Steven Velásquez - Granting "Sirenity"

By Steven P. Velasquez December 12, 2008 EMT Eric Rivera - Rest In Peace Brother When I first got my job at the MC, one of my regular partners was a guy named Eric Rivera. If the MC was a fraternity, Eric would be "legacy" as his older brother Eddie had gone before him.   Eric had a shining personality that would naturally accent a room. He was charming beyond words; just ask any of the ladies! A handsome Latino somewhere in his early 20's, we used to tease him because he had a striking resemblance to Eric Estrada, the actor who played "Ponch" on the hit TV show "CHIPS." That used to drive him crazy, but I digress.   My first Christmas Eve, he and I worked together and there wasn't much going on. Without a place to aim our energy and attention, they turned inward, and so began the sad conversation of where we'd rather be than here. We talked of our families, our traditions, the things we used to do and how much we'd rather be ...

by Steven P. Velasquez April 23, 2008 Once again the common thread that interconnects us all has revealed itself in a most surprising way. One can debate the existence of this "thread" but the next logical question would be for that person to explain life's coincidences that often manifest as more of a "perfect storm of events," than a benign set of circumstances that are easily explained away. The Response While working one of my jobs the other night, my partner and I were eager to hit the road and get a meal. As our luck would have it, we were dispatched to a local nursing home for a cardiac arrest with CPR in progress. These types of calls are often anti-climactic and severely lack the intensity and drama often found on your TV shows. It's often someone who has been quite ill, has not one but many disease processes working against him and his aging set of organs, and they have simply run out of gas – so to speak. They're dying....

By Steven P. Velasquez Feb. 2007 Just what is it that you're worried about? What's ailing you? What's the major dilemma in your life that saps your energy, causes you agita, makes you lose sleep at night huh? Girl problems? Money problems? Not living how or where you want to? House too small? Cost of living too great? The list goes on and on. One of the principal reasons I have and will continue to work in pre-hospital emergency medicine is because of the unique lens it applies to the world around me. It's a corrective lens that helps me see much better, yet I didn't get this prescription from an optometrist. I too suffer from many, if not all, of the problems listed above and more. I too can legitimately host an enormous pity party -- a gala if you will! But just as my tears begin to flow and I begin to spin my sad tale about yet another failure in my life, another force that has worked against my efforts, another reason for you all to feel for me -- BAA...

By Steven P. Velasquez Jan. 2004 We responded to Joe's home today because he's vomiting blood. This is evident because his vomitus is a dark burgundy color. Joe is a tall fellow, stretched out in his bed. His bedroom is adorned with pictures of a young, strong soldier in a U.S. Army uniform. Cancer has damaged his internal organs causing him to have an iliostomy. A bag hangs from his abdomen catching his bodies' waste. In 1942 however, something else hung before Joe's abdomen -- a mitt for catching would-be scoring runs! Joseph was part of the U.S. Army 30th Infantry, Battery C, Third Division. There were three divisions in the 30th I.D. At Camp Davis in North Carolina, Joe played shortstop for the Army's team. He was very proud of this and shared it openly with me. Since the 1940's Joe and his wife (I'm assuming deceased) have had three children; two boys, Joey and Mickey both in Florida and one daughter. The daughter is local but unable to care fo...

By Steven P. Velasquez January 1, 2004 Alyssa G. is a nine year-old girl with a thin build and long, brown hair down to her mid-back. Wise beyond her years, she speaks with an uncommon level of maturity. She tells me Santa was good to her this year. She is quite good at managing her little brother too. Though she’s only in fourth grade, she shows innate motherly skills already. Perhaps those skills are sharper than her peers because her parents are divorced and Daddy has custody. It appears Alyssa spends a great deal of time playing the role of “mommy” to her infant brother. She balances the little tyke on her right hip like an old pro. When she changes his packed diaper, she shows the skill of a veteran, though her tender age and lack of experience become quite obvious in the category of finesse. Alyssa tends to be very rough and bounces her brother around a bit too much. Perhaps her youth, and then again maybe the days events have taken their toll on young Alyssa –...

By Steven Velasquez September 11, 2001 This article was written by me on September 11th 2001 while in NYC providing fire suppression services for the people of Brooklyn. Two doors down from our firehouse was a bodega where I purchased a black marble composition notebook and a bag of pens. I began taking notes throughout the night and following day. This article was previously published electronically and in print. Only minor modifications were made to adjust for time differences or add additional facts. In response to the terrorist attacks against the World Trade Center in NYC, NY - New Jersey Fire and EMS agencies implemented their disaster response plans under the direction of their County OEM (Office of Emergency Management). In the early part of the afternoon, September 11, 2001, a Task Force of Middlesex County Fire and E.M.S. agencies staged at the Middlesex County Fire Academy in Sayreville, NJ. The following article will detail the accounts as recalled by a South ...