I was up at 2am last night answering an ambulance call and as much as I tried to sleep in a little longer than usual this morning, I was out of bed by 6:45. I am already thinking about how great that bed is going to feel when I climb back into it tonight.
People often tell me they could never do volunteer work for the ambulance association because they just could not get out of bed at all hours of the night. I tell them that of course it isn't always easy but the rewards far outweigh the sacrifices, and they do. None of us would do it if we didn't want to, after all - we are volunteers!
There is something incredibly gratifying about being able to respond to a fellow human being at what is always a traumatic time in their lives. Whether the victim of something like an automobile accident or maybe as simple as a stomach ache, when people need help, and you are the one that comes, they never forget it. And it feels good to be able to lend a hand in such a practical way. I wouldn't trade my work with the ambulance association for any other type of volunteer work. It is by far the most rewarding.
All that said, the older I get the harder it is for me to get out of bed at 2am and then recover from the sleep deprivation - I sometimes feel it for days. But it's a price I willingly pay.
And I will re-read this about 4:00 this afternoon to remind myself why I do it...
3 comments:
And we appreciate what you and the other volunteers in the ambulance and fire services do for all of us in the community. What would we do without you? Thank you for your service!
Take a 20 minute power nap already! :) And thanks for your service!
Thank you for your kind words - like I said, we enjoy what we do so no thanks are necessary - but they are appreciated!
And about that power nap....they don't work well for me. But I did sleep really, really well last night....
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