There are some jobs that very few people are cut out for - jobs that are often highly intense, emotionally depressing and more often than not, thankless. In part two of a series, we go inside the life of emergency medical technicians and paramedics. The crew They can be seen at high school athletic games, snowmobile races, charity fun-runs and basically any event where there is risk of physical harm. People tend to notice the big ambulance and shiny medical equipment, but a closer look at the person standing there would reveal something much more impressive. In Detroit Lakes alone, there are 42 EMTs and paramedics that work for St. Mary’s EMS. And those are only the ones who are paid. There are also dozens more sprinkled throughout Becker County who donate their own time with a pay that only includes an occasional ‘thank you’ card. Latasha Davis remembers the day she knew she wanted to become an EMT. She was 12 years old. “There was a call from Osage; my neighbors’ daughter went into cardiac arrest,” said Davis, who went over to see if she could help. “The EMS squad was working on her, and they let me hold up some sheets to block the sun. I was watching everything they were doing, and I was just amazed.” The girl didn’t make it that day, but Davis turned the trauma of what she witnessed into fuel for a career of saving other lives.
Today she works at least 48 hours per week manning one of the four ambulance units that are always staffed at St. Mary’s EMS. And those are the short weeks. A single mother of three children, Davis has no doubt of her toughest calls. “Anything with kids,” she said. “Those are the hardest - they hit home.” For Davis and her comrades, every single day is different. Some days are swamped with back-to-back calls, others are quiet and full of training. Every day has the crews on alert and ready to make critical choices that could determine whether somebody lives or dies. The pressure of that would be overwhelming for many, but EMS workers train over and over again with different scenarios in the hopes that when the time comes, they can just act. “We’re testing all the time here, and we’ve got to have confidence in ourselves and the people we work next to,” said Mike Hruby, who has been an EMT since 2011. He works for St. Mary’s EMS and volunteers for Wolf Lake Rescue. “We are well trained, and if we do everything to the best of our knowledge and what we’re trained to do, there should be no question that we’ve done everything we could have done,” said Hruby, who got into the field as a volunteer first-responder. “If I can give my neighbor another day to wave ‘hey how’s it going’, I’m going to do it,” said Hruby. “I want to see everybody another day, and if I can give that to them, awesome.” Hruby wears his beeper for Wolf Lake Rescue every minute he isn’t working for St. Mary’s. That means he’s on 24-7. It’s a job that, much like other types of first responders, will call them out in the middle of the night, during church, and at birthday parties. [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_original","fid":"1463334","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","height":"350","typeof":"foaf:Image","width":"750"}}]] However inconvenient that is, these medical professionals know all too well that the person on the other end of that call is usually having a much harder day, and they have three minutes to drop what they’re doing, grab what they need and get on the road. And one never quite knows what they’ll find. It could be somebody who is very mildly injured or a fatal accident. Paramedic and St. Mary’s EMT Supervisor Michael Zimmer learned early on how heartbreaking the job can be. “I responded to an accident involving somebody I knew very, very well,” said Zimmer, who says the person did not make it through. “At that point you’re kind of just in a mode where you’re going to do your job and follow your training no matter what you come up against,” said Zimmer. “You don’t stop to think; your training takes over, and you think about it all afterwards.” The aftermath of emotions can be the hardest part of the job for these crews. St. Mary’s EMS Supervisor and Paramedic Sean Lathrop says oftentimes what happens is, these workers experience PTSD much like soldiers in war. “The difference is, this PTSD isn’t seen on the battlefields of Iraq; it’s seen as we drive right here in our own town because we’ll think, the last time I was here I was giving somebody CPR,” said Lathrop. “Or even when you’re out with your family, you’ll smell something that kind of triggers a memory of a critical call you were on - it’s right here with us all the time.” Lathrop says EMT’s and paramedics typically become pretty good at putting things out of their minds, as there is always another call to go to and more people that need their help. Thinking about it too much will eat them alive, he says. [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_original","fid":"1463335","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","height":"350","typeof":"foaf:Image","width":"750"}}]] “And as a supervisor, I know if they’re just coming back from a baby that wasn’t breathing or something, I go and talk to them to make sure they’re ok and if they need a breather,” said Lathrop. “I think of everybody here as my family,” said Davis, who says everybody works together to take care of each other. There are also doctors and mental health professionals at the Essentia Health that continually connect with the EMS crews to make sure they’re tackling any residual emotions as they go. “They’ll come in and help with those super hard calls whenever we need it, so it helps to be able to deal with it right then so that it doesn’t build up over time,” said Zimmer, who says despite the long hours and sometimes sleepless nights and emotional stress, they all do it for the simple goal of helping people when they need it the most. “When I go home at night I know I helped somebody, and even little things we can do I think can impact people’s lives greatly,” said Zimmer, who says the length of an EMS worker’s career is typically much shorter than in other fields. Not only is there burn-out from the intensity of the job, but it’s tough physically. “We’re lifting people in from positions we shouldn’t, but have no other choice,” said Zimmer. “It’s hard on your body after a while.” EMS workers realize that few people truly understand the gravity of their jobs, but knowing that doesn’t slow them down. They’re not in it for the glory, the thanks or the money. “Just knowing you helped somebody - that you made a difference, and that at the end of the day you feel good about what you did, about what you do…” said Davis. “It’s all worth it.” Tweets by @DLNewspapersThere are some jobs that very few people are cut out for - jobs that are often highly intense, emotionally depressing and more often than not, thankless. In part two of a series, we go inside the life of emergency medical technicians and paramedics. The crew They can be seen at high school athletic games, snowmobile races, charity fun-runs and basically any event where there is risk of physical harm. People tend to notice the big ambulance and shiny medical equipment, but a closer look at the person standing there would reveal something much more impressive. In Detroit Lakes alone, there are 42 EMTs and paramedics that work for St. Mary’s EMS. And those are only the ones who are paid. There are also dozens more sprinkled throughout Becker County who donate their own time with a pay that only includes an occasional ‘thank you’ card. Latasha Davis remembers the day she knew she wanted to become an EMT. She was 12 years old. “There was a call from Osage; my neighbors’ daughter went into cardiac arrest,” said Davis, who went over to see if she could help. “The EMS squad was working on her, and they let me hold up some sheets to block the sun. I was watching everything they were doing, and I was just amazed.” The girl didn’t make it that day, but Davis turned the trauma of what she witnessed into fuel for a career of saving other lives. [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_original","fid":"1463333","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","height":"350","typeof":"foaf:Image","width":"750"}}]] Today she works at least 48 hours per week manning one of the four ambulance units that are always staffed at St. Mary’s EMS. And those are the short weeks. A single mother of three children, Davis has no doubt of her toughest calls. “Anything with kids,” she said. “Those are the hardest - they hit home.” For Davis and her comrades, every single day is different. Some days are swamped with back-to-back calls, others are quiet and full of training. Every day has the crews on alert and ready to make critical choices that could determine whether somebody lives or dies. The pressure of that would be overwhelming for many, but EMS workers train over and over again with different scenarios in the hopes that when the time comes, they can just act. “We’re testing all the time here, and we’ve got to have confidence in ourselves and the people we work next to,” said Mike Hruby, who has been an EMT since 2011. He works for St. Mary’s EMS and volunteers for Wolf Lake Rescue. “We are well trained, and if we do everything to the best of our knowledge and what we’re trained to do, there should be no question that we’ve done everything we could have done,” said Hruby, who got into the field as a volunteer first-responder. “If I can give my neighbor another day to wave ‘hey how’s it going’, I’m going to do it,” said Hruby. “I want to see everybody another day, and if I can give that to them, awesome.” Hruby wears his beeper for Wolf Lake Rescue every minute he isn’t working for St. Mary’s. That means he’s on 24-7. It’s a job that, much like other types of first responders, will call them out in the middle of the night, during church, and at birthday parties.
However inconvenient that is, these medical professionals know all too well that the person on the other end of that call is usually having a much harder day, and they have three minutes to drop what they’re doing, grab what they need and get on the road. And one never quite knows what they’ll find. It could be somebody who is very mildly injured or a fatal accident. Paramedic and St. Mary’s EMT Supervisor Michael Zimmer learned early on how heartbreaking the job can be. “I responded to an accident involving somebody I knew very, very well,” said Zimmer, who says the person did not make it through. “At that point you’re kind of just in a mode where you’re going to do your job and follow your training no matter what you come up against,” said Zimmer. “You don’t stop to think; your training takes over, and you think about it all afterwards.” The aftermath of emotions can be the hardest part of the job for these crews. St. Mary’s EMS Supervisor and Paramedic Sean Lathrop says oftentimes what happens is, these workers experience PTSD much like soldiers in war. “The difference is, this PTSD isn’t seen on the battlefields of Iraq; it’s seen as we drive right here in our own town because we’ll think, the last time I was here I was giving somebody CPR,” said Lathrop. “Or even when you’re out with your family, you’ll smell something that kind of triggers a memory of a critical call you were on - it’s right here with us all the time.” Lathrop says EMT’s and paramedics typically become pretty good at putting things out of their minds, as there is always another call to go to and more people that need their help. Thinking about it too much will eat them alive, he says. [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_original","fid":"1463335","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","height":"350","typeof":"foaf:Image","width":"750"}}]] “And as a supervisor, I know if they’re just coming back from a baby that wasn’t breathing or something, I go and talk to them to make sure they’re ok and if they need a breather,” said Lathrop. “I think of everybody here as my family,” said Davis, who says everybody works together to take care of each other. There are also doctors and mental health professionals at the Essentia Health that continually connect with the EMS crews to make sure they’re tackling any residual emotions as they go. “They’ll come in and help with those super hard calls whenever we need it, so it helps to be able to deal with it right then so that it doesn’t build up over time,” said Zimmer, who says despite the long hours and sometimes sleepless nights and emotional stress, they all do it for the simple goal of helping people when they need it the most. “When I go home at night I know I helped somebody, and even little things we can do I think can impact people’s lives greatly,” said Zimmer, who says the length of an EMS worker’s career is typically much shorter than in other fields. Not only is there burn-out from the intensity of the job, but it’s tough physically. “We’re lifting people in from positions we shouldn’t, but have no other choice,” said Zimmer. “It’s hard on your body after a while.” EMS workers realize that few people truly understand the gravity of their jobs, but knowing that doesn’t slow them down. They’re not in it for the glory, the thanks or the money. “Just knowing you helped somebody - that you made a difference, and that at the end of the day you feel good about what you did, about what you do…” said Davis. “It’s all worth it.” Tweets by @DLNewspapersThere are some jobs that very few people are cut out for - jobs that are often highly intense, emotionally depressing and more often than not, thankless. In part two of a series, we go inside the life of emergency medical technicians and paramedics. The crew They can be seen at high school athletic games, snowmobile races, charity fun-runs and basically any event where there is risk of physical harm. People tend to notice the big ambulance and shiny medical equipment, but a closer look at the person standing there would reveal something much more impressive. In Detroit Lakes alone, there are 42 EMTs and paramedics that work for St. Mary’s EMS. And those are only the ones who are paid. There are also dozens more sprinkled throughout Becker County who donate their own time with a pay that only includes an occasional ‘thank you’ card. Latasha Davis remembers the day she knew she wanted to become an EMT. She was 12 years old. “There was a call from Osage; my neighbors’ daughter went into cardiac arrest,” said Davis, who went over to see if she could help. “The EMS squad was working on her, and they let me hold up some sheets to block the sun. I was watching everything they were doing, and I was just amazed.” The girl didn’t make it that day, but Davis turned the trauma of what she witnessed into fuel for a career of saving other lives. [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_original","fid":"1463333","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","height":"350","typeof":"foaf:Image","width":"750"}}]] Today she works at least 48 hours per week manning one of the four ambulance units that are always staffed at St. Mary’s EMS. And those are the short weeks. A single mother of three children, Davis has no doubt of her toughest calls. “Anything with kids,” she said. “Those are the hardest - they hit home.” For Davis and her comrades, every single day is different. Some days are swamped with back-to-back calls, others are quiet and full of training. Every day has the crews on alert and ready to make critical choices that could determine whether somebody lives or dies. The pressure of that would be overwhelming for many, but EMS workers train over and over again with different scenarios in the hopes that when the time comes, they can just act. “We’re testing all the time here, and we’ve got to have confidence in ourselves and the people we work next to,” said Mike Hruby, who has been an EMT since 2011. He works for St. Mary’s EMS and volunteers for Wolf Lake Rescue. “We are well trained, and if we do everything to the best of our knowledge and what we’re trained to do, there should be no question that we’ve done everything we could have done,” said Hruby, who got into the field as a volunteer first-responder. “If I can give my neighbor another day to wave ‘hey how’s it going’, I’m going to do it,” said Hruby. “I want to see everybody another day, and if I can give that to them, awesome.” Hruby wears his beeper for Wolf Lake Rescue every minute he isn’t working for St. Mary’s. That means he’s on 24-7. It’s a job that, much like other types of first responders, will call them out in the middle of the night, during church, and at birthday parties. [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_original","fid":"1463334","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","height":"350","typeof":"foaf:Image","width":"750"}}]] However inconvenient that is, these medical professionals know all too well that the person on the other end of that call is usually having a much harder day, and they have three minutes to drop what they’re doing, grab what they need and get on the road. And one never quite knows what they’ll find. It could be somebody who is very mildly injured or a fatal accident. Paramedic and St. Mary’s EMT Supervisor Michael Zimmer learned early on how heartbreaking the job can be. “I responded to an accident involving somebody I knew very, very well,” said Zimmer, who says the person did not make it through. “At that point you’re kind of just in a mode where you’re going to do your job and follow your training no matter what you come up against,” said Zimmer. “You don’t stop to think; your training takes over, and you think about it all afterwards.” The aftermath of emotions can be the hardest part of the job for these crews. St. Mary’s EMS Supervisor and Paramedic Sean Lathrop says oftentimes what happens is, these workers experience PTSD much like soldiers in war. “The difference is, this PTSD isn’t seen on the battlefields of Iraq; it’s seen as we drive right here in our own town because we’ll think, the last time I was here I was giving somebody CPR,” said Lathrop. “Or even when you’re out with your family, you’ll smell something that kind of triggers a memory of a critical call you were on - it’s right here with us all the time.” Lathrop says EMT’s and paramedics typically become pretty good at putting things out of their minds, as there is always another call to go to and more people that need their help. Thinking about it too much will eat them alive, he says.
“And as a supervisor, I know if they’re just coming back from a baby that wasn’t breathing or something, I go and talk to them to make sure they’re ok and if they need a breather,” said Lathrop. “I think of everybody here as my family,” said Davis, who says everybody works together to take care of each other. There are also doctors and mental health professionals at the Essentia Health that continually connect with the EMS crews to make sure they’re tackling any residual emotions as they go. “They’ll come in and help with those super hard calls whenever we need it, so it helps to be able to deal with it right then so that it doesn’t build up over time,” said Zimmer, who says despite the long hours and sometimes sleepless nights and emotional stress, they all do it for the simple goal of helping people when they need it the most. “When I go home at night I know I helped somebody, and even little things we can do I think can impact people’s lives greatly,” said Zimmer, who says the length of an EMS worker’s career is typically much shorter than in other fields. Not only is there burn-out from the intensity of the job, but it’s tough physically. “We’re lifting people in from positions we shouldn’t, but have no other choice,” said Zimmer. “It’s hard on your body after a while.” EMS workers realize that few people truly understand the gravity of their jobs, but knowing that doesn’t slow them down. They’re not in it for the glory, the thanks or the money. “Just knowing you helped somebody - that you made a difference, and that at the end of the day you feel good about what you did, about what you do…” said Davis. “It’s all worth it.” Tweets by @DLNewspapersThere are some jobs that very few people are cut out for - jobs that are often highly intense, emotionally depressing and more often than not, thankless.In part two of a series, we go inside the life of emergency medical technicians and paramedics.The crewThey can be seen at high school athletic games, snowmobile races, charity fun-runs and basically any event where there is risk of physical harm.People tend to notice the big ambulance and shiny medical equipment, but a closer look at the person standing there would reveal something much more impressive.In Detroit Lakes alone, there are 42 EMTs and paramedics that work for St. Mary’s EMS. And those are only the ones who are paid.There are also dozens more sprinkled throughout Becker County who donate their own time with a pay that only includes an occasional ‘thank you’ card.Latasha Davis remembers the day she knew she wanted to become an EMT. She was 12 years old.“There was a call from Osage; my neighbors’ daughter went into cardiac arrest,” said Davis, who went over to see if she could help. “The EMS squad was working on her, and they let me hold up some sheets to block the sun. I was watching everything they were doing, and I was just amazed.”The girl didn’t make it that day, but Davis turned the trauma of what she witnessed into fuel for a career of saving other lives.
Today she works at least 48 hours per week manning one of the four ambulance units that are always staffed at St. Mary’s EMS. And those are the short weeks.A single mother of three children, Davis has no doubt of her toughest calls.“Anything with kids,” she said. “Those are the hardest - they hit home.”For Davis and her comrades, every single day is different. Some days are swamped with back-to-back calls, others are quiet and full of training. Every day has the crews on alert and ready to make critical choices that could determine whether somebody lives or dies.The pressure of that would be overwhelming for many, but EMS workers train over and over again with different scenarios in the hopes that when the time comes, they can just act.“We’re testing all the time here, and we’ve got to have confidence in ourselves and the people we work next to,” said Mike Hruby, who has been an EMT since 2011. He works for St. Mary’s EMS and volunteers for Wolf Lake Rescue.“We are well trained, and if we do everything to the best of our knowledge and what we’re trained to do, there should be no question that we’ve done everything we could have done,” said Hruby, who got into the field as a volunteer first-responder.“If I can give my neighbor another day to wave ‘hey how’s it going’, I’m going to do it,” said Hruby. “I want to see everybody another day, and if I can give that to them, awesome.”Hruby wears his beeper for Wolf Lake Rescue every minute he isn’t working for St. Mary’s. That means he’s on 24-7.It’s a job that, much like other types of first responders, will call them out in the middle of the night, during church, and at birthday parties.[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_original","fid":"1463334","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","height":"350","typeof":"foaf:Image","width":"750"}}]]However inconvenient that is, these medical professionals know all too well that the person on the other end of that call is usually having a much harder day, and they have three minutes to drop what they’re doing, grab what they need and get on the road.And one never quite knows what they’ll find.It could be somebody who is very mildly injured or a fatal accident.Paramedic and St. Mary’s EMT Supervisor Michael Zimmer learned early on how heartbreaking the job can be.“I responded to an accident involving somebody I knew very, very well,” said Zimmer, who says the person did not make it through.“At that point you’re kind of just in a mode where you’re going to do your job and follow your training no matter what you come up against,” said Zimmer. “You don’t stop to think; your training takes over, and you think about it all afterwards.”The aftermath of emotions can be the hardest part of the job for these crews.St. Mary’s EMS Supervisor and Paramedic Sean Lathrop says oftentimes what happens is, these workers experience PTSD much like soldiers in war.“The difference is, this PTSD isn’t seen on the battlefields of Iraq; it’s seen as we drive right here in our own town because we’ll think, the last time I was here I was giving somebody CPR,” said Lathrop. “Or even when you’re out with your family, you’ll smell something that kind of triggers a memory of a critical call you were on - it’s right here with us all the time.”Lathrop says EMT’s and paramedics typically become pretty good at putting things out of their minds, as there is always another call to go to and more people that need their help. Thinking about it too much will eat them alive, he says.[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_original","fid":"1463335","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","height":"350","typeof":"foaf:Image","width":"750"}}]]“And as a supervisor, I know if they’re just coming back from a baby that wasn’t breathing or something, I go and talk to them to make sure they’re ok and if they need a breather,” said Lathrop.“I think of everybody here as my family,” said Davis, who says everybody works together to take care of each other.There are also doctors and mental health professionals at the Essentia Health that continually connect with the EMS crews to make sure they’re tackling any residual emotions as they go.“They’ll come in and help with those super hard calls whenever we need it, so it helps to be able to deal with it right then so that it doesn’t build up over time,” said Zimmer, who says despite the long hours and sometimes sleepless nights and emotional stress, they all do it for the simple goal of helping people when they need it the most.“When I go home at night I know I helped somebody, and even little things we can do I think can impact people’s lives greatly,” said Zimmer, who says the length of an EMS worker’s career is typically much shorter than in other fields. Not only is there burn-out from the intensity of the job, but it’s tough physically.“We’re lifting people in from positions we shouldn’t, but have no other choice,” said Zimmer. “It’s hard on your body after a while.”EMS workers realize that few people truly understand the gravity of their jobs, but knowing that doesn’t slow them down. They’re not in it for the glory, the thanks or the money.“Just knowing you helped somebody - that you made a difference, and that at the end of the day you feel good about what you did, about what you do…” said Davis. “It’s all worth it.”Tweets by @DLNewspapersThere are some jobs that very few people are cut out for - jobs that are often highly intense, emotionally depressing and more often than not, thankless.In part two of a series, we go inside the life of emergency medical technicians and paramedics.The crewThey can be seen at high school athletic games, snowmobile races, charity fun-runs and basically any event where there is risk of physical harm.People tend to notice the big ambulance and shiny medical equipment, but a closer look at the person standing there would reveal something much more impressive.In Detroit Lakes alone, there are 42 EMTs and paramedics that work for St. Mary’s EMS. And those are only the ones who are paid.There are also dozens more sprinkled throughout Becker County who donate their own time with a pay that only includes an occasional ‘thank you’ card.Latasha Davis remembers the day she knew she wanted to become an EMT. She was 12 years old.“There was a call from Osage; my neighbors’ daughter went into cardiac arrest,” said Davis, who went over to see if she could help. “The EMS squad was working on her, and they let me hold up some sheets to block the sun. I was watching everything they were doing, and I was just amazed.”The girl didn’t make it that day, but Davis turned the trauma of what she witnessed into fuel for a career of saving other lives.[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_original","fid":"1463333","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","height":"350","typeof":"foaf:Image","width":"750"}}]]Today she works at least 48 hours per week manning one of the four ambulance units that are always staffed at St. Mary’s EMS. And those are the short weeks.A single mother of three children, Davis has no doubt of her toughest calls.“Anything with kids,” she said. “Those are the hardest - they hit home.”For Davis and her comrades, every single day is different. Some days are swamped with back-to-back calls, others are quiet and full of training. Every day has the crews on alert and ready to make critical choices that could determine whether somebody lives or dies.The pressure of that would be overwhelming for many, but EMS workers train over and over again with different scenarios in the hopes that when the time comes, they can just act.“We’re testing all the time here, and we’ve got to have confidence in ourselves and the people we work next to,” said Mike Hruby, who has been an EMT since 2011. He works for St. Mary’s EMS and volunteers for Wolf Lake Rescue.“We are well trained, and if we do everything to the best of our knowledge and what we’re trained to do, there should be no question that we’ve done everything we could have done,” said Hruby, who got into the field as a volunteer first-responder.“If I can give my neighbor another day to wave ‘hey how’s it going’, I’m going to do it,” said Hruby. “I want to see everybody another day, and if I can give that to them, awesome.”Hruby wears his beeper for Wolf Lake Rescue every minute he isn’t working for St. Mary’s. That means he’s on 24-7.It’s a job that, much like other types of first responders, will call them out in the middle of the night, during church, and at birthday parties.
However inconvenient that is, these medical professionals know all too well that the person on the other end of that call is usually having a much harder day, and they have three minutes to drop what they’re doing, grab what they need and get on the road.And one never quite knows what they’ll find.It could be somebody who is very mildly injured or a fatal accident.Paramedic and St. Mary’s EMT Supervisor Michael Zimmer learned early on how heartbreaking the job can be.“I responded to an accident involving somebody I knew very, very well,” said Zimmer, who says the person did not make it through.“At that point you’re kind of just in a mode where you’re going to do your job and follow your training no matter what you come up against,” said Zimmer. “You don’t stop to think; your training takes over, and you think about it all afterwards.”The aftermath of emotions can be the hardest part of the job for these crews.St. Mary’s EMS Supervisor and Paramedic Sean Lathrop says oftentimes what happens is, these workers experience PTSD much like soldiers in war.“The difference is, this PTSD isn’t seen on the battlefields of Iraq; it’s seen as we drive right here in our own town because we’ll think, the last time I was here I was giving somebody CPR,” said Lathrop. “Or even when you’re out with your family, you’ll smell something that kind of triggers a memory of a critical call you were on - it’s right here with us all the time.”Lathrop says EMT’s and paramedics typically become pretty good at putting things out of their minds, as there is always another call to go to and more people that need their help. Thinking about it too much will eat them alive, he says.[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_original","fid":"1463335","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","height":"350","typeof":"foaf:Image","width":"750"}}]]“And as a supervisor, I know if they’re just coming back from a baby that wasn’t breathing or something, I go and talk to them to make sure they’re ok and if they need a breather,” said Lathrop.“I think of everybody here as my family,” said Davis, who says everybody works together to take care of each other.There are also doctors and mental health professionals at the Essentia Health that continually connect with the EMS crews to make sure they’re tackling any residual emotions as they go.“They’ll come in and help with those super hard calls whenever we need it, so it helps to be able to deal with it right then so that it doesn’t build up over time,” said Zimmer, who says despite the long hours and sometimes sleepless nights and emotional stress, they all do it for the simple goal of helping people when they need it the most.“When I go home at night I know I helped somebody, and even little things we can do I think can impact people’s lives greatly,” said Zimmer, who says the length of an EMS worker’s career is typically much shorter than in other fields. Not only is there burn-out from the intensity of the job, but it’s tough physically.“We’re lifting people in from positions we shouldn’t, but have no other choice,” said Zimmer. “It’s hard on your body after a while.”EMS workers realize that few people truly understand the gravity of their jobs, but knowing that doesn’t slow them down. They’re not in it for the glory, the thanks or the money.“Just knowing you helped somebody - that you made a difference, and that at the end of the day you feel good about what you did, about what you do…” said Davis. “It’s all worth it.”Tweets by @DLNewspapersThere are some jobs that very few people are cut out for - jobs that are often highly intense, emotionally depressing and more often than not, thankless.In part two of a series, we go inside the life of emergency medical technicians and paramedics.The crewThey can be seen at high school athletic games, snowmobile races, charity fun-runs and basically any event where there is risk of physical harm.People tend to notice the big ambulance and shiny medical equipment, but a closer look at the person standing there would reveal something much more impressive.In Detroit Lakes alone, there are 42 EMTs and paramedics that work for St. Mary’s EMS. And those are only the ones who are paid.There are also dozens more sprinkled throughout Becker County who donate their own time with a pay that only includes an occasional ‘thank you’ card.Latasha Davis remembers the day she knew she wanted to become an EMT. She was 12 years old.“There was a call from Osage; my neighbors’ daughter went into cardiac arrest,” said Davis, who went over to see if she could help. “The EMS squad was working on her, and they let me hold up some sheets to block the sun. I was watching everything they were doing, and I was just amazed.”The girl didn’t make it that day, but Davis turned the trauma of what she witnessed into fuel for a career of saving other lives.[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_original","fid":"1463333","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","height":"350","typeof":"foaf:Image","width":"750"}}]]Today she works at least 48 hours per week manning one of the four ambulance units that are always staffed at St. Mary’s EMS. And those are the short weeks.A single mother of three children, Davis has no doubt of her toughest calls.“Anything with kids,” she said. “Those are the hardest - they hit home.”For Davis and her comrades, every single day is different. Some days are swamped with back-to-back calls, others are quiet and full of training. Every day has the crews on alert and ready to make critical choices that could determine whether somebody lives or dies.The pressure of that would be overwhelming for many, but EMS workers train over and over again with different scenarios in the hopes that when the time comes, they can just act.“We’re testing all the time here, and we’ve got to have confidence in ourselves and the people we work next to,” said Mike Hruby, who has been an EMT since 2011. He works for St. Mary’s EMS and volunteers for Wolf Lake Rescue.“We are well trained, and if we do everything to the best of our knowledge and what we’re trained to do, there should be no question that we’ve done everything we could have done,” said Hruby, who got into the field as a volunteer first-responder.“If I can give my neighbor another day to wave ‘hey how’s it going’, I’m going to do it,” said Hruby. “I want to see everybody another day, and if I can give that to them, awesome.”Hruby wears his beeper for Wolf Lake Rescue every minute he isn’t working for St. Mary’s. That means he’s on 24-7.It’s a job that, much like other types of first responders, will call them out in the middle of the night, during church, and at birthday parties.[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_original","fid":"1463334","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","height":"350","typeof":"foaf:Image","width":"750"}}]]However inconvenient that is, these medical professionals know all too well that the person on the other end of that call is usually having a much harder day, and they have three minutes to drop what they’re doing, grab what they need and get on the road.And one never quite knows what they’ll find.It could be somebody who is very mildly injured or a fatal accident.Paramedic and St. Mary’s EMT Supervisor Michael Zimmer learned early on how heartbreaking the job can be.“I responded to an accident involving somebody I knew very, very well,” said Zimmer, who says the person did not make it through.“At that point you’re kind of just in a mode where you’re going to do your job and follow your training no matter what you come up against,” said Zimmer. “You don’t stop to think; your training takes over, and you think about it all afterwards.”The aftermath of emotions can be the hardest part of the job for these crews.St. Mary’s EMS Supervisor and Paramedic Sean Lathrop says oftentimes what happens is, these workers experience PTSD much like soldiers in war.“The difference is, this PTSD isn’t seen on the battlefields of Iraq; it’s seen as we drive right here in our own town because we’ll think, the last time I was here I was giving somebody CPR,” said Lathrop. “Or even when you’re out with your family, you’ll smell something that kind of triggers a memory of a critical call you were on - it’s right here with us all the time.”Lathrop says EMT’s and paramedics typically become pretty good at putting things out of their minds, as there is always another call to go to and more people that need their help. Thinking about it too much will eat them alive, he says.
“And as a supervisor, I know if they’re just coming back from a baby that wasn’t breathing or something, I go and talk to them to make sure they’re ok and if they need a breather,” said Lathrop.“I think of everybody here as my family,” said Davis, who says everybody works together to take care of each other.There are also doctors and mental health professionals at the Essentia Health that continually connect with the EMS crews to make sure they’re tackling any residual emotions as they go.“They’ll come in and help with those super hard calls whenever we need it, so it helps to be able to deal with it right then so that it doesn’t build up over time,” said Zimmer, who says despite the long hours and sometimes sleepless nights and emotional stress, they all do it for the simple goal of helping people when they need it the most.“When I go home at night I know I helped somebody, and even little things we can do I think can impact people’s lives greatly,” said Zimmer, who says the length of an EMS worker’s career is typically much shorter than in other fields. Not only is there burn-out from the intensity of the job, but it’s tough physically.“We’re lifting people in from positions we shouldn’t, but have no other choice,” said Zimmer. “It’s hard on your body after a while.”EMS workers realize that few people truly understand the gravity of their jobs, but knowing that doesn’t slow them down. They’re not in it for the glory, the thanks or the money.“Just knowing you helped somebody - that you made a difference, and that at the end of the day you feel good about what you did, about what you do…” said Davis. “It’s all worth it.”Tweets by @DLNewspapers
