kodiac_x Posted March 18, 2006 Posted March 18, 2006 This was emailed to me awhile back and i thought that i would post it here....(didn't where else to put it)even though its titled Am I A Fireman Yet? I think that EMT's and Paramedic's we can relate to this story as well. Am I A Fireman Yet?? > > HOW BIG OUR GOD IS > > Stop telling God how big your storm is. > Instead tell your storm how big your GOD is! > > In Phoenix, Arizona, a 26-year-old mother stared > down at her 6 year old son, who was dying of > terminal leukemia. > > Although her heart was filled with sadness, > she also had a strong feeling of determination. > Like any parent, she wanted her son to grow up & > fulfill all his dreams. > Now that was no longer possible. > The leukemia would! see to that. But she still > wanted her son's dream to come true. > > She took her son's hand and asked, > "Billy, did you ever think about what you wanted > to be once you grew up? > > Did you ever dream and wish what you would do with > your life?" > > Mommy, "I always wanted to be a fireman when I > grew up." > > Mom smiled back and said, "Let's see if we can > make your wish come true." > Later that day she went to her local fire > department in Phoenix, Arizona, > where she met Fireman Bob, who had a heart as big > as Phoenix. > She explained her son's final wish and > asked if it might be possible to give her 6 year > old son a ride around the block on a fire engine. > > Fireman Bob said, "Look, we can do better than > that. If you'll have your son ready at seven o'clock > Wednesday morning, we'll make him an honorary > fireman for the whole day. > > We can come down to the fire station, eat with us, > go out on all the fire calls, the whole nine yards! > And if you'll give us his sizes, we'll get a real fire uniform > for him, with a real fire hat - not a toy -- > one-with the! e emblem of the Phoenix Fire Department > on it, a yellow slicker like we wear and rubber boots. > > They're all manufactured right here in Phoenix, so > we can get them fast." > Three days later Fireman Bob picked up Billy, > dressed him in his uniform and escorted him from > his hospital bed to the waiting > hook and ladder truck. > > Billy got to sit on the back of the truck and help > steer it back to the fire station. > > He was in heaven. > > There were three fire calls in Phoenix that day > and Billy got to go out on all three calls. > He rode in the different fire engines, the > paramedic's van, and even the fire chief's car. > > He was also videotaped for the local news program. > > Having his dream come true, > with all the Love and attention that was lavished > upon him, so deeply touched Billy, > that he lived three months longer than any doctor > thought possible. > > One night all of his vital signs began to drop > dramatically and the head nurse, who believed > in the hospice concept - that no one > should die alone, began to call the family > members to the hospital. > > Then she remembered the day Billy had spent as a > fireman, so she called the Fire Chief and asked if it would > be possible to send a fireman in uniform to the hospital > to be with Billy as he made his transition. > > The chief replied, "We can do better than that. > > We'll be there in five minutes. > Will you please do me a favor? > When you hear the sirens screaming and see the > lights flashing, will you announce over the PA system, > that there is not a fire? > It's the department coming to see one of its finest > members one more time. > And will you open the window to his room? > > About five minutes later a hook and ladder truck > arrived at the ! hospital and extended its ladder up to > Billy's third floor open window-------- > 16 fire-fighters climbed up the ladder into Billy's > room. > With his mother's permission, they hugged him and held him > and told him how much they LOVED him. > > With his dying breath, > Billy looked up at the fire chief and said, > "Chief, am I really a fireman now?" > > "Billy, you are, and the Head Chief, > Jesus, is holding your hand," the chief said. > > With those words, Billy smiled and said, > "I know, He's been holding my hand all day, and > the angels have been singing.." > He closed his eyes one last time.
paramedicmike Posted March 19, 2006 Posted March 19, 2006 Nice story. But maybe you missed the big banner at the top of the page that says "EMT" city? Maybe you missed the url? EMTcity.com? Take the feel good hooey to the fire sites. They're well into hero complexes, ego stroking and feeling self important.
Asysin2leads Posted March 19, 2006 Posted March 19, 2006 Dude, I'm still 'celebrating' St. Patrick's day and even I'm still not drunk enough to think that was touching. Here's a better one: My girlfriend (shocking, isn't it?) used to volunteer at a pediatric cancer ward where she lived. One of the kids really liked ambulances, mostly because he had ridden in a lot of them, so when she told him what I did, he thought it was really cool. She was in a different city at the time, or boy howdy, you know I would have visited the little tyke, but instead I loaded up a packet of patches and ambulance stuff for him. When I came home one night for my nightly phone call to her, she was crying her eyes out, and when I asked her why, she said my package had come that day, but "he never got to open it." Real life somehow is always more poignant than what gets circulated on the Internet, no?
weasel 108 Posted March 19, 2006 Posted March 19, 2006 Sorry folks I now have a headache (because I just finished banging my head into the table again) :x . Here we go again with the hose jockey hero worship. FIREMAN to weasel 108: "excuse me ,excuse me ,you are not looking at me and worshiping me. I'm a firefighter,see my t-shirt with the emblem,my vehicle with all the fire logos and lights,and the 6 pagers I'm carrying. Please somebody pay attention to me. I have had no attention for the past several hours. I'm not feeling appreciated. So please Joe public boost my ego." weasel 108 to the FIREMAN: " Okay you are my hero. Now leave me alone." :evil: I agree with paramedicmike and Asysin2leads. OOPS I forgot. Sorry folks for ranting. I'm going to go outside now and kick my neighbors cat. (I think I need stronger psych meds and tylenol) :shock:
kodiac_x Posted March 19, 2006 Author Posted March 19, 2006 I take it that most EMS personnel dislike fireman....although i tend to disagree....us as EMS personnel have to deal with that shit all the time too........I don't know about the rest of u but when ever KIDS see us where I work the expression is always the same.....'mommy look there is an ambulance person'. (most children at the age of 5 and 6, and some times older don't know the words EMT or PARAMEDIC) My intention was not to glorify the fire side of the emergency world. the story in fact can be used for either fire, ems, or police.....man if u can not look past the word fire then maybe your in the wrong line of work. you know what....maybe instead of ranting about the fire side and all the recognition they are getting maybe EMS personnel should get out into the public just like the fire depts do and talk to the public. For instance in my home town the Ambulance service does mock emergencies that they INVITE the public to attend so that the general public has a sense of what its all about. To make it even better they get the public to help out. For instance, they get old car wrecks and have the volunteers sit in the car while it is being ripped apart. Their is always EMT or Paramedic inside the car with the volunteers explaining what is going on. Again, its the EMS dept that heads all of the mock situations with the assistance of the fire dept and the police dept. These situations can, and have included, car accidents, train derailments, explosion at the local high school, natural disasters, etc. The public is made aware that this is going to happen, when its going to happen, and where it is going to happen at least one month in advance and it is reprinted every week up to the the date of the exercise. If some EMS services would get off their asses and do this sort of thing then the public would have the knowledge and the understanding of what EMS is all about. Not only is these mocks a training situation for all Emergency personnel involved but also it is a training and learning experience for the public. In my short life in the EMS field I have quickly realized that most of the fault of the so little recognition by the general public is that they simple do not know. To quote a letter written by a fire fighter to a paramedic. Re: Summer 2004 issue—Letter written by Jeremy Olfert, paramedic “It's OUR magazine, waaaaaahhhhhh." What are you, six years old? In case you missed it Jeremy, the front of "your" magazine reads, "The newsletter for and about prehospital personnel." Well guess what? Fire/Rescue ARE ALSO prehospital personnel. I mean, give us all a break. Get off yourself. Your attitude is what is wrong with emergency medicine today. What are fire personnel, without EMS, going to do for a patient requiring drug therapy? Not much. What are EMS personnel, without fire, going to do for a patient requiring extrication? Not much. These are two very important agencies with a different expertise, but still a common goal of optimum patient care. When we are dispatched to a medical aid call, the first thing I'm wondering is what is EMS's ETA going to be? I want to see the paramedics there ASAP. Paramedics are amazingly trained and skilled people. So are doctors, teachers, police officers and firefighters. I was glad to see the editor direct his response towards eliminating this ridiculous attitude situation that has developed between two professional agencies. However, I think his selection to print the article/story entitled "When God Made Paramedics" only fuels the common perception and joke of "Q - What's the difference between God and a paramedic? - A - God doesn't think he's a paramedic." It's time to come back to reality Jeremy, and any others with the same attitude because it must be getting tougher and tougher to fit that head through the doorway. Jonas, Firefighter Edmonton taken from the Alberta College of Paramedics Emergency Medical Dialog Fall 2004 www.collegeofparamedics.org
Nate Posted March 19, 2006 Posted March 19, 2006 Those ego crazed firefighters sure do buy a lot of t-shirts, and that keeps my pockets full.
Patricksp0 Posted March 21, 2006 Posted March 21, 2006 If some EMS services would get off their asses and do this sort of thing then the public would have the knowledge and the understanding of what EMS is all about. Not only is these mocks a training situation for all Emergency personnel involved but also it is a training and learning experience for the public. In my short life in the EMS field I have quickly realized that most of the fault of the so little recognition by the general public is that they simple do not know. We are usually way to busy running calls to worry about PR. As for days off, they are often spent working overtime or side jobs. However, in our county, there is an abundance of fireman with nothing better to do than work the PR angle. It must be nice.
Eydawn Posted March 22, 2006 Posted March 22, 2006 So some people have had bad experiences with FF's, fire based EMS specifically... doesn't mean all FF's suck. Just keep that in mind; yes, they may be terrible where you are, but there's terrible paramedics and EMT's too, and we've got too much to do to keep wasting time yelling about how evil the FF's are. If the fire based EMS is screwing up/trying to take over your system, I understand a need to vent, but remember you have to try to do something about it other than just badmouth FFs. I'll say it again; two of the best EMT's I know are also FF's. They don't operate in both functions simultaneously and I owe a lot to them. They've taught me a lot, and the level of care that I have received from them (as a pt) has yet to be matched by any other care experience I've had. Wendy NREMT-B
Dsmittty911 Posted March 22, 2006 Posted March 22, 2006 I agree with Wendy. Some of the best medics, or emt's for that matter, that I know are also ff's. The other thing that bothers me is that peeps more worried about ff's ego's and how they made a dying kids dream come true. To me that means more than any of this petty bs rivalry. The last time I checked Public Service was just that serving the public not our own ego's. As far as where I live fire rolls as primary responder so they gonna be there anyway, why get into a pissing contest about it. GROW UP......
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