A Day in the Life: My Story

My story is words. Words that alone are meaningless, but together, make up the very essence of my being. Words that changed me from the core, and have made me who I am. These words are my story.

“My husband shot himself, we’re at his dad’s, I have no idea what the address is.”

These are the words that my nightmares are made of. These words are my reality, they are what make me strive to do better at my job every day. These are the words of the people I can never forget. These are the people I will never meet, faces I will never see, tears I can never wipe away, memories I can never erase.

“My daughter’s boyfriend just beat her up and threw her in the shower with a blow dryer, he’s trying to kill her.”

These words make me who I am. These are the words of my friends and people that we all know. They are not just strangers with problems, they are your people with your problems.

“We were just in an accident, I can’t move and my friend isn’t answering me.”

These are the words of every person I have ever met, and yet they have no idea who I am. These are the words from the worst days of your life.

“My baby has the pacifier string wrapped around his neck, and he’s turning blue.”

These are the words that define me. They are your mother, sister, cousin, and uncle. Their lives are in my hands. Their fears are on me.

“I was on the phone with my mom, when my dad called her to the bedroom, I heard a loud pop and she quit answering me.”

These are the words that scare others away. They can stop you in your tracks. They make you panic, they make you nervous, they make you go numb, they get me on my A-game.

“I think my granddaughter has drowned.”

These are the words that make you cry, and not just a single tear, but the kind of crying that makes you sick to your stomach for hours after. The kind of cry that makes your face burn, and your heart ache. They are the words that echo through you when you least expect them to.

“There’s someone lying in my yard, I think it’s my husband, but that can’t be right, he died 8 years ago.”

These are the words that turn your life upside down. It not only makes you appreciate who/what you have in your life, but it makes you want to make things better for others.

“Dispatch, your deputy just wiped out right in front of us.”

These are the words that inspire you to save a life. Words that change everything, kicks your senses into high gear, and lets everyone see what you are truly made of.

“Dispatch, I got a domestic call on my cell phone, I am responding with no radio and no vest.”

These words are my story. These are the words that sum me up. They are the words that define me, inspire me, scare me, and motivate me to be the best me that I can be. 911 has changed my life, it has shaped me and I have grown into a role that I wasn’t even sure I wanted in the beginning. It has become a way of life that I wouldn’t change for anything. I am 911.