Inspirational essay from Paramedic of 20 years
Apr 7, 2020 16:20:54 GMT -5
fadingdaylight and Ronv69 like this
Post by simnettpratt on Apr 7, 2020 16:20:54 GMT -5
This is Julia Cornah:
She's been a paramedic in Chester, England for the past twenty years. She was thinking about her first day on the job and penned the following inspirational essay. It's pretty long, so this is the condensed version. It's called I'm a Paramedic, but Nobody Taught Me How.
I'm a Paramedic, but Nobody Taught Me How
Julia Cornah
Nobody taught me how to
sit an 86 year old gentleman down to tell him his wife of 65 years has died in her sleep.
Nobody taught me how to
watch as the desire for life leaves his eyes the moment I break the earth shattering news that would change his life forever.
Nobody taught me how to
talk to someone so depressed that they have just slit their own wrists, panicked and called for help.
Nobody taught me how to
respond when they turned to me and said, ‘I can’t even get suicide right’.
Nobody taught me how to
accept a torrent of abuse from a complete stranger…just because they have been drinking all day and want a lift home.
Nobody taught me how to
reason with the aggressive patient I’ve just met; overdosed, but needing my help to breathe.
Nobody taught me how to
accept that I would miss out on things other people take for granted…birthdays, Christmas day, meals at normal times of the day, sleep.
Nobody taught me how to
hold hands with a dying person as they take their last breath, how to hold back the tears because it’s not my grief.
Nobody taught be how to
keep a straight face whilst a young man explains exactly, what happened to the END of his HOOVER.
Nobody taught me how to
act when a patient pulls a knife on me.
Being a paramedic is so much more than swooping in and saving lives…it’s about dealing with the most unique, challenging experiences; AND then just going home at the end of the shift, being asked, ‘how was your day’ and replying, ‘fine thanks’. It’s about the bits that nobody taught me ‘HOW?’.
She's been a paramedic in Chester, England for the past twenty years. She was thinking about her first day on the job and penned the following inspirational essay. It's pretty long, so this is the condensed version. It's called I'm a Paramedic, but Nobody Taught Me How.
I'm a Paramedic, but Nobody Taught Me How
Julia Cornah
Nobody taught me how to
sit an 86 year old gentleman down to tell him his wife of 65 years has died in her sleep.
Nobody taught me how to
watch as the desire for life leaves his eyes the moment I break the earth shattering news that would change his life forever.
Nobody taught me how to
talk to someone so depressed that they have just slit their own wrists, panicked and called for help.
Nobody taught me how to
respond when they turned to me and said, ‘I can’t even get suicide right’.
Nobody taught me how to
accept a torrent of abuse from a complete stranger…just because they have been drinking all day and want a lift home.
Nobody taught me how to
reason with the aggressive patient I’ve just met; overdosed, but needing my help to breathe.
Nobody taught me how to
accept that I would miss out on things other people take for granted…birthdays, Christmas day, meals at normal times of the day, sleep.
Nobody taught me how to
hold hands with a dying person as they take their last breath, how to hold back the tears because it’s not my grief.
Nobody taught be how to
keep a straight face whilst a young man explains exactly, what happened to the END of his HOOVER.
Nobody taught me how to
act when a patient pulls a knife on me.
Being a paramedic is so much more than swooping in and saving lives…it’s about dealing with the most unique, challenging experiences; AND then just going home at the end of the shift, being asked, ‘how was your day’ and replying, ‘fine thanks’. It’s about the bits that nobody taught me ‘HOW?’.
