turn the perspective around

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I was at a fire meeting last week. The guys reported on a medical call where a man in his 40's had had a heart attack, and that they were able to revive him, so it was a good outcome. But then they talked about a call that same day, same situation, only it was a baby. And it wasn't a good outcome. So then they talked about the mental health of first responders when they go on a call and they can't revive someone. Anyway it reminded me of 19 years ago literally this week. My brother-in-law had gone to visit his parents on his birthday. That evening he went upstairs and he found his father unconscious on the floor. So after he called 911, he called us, and we were on the phone when the paramedics came. We could hear them talking and then my mother-in-law let out the most bloodcurdling and heartbreaking scream. I will never forget it. They hadn't been able to revive him. He was gone. At the time, I was thinking about my mother-in-law and my then husband and losing him so suddenly. It was pretty awful. But it wasn't until that meeting last week that I thought about the impact of things like that on our first responders. It must take a particularly strong person to be able to experience that over and over again. And it must also take a toll on a person's mental health. The guy I was dating earlier this year was a retired cop, and he told me it wasn't that uncommon to arrive on the scene of an accident and find somebody had been decapitated. Hard job. Much respect. I couldn't do it.