EMT's have to be in top mental condition at all times, running on no sleep, black coffee, half-eaten meals, and even when they are feeling ill themselves, to be ready to help those who are in the middle of their own medical crisis.

EMT's have to be able to lift three times their own weight, slide into a wrecked car with no room to move and find a way to treat the injured without hurting themselves. They have to try to console a broken hearted mother as CPR is performed on her baby when they all know the outcome isn't going to be good, or try to find the right words to comfort the family members of a person who has just taken their last breath while the family was watching.

EMT's have to bandage broken bones, administer oxygen to someone struggling to breathe, keep out of the way when body fluids go astray, and look reassuringly at a bleeding victim and tell them it will be okay as blood streams down the victim's face causing them to panic.

EMT's deal with multi-victim traumas, mangled bodies, suicides, gun shot wounds and other deeply disturbing situations that most people could never stand to look at let alone work on. They have to be ready to know what to do when a baby is delivered unexpectedly at home or in the ambulance, and what to do if medical complications arise with the baby or the mother.

EMT's sometimes have to take care of patients whose homes are filled with garbage and clutter and hope as they treat the patient, they themselves aren't overcome by the odor of the home or bothered by the insects crawling all over the ceiling, walls and floor. They have to work on frightened elderly people who don't understand what is happening to themselves and convince them to go to the hospital and get the treatment they so desperately need.

EMT's have to keep their emotions in check while doing their job no matter what the circumstances, but when the emergency is over, an EMT may shed a year for what they have witnessed, or for the patient they wished they could have done something more for. EMT's never pay themselves on the back or look for public recognition for the work they do but they should be commended for the commitment they have undertaken to help their community provide emergency services to its residents, and for making a difference in a person's chance of survival when a medical emergency strikes.

© Nancy Naylis