Being a Good Samaritan

The thing about having this knowledge, EMS, is that if you see a need then you should respond, but if you do you must stay with the person/persons until other help arrives. It is not something that I would do if I am out for a night of drinking, but if I am at the grocery store or driving down the road or maybe even at the vet.

Yesterday we were sitting and waiting our turn, with Casey, at the vet's office. I heard one of the assistants say that there was a lady laying in the parking lot. I ran out to my trunk to grab my pack and got my gloves on and ran out to her. As I was approaching I could see that she was lying on her side in the road. The vet's office shares a side road with a McDonald's. There was a rather burly man leaning over her. There was a car parked a few feet further up with opened doors. I said,"Sir, please do not move her". Then he said, in a very unfriendly tone,"Who the fu*# are you?"


"I am an EMT and I would like to make sure that this lady is not injured." He then began to berate her about jumping out of the car and look at what she has done. At this point there were also 2 assistants behind me from the vet's office and they indicated that they had called an EMS unit. He got very angry,"Who do you think is going to pay for this?' He seemed to be very much a bully. I got a close look at this lady and she did not have any visible injuries, but she was crying and just kept saying that she was"she was just so tired".

As you could hear the approaching sirens he helped her up and into their car, we got the plate number and make, and they left. I told the nurses that they should call the local police and give them the plate number. I hope they did. I returned to wait with my dog.I believe that they have a domestic situation and she may have been bruised from the jump and that guy probably is an abuser. He was rather hulking and liked to intimidate. Asshole.

Earlier that day, during my break at the coffee mega giant, one of our regular customers was feeling very poorly and indicated that he was a diabetic and should probably check his sugar. I said yes, that would be a good idea and if it is too low we may have to get a squad. We checked and it was too low. I quickly got his a small cup of our straight sugar syrup that we use to sweeten the iced coffee. It is the closet thing we have to the oral glucose that we carry on the squads. I had him drink it straight down and within a few minutes another check of his sugar and it was back up in to a safe range and then he ate some cheese crackers. Diabetics have to be very careful and this is a younger guy and only been diagnosed for 6months so he is still learning too.

This is one of the reasons that I took this job. A service to humanity. I don't write about it today for praise or accolades, but just to share with you as friends. I am thrilled that I have these skill sets that I can use to provide a service and help to my fellowman. This is what good people are all about. It is such an awesome feeling to know what you are doing and to know that you are able to make a difference in the life of another human being. It is very gratifying. I know now that I chose wisely and this is the path that I was meant to follow. I often questioned myself, but now I know.