A few years ago I wrote a blog post that I simply called “Twenty,” and posted it here. The response was great, a few hundred people “liked” it and left some inspiring and heartbreaking commentary. I figured I would submit the post to The Providence Journal, they liked it too, and featured it on the […]
Somebody you love tells you they took “all the pills.” They say they are tired of living, tired of struggling, tired of being tired. You look around the house and find empty pill bottles where full ones used to be. The person you love is getting sleepy, fading away right before your eyes. You’re alone, […]
I told the story of Rescuing Providence as honestly as I could. I didn’t glorify firefighting, EMS, firefighters or EMT’s. We are just people doing a difficult job, I figured, much like most people. The librarian at Lasalle Acadamy, a prestigious Catholic high school in Providence stumbled upon the book a few weeks ago. Her […]
Working in emergency services is hard enough. Explaining your daily thoughts to someone outside the field is damn near impossible. You know you’re a medic, or destined to be, if you find any of these thoughts bouncing around your head. 1) You believe a little puke on the pants does not require a full uniform […]
She sat on the front steps of her home, overnight bag packed, cigarette in hand. We stopped the truck. She kept on smoking. And sitting. “Did you call 911?†I asked, nicely enough. “Yup.†Another drag from the cigarette. “Why did you call?†“I need to go to the hospital.†I stretched my neck and […]
By starting early we have the ability to crush their confidence, destroy their self-esteem and make them feel worthless. But killing a new medic is a process. All steps must be closely followed to ensure success. Let’s start at the beginning. School Gather a bunch of idealistic people whose dreams included putting on a uniform […]
Comic Con Convention Overwhelms First Responders This years Comic Con Convention, held at The Providence, RI Convention Center nearly crippled the city’s EMS resources. The city handles roughly 600 EMS calls per day, equally distributed between the six ALS Units assigned, but on the day of the convention, 1825 911 emergency calls were handled by […]