Saving Christmas

This Christmas, I will be asked to visit close to a dozen homes. Not for celebration but desperation. I am working another major holiday. A twisted ghost of Christmas present, hope embodied and a harbinger of catastrophe.

I'm sure I will respond to the usual holiday calls that have become a running gag in my field. The Christmas code, the post ham heart failure, and the classic granny dump. Some serious, some not.

For me it will seem like just another day at the office; but for a few of the families I visit, it will be a holiday forever etched in their memory. A joyous celebration turned into a bitter annual reminder of tragedy. An anniversary of loss.

It's easy to forget the gravity of my situation. I have been desensitized by the repititious exposure to pain, suffering, and sorrow. It's my job, calm in the face of crisis. "We're doing everything we can" almost rolls off my tongue without any meaning or feeling. However, around the holidays it all seems a little more difficult.

But I am not without hope. We've put up the desktop tree and garage door lights. I have been given an opportunity to make a difference; I might prevent a death, mitigate an injury, or ease the pain of those mourning. Maybe save a life, maybe even save a Christmas.

Rodney Witkos EMT-P/T