A Priveledge to Serve

It was sure to happen.  The illness was too severe, and had progressed along that unstoppable path.  And so, just as one suspected, the obituary appeared in the paper.  Part of you feels sad but part of you feels relief.

Any person who has the real honor of serving in the Fire Department has had this experience.  You are called to help someone with an immediate physical need.   It rises out of their profound illness, sometimes early on but most often at stops along the way to a sure end.  One author I recently read described it as "a depth of sadness" in the eyes that takes many long years to understand.  People get sick, disease takes root and people die.

We don't like death in this country... unless it is in a video game or a movie.  We hide it away, we avoid the ugliness preferring to see a bright new home in heaven.  I understand it. 

Recently my fire station took one of our profoundly ill patients to the hospital.  The Parkinsons disease that had stolen his life was soon going to steal his Life.  His wife patiently and lovingly cared for his needs before we moved him to our gurney for the silent ride to the ER.

It is a priveledge to serve in the Fire Department.  Thank you to my community for giving me that chance.  It has changed me.  Sometimes I can see the 'depth of sadness' in me.  It is one way to understand the human condition.