I have worked as an EMS professional since 1995. Every patient contact is a chance to make someone’s bad day, a little better.
Teamwork is the backbone of EMS & fire service. Whether you’re responding to a life-threatening emergency or embarking on a creative venture, the power of collaboration is our greatest strength.
While serving with the brave and skilled Inuit population on the North Slope of Alaska, I shot some clips on an iPhone 4. It was almost an afterthought. Watching it years later, I’m in awe. Someone needs to make a movie about this community.
Stressful is an understatement. We had lear jets landing on gravel runways in blizzard conditions. We were the sole medical officers on board, keeping critical patients stable for 3+ hours until they could get to an OR in Anchorage. (Never lost one.) We had expanded scope that included chest tube placement, blood transfusions and mechanical ventilation. What a wild ride. I don’t miss the daily life and death predicaments. But I miss the people I worked with. To this day, they are unsung heroes busy saving lives without accolades and proper recognition.