A look back…

 2 years ago this week, I walked into a testing site to take my National Registry Exam. I was 17 and absolutely terrified. Due to c🦠vid, my class had ended prematurely and I didn’t feel very prepared for the test. That afternoon, I repeatedly checked the website and was shocked but very excited to see I had passed!

I started out intending only to run with my local EMS agency as time allowed, but it wasn’t long before I realized I wanted to do it as a full time job. 

Just a few short weeks after my 18th birthday, I applied for a job as a transport EMT. I was hired to start the interfacility transport program for DH&L. I knew nothing about IFT, but spent a lot of time talking to different agencies and providers, gathering information as well as tips and tricks. 

When a 911 position became available in April, I passed the transport program onto a newer hire and began the 24on/72off schedule that I’m still doing at this present time. 

It’s not always fun and glamorous. There are certain calls and scenes that I’ll never be able to forget. There are times that you did all you possibly could and still walk away in defeat. Sometimes you walk into scenes knowing that it’s not a safe situation: it would only take one thing before harm could come to you or your partner, and your next closest backup unit is still 20minutes out. But among those bad calls are the few good ones that stand out above the rest. The calls that you know you made a difference in someone’s life. Like this one from a few weeks ago. 

*****

—Early April, 2022, 19:37—

Dweedle-dweedle, beep beep beep!!! The pager rudely interrupted my supper, well I guess it was still what I had started eating the first time around 3pm. I jumped up from the table and shoved my plate in the fridge.  

“I wonder what twice reheated Ramen noodles taste like” I mused as I walked out to the truck bay.  

I clipped my radio strap into place and notified dispatch that we were responding. 

The dispatcher radioed back that we were going for a male in his 30s, wearing a purple Nike sweatshirt, jeans, and was standing on the bridge with a rope around his neck. PSP was enroute but hadn’t arrived yet. On our way, we were informed that an officer just happened to be in the area at the time of the call, and had the individual talked off the bridge. The patient wanted to go to the hospital for a mental health evaluation. 

My unit arrived on scene, and after donning the required bulletproof vest (due to the circumstances) I made patient contact. It sounded from his story as though life was a little rough right now. We got him loaded in the ambulance and began the trip to the hospital. 

Physically, there was nothing wrong with this man. He was crying and seemed embarrassed, so I let him to himself for awhile. Just as we were arriving at the hospital, he suddenly said, “you know, I’m kinda glad I didn’t jump off the bridge.” 

Surprised, I looked up from my paperwork and wondered if he would give any further explanation. 

“You see,” he said as I started unloading the stretcher, “I still want to die, but maybe I’m not ready too yet.” I calmly looked him in the eye and asked, “sir, if you are not sure that you are ready to die, why would you bring that upon yourself?” 

Rolling through the ER doors, I motioned to the on call chaplain to follow us to the room. After transferring the patient and doing all the required medical paperwork with the nurse, I turned to the elderly chaplain standing outside the room and explained the situation. 

“He smells like weed and admitted to smoking some earlier today, so I don’t know how much he’s actually comprehending but he does seem open.” I said. 

With my best wishes for his hospital stay, I left the room, made a few copies of applicable paperwork and headed back to the station and my Ramen noodles. I was lost in thought during the drive back. “Did he even comprehend what I was telling him? Did he understand that there is more to life than cheap drugs, alcohol, bars and stripper clubs?”  I wondered. I would probably never know. On those types of calls, you hardly ever get a follow up. 

— 2 weeks later, Weis parking lot —

A random guy walks up to me in the Weis parking lot. “Hey! You’re an EMT with Selinsgrove, right?” He asked. 

Me: “yes, I am.”

Him: “ok, you are Kaylene!”

Me: (recognizing the individual as a patient but not at all recalling the incident) “yes, I work for DH&L”

Him: “I just want to say thanks for everything you guys did for me the other night after I was considering jumping off the bridge. You guys still treated me with  respect. And I’ve really been thinking about what you said about being ready to die. After taking with the chaplain, I have a reason to live!!”

I walked into Weis, fighting back tears. Never had I had a follow up with a psych patient like that! His voice echoed in my mind “I have a reason to live!”

*****

Reach out to someone today. Take advantage of opportunities to share the Hope and Love of Jesus to those around you!