"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,
who comforts us in all our troubles,
so that we can comfort those in any trouble
with the comfort we ourselves receive from God."
~ II Corinthians 1:3-4
I have been thinking about EMS in Lake County a lot lately and about the past year that we have all been through together. We have had some good times together this past year. For example when a call has gone out and everything has gone well and worked the way it was suppose to and no one lost their life or was hurt too badly. Then we all went home to our families – safely and yes, this is what we pray happens all the time but unfortunately it doesn’t always.
Or the good times when we are together as EMS family members (fire/rescue/ambulance/law enforcement) sharing a meal and a drink (or several drinks) and realize that we are all in this together and are for each other.
As you all know this has also been a year of transition and struggles and loss and frustration – all the things common to life but perhaps a bit more intense when we are confronted with suffering and death in an acute way because of our choice to volunteer or to do as a profession. There have been many distractions in the past year from what our vision and mission should be – bringing the best care and service to the residents and visitors (our customers) of Lake County.
Some of the struggles and frustrations are necessary so that we can continue to fulfill our mission. Because some of the issues are at the core of what we do and that we will be able to continue to do in an effective and positive way. We must expend energy and time to make certain that the EMS system works well - not only for us but for all that will come behind us and do what we do now.
I know that it easy to be brought down by things going on around us and that it can cause us to react negatively to each other and those that we serve.
But when I think of those times that we really shine, when the pagers go off and we have a call (the big one) and all the rigs (fire/rescue/ambulance/law enforcement) are going down the road code 3 risking our lives doing one of the most dangerous things we do (driving) because someone has made a call that someone’s life is in danger and we go because that is what we do.
When we arrive and all do what we have been trained to do and we save a life because we love what we do and are dedicated to it and are good at it – that is what we should dwell on when things may appear to be difficult or wonder why we are doing what we do.
Or the times when a child or elderly person needs an ambulance ride or just needs help getting up off the floor at their house and we go and help them because that is what we do.
We do a lot of weird things – run out in the middle of the night, during snow storms, leave our families at birthdays, at Christmas or Thanksgiving meals when the pager goes off.
Go to training meetings and extra training on weekends, go into burning buildings, and stand on highways with little protection other than a reflective vest, jump through ice, go out on Lake Superior or go into the woods behind ATV’s and snowmobiles, dangle on the edge of cliffs, make traffic stops in the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere, walk into the middle of a domestic disturbance call.
Why?
Because we are the only ones in our town that can do those things... not only do those things but do them because we want to - so that someone else can go home to their families and be there safe with them for another Christmas, Thanksgiving or birthday.
We are really good at what we do and I enjoy working with all of you and would trust any of you with watching my back and I look forward to the challenges that the future will no doubt bring, both good and bad.
Just remember that we are all in this together and we are here for each other – think back to Mary Schlangen’s[i] funeral over three years and the benefit for Mark that same year (for all of you that were a part of that – if you were not there ask someone who was to tell you about it) and all the love and support that we as a Fire/ EMS family demonstrated.
That is what we do for one of our own and would also do for the stranger that calls in the middle of the night for help. Thanks to all of you and your families for what you do and the sacrifices that you make.
Note:
Or the good times when we are together as EMS family members (fire/rescue/ambulance/law enforcement) sharing a meal and a drink (or several drinks) and realize that we are all in this together and are for each other.
As you all know this has also been a year of transition and struggles and loss and frustration – all the things common to life but perhaps a bit more intense when we are confronted with suffering and death in an acute way because of our choice to volunteer or to do as a profession. There have been many distractions in the past year from what our vision and mission should be – bringing the best care and service to the residents and visitors (our customers) of Lake County.
Some of the struggles and frustrations are necessary so that we can continue to fulfill our mission. Because some of the issues are at the core of what we do and that we will be able to continue to do in an effective and positive way. We must expend energy and time to make certain that the EMS system works well - not only for us but for all that will come behind us and do what we do now.
I know that it easy to be brought down by things going on around us and that it can cause us to react negatively to each other and those that we serve.
But when I think of those times that we really shine, when the pagers go off and we have a call (the big one) and all the rigs (fire/rescue/ambulance/law enforcement) are going down the road code 3 risking our lives doing one of the most dangerous things we do (driving) because someone has made a call that someone’s life is in danger and we go because that is what we do.
When we arrive and all do what we have been trained to do and we save a life because we love what we do and are dedicated to it and are good at it – that is what we should dwell on when things may appear to be difficult or wonder why we are doing what we do.
Or the times when a child or elderly person needs an ambulance ride or just needs help getting up off the floor at their house and we go and help them because that is what we do.
We do a lot of weird things – run out in the middle of the night, during snow storms, leave our families at birthdays, at Christmas or Thanksgiving meals when the pager goes off.
Go to training meetings and extra training on weekends, go into burning buildings, and stand on highways with little protection other than a reflective vest, jump through ice, go out on Lake Superior or go into the woods behind ATV’s and snowmobiles, dangle on the edge of cliffs, make traffic stops in the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere, walk into the middle of a domestic disturbance call.
Why?
Because we are the only ones in our town that can do those things... not only do those things but do them because we want to - so that someone else can go home to their families and be there safe with them for another Christmas, Thanksgiving or birthday.
We are really good at what we do and I enjoy working with all of you and would trust any of you with watching my back and I look forward to the challenges that the future will no doubt bring, both good and bad.
Just remember that we are all in this together and we are here for each other – think back to Mary Schlangen’s[i] funeral over three years and the benefit for Mark that same year (for all of you that were a part of that – if you were not there ask someone who was to tell you about it) and all the love and support that we as a Fire/ EMS family demonstrated.
That is what we do for one of our own and would also do for the stranger that calls in the middle of the night for help. Thanks to all of you and your families for what you do and the sacrifices that you make.
Note:
This is a reworking of something I wrote three years ago and thought that I would revisit it now. Although, it may seem rather specific to those serving in lake County, I believe that all that do similiar service anywhere will understand and resonate with what I wrote.
I work as an EMT for the Lake County Ambulance Service and am the retired Captain of the Lake County Sheriff’s Rescue Squad.
[i] Mary Schlangen was killed when the car she was a passenger in was struck by a drunk driver on August 10th. 2007. Her husband Mark who is the Two Harbors Fire Department Chief and Lake County Sheriff’s Rescue Squad member was air lifted to North Memorial Hospital in the Twin Cities and their two children were taken by ambulance to a local hospital. Mark and the children survived the accident
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