My first-born is studying to be an EMT. This is a good career choice for him, since, like his mother, he has the attention span of a gnat. He is most interested in ambulance crewing (is that the right term?) and that has to be a job free of monotony. Joe has been in ambulances before he started EMT school ~ not as a ride-along to shadow an Emergency Medical Technician, he just had a knack for near-death experiences. Yep, I'm that glib about it, mostly 'cause that keeps me from hyper-ventilating. I am prematurely grey due to a concerted effort by my children. Seriously. I've performed CPR & the Heimlich, pulled a glassy-eyed semi-conscious child from a pool, lost a six-year-old at the Minnesota State Fair (near the Grandstand, no less) and a ten-year-old at a bog. My boys are so good at dramatic injuries, illnesses and disappearances that my reaction to something as mundane as a broken bone is like, "We should probably get that set." I do still wig out at assaults, they may say they're fine. but. . . (note: we don't live in a good neighborhood, they actually have been assaulted). But, otherwise, it's got to be big to get a reaction.
So, back to school, Joe has been in ambulances, urgent cares & emergency rooms in multiple states. Some people check out the museums, he checks out emergency care (which actually runs in the family, we had one trip with such bad food poisoning that my brother & I both hit two ERs). He had an idea what he'd be getting into, or more so than most, anyway.
He wasn't worried about blood & gore. He knew he could handle the curriculum. He survived me, so he knew he could handle panicky next-of-kin. What he was really worried about was babies. You see, he has not held a baby since he was four and his brother came along, and he doesn't remember that. He was scared that his first memory of holding a baby would be while it was dying. That's a reasonable fear, it could happen and what a horribly sad first-baby-moment.
He's done his first shift in an ambulance. He ended up holding a baby ~ but, not the way he feared. He helped deliver it. I think he's gonna like this EMT gig.
So, back to school, Joe has been in ambulances, urgent cares & emergency rooms in multiple states. Some people check out the museums, he checks out emergency care (which actually runs in the family, we had one trip with such bad food poisoning that my brother & I both hit two ERs). He had an idea what he'd be getting into, or more so than most, anyway.
He wasn't worried about blood & gore. He knew he could handle the curriculum. He survived me, so he knew he could handle panicky next-of-kin. What he was really worried about was babies. You see, he has not held a baby since he was four and his brother came along, and he doesn't remember that. He was scared that his first memory of holding a baby would be while it was dying. That's a reasonable fear, it could happen and what a horribly sad first-baby-moment.
He's done his first shift in an ambulance. He ended up holding a baby ~ but, not the way he feared. He helped deliver it. I think he's gonna like this EMT gig.
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