firedoc5

I agree that sometimes, especially from older patients, it tends to make them feel better that they were able to pass a long their gratitude.

I know this has already been discussed, but...After years of putting in service, professionally or as a volunteer, one day it's time for you to hang up your helmet and coat. For one reason or another, physically, injury, retirement age, etc., some reason comes up to respond to the last bell and hang it up. But my question to you is, once a Firefighter, always, a Firefighter. Same for EMT's (It's just the argument is stronger for firefighters for some reason). I'm not talking about these rookies that just made it past probation or ran just enough calls to get their gear covered in soot and just up and quit. I'm talking about those guys/gals that run for years, days and nights, no matter how minor the scrape on the lady's knee was to the severity of the trauma of someone that that you checked on them daily while they were in the hospital. I might not be giving the best descriptions, but in short, I'm talking about those who served for years with distinction and pride, humility, and with sacrifice. But to get right down to it. Does the phrase "Once a Firefighter, Always a Firefighter" hold true? And to stir the waters a bit, does the argument for EMT's or Paramedics also hold true? Some argue that since those in EMS are always having to recertify, their "time" would run out when their certs expire. But I give the acknowledgement that being in EMS still takes the same kind of commitment, bravery, sacrifice, pride, and so forth and so on. But I'm not talking about the wankers that hang around the station (usually volunteers), never doing anything unless their is a call, and when it time for clean up they couldn't be found, and the more minor the call the better. I've known vollies that knew their crews were out there screaming for mutual aid but stayed in bed because it seemed a "little cold" out. And there were those who put in a few years professionally that were "drummed" out (fired) due to lack of professionally, deficiently academically, social morality issues or just didn't give a "rat's a$$". Those don't count. My question to you is Once a Firefighter, Always a Firefighter And does the same apply to Once an EMT, Always an EMT. Now this took me a while to come up with so if my wording is incorrect or not appropriate, I apologize now.

I don't think you have to have a "bizarre" or "sick" sense of humor to be in EMS or the Fire Serv., but it helps. :tongue3:

MURRIETA, Calif. -- He survived battles with wildfires, but lost his fight against a rare and deadly parasite. Loved ones spoke Wednesday after Captain Matt Moore died in a San Diego hospital. It wasn’t fire that would claim the life of Matt Moore, but something else. For seventeen years, brothers Matt and Mark Moore faced their share of risk as firefighters in Murrieta, California. “It's just shocking to me. You don't think of those things. You think of common dangers out there as a firefighter,” said Mark Moore. Compared to those dangers, the flu-like symptoms Matt came down with in November seemed minor. Matt had just spent weeks fighting fires near Murrieta, even as wildfires swept across San Diego county. Mark now believes something his brother breathed in would kill him. He had severe headaches and it just kept getting worse and worse. By January, Matt was being treated in San Diego. A biopsy showed his brain had been attacked by the parasite Balamuthia mandrillaris, a rare amoeba that lives in soil. Once the amoeba gets inside humans, few people survive. Matt died Monday. Wednesday morning, a procession of family and firefighters escorted his body from San Diego to Murrieta. “It's heartwarming and at the same time heartbreaking,” added Mark. “Now his children don’t have a father. That's hard.” Matt Moore, a father of three children, will be buried in Murrieta next Thursday.

Huh? Someone trying to mess with your mind?

Evidently I had repeated that story. I'll say it again, SUX getting old.

Maybe not, but it should be interesting.

"American Pie" Don McClean

Oh that could open up some "deep" comments. :sign5:

I'm not all that political of a person but it has just hit me...literally just hit me, in some states it might come down to who said or did something wrong or right in either one's camps. It might be just one person saying something stupid or doing something inappropriate to sway the vote for their respected candidate. Wasn't it just recently that someone from Obama's group that called Hillary a "Monster" or something that cost her position in his organization? Seems like "mud slinging" has gone by the way side. But, I could be wrong...

I'd be more than happy to help out. It's just that I don't know all that much about Wikipedias. I'm guessing there are sort of encyclopedias or dictionaries that are created by those who use different words or phrases that are not normally used by the general public.

I haven't seen JEMs in a long time either, so I wouldn't know either.

We had a patient ask to meet us after resusitating him. We met him in ICU. He shook our hands and said, "Thanks guys for giving me another chance at life, but damn, whatever you guys did sure made my chest hurt." :violent1: About a year later he coded again, and by coincidence it was us again. This time, he didn't make it.

"In-A-Gada-Da-Vita" - Iron Butterfly :headbang:

I know a few guys that after they would say that would be told, "I've been told that before". :-&

At a store I woked at I had a big rock that on one side "Please Turn Me Over". And when they did it said "Thank You". I just carried that over to here. There were even some idiots that asked, "Why, what did it do?" Some of them cajuns were real smart. #-o

When you stop and think about it, we accepted the possibilty of being exposed to diseases that are communicable and the possibility of being injured when we signed up for this gig.

I know it would never work with there being so much pride, seperation of intities, and just good old fashion despise of everyone involved, and no one would want to do it but wouldn't it be nice if there could be a merging of all agencies and call it "Departments of Emergency Response Teams" (D.E.R.T.) Having mamebers play from the fire, police, EMS, and rescue? And it wouldn't necesarrily have to be a band. Just find something that members would enjoy doing. :wav:

Today is one of those days I didn't feel like reading through each and every post, especially the long was, but...The way it has been, or is around here is that if someone is so drunk 911 was called they were almost to the point of passing out. If she was still up and around when we got there and she refused tx. we'd at least hang around, usually killed time on the back porch where she didn't know we were until she did pass out. Then we could step in. Now if she became coherent again and refused, especially physically, she was given the option. Either go with us to the ER or detox or go to jail. Normally it was off to the ER.

I can't remember if I had posted this earlier but we had a 75' Ladder that could really move. It had very quick acceleration for a diesel. Very rarely did it go out of town. But for it's weight and the weight of the water in the booster tank we had strict orders on watching the speed. Which was hard to do since it did have such acceleration rate.

I know that not all of us are not doctors, but is there anything in the Hypocratic (?) Oath that can be relevant to this? That if someone is in need of care, medical or traumatic, shouldn't they be treated. Sure you might take extraordinary measures, but you need to do something. Way back when when they first started to take more precautionary practices to the extreme we had a few, especially one nurse, in particular, take things to the absolute extreme. She would glove up, mask over, put on a gown, etc. to see someone come in while she was in the same exam room with them, even a child. We thought she would ease up after a while, but she didn't. Eventually she transferred out of the ER. I totally agree with spenac and Ruff.

Submit it to 60 Minutes or something.

You mean you wear something under your kilts? :shock: And you're going to do what? :bootyshake:

I covered a few USAC car races and motorcycle races but didn't have any major incidents. And there were a few local ball games at the high school. One night had a gal playing basketball and hurt her head/neck. We got her packaged and was wheeling her out. The crowd started cheering. And one of the idiots we were working with turned around and took a bow. What an IDIOt. The Lt. reamed him first before anyone else of did. And we did do a few wrestling exhibition, but since it's all "fake", they didn't need us... For a little while I worked with a doc who was the personal physician for Sylvester Stallone when he did "Cliff Hanger". He said he was quite the wimp. :binky:

And I guess I should have mentioned was that about 95% of the time you just get back from a call, and you are still completely dressed is when you collapse onto the bed when you notice someone else is there. It's not like you are up watching TV when someone says, "Well, I'm going to bed, whose gonna join me?" Occasionally you'd be laying in bed and someone would come in and tell you that they didnt want to sleep in a chair and for you to move over. Most of the bunks were the old type hospital beds that were somewhat larger and we would have a "three some" where two people would lay one way and on would lay the other way. And not too many had too bad of foot odor. :fart: