Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Sad News



This weekend while I was working I had one of these bad feelings when I heard the 911 center dispatch the call over the air.  Sunday September 25, 2010 @ 1030 hours.  It was to the training facility that the local fire departments train.  It was for a Cardiac Arrest (meaning someone went down and there heart was not beating).  I immediately logged onto the local site and was able to see the units that were out on training there and it was the fire house that I grew up in since I was a baby.  After sitting on pins and needles for about 2 hours I found out who it was......tears began to flow.  It was someone that I grew up and considered my big brother :(  He was one of the people that stood behind me during training and kicked me in my butt to keep me going.  Someone that would not let me use the words "I can't".  He was someone that I ran ambulance every week and then when I was old enough we worked together.  Between the fire service and becoming and EMT and then later going on to be a paramedic Keith had taught me many things over the year's. 



Keith doing what he loved to do teaching the new kids......
 
Keith was only 38 years old and leaves behind a wife that he married May of 2006 and 2 step-daughters along with his 2 dogs.

Over the last 2 day's I have been sitting with friends and family talking about "the good old times".  I did happen to remind my parents that at one point they thought he was a bad influence on me growning up - well we did do some crazy things, he did dare my best friends brother to ride his bike down the city street butt naked, that was one of many things we did growing up and they looked at me and said yes we know and he was not, now that we look back! :)


I just love this picture of Keith.  It was from one of the last calls that he responded on that I was able to find.  It reminds me of him looking down on us all and being our gardian angel. 

I have got my uniform out and started to get all my stuff together for the funeral.  It is considered a Line Of Duty Death which is a big todo.  Lots of fire trucks and police depatments and ambulances.  Hundreds and hundreds will turn out to pay their respects from all over the United States.  My one partner and I will be taking our Medic Unit that I work on to the funeral.  The funeral is Thursday, September 29, 2011.




2 comments: