uglyEMT

I reread the OP multiple times to see if I understand her correctly. I think what she was saying (my opinion here) is that the final lecture was for infield pronouncment. Thus I believe it would be a medic class as I dont know any Basics that can make a call unless outwordly obvious (full decap, rigor, decay). So seeing the images, they seemed to be instructional, and the lecture that went along with them would be in a normal course of duties as far as pronouncment goes. I believe the infant abuse images were disturbing her. Now here is where I read into it, I dont think the images were overtly graphic but meraly the fact they are of infants is what got disturbing. If this is the case then its not anyone fault. The coroner was trying to be thorough and as we all have probably experienced just certain things get us more than others. Now if this was a one hour slide show of the most horrific things without a medical basis then yes it was wrong. But if an image was put on screen then discussed medically by the coroner and class then I do see a benifit. It exposes the would be medic to rationally look at a body and make a call in the field but in a controled environment where mistakes dont cause issues. When we were in basic class and came to our trauma module one of our lectures was a slide show showing trauma. Every slide was discussed medically and broken down to what would need to be done ect. Yes some of the images were disturbing due to age or MOI but to me were vital. Being in a basic class and not having been exposed to those sort of thing before hand (I have in my job but not from an EMT perspective) in was a great learning tool. If we missed an intervention the only thing that happened was we went back over it, we didnt potentionally kill a patient. Another example, in CEBRN class seeing examples of small pox, sarin, vx, mustard gas patients was disturbing but educational. How would we know what to look for unless it was shown. Will I ever see one of those patients, I hope to God NO, but at least if it happens I know what to be on the look out for. Hazmat class showing meth lab burns, graphic and educational. Yes I do believe there is a line where you go from educational to slasher film but if its presented in a way that takes time between images to discuss medically then it is educational. If its just slide after slide with no discussion then forget about it, your just trying to stimulate a reaction from the class. I cant wait to hear from the OP to see what else happened during the class and maybe answer some or all of our questions.

LOL OMG I needed a great laugh. Yea when I read the OP I could picture Dwaynes name there LOL These are great, wish I knew some. I only have this one.... Why Italian's Can't Be Medics (BTW I am Italian so no foul) Sal and Vinny went hunting one day Suddenly Sal grabs his chest and falls to the ground Vinny grabs his phone and calls 911 He tells the operator that Sal grabed his chest and inst breathing The operator asks Vinny to make sure Sal isn't breathing before begining CPR After a long silence there is a loud bang Vinny gets back on the phone and asks the operator "Now What?" Ok it sucks compared to all yours but its all I got

Ok folks. Well Im back and ready to discuss that day. It was a wonderful day all around. We had close to 100 apperatus from over 20 services (fire, ems, pd). My squad sent one rig unfortunatly because we couldn't get mutual aid to cover our area so we left the duty crew behind to cover Full dress whites and we looked good Got to the meeting spot which was at a rigging company that already had the beam on a low boy drapped in the Red, White, and Blue. As we all arrived the staff of the company was outside to shake each and every one of our hands, no not just occasionally but EVERY person. They also had a nice table set up with coffee and bagles. I looked at it as they know they were contracted to move the steel but it was OUR steel, it was about US. Well after a little time and getting everyone organized the escort began. Local PD shut everything down, intersections, side roads, commercial driveways, then the highway. When we got onto the highway the PD shut all 3 northbound lanes and the procession went 3 wide witht he steel in the lead and us following. It was amazing to see folks in the southbound lanes pull over out of respect. No not alot but the ones that did really made it special. Eventually we made it off the highway and snaked through town (about one mile, maybe more, long) and thats when bystandards were about. Every street had folks snapping pictures waving and saluting. One couple in particular really got me. Old couple sitting on lawn chairs on their front side walk with a sign saying Remeber Pearl Harbor Day Dec 7th. The wife was sitting in the chair waving a little American Flag while he stood at perfect attention, in what looked like an old dress uniform, saluting every single rig that went by. I thought I even noticed a tear. We get to where the monument was being errected at a local church in the town. There was two huge ladder trucks at nearly full extention holding a huge American Flag between them. It was amazing to drive under it on our way to the staging area. After staging the rigs we all proceeded to the outside of the church for the ceremony. All the service personel lined up at parade rest awaiting the steel to come by. With an Emerald Society escort and The Colors carried by military personel we all snapped to attention and saluted as the steel went by. It was errected into a granite base and what will be a beautiful flower garden in the spring. After a touching eulogy by the church's minister and some speeches from a Senator, a Congressmen, the Mayor and the Fire Cheif there was a long moment of silence followed by Amazing Grace on the bag pipes. The Colors were dismissed and the public was asked to move aside and let the service personel come foward and pay their respects first. Ok I was good up until this part. I had a somber mood all day, who wouldn't, but I was holding it together well. Quick backstory so you know why this part means so much to me. On 9/11 I lost twenty six friends then spent 3 days on The Pile seeing horrendous things. I never went to a funeral, I never went to a memorial, I never went back. This was my first memorial I finally felt strong enough to attend. 9 years later I finally had the strength. Well I start the walk up to the memorial and emmotions start welling up. Each step felt heavier then the last. I reach the steel and kneel before it and say a prayer then get up and reach out to touch the steel. I instantly am transported back to that first night on the pile and everything comes crashing back to me. I make my way back to my rig and tears are flowing. I notice no one or anything. Next i feel a hand on my shoulder and it is the Fire Cheif. He tells me to let it out and if I think I am the only one doing it to look around. Their had to by 50 or 60 guys doing the exact same thing. Same as that day 9 years ago. All of a sudden I feel this huge weight lift and almost a warmth roll over me. I finally have closuer and it feels great. It only seems fitting that on our way back to our building we get a 911 call and respond. In full dress whites and all we respond and do our jobs like it was any other day. Well I know you all wanted me to make EMS proud and I believe I did. It was another day I will always remember. I did take photos, I just have to upload them. I will post what I took when I get the chance. Stay safe everyone.

One thing you should do when airbag deployment should have occured and hasn't. Cut both battery cables, yes both, some manufactures run negative systems. (rescue should be doing this anyways) Secondly, hit the airbag with a long object. In my area FD rescue uses their Halogen or a Maglight. Sometimes the shock of the hit forces the bag to deploy if the capacitor still has charge left. Of course if there is a patient between the airbag and the seat DONT DO THIS STEP. If their is a patient I have seen FD cut the wires to the bag itself, some just pull the fuse but I am not sure how effective just pulling the fuse is. As others have stated take a UVR course. Even if you dont do the actual rescue except for the packaging it will give you insight into what to look for and know what to ask for if you feel it is unsafe to do your job. Airbags are a PITA nowadays, I wish vehicle maufacturers would come up with a way to disable them if your EMS have a button or switch or something that way we know we are safe.

I think one of the biggest things is communication. Also I like someone who lets me do my thing while catching anything I may miss but bring it up in such away that doesn't make me look like an idiot in front of a patient or patient's family. good example (I will keep it short) One partner berated me in front of the patient and a distraught family member because I was using blow-by O2 instead of having the NRB on the Pt. Little did my partner know that 3 seconds before he got in the back the Pt stated very closterphobic, I checked sats and they were 97% thus the blow by brought them to 98%. My new partner kindly asked a question about eye color, took me a second to realize, I didnt check dilation on the pt. I also like working with ALS that let me help and not religate me to the background. example. One set of ALS went ape on my for checking PMS on a pt during a long transport. It was their patient not mine I was told. I had a new ALS crew on another call that asked me to hang a bag(yes just hang it up, nothing else), run BP and vitals (yes a 12 was hooked up but guess they wanted to see how I was) made me feel as I was part of the crew. I guess its all about comfort level, communication, and social networking (NO NOT Facewitterspacebook but social interation). I can usually tell within a few minutes how the shift will go with a new partner or ALS crew by they way they interact with themselves and me in the "comfort" of non patient care. Good topic and one that I hope others will chime in with and maybe it will help other new to the field avoid some pitfalls.

Yes Dwayne there is. Not being ALS I might miss something but if I do I know folks will help out. Just by going off of the chemical itself, again cant view the video, and its known antagonists there are a few things one would concider. What are the immediate health effects of exposure to anhydrous ammonia? Symptoms include burning of the eyes, nose, and throat after breathing even small amounts. With higher doses, coughing or choking may occur. Exposure to high levels of anhydrous ammonia can cause death from a swollen throat or from chemical burns to the lungs. Eye exposure to concentrated gas or liquid can cause serious corneal burns or blindness. Skin exposure will result in chemical burns. Generally, the severity of symptoms depends on the degree of exposure. So as an ALS provider if we know exposer was high some sort of intubation should be concidered to protect the airway from closing due to swelling. As far as chemical burns to the lung lining this would lead me to believe some sort of pain meds to ease suffering. I dont know if CPAP would help but, follow me here, knwing in COPD patients it forces some of the mucus out of the lungs and allow them to use oxygen more efficiently with less effort I would lean twords that. We are dealing with damaged lungs and possible asperation issues so anything that would relieve those symptoms might be good. As for the eyes, again flush with copious amounts of water, pain meds maybe? Cover both eyes with sterile dressings. Skin burns would be treated as any other burn. Flush with water to stop the reaction, dress the wounds with burn dressings and gel. Pain may or may not be present I would gather depending on the severity of the burns and coverage of affected area so again pain meds. From all research i can find the effects of this chmical have to be treated by the body alone, medical intervention is to ease the symptoms that develope and not treatment of the effects. So in an ALS capacity you would look to patent the airway, CPAP if indicated, and pain managment. The rest could be handled in a BLS capacity (burn dressing, eye dressings, O2 therapy) Again once I see the video I will get a better handle on what the actual situation was. One thing that has bothered me though... anhydrus ammonia stinks to holy hell at as little as 50ppm and causes eye irritation and coughing at as little as 134ppm so I want to know how the trooper even began approaching the "smoke" without knowing something was a miss. BTW leathal doses in the way it has been described is around 5,000 ppm so imagine the smell and irritation factor at that scene. Table 1. Exposure Levels and The Human Body. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Exposure (ppm) Effect on the Body Permissible Exposure -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 50 ppm Detectable by most people No injury from prolonged, or repeated exposure -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 134 ppm Irritation of nose and throat Eight hours maximum exposure -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 700 ppm Coughing, severe eye irritation, may lead to loss of sight One hour maximum exposure -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1,700 ppm Serious lung damage, death unless treated No exposure permissible -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2,000 ppm Skin blisters and burns within seconds No exposure permissible -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5,000 ppm Suffocation within minutes No exposure permissible --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ok I didnt see the video, stupid work protocols block youtube, I promise I will watch from home so i can make an even more informed response. From a hazmat perspective, with some EMS thrown in for good measure. As for the LEO first on scene, dispatch information is non realevent. He pulls up, see a tanker with a mist,smoke,for,vog,ect coming from it and sees casualties on the ground or in the car he should have immediatly informed dispatch of a hazmat situation and advised of current wind direction and /or safe approach direction. He doesnt need to know exactly what he is dealing with immediatly just the direction of wind and safe approach. Now once he as done that and moved to a safe location he can use binoculars to see placards. Even if he cant see the UN numbers (if they are even palced) he can see class and division and can again advise dispatch so the FD, hazmat response team, EMS can begin to surmise what they are dealing with. If UN numbers are known then it really helps and you find out exactly what you are dealing with. Going by what you all described as a "smoke" coming from the rig can tell us alot. Your dealing with a liquid that is vaporizing at ambient temp thus a possible low flash point. You said ammonia so it would have white placards with a skull and crossbones on it and inhalation hazard stickers thus class 2.3, so even if you didnt know it was ammonia the placards alone let you know its something very nasty. Next I would be looking at the "smoke" to see if we are dealing with a heavier than air chemical. Again take these visual cues and relay to dispatch. FD hearing 2.3 alone now knows they will need full SCBA gear at a minimum if not full hazmat suits even before they get on scene. EMS now knows not to approach until the FD or hazmat team has done there thing as well. I know it sucks that we all have to stand off and wait while we know people are probably dying a few feet (hundreds in this case) away from us. But unless we want to become a victim ourselves then we must protect ourselves. Ok back to the scene. FD or hazmat arrives and finds out its UN 1005 they flip through the hazmat book and find out anhydrous ammonia is what they are dealing with. Now they know its not flammable thus the fire danger is reduced and also find out water will nutralize it. Thus they can spray down the tank and scene and offer some safety to there men. SCBA w/ full turnout will be enough protection so no need to break out the hazmat suits. They can go in and grab the victims as quickly and safely as possible and bring them to the warm zone. In the warm zone they will be deconed with water both FD and Pts. Also some triage can be done as far as the Pts go. Knowing the substance O2 is about the only thing we can do in the field so slap an NRB and get 15lpm going. After the decon they can be moved to the cold zone and further treated. Unfortunatly there is not much BLS or ALS can do in the field for these folks. Help with the breathing, treat any skin wounds caused by the gas, flush the eyes with water and transport. Like I said i did not see the video just going by the descriptions you all gave and just adding what I know through my job training in dealing with hazmat situations (I work in the hazmat industry) and adding in my EMS training. When I get home and check the video out I can add more to the actual scene and what should or shouldn't have been done.

Im guessing the song is based off of Paul Simons 50 ways to leave your lover song. I can give it a crack....

Rocking Around The Christmas Tree (EMS Version) Rockin around the Ambulance On the bench seat I flop IV hung where I can see Every couple of drops Rocking around the Ambulance, Let the LP12 run a strip Later we'll push some medicine And we'll do some cot surfing. You will get a pucker Feeling when you hear Voices screaming help my baby, Back slaps and a pedi mask in a hurry Rocking around the Ambulance, Have an expecting mother on the way Everyones gowning up Its going to be messy along the way.

Jingle Bells (EMS Version) Dashing through the snow In a BLS rig today, Over the fields we go, Sirens wailing away; Tones on plextron ring, Making spirits sigh, What fun it is to ride and sing An EMS song tonight EMS, EMS, EMS all the way! O what fun it is to ride In a BLS rig today A day or two ago, I thought I'd take a ride, And soon ALS Was seated by my side; The car was busted and fright; Misfortune seemed his lot; He got into a drifted bank, And we got called. EMS, EMS, EMS all the way! What fun it is to ride In a BLS rig today. A day or two ago, The story I must tell I went out on the snow And on my back I fell; A gent was riding by In a BLS rig that day, He got out Straight away, Spinal precautions he took Now on a backboard I lay EMS, EMS, EMS all the way! What fun it is to ride In a BLS rig today. Now the ground is white Goto an MVA, Take ALS along And sing this EMS song; Just get on a BLS rig Have a fire monkey drive Two-forty as his speed Hold on tight And crack! a lawyer he will need. EMS, EMS, EMS all the way! What fun it is to ride In a BLS rig today. Winter Wonderland (EMS Version) Plextron bells ring, are you listening, In the lane, an MVA is occuring, A frightful sight, We're extricating tonight, Working EMS in a winter wonderland. Gone away is the bluebird, Here to stay is a new bird He sings a new song, As we cot surf along, Working EMS in a winter wonderland. In the apartment we find SOB, Then hear about chest pain He'll say: I'm fine let me stay! We'll say: No man, You can do the job When you're ALS in town. Later on, we'll have CPR, As we work very tired To face unafraid, The lives that we've saved, Working EMS in a winter wonderland. In the bar we'll find a drunk man, And be told that he feel down We'll have lots of fun with spider straps, And get him all tied down. When it snows, ain't it thrilling, Knowing all the tires will be spinnin' We'll get called all day, the dispatcher says hey, Working EMS in a winter wonderland. Working EMS in a winter wonderland, Working EMS in a winter wonderland.

On the front Most Famous Last Words... On the back Dude Watch This (engraved in a tombstone) also look to your left and see my avatar thingy. Its a Tshirt I own. Volunteer EMT Im here to save your ass NOT KISS IT edit to add avatar line

I will be thinking of all in EMS during the escort. I will try my best to do us all proud that day

YUP LOL basically this

Thanks Herbie. It is going to be very emotional I know. Especially for me, but I feel it may bring a sense of peace finally. I truely feel honored that my squad was chosen as one of the escorts. I do not know how they choose the escorts but whatever the reason it is an honor and privilage to me. Still haven't found out the destination yet. When I do I will let everyone know. I did find out my first duty as First Lt is to polish the rig the night before LOL edit was for spelling and grammer

Hey guys and gals. Have great news for y'all My squad has been asked to escort WTC steel to a 9/11 memorial. Got the news this AM that we will be doing it. I feel its a great honor to be the ones escorting the steel along with FD and PD of course. All I know so far is we are doing the escort Dec 11 at 9am. We will get more info at a later time (dont know why they are being secretive) Just figured I would let everyone know. Time to polish the shoes and press my shirt and pants. Gotta look top notch for this

Excellent post Bieber! +1 Everything you said is correct. Very well thought response, I wish more folks thought like that. Maybe there would be fewr accidents and deaths.

OK Im BLS but will give it a shot being the 3 or 12 lead is out and ALS is not possible. This sounds like an asthma attack and the chest pain is being brought on by the increased work load and the decreased O2 in his blood. I would give the Albuterol (Ventolin) as per my SOPs (for me it is pts own meds administered per prescription directions). One nitro pill would not hurt in this situation as long as there is no contraindications (ie to low of a BP). Continue to monitor the chest pain but agressively treat the SOB. I would get O2 onboard at 15lpm via NRB as long as this guy is above 10 breaths a minute. If he is below 10 I would start bagging, again still at 15lpm. Is CPAP available? If yes get him on it, if not load and go and give high flow O2 as much as possible. If the ventolin isnt releaving the SOB and his lungs are weezes top to bottom then it could turn into respitory failure quickly (depending on how long he has been in this distress). Continue to monitor the CP. Any changes in the level of pain? Is it getting better or worse? Is it radiating anywhere? Thats an important question, is it radiating anywhere. If its just crushing and in the chest only it could be a side effect of the SOB and just a distracting symptom. If it is radiating then it could be a sign of an MI and needs treatment. As you stated no ALS, no 3 or 12 lead, so he is a load and go if it is an impending MI and your level of care will not be sufficent unfortunatly so get him to higher level of care ASAP. All in all I would say continue treating the SOB while monitoring the CP for any changes. Load and go and get this person to a higher level of care.

Thanks for the replies guys and gals Dwayne, you are correct that line was way off in the grammar department. I appologize for it. It should have read "We get back to the station and I get to my truck and lose it." BTW Dwayne I love the sick sense of humor. Brought a smile when I needed one most. To everyone else that is and has replied, thank you. I am glad to see it gets all of us sometime, its not just me and that nothing is wrong with me. I do have coping things and hobbies and I thought I was doing good. Until that day I felt fine. I guess sometimes its just buried too deep and something sets it off and when it comes to the surface it is overwhelming. Im glad we have this site, gives me and us, another outlet to get the feelings, pain, fustration, anger, and whatever else is inside out. Thanks again guys.

yup patience thats what I try and have them do too. Go ahead of me that way its one less thing to worry about. Does it work all the time? No but when it does it really helps. As far as the yellow lights, if I see they are following me and they appear they will run the light and I am running cold I will hit the L&S just to give everyone at the intersection a heads up, while slowing down of course, just to be safe. If I am already code 3 and it happens I try and slow down as much as possible to give everyone a chance. I am pretty good at timing the lights on my normal route, I try and avoid the sudden stops and such as much as possible. Like I said in a previous post if its not time critical I will shut the lights down and wait for the green vs running the red (if I do have to go through the red I come to a complete stop first). I would rather get there 2 minutes later then not at all.

I watch all directions around my rig. Foward, back and sides. I also look in my mirror to see whats going on in the patient compartment. Do I need to adjust driving to allow my partners to do something? I know some say just to concintrate on whats infront of me but I feel total awarness is key. As for pulling over because someone is on my back step. Maybe, depends on circumstances. I could care less about Joe Somebody I didn't tell not to. I was more talking about the patient's family. They are the ones sometimes that try following me through things they shouldn't. I don't want them to be patients too. Its all good though, good comments and posts

Hey folks. Well its another "feelings" post but have to get it out. I hate holding this stuff in and think maybe it may help others. So here it goes.... Well its my birthday today 11/30 and it has me thinking alot. I had a call the other day that got to me, one of those calls that just turned my insides. 20 yr old male OD Thats not what got me, been on enough of them to be "cold" to it. What got me was why! Here we are breaking a bathroom door down with the parents involved finding an unconcious boy on the floor needle still in his arm. Dad starts crying and Mom is a wreck over it. Clearly they care and are upset over this. We are bagging and getting ready to load and go. Still have a weak pulse so I am hopeful. The second the kid hits the Reeves he wakes up. Gags the OPA out and it feels like a weight lifted off my shoulders. Now comes the emotional part. Dad starts asking the son why, why, why. Mom can't look at him but is crying in the other room. His response? I can't live with myself any more! WHAT!?! 20 years old and its so bad you try to take your life? Apparently this young man hit a rough patch and doesn't think its worth it anymore. Dad starts balling hearing this and Mom needs to be consoled by the PD on scene, I was actually getting nervous she might be a patient pretty soon she was so upset. OK I know it doesn't sound like the worst call in the world but it started getting to me. We have him in the back and ALS is working him up. 12 lead, Narcan, IV, the works. Well this frees me up a little and I start talking with him. Now it gets to me alot. Listening to this kid tell me all his troubles, it gets to me deeply for some reason. His buddy called him a loser the night before. Hes in trouble with the law. He's afraid his parents don't love him anymore because of it. The list went on and on. I know to a 20 year old it must have seemed like the world was against him but I am thinking to myself if thats all you are worried about you have it easy. Then I stop myself. Wait a minute, to me its trivial, to him its the end of the world. He just tried taking his own life. Then it sets in, looking at his tears stream down his face while talking to me. I am staying strong and being a good listener without showing emotion but inside I want to break down. Here we are day before Thanksgiving and I have a person thinking life sucks bad enough to end it. I try and tell him its not that bad. What else can I do? I try telling him it will be all right, Mom and Dad still love him, his buddy is a moron, the list went on. But all the time I was tearing up inside realizing that to this boy it was easier to try to take his life then try and fix it. Now I don't know this kids history other then what he told me, he's not a frequent flyer of mine so I don't know if he is a chronic user, all I know is that he's my patient and I "have" to "fix" him. I felt compelled this time, something inside me is screaming out to him. So I lean in and look him in the eyes. I see fear, pain, suffering. I dont see a 20 year old, I see a little boy, I see a child. I tell him we will get him whatever help he needs. I tell him it will be better this time. I wipe his tears away. The same way a father would a child. I am trying to hold it all back. It is wierd. I dont know why this kid got to me so deeply. I have a million things going through my head, a million emotions. One thing I am glad for is he is alive. Its like an epifany, he IS alive. 15 minutes ago I was working to save this kid's life. I was fighting for his life in front of his parents. I was taking care of someones baby boy. Its the day before Thanksgiving, will it be something to be thankful for or something to be remembered? Now I am talking with him, it IS something to be thankful for. We get him to the ED and transfer care. I finish the PCR and hand it to the charge nurse. I am told, "Happy Thanksgiving if we dont see you again." My partners ask who is driving. Not me I say. I get in the back and a tear rolls down my face. I am a wreck, emotionally I am spent. Here was an "average" call, something I have been on before, but its hitting me so deeply. I am trying to figure out why and still I can't. Was it the day? The person? The parents? I don't know but it got to me. We get back to the station and I get to me truck and loose it. Here I am, big, strong EMT man crying like a 2 year old in my driver seat. I can't believe a 20 year old thinks life is so bad he should end it. Here a day before Thanksgiving someone though their life was worthless. Here I am letting him know it isn't worthless, we were there FOR him. I made someones Thanksgiving for them. Now I am balling even worse. I start thinking of my family, my friends, my life. I start think of Thanksgiving. Not the commercial holiday it has become, not the turkey or stuffing, not the crandberry sauce. I start thinking of what I have to be thankful for. The real Thanksgiving, the reasons I have to give thanks for. I sit there and just let it all out. I get home and kiss my wife and tell her I love her, my eyes are dry, I don't show what I had gone through. I stay strong in front of her, I don't like bringing it home with me. Unfortunatly it wont be long before I am needed again, another 20 something that I have to help Thanks for letting me get it out folks, took me a while to just type it. Not knowing if I should or shouldn't but I did. I hope it helps someone else. Let it out, you can be emotional after the call. We are human, sometimes it just gets to us for some reason. I know throughout the call we are the ones folks turn too, the strong ones, the ones that "fix" things. Its after the call most don't see, the stuff some of us don't like talking about. Well I did, hehehee, guess I am just a big softy inside. No thats not it, it was just something that got to me that I needed to get out. To share this with you folks, to show we are human, to show emotions are fine and sometimes we have to let them out. I don't know if this made any sense to anyone but I had to. Sorry if it was a waste of time but if it helped anyone your welcome in advance. Back to your regularly scheduled program.....

If you are really going to be going into the field why not spend the little money it is and get the right equipment. 45 bucks will get you a nice set of 5.11 BDUs and a little more will get you good boots. One thing to consider, the BDUs and Boots (if purchased correctly) will actually provide a level of BSI. I know my pants and boots are BSI rated so I dont have to worry much on "messy" calls. As was said, to be taken seriously, dress professionally