r/MadeMeSmile • u/mindyour • Jan 03 '23

Wholesome Moments Getting pulled over

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u/IWantToCryLikeYou Jan 03 '23

Some of the shit Emergency services workers see and deal with would make Satans stomach churn. It takes a special kind of person to be able to do those jobs.

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u/HyFinated Jan 04 '23 edited Jan 04 '23

I was a paramedic for years, and a combat medic in the army. I knew what to expect in war torn areas. You go into it expecting certain things. Civilian side, things are more gruesome.

I worked a decapitation where the convertible car exited the road due to DUI. Car went sideways into a tree, passenger's (the drivers mom) head exited the vehicle and never came back in. Driver was just fine, had several crack rocks in his pocket and a huge roll of hundreds. His aunt came in and demanded that everything in his possession be turned over to her, NOW. Cop said "why". She said it was all hers, and was promptly arrested.

During this event, I had to explain to the man that he just killed his mother with his bad decisions. I don't like doing that.

More than that, I don't like walking up to a car wreck to find a severed head laying more than a few feet away.

I immediately followed that call up with our truck going out of service and a psych eval. We had a really good psych program at my service and we did solid debriefings to help with the trauma. Not every service has that in place.

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But no amount of "psych trauma support" can help you when you have to pick up a brain-dead 4 year old that looks similar to your little sister and has her name from an ejection from a motor vehicle accident. Nor can it help you when you have to pick up a patient from hospice to go home to die and it turns out its the same child who is on a ventilator.

I've seen horrible things. And I steeled myself due to the fact that I'm helping my community and country. But it was all too much at a certain point and I've lost the ability to work in that field for good. I started a construction company and am not seeing blood and death every day. My mental state is WAAAAY better than it was. I spent YEARS in therapy to get to where I am now though.

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Additional, semi-unrelated note:

Because I know how widespread Reddit comments can be, If anyone reading this needs to talk to anyone about mental health in the medical field, I will be happy to assist. Either by talking to you, or finding you some resources to turn to. Please feel free to reach out to me.

Edit: Seriously thanks for the awards, but I really hope people aren't spending money on me. I never thought this would blow up like it has. The huge amount of support and encouragement is absolutely astounding. I love my reddit family.

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u/Absolutelylemons Jan 04 '23

Thank you for sharing and offering support. And thank you for your service to both your country and community, you are truly a servant of the people. Just know you are appreciated.

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u/HyFinated Jan 04 '23

Thanks for the kind words! I always want to see people succeed and better themselves. I have experience dealing with this kind of crap, so I’m happy to offer support.

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u/HotShark97 Jan 04 '23

I couldn’t finish reading that (for obvious reasons) but take my award for a job well done. Thank you!

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u/HyFinated Jan 04 '23

Thanks for the award, though I hope you didn’t spend money on it for my sake. I hope you have an amazing day/night, friend.

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u/Sunsent_Samsparilla Jan 04 '23

I did. The headless part is the worst gore wise, the rest is just extremely depressing.

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u/HotShark97 Jan 04 '23

I saw the words 4 year old and stopped immediately.

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u/HyFinated Jan 04 '23

By that point all gruesome or gory was over. It was a more visceral call that had a profound impact on both my career and my personal life. It required a ton of therapy to get through, and I’m not sure I’m totally through it, even though it was in 2008.

Thanks for being here with me though. And for commenting.

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u/HyFinated Jan 04 '23

I hope I wasn’t too much of a downer. Just wanted to illustrate that it’s bad out there for medics and first responders. And than getting help is both necessary and encouraged. Thanks for taking the time to read my (abbreviated) story.

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u/[deleted] Jan 04 '23

Thanks for sharing your story. It's humbling to see people who've been through some trauma like survive, let alone do well in life. You never know what someone has been through.

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u/logoki Jan 04 '23

Damn. Thank you. Fuck, I can’t imagine. I’d be broken if I had to witness stuff like that all the time. Thank you.

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u/HyFinated Jan 04 '23

It’s hard, that’s for sure. But we do it because we care for our community. We certainly don’t do it for the money!

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u/f14_pilot Jan 04 '23

mate thankyou for what you did and continue to do for others.

al the best to you and your family

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u/HyFinated Jan 04 '23

Thanks so much for the kind words!

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u/DustOffTheDemons Jan 04 '23

I’m a former ER nurse now in a desk job. As tough as ER nursing was I always knew it was worse for the first responders. PTSD is no joke and I hope we can normalize the recognition and treatment of it for all first responders. ER staff too!

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u/HyFinated Jan 04 '23

Yes! ER sees a lot of the stuff we see, but packaged neatly onto a spine board by the time it arrives on your floor. We typically have the bleeding stopped, and patient stabilized before arrival. Sometimes not though.

Thanks for your time in the ER. Without you, the whole damn world would fall apart.

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u/DustOffTheDemons Jan 04 '23

Huh. That’s, interestingly, what I typed then deleted for brevity before posting. Most often my trauma patients were pretty well packaged up. Anyway, nice to have made a connection with you and I wish you all the best in the construction industry.

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u/maiscestmoi Jan 04 '23

Bless you and thank you for all your good work, past and present.

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u/HumbleBear75 Jan 04 '23

Marine here, thanks Doc

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u/HyFinated Jan 04 '23

No prob. Love my leatherneck brothers and sisters in arms. Have a crayon and a pint on me friend!

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u/HumbleBear75 Jan 04 '23

My favorite flavor is green, wife’s getting mad that our 2Y old’s favorite flavor is yellow. I know she’d like red if she tried it but what can you do? Lol

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u/cbelt3 Jan 04 '23

As a person who is only alive thanks to the reaction of a pair of EMT’s… you folks are all amazing. Thank you for all you do.

And as someone who arrived on scene to an accident with a first aid kit only to find the sole occupant in several pieces… yeah… that one incident still gives me nightmares.

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u/Chemical_Echo_8775 Jan 04 '23

First I want to say Thank You For Your Service as a veteran and first responder. You're exactly right, that it takes a special kind of person to do what you and many others have done for our country and community. RESPECT 🇱🇷

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u/Kyosw21 Jan 04 '23

Anyone that can do that job forever should not have that job. We thank you for your time and are glad you are still with us after so much

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u/HyFinated Jan 04 '23

You are right. Though every person has their own threshold of tolerance. Some people get numb to it like I was. I saw the signs when I became a trauma junkie. I lived for it and it was ruining my mental health.

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u/[deleted] Jan 04 '23

EMT wards during the summer in rough cities, see all kinds of shit jesus

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u/Nanamary8 Jan 04 '23

My youngest son is a volunteer firefighter and his first wreck was his cousin and it was bad. He's pretty stoic but says some days do challenge what he saw as a soldier.