“Who rescues the rescuers?” I’d like to take credit for that line but my wife posted it on Facebook this week.
One of her paramedic colleagues died this week: committed suicide actually and that is not unusual with paramedics, police or firefighters lately. Many articles have been written with some even claiming, “More first responders die by suicide than in the line of duty. National survey data suggest EMTs have a tenfold higher incidence of suicidal thoughts and attempts than the general public.”
Nobody expected all of this.
Our first responders are under an incredible amount of stress and before you chime in with, “That’s what they signed up for!” STOP! When you take the pandemic and combine that with an “all cops are bad”attitude, then add in a list of frustrations, you can just throw away your argument because nobody expected all of this.
The man who died this week had his own private issues but when combined with the pressure of working the front lines of the pandemic, and the things that they see and experience during a career, he (unfortunately) saw no other way out. Those that knew him and worked with him had no clue. He never said anything. Never reached out to anyone that we know of.
These images get filed away
Paramedics see people on their worst days. They see sights that you and I would turn away from or run. Did you ever read a news story that mentions “gruesome injuries were reported at the scene?” Someone has to be there to treat those “gruesome” injuries. Did you ever see a car that was so smashed up you couldn’t believe a family of four was just in that car? Someone had to get them out. These are images that get filed away in the mind of a first responder. It’s a file they don’t want to open but the images always seem to creep out.
Who rescues the rescuers?
The comment you often hear is, “We’re tired.” And what are they tired of? Grab a seat.
They report that they are physically tired. Because of the low wages, extra shifts have to be worked to make ends meet.
They are tired of seeing the abuse of the system. Some people go to the ER by ambulance instead of going to a doctor’s office or urgent care for something minor because: “Welfare don’t pay for no cab bitch! Take me to the hospital!”
They are tired of drunk or drugged drivers killing or maiming innocent people. Yeah. They have to care for those people. Even the drunk.
They are tired of being yelled at for “taking so long to get here” when people don’t have porch lights or house numbers. Betcha never thought about that one huh?
Tired of COVID. While we are all tired of dealing with it and hearing it on the news, they have to suit up in all the PPE every time there’s a risk.
They’re tired of elderly people not taking medications properly because they can’t afford them.
They’re tired of veterans not getting ALL the care they need and deserve.
The list goes on and on.
“How do we fix it?”
I’m a person who always says, “Okay, how do we fix it? What do we do?” It is a very complex problem but the one thing I would suggest is that if you have a first responder in your life — get them to talk, either to you or someone that can help them. I’m no expert but I think it sometimes helps my wife, who is a paramedic, just to have someone she can unload on. She doesn’t always want to talk right away. It may be a day or week after a shift but just let him or her know that you’re there whenever they want to talk about it.
Suggest a professional or your priest or pastor. For the longest time it was seen as a weakness to need help, probably still is with some, but I think the industry is opening up more and realizing there is a problem and it’s okay to need help.
One thing I have heard is that with all the stress and the pressure, “When you make a difference….save a life, help deliver a healthy baby, make someone a little less scared on the worst day of their life….it’s the best job in the world!”
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