When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. “Where have you laid him?” he asked.
Jesus wept.
Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”
But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”
First responders never know what they’re going to walk (or run) into on any given day. They are trained to be prepared, but sometimes all the training in the world cannot prepare them for many of the scenes they respond to (I described a few of these when I wrote my letter for EMS Week for County10).
When the crews come back to the station to write their reports, I have the responsibility of reading about the incident(s) as it happened through their eyes. Each crew member has a certain writing ‘style’...some are pretty clinical and straight-forward; others go into quite some detail on the life-saving measures they took. There are many narratives that put a huge lump in my throat and make my eyes burn with tears. As an empath, my mantra every day I walk into the station is: “Safety for the patients and the crews.” Every time a call rings out, each time I watch them drive away, lights and sirens…I say a little prayer that includes that mantra.
“When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick…” (Matthew 14:14)
Our Community Health: Be Kind.
Every day is filled with risks. As we go about our days, we rarely think about them. But if you’ve ever been on the patient side and/or in the back of an ambulance, you may have looked back at your experience and never would have thought in a million years that what happened to you would happen when you woke up that morning. Many don’t…until it does happen to you or a loved one.
Our first responders…law enforcement, fire, EMS…respond to events and incidents that have already happened. Many times, the attitudes can be such that it would be so easy to judge the drunk, the drug addict, the victim, the assailant, the chronically ill. But when you peel back the layers and look at the present, past, and generational traumas that have caused such monumental ripple effects of pain and grief in the world, and how it is overflowing with so many who are injured, sick and hurting…you might consider just how many of those layers of suffering it has taken over time for them to get to their present state.
And then you sometimes think about how many of those events could have been preventable. If only they had worn their seat belts. If only they had called SafeRide. If only they had reached out to someone, anyone…called a suicide hotline, called victim services, called a shelter, called a friend, dialed 911 before things escalated to a point of no return…but even then, you still cannot judge!
“Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about...”
“Go and do likewise.”
One of my very favorite of Jesus’ parables is the Good Samaritan (Luke 10: 25-37). In short, a traveler is attacked, robbed, and left for dead. Both a priest and Levite see the man lying on the side of the road and pass by. But a Samaritan (someone who was actually looked down on by the society of the day) stops, moves with compassion, binds up the man's wounds, takes him to the nearest inn, and pays for his care and expenses (even future expenses)!
Moving with compassion and taking action. The Good Samaritan didn’t judge the man who was injured…race, color, gender, religion, etc…didn’t know the guy’s history, didn’t know anything about him. The traveler was obviously robbed, so he didn’t have any money, and there sure was no such thing as health insurance back then!
“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
We get bits and pieces from the media as things escalate in the Middle East. As the historic pattern of war games continue, my concerns are more for the people who are considered “collateral damage”. I can’t even imagine the work of first responders on either side of the lines of battle, and to tell the truth, I feel helpless. But I’m not in the Middle East. I’m here in Riverton, Wyoming, and both patients and crews right here are having to fight battles that many know nothing about.
I’ve been in the back of an ambulance as a patient. I once had a friend drive me to the ER. There was a time that I even drove myself to the hospital (when I probably shouldn’t have). I’ve worked in a hospital. I’ve seen ER doctors and nurses in action as they muster up for the incoming. I’ve worked in hospice, worked with some of the most compassionate nurses I’ve ever known.
The people who make (and will make) the most difference in their communities are the ones whose actions are driven by compassion…not judgment, social or economic status, opinions, or terms and conditions. It’s all about the attitudes that prevail in the approach of care. For an example a little closer to home, one might see a drunk in city park and judge an entire race of people based on what they see. But what about what they don't see? Do they consider the layers? Our first responders see it all the time, and to be honest, the attitudes in the approach to multiple calls for alcohol poisonings can take its toll.
But what was Jesus trying to portray in the parable of the Good Samaritan? The approach of compassion and mercy without judgment. It doesn’t matter (and shouldn’t matter) the race, color, gender, religion, politics, etc. “Go and do likewise.”
The shortest verse in the Bible is: “Jesus wept.” I think of all of the things that would make Jesus weep today. I think of the things happening in the world that make us all weep. But I also think about the Good Samaritans of the world and in our own communities. Besides our first responders, I think of organizations that need support, such as the American Red Cross, Fremont County Prevention Services, White Buffalo Recovery Services, Riverton Mercy House, local Victim Services…people who work for, are inspired by, and move with compassion to peel back the layers of hurt and grief that overwhelm our society.
Perhaps we, too, can be more inspired, more motivated by faith, love, and hope that good will triumph over evil. Because that’s what Jesus would do.
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.
In this world you will have trouble.
But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33
The NAEMT Code of Ethics
https://www.naemt.org/about-ems/code-of-ethics
