patched up
kelly | 7 March 2008 - 5:42pm
Last week I joined a local volunteer rescue squad. There are only certain things I'm allowed to do at this point, of course, but they still gave me the uniform shirt to wear. And a patch! I am very proud of my patch.
What is it about patches that make things seem official? You take an ordinary blue button-up shirt and slap a big patch on the shoulder and suddenly people trust you with their lives. This amuses me, especially since I am currently struggling just to operate the stretcher. (Harder than it looks, I'm just saying...) What's more, I'm pretty sure what the patch says doesn't even matter. You could be wearing a fucking Pinewood Derby patch and people would be perfectly fine with you defibrillating their loved one. "I'm sure he knows what he's doing," they think. "He's got a patch."
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i was going to get all excited when i saw derby...we rely heavily on the volunteer squad to provide EMT service in case anyone goes down and is hurt at our bouts.
i love a good patch.
I so want a patch. Then I can roam the city with defibulators and shock people!!
Out here in the sticks, any sort of patch will make someone look official. I let someone do my taxes just because he was wearing a nicotine patch.
nicotine patch...haha. I had a fascination with patches when I was young. I used to buy them when visiting space centers and iron them onto any tshirt so I could pretend I was a NASA qualified astronaut.
I wonder if being a rescue medic changes your approach to risk. You get to witness, through unfiltered lens, the morbid delicacy of the human body. Do you still rush through yellow traffic lights, or drive over the speed limit?
I drive, but it scares the shit out of me because I know there are other reckless drivers who can't control their own impatient impulses, let alone realise the effects of these. And driving is the only time I am superstitious. I never listen to Radiohead's Let Down while I drive.
I remember watching my dad and brother build those pine derby cars. It would probably totally compare to the difficulty of operating a stretcher. So exciting that you have a patch to assure those families!
Well good for you! I think volunteering at the rescue squad is awesome. Very proud of you, babe!
Ever wonder how Tom Cruise breaks into a high security nuclear lab with no one noticing before he rescues the conveniently hot Ph.D. nuclear physicist? He has a patch!! Patches rule!! With confidence and patches one could take over the world. Is this part of your plan? Can I be your pinkie?
Maybe if I had a patch, you know, instead of two diplomas and a couple of certificates hanging on my office wall, people would stop thinking I am a student. That might just be the answer.
Nicotine patch! HA! I wonder if an estrogen patch is just as good....
... wait, those go on your ass, so probably not. Unless maybe you were at a nudie beach or bar. And at the bar, you'd have to be a dancer, at which point, I'm sure no one is noticing the patch.
As for my own personal patch story, I remember when I got 2 patches to sew onto a polo-style shirt when I was a zoo volunteer. We walked around feeling so official, when all we really got to do was scoop poop and help with the kid's play exhibit.
Ah, the days.
I'm so proud of you for venturing out in this way! I never would have pictured you as one of those adrenaline-junkie, gore-lovin' EMT folks but it's so cool that you've surprised us all and stepped out of the box. I can't wait to hear about all your defibbing adventures! From teacher to EMT... who've thunk it?
:)
Love you! CAN'T WAIT to see you!!!!
sorry, i was anonymous above.
i'm not altogether in control of my wits at 4 am...
How about an Eye patch?
That is so cool. A patch and a job and even wrestling with stretchers. I cannot wait to hear about the first time you have to shock somebody.
That sounds pretty unfeeling but you know what I mean.