Star of Life

What I have to tell you is not easy to understand & often not given some importance. But if you will listen to this story then maybe in the end you'll believe me.

Right in the middle of this unbelievable symphony of life, there's you & me and every other human being on earth. How many realize what a privilege it is to be a "STAR OF LIFE". Somewhere along the course of life, we stumble into the world of emergency response, whether ambulance or all terrain vehicles, on motorcycle. Every hour of every day they speed to the scene of accidents & illnesses to render medical & psychological assistance. Sometimes they risk their own health or jeopardize their own safety just to try save someone's life.

"Sorry if we woke you in the middle of the night. Sorry if we block the road & make you turn around because someone in your neighborhood is fighting for his life. When you see us coming, we hope you'll understand and let us have the right of way..."

Everyday we face death & anguish, sorrow & pain in many ways. We work as hard as we can despite our feelings of hopelessness. There are times when God allow us to intervene with a hand full of skills & knowledge to do our work. But there are also times when God take it away & there's nothing that we, as a person with finite abilities are going to be able to change. People are going to die & let's just accept the fact that there are really some things we cannot do anymore. How do you continue to feel good about yourself when the life of people slips through your hands despite of all our efforts to keep them alive?

Even in good times we are frequently overcome with despair, we're bombarded with verbal & physical abuse. People just demand that we get there fast & perform miracles. You did not know how much we suffer from the emotional agony of trying to save lives but failed to do. You never know how it feels. You might not see it but deep inside we also need emotional care. Because we are just humans... like you, ordinary people with deep compassion for humanity. If you want to be handled by us, you will have to let us do our job the way you are best protected from further injury. But a lot of people aren't going to notice. A lot of people aren't going to understand. We work long hours. We miss family dinners, birthdays, holidays & special gatherings. Even off duty, the images of human sufferings reel through our mind.

Despite the pitfalls, we have great pride in what we do. We have deep sense of purpose & personal satisfaction. We love what we do & we go to school to do it the best way we can, maybe we can make a difference, "SAVE A LIFE." That's the greatest satisfaction we get.

"God gave us something special to help us see you through, somewhere deep within us. We're here to help our neighbors in their hour of pain & doubt. We do it not because of the money - - you know we don't get paid - - but because we love you & we care about you."

We don't do it for the glory but for a life that might be saved. When we do save someone's life, have nothing to do with rewards or praises because saving lives is not an accomplishment but a way of life & is its own reward. You are very fortunate to have volunteers like them to depend on in times of crisis...

And many are not going to understand --- unless you are one of them.