Questions....From the elementary school

 We were voluntold to go to a local elementary school to do a standby for the kids. There were to be fire trucks, police, and various other groups there. I will be honest I don't normally look forward to doing these events, but it always turns into a fun time. Kids are some of the most inquisitive people, they are blunt and they have little to no filter. We were very surprised at some of the questions asked by some of the kids. Below I will tell you about some of them. 


What do you do when people die in there(pointing to the back of the unit)? Answer: People don't die in the back of the ambulance. We pump their heart for them if theirs isn't pumping. We can breathe for them if they can't breathe on their own. We give them medicine if that is what they need. Do you have a defibrillator? (asked by a third grader) Answer: Yes we do, but it does more than defibrillate. 


What do you do if the person is on fire? How do you get the people out of a house that is on fire? Answer: As we look and point towards the fire truck parked in front of us... We wait until the firefighters get the person out of the house or put the person out if they are on fire, then we get the person from them and start taking care of them. 


How long have you been doing this? Answer: I have been doing this for over 21 years...gasps heard. How long do you have to go to school to get your degree? Answer: We don't need a degree, we get certifications for each level with paramedics being the highest level. (One kid replied...My step-mom is a doctor!) Lots of kids asked...Do you like what you do? Also, do you like taking care of people? To both, I said I love it! (said without sarcasm)


What is the worst thing that you have seen? Answer: (age appropriate)I have seen a person with both legs so broken that they were just hanging on by skin. Ohhh. I had a lady that was missing an eyeball. EWWWW! Have you ever had to amputate? Nope Do they do surgery back there? Nope


Do you ever get scared? Answer: Absolutely. I still get scared sometimes. What have you been scared of? Answer: We get scared when kids are in our ambulances, they are so delicate and can get really sick really fast. I get scared when people are having trouble breathing because they can get worse really fast. I also have been scared when we were at a shooting scene and the shooter was still out there and the police didn't know where they were. 


Where's the blood? (that caught me off guard) Answer: What do you mean where is the blood? You have hurt people back there, right? Answer: Yes of course. Next, I tried to be logical and put it in a kid's perspective. Is your bathroom clean? No. Is your kitchen clean? No, we live in an apartment. Uh, ok. Well in a normal house, you have a clean kitchen and bathroom to keep the germs out so people don't get sick. We clean the blood up when there is some to kill the germs so others don't get sick. 


Why does it smell like a dentist's office in there (pointing in the back of the truck)? Answer: We clean the back of the truck with cleaners that kill the germs and it makes it smell that way. Many others asked...Why does it stink so bad in there? Answer: That's just the way it smells. I told one child, "Sometimes they smell like an old gym locker". Which was followed by..."What's a gym locker?"


This one was probably my favorite...Why do cops eat donuts? (this was asked by a third or fourth-grade little boy) Answer(after I stopped laughing): Well let's look at this, do you eat donuts? Yes(child) So do I. So I followed with, when you come to school do you get breaks? No(child) The teachers look at me as their mouths drop open. Ok, do you get to each lunch? Yes. I said well a police officer works 12-hour shifts, that is almost twice as long as you are at school. Do you think that a police officer should get to eat lunch? Yes Also don't you think that a police officer should get a break from working to eat a snack? Yes Well, that is what they do and sometimes they like to have a donut, just like I like to have a donut sometimes. Does that make sense to you? Yes sir (I got a nod of approval from the teachers too). 


Last one. What is the worst thing that you have done back there(pointing to the back of the unit)? Answer: I have had my daughter in the back as a patient when she was involved in a very bad wreck. I had to take care of her as if she was someone that I didn't know. That is probably one of the worst things I had to do. Gasps

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