling your responsibility to encourage them to further their education. Remember this: Even Superman had a weakness...his was kryptonite; yours appears to be everything above your shoulders!

Did you know, tap water is usually healthier than bottled water? Your local municipality uses a variety of methods to clean it's water, including filtration, reverse osmosis, UV, and chlorine. Government establish certain regulations about what bacteria can be present in tap water and at what levels. These levels are constantly monitored. Bottle water on the other hand has very few regulations governing it. Don't be afraid drinking tap water. It's perfectly safe. We were drinking far worse stuff for the thousands of years before filtration came about. That's a good point, although the deactivation time for most bacteria is way longer than the time the chlorine will be on your hand. Depending on the temp, E Coli usually takes one minute at 2ppm of chlorine (drinking water coming out of your tap usually has around 0.5 ppm of chlorine) to become inactive. Other bacteria, like the Hepatitis A Virus, takes around ten minutes at 2ppm of chlorine to become inactive (again, tap water usually has about 0.5 ppm of chlorine when it comes out of the tap). Other, more chlorine resistant bacterium, like Cryptosporidium can take up to a week at 2ppm to become inactive. There have been some high profile cases of mass crypto poisoning via water supplies. But crypto is only spread via fecal to mouth contact, so it's pretty rare. Unless feces is somehow getting into your water supply, you're fine. My point, don't rely on the brief exposure to chlorine to kill bacteria. But also, don't worry about the tap water giving you some sort of infection; it's safe.

If you are such a pioneer, please provide us links to the studies, published in a legitimate journal, that have you named as one of the authors.

They're in separate compartments. Give me some credit, geesh. I have a cheap PROTECH vest that spray painted "EMT" on the back of. I never wear it, though. It mainly stays locked up in my safe room. Though, it has optional tactical pockets that would make great storage. I think wearing that vest would be a bit much, though. Don't ya think? Kid, treat others how you wish to be treated.

Funny thing... none of the critical patients call me a wanker when I'm SAVING THEIR LIVES! I'm on a local outreach's group first aid team, so I have my own AED (they helped chip in for it). And no, I'm not a police officer... but where I live, the nearest police officer may be twenty minutes away (if he responds code 3), so the OC and handcuffs are a must. Scene safety is something we don't like to take lightly.

I was talking to one of the instructors for the company that I work for a few months back, and I asked him if he ever came to the City. He said, "I tried it...but there are so many arrogant motherfuckers there that it made me sick to my stomach to even try and participate." I can totally get that now... I have had my share of unkind moments during debates here, but have never really been keen on mugging the new folks...what the hell is going on? Especially from some of our strongest most confident posters. I don't see the motivation for it.. Dwayne

Dude you're a freaking whacker .... WTF On my belt I carry ... nothing When not crewing I carry .... nothing

Gosh, that’s a lot of gear… Expensive choice to buy and maintain an AED. Are you a police/paramedic?

On my person: Pocket knife. Wallet Wedding ring. In my vehicle: Spare water Extra windshield washer fluid Spare tire Dwayne

I felt this was okay for this forum, since he was by all right a member of this line of work.. At one point in history, long before EMS existed. http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-buckles-20110228,0,405865.story I have news articles from local papers.. The last Civil War vet dies, now the last WWI.. Some day, the last WWII.. Time goes on, and you have to wonder if time knows we exist.

RIP... lived a long and wonderful life

Sorry, SD. Respect doesn't come from a certification or a class of license, it has to be earned by being a constructive member of the community.

Gentlemen... ask a police officer how many times he has had to shoot someone. You'll find that the answer is usually zero. Occasionally, you'll find one who has had the unfortunately pleasure of opening fire in the line of duty. If you go to a bad neighborhood, you may find an officer whose had to do it more than once, but they're the exception. Around here, I don't think any police officer in my county has had to open fire in the last decade. So with your guys logic, they shouldn't carry guns. You'd ask them, "Does that one situation that hypothetically might happen warrant carry a firearm? You're a wacker, dude." They still carry their weapons because of a little thing called the "precautionary principle", which states that you don't wait for the emergency before you start preparing. I've never use the term "combat gear". I have combat training (close quarters, firearms, hand-to-hand, building searches, raids, vehicle extractions, and so on), but the extent of my "combat gear" is pepper spray (which, as I've stated before, 16 year old girls carry in their purses). That hardly makes up a "combat kit". Personally, I think if everyone carried OC (not just first responders), the world would be a much safer place. It's a highly effective less-than-lethal weapon, very low risk, and easy to use. This is why even kids can use it. The handcuffs can be seen as a bit much, I acknowledge that. I've been carrying them for years, and have just made a habit out of it. I've never used them before, but it's really not a big deal to pack them in a pouch just so they're available if the day comes I need them. No disrespect to you guys, but I couldn't give a rat's ass about post count. If a EMT-B has a thousand posts, I respect the EMT-P with a dozen posts as the guy having more training. For the exception of the ER Doctor, I am just as high, if not higher, than most of you on the respect scale. So to you, respect or disgrace. You guys all seem like cool people. But you can't argue with results. And I bring the results.