My hearing is not so bad that I can’t at a distance hear the tick tick tick of the finite clock that beats for all of us.

I have decided, be damned, if the patient is still awake, breathing and in pain, just because I have hit my standing order limit, doesn’t mean I shouldn’t call in for more. All I have to do is pick up the radio and ask to talk to a doc. How hard is that?

Years ago, I saw a very funny cartoon which showed how people in EMS viewed each other. I don’t remember the whole cartoon, I just remembered how the EMT viewed the paramedic. The paramedic was drawn as Darth Vader.

Okay, new partner, here’s how I like my stretcher made up…

Every medic’s experience is going to be different based on the type of service they operate in, their medical control, the hours they work and the population served. Here then are my 2010 stats.

Our primary job is saving lives, but we are also here to provide hope and comfort, and to be present to act in time of need. Showing a family that help was there, that everything possible was done, and then giving them time to gather and say goodbye to a loved one is something to be proud of. It is hard to measure its worth.

Kevin shaped me as a caregiver and as a person. He helped make me who I am today. If I am gentle toward a patient, than Kevin’s spirit is in me, Kevin’s hands are in my own.

I think when it comes down to it, parents are more concerned with their children’s immediate health than with looking stupid for using the health care system inappropriately. At least that’s the way I leaned when it was decision time. I need to remember that when I’m the one wearing the stethoscope.

I drive to work through the darkness, thinking I should be in Hollywood, cruising the Boulevard in one of those bouncy Cadillacs with “Dr. Dre’s “Let Me Ride” blaring from the radio, a backseat full of MTV dancers.