3 AM
I’m a young, unexperienced high school student trying to figure out where I fit in this world… country… town... life. After tossing many ideas around in my head, in my heart, and with my parents, I finally feel good about a direction I plan to pursue. Most careers in the health field look good to me because of the appearance of these positions. In the health field, you have a stable job, decent pay, varying amounts of education, many different departments to choose from, and opportunities to work your way up and grow. I’ve jumped from Surgical Technician, to more of a nursing direction. I applied for a job as an ambulance driver, hoping to get experience in the health field and to figure out exactly what I want to do. I didn’t expect that in the short time I’ve been working with the ambulance, I’d learn more things about life than I have in the past 18 years. Here I am, sitting in a small booth with a narrow table at the Fry’n Pan restaurant in Sioux Falls with three other people who are far more experienced and aged than me. It’s six in the morning, and I have been wide awake for the past three hours. But sitting here, the only thing keeping my mind alive is the low grumble in my stomach and the wave of icy water as it hits my lips. I appreciate the chance to sit and relax after a long, dark drive to Sanford Hospital. My legs are scrunched up under my seat to avoid making awkward foot-contact with the man sitting across the booth from me, Doc. Being retired, waking up at three in the morning to ride along in the ambulance is now a hobby for him. After being an EMT for almost thirty years, it seems to me that Doc just can’t give it up. Through the low grumbles that come from his tired voice, I heard a warm tone of passion passing through his lips. About two hours before our breakfast break, Doc climbed into the passenger’s seat beside me and talked me through each thing I needed to remember to do with great detail. As I am still in training, I’m always slightly panicked about this moment - taking off and being the only person that doesn’t know what I’m doing. Despite the early hour, Doc explained everything precisely, patiently, and in a way that reminded me that he has done these very actions hundreds of times before. He fed me tidbits of information as I concentrated on the bright yellow lines, running up and down the bumpy hills. His deep, seasoned voice was worn from many years of smoking. His tone lightened as he spilled some memories of humans he had helped deliver into this life. With memories of people he has tried to bring back, the bruising on his hands that showed his adrenaline-filled effort, and the push of sickness that followed him home after some tragic events, his voice got heavy as the dark words resurfaced. I gawked at the road, just to concentrate on something as the words filled my mind and settled upon my reality. I thought I was ready for this job… I thought I was mature and emotionally steady enough for anything that lied ahead of me. Meekly sitting on the driver’s side, hands glued at 10 and 2, seat pulled forward under me, foot resting …show more content…
After making that statement, she went on to tell the story of her son. As she shared the brief details of the hardship her son had experienced with drug use, alcohol abuse, deep depression, and finally, the woeful end of his life, her body fell completely still. I could feel the sadness radiate through the small space of air between us, and I was officially awake for the day. Hearing such a tragic personal story of a mother who lost her son brought a whole new side of things to light for me. After listening to her recall the horrendous story of her son’s struggle, I felt as if there was nothing I could say from then on until we got home… both from guilt of the fact that I have not had any deep struggles this far in my life, and from my dampened spirit as I was reassured that I have no experience under my
I’m a young, unexperienced high school student trying to figure out where I fit in this world… country… town... life. After tossing many ideas around in my head, in my heart, and with my parents, I finally feel good about a direction I plan to pursue. Most careers in the health field look good to me because of the appearance of these positions. In the health field, you have a stable job, decent pay, varying amounts of education, many different departments to choose from, and opportunities to work your way up and grow. I’ve jumped from Surgical Technician, to more of a nursing direction. I applied for a job as an ambulance driver, hoping to get experience in the health field and to figure out exactly what I want to do. I didn’t expect that in the short time I’ve been working with the ambulance, I’d learn more things about life than I have in the past 18 years. Here I am, sitting in a small booth with a narrow table at the Fry’n Pan restaurant in Sioux Falls with three other people who are far more experienced and aged than me. It’s six in the morning, and I have been wide awake for the past three hours. But sitting here, the only thing keeping my mind alive is the low grumble in my stomach and the wave of icy water as it hits my lips. I appreciate the chance to sit and relax after a long, dark drive to Sanford Hospital. My legs are scrunched up under my seat to avoid making awkward foot-contact with the man sitting across the booth from me, Doc. Being retired, waking up at three in the morning to ride along in the ambulance is now a hobby for him. After being an EMT for almost thirty years, it seems to me that Doc just can’t give it up. Through the low grumbles that come from his tired voice, I heard a warm tone of passion passing through his lips. About two hours before our breakfast break, Doc climbed into the passenger’s seat beside me and talked me through each thing I needed to remember to do with great detail. As I am still in training, I’m always slightly panicked about this moment - taking off and being the only person that doesn’t know what I’m doing. Despite the early hour, Doc explained everything precisely, patiently, and in a way that reminded me that he has done these very actions hundreds of times before. He fed me tidbits of information as I concentrated on the bright yellow lines, running up and down the bumpy hills. His deep, seasoned voice was worn from many years of smoking. His tone lightened as he spilled some memories of humans he had helped deliver into this life. With memories of people he has tried to bring back, the bruising on his hands that showed his adrenaline-filled effort, and the push of sickness that followed him home after some tragic events, his voice got heavy as the dark words resurfaced. I gawked at the road, just to concentrate on something as the words filled my mind and settled upon my reality. I thought I was ready for this job… I thought I was mature and emotionally steady enough for anything that lied ahead of me. Meekly sitting on the driver’s side, hands glued at 10 and 2, seat pulled forward under me, foot resting …show more content…
After making that statement, she went on to tell the story of her son. As she shared the brief details of the hardship her son had experienced with drug use, alcohol abuse, deep depression, and finally, the woeful end of his life, her body fell completely still. I could feel the sadness radiate through the small space of air between us, and I was officially awake for the day. Hearing such a tragic personal story of a mother who lost her son brought a whole new side of things to light for me. After listening to her recall the horrendous story of her son’s struggle, I felt as if there was nothing I could say from then on until we got home… both from guilt of the fact that I have not had any deep struggles this far in my life, and from my dampened spirit as I was reassured that I have no experience under my