Ghosts of Christmases Past
by Steven P. Velasquez December 31, 2011 Over the past few weeks, the EMS community in NJ has once again, endured the pain of having to bury a brother paramedic. The details of why, how, ages etc… are irrelevant, for they all can be answered with the adjectives “painful,” “tragic,” “too soon,” “saddening” or “unnecessary.” The reality is that we now have yet another, empty seat at our table. Every calendar year ends with the Holiday Season, a time for celebration, family and joy. For us in emergency services, the inverse is often true and can often weigh very heavily upon us. The daily exposure to tragedy and pain can exact a sometimes deadly toll. Thus I encourage all my brother's and sister's – to take steps to actively become “our brother’s keeper” and let none of “our family” suffer in silence. To borrow a saying from the Department of Homeland Security , “If you see something, say something.” Strangely, even when w...