Honoring the brave who have fallen

A 58-year-old man died Sunday in Detroit, MI. after rescuing a 7-year-old boy who fell into a water-filled hole. The boy was playing on Sunday at a home construction site when he fell into the foundation pit that was being dug for the basement. Garrett Townsend who lived nearby in the housing development jumped in to rescue the child but was unable to climb the muddy sides of the pit to pull himself out of the water. He did not survive however he managed to rescue the child who is doing well. (story by the Associated Press http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/26/us/26brfs-MANDIESAFTER_BRF.html)

Today we honor those who have given their lives for us. We thank all the brave men and women around the world giving their lives each day to protect us and keep us free. We thank every police officer and every fire-fighter and EMS-person who has given their life to keep us alive and safe. But today we cannot forget to thank Garrett Townsend and everyone else like him who probably would have never considered themselves to be particularly brave or to be a hero ...but when a child's life was at stake, made the ultimate sacrifice.

Garrett, we will remember you when we honor the brave who have fallen.

Saving a Baby...All in a Day's Work

On Thursday May 14th, Mathew Cook and Rafael Marrero, two medics working the graveyard shift in lower Manhattan saved a life. That alone was news to celebrate. What made it truly remarkable was that the life they saved was that of a baby girl born 5 months premature and weighing less than a pound.

The call they received at 7am that Thursday morning was for a woman, 36 years old and four months pregnant who was on her way to the hospital, in severe pain. While in the car things progressed from bad to worse...the dispatcher told the medics they were responding to a likely miscarriage. Upon arrival they proceeded to deliver the child with care. And although they thought it was too late, they wrapped the child in blankets, cut the umbilical cord and flicked an unbelievably tiny foot to stimulate breathing. The little girl let out one gasp and started to cry. ...and then, so did her mother.

As caretaker of this blog, and co-founder of a company whose goal is to make it safer for little kids to travel on ambulances, I am often critical of the slow adoption rates I see for new technology in this industry. But what I am never critical of is the job the men and women do everyday who put on an EMS uniform, go out in the field and save lives...because the results speak for themselves. EMS is an unbelievably demanding career. And like so many other individuals to whom we entrust the care and safe-keeping of our families, they are often underpaid and rarely recognized.

A friend of mine who spent many years in the industry, recently told me not to call them heroes. Apparently it wasn't the right use of the word because what he did wasn't especially heroic...it was just part of his job. Well maybe I was quiet then, but now I'd like to take a moment to disagree. When Mathew Cook said that "That was it. She just started to breathe, then starts to cry, it's a great feeling,"...I have to admit it...I was more than a little impressed. And maybe saving that baby's life was all in a day's work, but to me, it was 100% my kind of hero.

Oh...and before I forget ...welcome to the world little girl :)

(Original Story by Peter N. Spencer, Staten Island Advance

http://www.silive.com/news/advance/index.ssf?/base/news/1242648008280010.xml&coll=1)

What I Remember ...by Jim Love

St. Petersburg, FL., the year was probably 1978 or 79. My partner and I had responded to a drowning in a large apartment complex at the north end of town. When we arrived we found a bunch of people doing or trying to do CPR. While we were getting into position to take over care a news crew arrived and began to film the action- the cameraman positioned right behind me.

The child was blue and just had that look and feel. The outcome was not going to change and it was not right that it was being filmed- solely for the benefit of the TV station. Somehow when I stood up I bumped into the cameraman and into the pool he went.

Fencing could have, would have prevented the death of this child. Parental oversight could have, would have prevented the death of this child. These were not the only mistakes to be made. We put the child on the stretcher and began the very long trip to the hospital.

We did not secure the child in any special way to the stretcher. We never had any means to do so and nothing bad ever happened. Each time we transported a child back then, we did so either using the stretcher or more commonly held the baby in our arms- as though we could hold onto a 30 pound baby in a high speed collision. But we did it time and again and nothing bad ever happened.

That's not to say that there could not have been a catastrophic outcome from the transport- it just never happened- to me. Back then we were not taught any better and frankly did not know better. Back then the world was a lot larger. We did not know what happened across the country or the world like we do today- only 'major news' received that level of exposure. And the fact that we did not believe anything bad would happen kept us from seeking change or improvement. As a society we have enacted universal laws that govern how we transport children in ordinary vehicles. We made these changes because bad things do happen. Emergency vehicles are the same as other cars- only riskier- they run red lights and go fast. We need to adopt the same laws as those that apply to all vehicles

How children are transported today is about the same as it was back then and largely for the same reason- we take a risk and nothing bad happens. There are those who advocate for safer transport of children and infants and some states have enacted legislation to require safe transport equipment for emergency vehicles. Most people just assume that EMS, 911 responders, know what to do and do the right thing.

So what is the moral to this story? We often get angry when bad things happen and lash out in the wrong direction. Hindsight is most often crystal clear but too often we fail to use this vision to change the future. Learn CPR. Insist that all states require EMS vehicles to carry and use approved child and infant transport equipment. Ask questions and get involved. No Excuses

Jim maintains a website about EMS safety. For more information about this topic please visit: http://www.emsafety.net/.

Because she inspired me

My little sister Suzanne and I were always very different...right from childhood. She looked like my mother, blonde and very pale - she always hid from the sun. I was brunette and tanned easily, just like my dad. Her hair was kinky curly (she hated it), while mine was straight. She lived in a world of her own creation and got into trouble at school and at home. I was the "good child" with straight A's who rarely was cause for concern. And boy we hated each other...

According to Suzanne, life came easy to me...anything I wanted I would always get, while she would struggle so hard, "felt stupid" and would always come up short. Her greatest joy was wreaking havoc on my "perfect little world". So I separated myself as far away from her as I could - physically, emotionally - so many of the choices I made were to distance myself and "not be like her" in any way I could.

Suzanne had a very difficult time growing up - and though I was part of it - I know there was quite a bit I did not really see until years later. She struggled with drugs and attempted suicide when she was still a teenager, and depression for a number of years after that, apparently always hating herself more than she hated me.

And just when we all thought she didn't have anything left to give - Suzanne found a new path to follow. To our amazement she chose EMS - to save a life instead of taking her own- she wanted to make a difference. And not only did this "little girl" work as one of the EMS crews that helped secure the scene after the bombing at the Atlanta Olympics, but this same girl who thought she was "stupid" invented the device I blogged about earlier that will one day make it safe for all little kids to ride on ambulances. (...I read this and remember why we teach children that "stupid" is a bad word)

Several years ago Suzanne had to quit EMS. Every day since then, like many of us she struggles with questions of am I good enough...smart enough...am I deserving...can I still make a difference... and every day no matter what anyone tells her, I don't know if she believes it.

I grew up not wanting to be like her...but I would be half the person I am today without her. So much of what I am, what I have and what I do that I am proud of is because of her. And I hope someday she reads this, because I want her to know, if I make a difference with my life...that will be because of her too.