Stories and Poems related to the Emergency Medical Services

What VOLUNTEER stands for...

V= Very long hours that eat into personal life

O= Offering a chance for strangers to live a little longer

L= Life which we attempt to keep ongoing

U= Unbelievable sacrifices made to always be there

N= Need to help others

T= Tough choices during Tough Conditions

E= Effort we give to every patient

E= Enduring the abuse from patients, family, and bystanders as well as the small complaints that may or may not need our help

R= Realizing that our pay is pride and the fact that we changed a life.

Dear Rescuer.......

Please forgive me, for in my heart, I hope you'll understand,
if I never utter a 'thank you', or extend my hand,
you see, it's not something personal, not something that you did,
but to me you are a reminder of the time I thought I wouldn’t live.  

I am every patient, every soul that your hands touch,
yet I am an individual as well, once who lost so much,
that perhaps you still remember me, though I will not remember you,
I cannot allow myself to contemplate that awful event anew.  

But all your efforts, I'm sure, will be someday produce reward,
but it will not be by me, as the memory slices as a sword.
You took me from my home, I know with intentions pure,
but except for the gutting moments of pain the rest is all a blur.  

Since that night, my soul's path has been forever changed,
and I now suffer my existence in a way the grief arranged.
I believe that I must someday see you all too soon again,
when you will come and take me from my comfortable family den.

To a place, I know, I will loathe, when duty again brings you by,
as I will be on my lonely last days, praying to painlessly die.
A place where the forgotten go, waiting for time to change,
you know that place better than most, for you go there every day.  

Or maybe a painful reminder, simply it is you are,
of a child who was taken, the victim of a car.
It may have been relative or friend, who made a stupid mistake,
a bad decision that was not yours, yet resulted in choices to make.  

I know that my heart's resentment should not be directed at you,
I was the one who made choices that night, ones I will have to live through,
but you happened by chance to be on the scene, so you as an unfair target I find,
for then it becomes easier for me to lay my guilt aside.

My future was forever changed, through nothing you would wish,
something you tried to help me with, giving me less to miss,
but in my mind, you see, you are unfairly eternally linked,
with the worst incident of my entire life, which caused my dreams to sink.

Though that trigger of the scene that night, was in no way your own,
I hope the memories that linger for me will fail to follow you home,
please forgive me, I pray, dear rescuer, for I am silently begging you,
to understand that I cannot again bring up the pain...just to say "thank you".

written by Heather M. McMeekan of EMS Circus

EMS Prayer

As I perform my duty lord whatever maybe the callHelp to guide and keep me safe from the dangers big and small.I want to serve and do my best no matter what the scene,I pledge to keep my skills refined,My judgment, quick and keen.This calling to give to myself, most do not understand,But i am ready all the time to help my fellowman.To have the chance to save a childRestore his laughter with glee,A word of thanks I might not hear.But knowing is enough for me.The praise of men is fine for some,But i truly feel blessed,That you oh lord,have chosen me to serve in theEMS. 

Author Unknown

Sometimes We Try, Sometimes They Die

Lights flash, Sirens blare
into the deep, dark air.
EOA, AED, life saving equipment against death,
Even for the guy that OD'd on meth.
Saving lives is what we do,
Our hearts are in their place, our care is true.
Some live, some die,
Most are afraid to ask why.
Sometimes we try, Sometimes they die,
Families find it hard to say goodbye.
Our hearts try to be strong through jokes and cold hearts,
Then reality hits and life, death parts.
We feel we must do what we can,
In those hospitals, in those big vans.
Who are we you ask?
Saving lives is our jobs, it is our task.
Never giving more than any less,
We are a team, we are E.M.S.

The Heart of EMS

Sorry if we woke you In the middle of the night But someone in your neighborhood Is fighting for his life. Sorry if we blocked the road And made you turn around. But there's been a bad wreck with injured people on the ground. When you see us coming I hope you'll understand Let us have the right of way Someone needs a helping hand. Sometimes a child is choking. Sometimes a broken leg. Sometimes a heart stops beating If we don't arrive it may be too late. So if you see us crying When we think we're alone You'll know we had a bad one And we're feeling mighty down We don't do it for the money You know we don't get paid. We don't do it for the glory But for the life that might be saved. Somewhere deep within us Our souls are crying out We're here to help our neighbors In their hour of pain and doubt. God gave us something special To help us see you through We do it cause we love you And we care about you too.

Author Unknown

Strength of the Provider

The baby doesn't cry, The mother wants to die and you, you don't want to pry into the loves of those who care, It all seems like a big nightmare. Trauma center, burn center, ER too, Everyone does all that they can do. Death, a part of life, hard, we must except it. Life is a gamble, life is a bet. Providers, you have not failed only if you have bailed- bailed out on the lives you care for, don't try less, care more. Be strong, be tough, look deep within, don't commit that deep, dark sin. Think of your self as a life saver, don't let that thought waiver. You are you and I am me, but we all grow on the same tree. Be all that you can be, You are life, you are the key

JUST ANOTHER DAY IN EMS

I delivered a baby on the ambulance stretcher
I baptized a newborn who's life ended before it began.I hugged a frightened child. I was kissed by an intoxicated old man.  held the hand of a teenage girl while she delivered a 3 pound baby. I listened to the mournful squeak of a stretcher being wheeled to the morgue. I gently stroked the fragile hand of a 102 year old woman.I hesitated at the outreached hand of a 300 pound prisoner in handcuffs. I trudged for ten hours in my boots. I had a teenager vomit on those same boots. I rubbed the feverish body of a 14-year-old cancer patient. I cradled the ice-cold hand of a child hit by a car.I was referred to as "an angel of mercy".
I was called every four-letter word in the book. I always see fear in people's eyes.I never see joy or relief. I listened to a tormented voice pleading for the preservation of life. I heard the threatening words of one bent on self destruction. I spoke with a girl who was hoping she had the flu, not a pregnancy.
I see innocent people hurt by a drunk driver, and the drunk driver is never hurt. I marveled at the genius of a cardiologist. I saw a 12-year-old boy who shot himself in the head, and the gun was still loaded at his feet. I talked in circles with a schizophrenic person.
I was horrified at the battered body of a child whose parents were incapable of love. I gazed at a horribly burned body. I shuddered at a cold water drowning. I see women beaten up by their spouses, but they never press charges. I walk into houses and do CPR with family watching over my shoulder in tears. I arrive at serious auto accidents, and the first words I hear are, "Am I going to die?" I find out hours later they did die. I listen to the repeated question "Why?", from a family devastated by death. I search my soul for the answers to their question. This is just another day in EMS. 

Derek Perry, EMT 1
Foothill Ambulance Co.
Sacramento, CA

HERO...................

As I'm laying here on the ground in a cloud of terror
you reassure me that everything will be alright.
You'll never believe how much your words mean to me,
you're my angel,
you're my faith,
you're my light in the darkness,
You're my hero,
you save lives every day
you sacrifice your time and patience,
you're what little kids want to be when they grow up,
You're an angel sent down to earth disguised as a Firefighter.....
as a E.M.T
as a Paramedic
you're the faith of another day,
You're the light at the end of the tunnel,
you're the hero in everyone's eyes you keep your head up through it all,
you're the courage i wish i could have you're the spirit
and the hope that will never fall,
There could never be words to say what you mean to the world,
but for now it has to be "Thank You",
thank you for being an angel,
thank you for helping me have faith,
thank you for being the light
and thank you for being a
HERO.


Hero Poem written by
Rhianna Tomaszak
Junior @ Crown Point High School
Crown Point, IN

Thank you to all the authors of the preceding poems. These poems have been sent to me via e-mail from various places if you know or are the author of any of these poems and are not acknowledged as such please contact webmaster@carteretfirstaid.org Thank you.