I look for the little thing in each shift, looking for the one victory I can claim. Maybe one person who I made a difference with, connected with or helped in some way.
It takes a lot of looking sometimes because each day is filled with so much garbage. Garbage like the liter that covers these streets staining any hope this struggling community has. The liter isn't going to kill but it's an outward expression of the overall attitude that exists here. Just like the constant parade of nonsense through my ambulance is slowly eating away at me.
In the one twelve hour shift the person, or family as a whole I made that needed connection with was a hospice case. Opposite of our nature to swoop in and take you to a hospital, in this case it wasn't. What needed to happen and did was to reassure the family, calm them down, remind them that the patient was dying, and the best place for him to do that was in HIS bed in HIS home with HIS family. While this took place, juggle a few phone calls with the hospice service and wait with the family until a nurse arrived.
What a path I've chosen...
What a path indeed. So much of what you do can never be measured and may never be seen by you, but your impact is life changing and life lasting.
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