Ive never talked about my time in EMS on here and I thought now would be a good time. I LOVED working on the ambulance. I was so upset when my doctor told me I couldn't continue working on it. A lot of people don't understand that way of life. You work for 24 hours every third day. You sometimes spend more time with your EMS family then you do your real family. You spend holidays together, you fight together, you cry together, you are at your goofiest with them (Dave has yet to hear me sing and my partner Kristan has heard me belting it out more times then she probably wanted to lol) , we understand each others feelings on things better then so many other people can. You spend such great moments with your partner and sometimes you spend your worst moments with your partner. One of my worst calls I ever ran was a bad car wreck. The 17 year old had went halfway out the sunroof of the car and the car flipped on top of her trapping her half way out between the car and the road. She obviously died before we ever had a chance to work her. As weird as it sounds that part wasn't the upsetting part to me. When we finally figured out who she was we realized that she was the same girl who had checked us out when we bought our supper at the grocery store that day. We had talked to her and I knew who her family was. We took the body into the hospital and while we were standing there they brought her parents in to identify her. I can still hear her moms cry, her screaming out. That sound will never erase from my memory. The only other person that can understand how I felt at that exact moment is the partner I was working with at that time. I couldn't go home and explain it and have people understand and I won't even try to explain it on here. The reason I share all of this is so some of you can kind of get an idea of how close you are to your partner and those you work with. The good and the bad.
Yesterday morning I was woke up with a phone call telling me that Kristan's (my partner when I worked on the ambulance) husband George had died. He was 23 years old. He was working his shift on the ambulance and died in his sleep. When his partner went to wake him up for a call he was gone. All of the medics worked him anyway. These medics were his friends and in EMS his family. There is no worse nightmare for anyone in EMS then to have to answer a call for family. I feel so bad for those that had to do it.
I have talked to Kristan. I am going to go to their house tomorrow with her so she can get some stuff together for the funeral the next day. My heart is breaking for her. Every time I think of her I cry. I remember when they first started liking each other. We tried to have a girls only movie night and she couldn't stay off her phone lol. They've only been married for a year. His dad lives here in Granite and we went over there after the wedding to celebrate. I just cant imagine what she is going through. I try not to imagine what she is going through. It is my nightmare.
I just had to get this off my chest. I came home tonight and got on ksdk.com to see what was going on in the area and the main story was about George and it had a big picture of him attached. I am going to paste it here along with a picture of me and Kristan that was taken one day where we got posted at a kids event while we were working and all the kids wanted us to paint our faces so we had them paint the EMS star of life on our cheeks.
KSDK-- An emergency medical technician who works for Medstar's Washington Park base has died in the line of duty.
George Schaub III was working a 24 hour shift that began Friday. He made the last call around midnight, and was found unresponsive at shift change Saturday morning. So far, there's no word on what caused his death.
Visitation will be held Tuesday from 4:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. and Wednesday from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. with the funeral following at 1:00 p.m. Both will be held at Renner Funeral home in Belleville.
George Schaub was 23 years old.
