My First Scare
My first scare as an EMT wife came yesterday. Neil works for American Medical Response's River Rescue unit. He worked yesterday while I went to a graduation party for one of my cousins (high school graduation - that made me feel old). I had sent a text to Neil and he didn't respond. Not too strange, but when he didn't answer my call later in the day, nor respond to another text, I started to worry. The only reason that he wouldn't respond is if something dire had happened. So, I got on the kgw news website and saw "swimmer drowns at High Rocks." This, of course, was why Neil hadn't responded to me. But, then after another hour or so of still not hearing from him, I started to get paranoid. The news brief was, well, brief and all it said was that a "swimmer" had drowned. A swimmer could be anyone, even the EMT there to rescue people. Neil has gone on and on about how dangerous the water is at High Rocks this year. He has to swim it every morning to know what the river is doing and he says he's scared every time he gets in the water. Well, it flashed through my mind what I would do if something happened to Neil. I tried not to allow my thoughts to go there, but it was entirely possible that Neil could try to save someone and have something happen to him instead. I lump grew in my throat and I was taking deep breaths trying to erase that fear.
When he finally called, I cried a little bit. Nothing like the fear of losing someone to make you realize how much you love them, or how un-important so many things in life are. I will make sure that I always say I love you now when he leaves in the morning.
So, it was a long night. Neil came home late, of course, and we talked about what happened for a while. It was a boy scout outing and a canoe tipped over. A little boy had been thrown a rope by another canoe and when Neil realized that a boy was in the water, he threw his life vest on and jumped in with all his clothes on. Before he got in the water, though, the boy stopped - he was in the water, but stationary. The rope got caught on something in the river and somehow the boy was stuck on the other end of the rope. It pulled him under. Neil missed him on his first pass. He was also freezing in the 43 degree water so he got out, threw his clothes off, put his wetsuit on and called in a drowning to dispatch. The water was too swift where the boy was to get to him. Even the sheriff's search and rescue dive team couldn't reach him and it took about an hour to get him out.
It took awhile for Neil to unwind. It's heartbreaking. The boy was 11-years-old. Neil was frustrated with me that I was so concerned about him when a little boy died, but I didn't know who had died until Neil called and I knew he was alright. He apologized for getting frustrated with me. I don't think he knew how to feel at that point. And he knew that I would worry and he didn't like that.
So, I had my first scare. And Neil had his first fatality on the job. But we both know that it's just the nature of the job. It doesn't make it easier, you just have to prepare yourself that it's going to happen.
Tell those close to you how much you love them, you never know when it could be their time to go. How many times have you heard that? That little boy's parents thought he was coming home to them last night.
Love,
Aislinn
When he finally called, I cried a little bit. Nothing like the fear of losing someone to make you realize how much you love them, or how un-important so many things in life are. I will make sure that I always say I love you now when he leaves in the morning.
So, it was a long night. Neil came home late, of course, and we talked about what happened for a while. It was a boy scout outing and a canoe tipped over. A little boy had been thrown a rope by another canoe and when Neil realized that a boy was in the water, he threw his life vest on and jumped in with all his clothes on. Before he got in the water, though, the boy stopped - he was in the water, but stationary. The rope got caught on something in the river and somehow the boy was stuck on the other end of the rope. It pulled him under. Neil missed him on his first pass. He was also freezing in the 43 degree water so he got out, threw his clothes off, put his wetsuit on and called in a drowning to dispatch. The water was too swift where the boy was to get to him. Even the sheriff's search and rescue dive team couldn't reach him and it took about an hour to get him out.
It took awhile for Neil to unwind. It's heartbreaking. The boy was 11-years-old. Neil was frustrated with me that I was so concerned about him when a little boy died, but I didn't know who had died until Neil called and I knew he was alright. He apologized for getting frustrated with me. I don't think he knew how to feel at that point. And he knew that I would worry and he didn't like that.
So, I had my first scare. And Neil had his first fatality on the job. But we both know that it's just the nature of the job. It doesn't make it easier, you just have to prepare yourself that it's going to happen.
Tell those close to you how much you love them, you never know when it could be their time to go. How many times have you heard that? That little boy's parents thought he was coming home to them last night.
Love,
Aislinn
posted by Aislinn at
6:31 PM
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