Life has been crazy! Jake and I are both in school and are almost done for the semester. We both went through the EMT program over the summer. We both loved this class. The teachers were all so amazing and we all became very close as a class. We had both always wanted to take this class so we thought it would be really cool if we took it together. When we first started we really just wanted to take it to learn the basics for everyday life. Before you can certified on a state level you are required to do ten clinical hours. Jake and I went and did a ten hour shift with the Orem Ambulance. We were not able to go to the same station so we were at different stations on the same day. We would always joke around that one of us would have an awesome day and the other one would have nothing and just have to sit there for ten hours. We were asked to show up at ten in the morning and stay until eight o’clock that night. When I arrived at my station they were not there so I was just supposed to wait until they came back. Well needless to say I had to wait almost two hours before the came back. It was a long hot two hours. I just kept thinking to myself well I hope this is not a sign of how my day is going to go. I was sitting outside waiting while Jake was sitting indoors with some nice AC waiting….. Jake and I kind of had a competition going on, on who would have the better day. I was thinking at this point that he was definitely going to win this one. After my crew showed back up I found out I had missed delivering a baby and a pretty good car wreck! I was so sad because I had missed both of these by about ten minutes. I thought I was going to lose for sure now! Throughout the day I had a few calls but nothing really special. Jake had one all day! They ended up sending him home early because they had a training to go to. I was just thinking lucky him. I did not want to sit there for another two hours. It was now seven o’clock, I had one hour and was counting down the time. All of the sudden we get a call to a male in his mid twenties who was not conscious or breathing. As we were headed to his house I was going over everything in my mind that I had learned but I had no idea what was really about to happen. When we arrived at his house they told me to grab the heart monitor and head inside. When I went in his mother directed us to the room he was in. When I went down the stairs and saw him lying on the ground completely lifeless it broke my heart. I wanted nothing more than to leave that house and never look back. But then everything I had learned kicked in. The other medics were gathering information, opening his airway, doing what they needed to, to bring this guy back to life. After talking to his parents we learned he was a recovering drug addict and had just come home from a rehab a couple weeks before. The police began searching the house trying to find any evidence of drug use. After they were able to get a good airway we immediately loaded him up to get him to the hospital. When we got outside I asked where they wanted me to ride and one of the medics told me to get in the front seat. So I got in and was ready to go to the hospital, then out of nowhere the medic started yelling for me to get in the back with them. When I climbed in he told me to start doing CPR. I was in total shock. I have had lots of practice doing this on manikins but never on real person. I was scared out of my mind. I had to do CPR all the way to the hospital. For some reason one thing that really stood out in my mind was when we went around a corner and his arm fell off of his chest and hit the floor. I think it was at that moment when it hit me… he is dead. I continued CPR until we reached the hospital. When we pulled up we stopped to check his pulse and his chest started rising on its own. We count not believe it. We rushed him in and they started working on him in the ER. I was standing outside the room with the other medic cleaning off the stretcher listening to this guy I had witnessed completely lifeless screaming at the nurses for water. I was so overwhelmed I could not wrap my mind around this. When the medic turned to me and said “You do know he was dead, right?” It was at that moment it hit me. We were able to save this guys life. They say only 2% of people that have to have CPR end up living. And those who do usually are in a vegetable state the rest of their life. I was able to witness this and not only witness it but was able to take part in saving his life. This was one of the most remarkable experiences I have ever had. This was the deciding factor in making the decision of that question you always ask yourself “What do I want to be when I grow up?”
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