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Tom Giorgi... "Vietnam War Hero to Senior Harlem Media Medic." - The Battle

Tom Giorgi - Photos & Bio

The Interview! 12 Questions with Tom Giorgi... "Vietnam War Hero to Senior Harlem Media Medic"　

Surprise Card Signing... Congratulations, Tommy! Well Deserved!

By MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT Published: December 7, 2013

Originally published in the New York Times    
      WASHINGTON — Seven minutes after the authorities in Sparks, Nev., received a call one day in October that a gunman was on the loose at a local middle school, a paramedic wearing a bulletproof vest and a helmet arrived at the scene.                                    

Instead of following long-established protocols that call for medical personnel to take cover in ambulances until a threat is over, the paramedic took a far riskier approach: He ran inside to join law enforcement officers scouring the school for the gunman and his victims.

“He met the officers right near the front door, and they said: ‘Let’s go. There are victims outside near the basketball court,’ ” said Todd Kerfoot, the emergency medical supervisor at the shooting. “He found two patients who had been shot and got them right out to ambulances.”

Federal officials and medical experts who have studied the Boston Marathon bombing and mass shootings like the one in Newtown, Conn., have concluded that this kind of aggressive medical response could be critical in saving lives. In response to their findings, the Obama administration has formally recommended that medical personnel be sent into “warm zones” before they are secured, when gunmen are still on the loose or bombs have not yet been disarmed.

“As we say: Risk a little to save a little, risk a lot to save a lot,” said Ernest Mitchell Jr., the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s fire administrator, who released the new guidelines on mass casualty events for first responders in September.

The guidelines say that such events, which have led to more than 250 deaths in the past decade, are “a reality in modern American life” and that “these complex and demanding incidents may be well beyond the traditional training of the majority of firefighters and emergency medical technicians.” They recommended that any of those first responders sent into “warm zones” focus on stopping victims’ bleeding.

The guidelines also say that first responders should be equipped with body armor and be escorted by armed police, a policy that officials in Sparks and a handful of other cities had already adopted.

The new focus on moving faster to treat victims follows an earlier shift in thinking about how quickly the police should respond.

In the 1999 shootings at Columbine High School in Colorado, where two disaffected students killed 13 people, no officers entered the school until a half-hour after the shooting began and SWAT teams arrived to respond to a highly planned attack that involved a fire bomb and other explosive devices.

After Columbine, law enforcement officials made it clear that they wanted the first officers on a scene to act immediately instead of waiting for specially trained officers with body armor and high-powered weapons.

“These events like the shootings are usually over in 10 to 15 minutes, but it often takes over an hour for everyone to get there,” said Dr. Lenworth Jacobs, a trauma surgeon who created the Hartford Consensus, which brought together experts in emergency medicine and officials from the military and law enforcement after the Newtown shooting to determine better ways to respond to mass casualties.

“We’re seeing these events in increasing frequency, and unfortunately we have to change how we approach them to keep death tolls down,” Dr. Jacobs said.

While the United States military saved thousands of lives in Iraq and Afghanistan by practicing combat medicine developed over years of responding quickly to battlefield injuries, the medical response to the bombings last April at the Boston Marathon provided a dramatic example on American soil of how lives could be saved by acting quickly.

The bombs went off near the marathon’s finish line, where many nurses and doctors were stationed to care for injured or ill runners and major hospitals were not far away. The bombing victims received medical assistance almost immediately, and while three people were killed, more than 200 others who were injured survived, including a dozen or so who had limbs amputated.

Those medical professionals were taking a risk: They did not know how many bombs there were or whether they were putting themselves in the middle of a larger attack.

The new FEMA guidelines have been embraced by state and local officials. But they have heightened concerns about the risks to first responders and about whether response times for victims would grow even longer if medics were wounded in a danger zone.

They have also raised the specter that terrorists may target the first responders as they have in Iraq. In recent years, the Qaeda affiliate there has in many instances detonated a car bomb and then, as medical personnel arrived, set off others.

But Harold Schaitberger, who leads the International Association of Fire Fighters in Washington, said his organization played a role in creating the new guidelines and strongly supported them if employed correctly. The association represents 300,000 firefighters, paramedics and others.

Trying to save victims in “warm zones,” Mr. Schaitberger said, “is a different risk for firefighters, but not more of a risk than firefighters already take in responding into a burning structure.”

Mr. Mitchell, the fire administrator, said the gunmen and terrorists who mounted attacks in the United States over the past decade rarely made targets of first responders. But, he said: “We know that this possibility does exist, and part of the training of the fire and E.M.S. is to be observant and aware and to be on the look for suspicious activity and so forth.”

Other efforts have focused on educating civilians on the need to react quickly to danger.

This year, many police departments began education efforts that urged anyone caught in a mass shooting to “run, hide or fight” instead of waiting for help.

After all, the people at the scene can often stand in for first responders before they arrive.

“In Boston, you saw that the public didn’t run,” Dr. Jacobs said. “You need for the public to have the most education about how they can help to improve the survival results.”

<img src="http://meter-svc.nytimes.com/meter.gif"/> A version of this article appears in print on December 8, 2013, on page A1 of the New York edition with the headline: In Mass Attacks, New Advice Lets Medics Rush In.

For those of you who don't yet know me, my name is Christine Sarracino.  I am 27 years old, a lifelong resident of Wood-Ridge, NJ (a small town of one square mile in the shadow of the Meadowlands) and I can say, with certainty, that becoming involved in public safety was something I knew I was always meant to do.  I grew up around the shiny, white-over-red fire trucks, and seeds were planted from an early age that, someday, I wanted to be just like my dad.  The firefighters were people I admired, particularly since nearly all of them have
lived in this town for many years; on top of that, they are all volunteers, not taking a salary for their service to the town.  A little more than two years after I finished my bachelor's degree I finally stepped forward to join the department where my family's legacy began.  However, unlike a younger sister who became a firefighter, I have been involved in emergency medical services which are also provided by our fire department.  It wasn't without difficulties, however, both as far as learning the skills I needed to become an effective Emergency Medical Technician as well as dealing with other personalities.  I succeeded in obtaining my EMT-Basic certification in July of 2010 and spent the
following year-and-a-half honing my skills in practical situations.  Besides that, I took courses dealing with various topics, but have not been able to keep up my acquisition of knowledge and CEUs due to resigning from the department in March of 2012.  I hope to resume my continuing education once I return to "active duty"; thgh it is not going to happen at this very moment, I'm working to pick up the pieces and find psychological and spiritual healing, through intense study of how the unconscious mind works coupled with making vocal and
contemplative prayer a part of my life.  My thoughts have also recently turned to finding the other half of my lifelong dream...that is, finally undertaking training to become a firefighter.
 
1. What is your current title & some of your previous experience?
 I am a New Jersey state-certified EMT, and I spent two years and four months with the Wood-Ridge Fire Department Emergency Squad before my resignation.  I haven't been with any other squads during my time off the department, but there had to have been at least one or two calls where I assisted a mutual aid squad from another town during my time as an EMS-only member with Wood-Ridge.  Currently I am not with another emergency squad or ambulance corps, but the more pressing need is to become psychologically and spiritually "fit" before I'll get back on an ambulance.
 
2. What is your favorite part of working for your department?
What I loved most was the knowledge of being part of a team and having belonged to a department that has 115 years of dedicated service and commitment to the safety of Wood-Ridge and its residents.  My greatest joy was knowing that I could be there to, hopefully, make a patient's worst day just a little bit better.  The other thing that was so great about being part of the Wood-Ridge Fire Department and its Emergency Squad was that I wa continuing its tradition of service, keeping the family legacy alive and hopefully becoming a positive influence for others (including any children I may have someday) who may want to enter the fire and emergency medical services.  Volunteerism is slowly dying out due to economic conditions and budget crunches, but I wouldn't trade volunteering as an EMT for anything in the world.  I may not be able to continue that legacy in my hometown, but perhaps it'll begin with me elsewhere.  
 
3. How do you define success?
 Success is not necessarily attaining a rank or being the one who has a lot of citations or life-saving awards; nor is it always being the most highly-decorated member or one with the fattest folder of certificates given for meritorious conduct.  Success, at least as I see it, has less to do with what honors one earns and more with what one does to prepare oneself to perform the task at hand.  I learned very early on that success as an EMT is driven by a passion for the pursuit of education to continually expand and re-form one's knowledge, because there are new things to learn all the time.  Another way I define it is learning from one's mistakes by practicing until it can be done in one's sleep...this is where a need for training comes in, and it can be discouraging to have to try and practice one's skills all by themselves (it is made more difficult if it's something that requires more than one person, plus a "patient" on whom one can practice, but no one is around to want to train with you).  Mentoring is very important if someone wants to experience success in EMS, just as it's found to be very important today for new firefighters to find a member with knowledge and experience who is willing to share it with that new
initiate.  My hope is to be a mentor--if nothing else--to new EMTs, as I was mentored by a credentialed, experienced, and wise firefighter/EMT during my "pre-EMT school" stage.
 
4. What have you learned in your lifetime that you'd like to share with the younger generation?
 I have four pieces of wisdom to share from what I've gained in my brief time as an "active duty" EMT:
 
When you first break into the field of EMS, seek out a mentor.  This will usually be someone in a position of formal leadership--though not always--who is not only experienced and knowledgeable, but also has an intuitive sense of just how to teach a newcomer to the emergency medical services.  It's not typically the one who is the loudest, most outspoken, or who walks with the most swagger about the experiences they've had during their years of service; the mentor is just the opposite, in fact, someone who is quiet, hard-working, always does the right thing even if it isn't the most popular, and looks out for the interests and safety of others.  He or she can also be someone who acts as a sounding board for the new person's concerns, provides necessary advice and words of wisdom, instills enthusiasm and passion for learning, all the while guiding the newcomer along the right path.
 
Always strive for your best, even if you may fall short; persevere and set the bar higher each time, and practice when you have free time.  Do self-Q&A after each call.  Ask yourself, "What did I do right?  What could I have done better or differently so that a patient might have a better outcome?  What lesson can I take away from this call?"  These are just a few questions that can be used to assess the job you did on the run you just completed.  The answers can then help you figure out your strong areas, where you're weaker and need more work, and give you an idea of how to make yourself a better EMT overall.
 
Unless you're either much psychologically stronger than I have been before, or else emotionally dead, the tough calls WILL have a profound effect on you.  It took me quite some time to realize that behavioral problems that hampered my performance, in many areas of my adult life, were caused by unconscious anger and resentment I'd harbored towards other people.  I was sabotaging myself.  I'm not totally there yet, but little by little God shows me where I'm still lacking and gives me His grace freely.  I am grateful every day that God finally gave me this wake-up call, that it came sooner rather than later, or else I don't know where I'd be by now.
 
Lastly, NEVER post anything on a social networking site that could come back to bite you you-know-where.  It's a painful experience.  Privacy settings are a beautiful thing, but even so, beware of the content you may share with others.
 
5. What is your favorite hobby?
 I love to read anything informative, and I also like fiction, my favorite book genre.  Besides that, I enjoy listening to music (mainly my choices go along with the way I'm feeling at any given point in time) and doing occasional graphic design on the side.
 
6. Who has had the greatest influence on you?
 Two people have easily had the greatest influence on who I am, at least how I came to be in EMS as well the way I put down my roots and began to grow as an EMT.  I will describe in brief below.

First and foremost would be my dad, who has been a volunteer firefighter and certified first responder with the Wood-Ridge Fire Department and Emergency Squad for over 38 years.  I admire him because, with his years of service and being at the age of 60, he could easily be retired from service by now but there is a fire in him that's hard to put out.  Since firefighting is in the family, both my dad and his brother (who is an ex-Chief) have been involved with the same fire department all their lives; they have a brother-in-law who is a former Assistant Chief with an engine company in the town where he lived before moving.  However, I feel I have been called to be involved in the emergency medical services, as medical emergencies now make up at least 80% of the annual call volume, if not more than that.  I credit my dad with being the source of this love of volunteering for the community.
 
The other is a former member and officer of the department who resigned in early 2011, the week he was to take the oath again as First Assistant Chief.  He laid the foundation on which I began to build--sometimes shakily, other times more solidly--my skills and knowledge in EMS.  When running calls in the early weeks of probation, if he was the EMT on the ambulance, he would allow me to observe and assist him with patient care until I began EMT school.  Heck, he even sparked my interest in taking a course to become a Rescue Technician even before I had registered for the Emergency Medical Technician course I needed to take first!  The other thing I admired about him was his ability to listen and defuse tense situations with wisdom, justice, and diplomacy; he was the "zen master" from whom I would seek advice in order to steer myself in the right direction.
 
7. What will be your legacy? Is the world better because of you/your work/your influence?
 My legacy, hopefully, will be one of untiring service to the people of Wood-Ridge, or wherever I may happen to settle and work as an EMT.  However, I hope the greater element of my legacy is being remembered as a mentor to the younger and newer members of the emergency medical services just as that firefighter/EMT and former officer had been to me.  I would like to be remembered as the one young people could approach for sage advice, assistance in expanding their expertise in the field, and lighting a fire under them to ignite
a passion for learning.  So far, I have had a small impact on the community I live in, as people who have received assistance from our emergency squad sometimes see me and thank me for helping them or a relative when they were a patient.  My influence as a potential mentor has not had as far a reach yet, but I'm hoping to be able to coach newcomers and be respected by them, at least as an informal leader even if I do not get to wear officer's bars.  I am actually a firm believer in giving respect to others all the way up and all the way down the ranks, from the highest-ranking officer and the most season veteran to the greenest probie.  I don't believe in completely withholding respect to those with less experience, kicking them around until they can impress me.  This is where the Golden Rule comes into play:  "Do to others whatever you would have them do to you."  Remembering and living by it is crucial if a department wants to retain members, as the ones with the highest turnover numbers are the ones that typically fail in this area by alienating, discriminating, searching for any means possible to force out "undesirables".

8. What's the funniest work story/ event you remember?
 No one specific story or event comes to mind, but I can recall smiling to myself whenever someone was surprised to find my presence behind the bar while they were in the larger meeting room.  I think of myself as an "EMS Ninja" because I tended to appear and disappear without much warning; one minute I'd be there, the next I'd be gone and people would think that I simply vanished by magic!  I also remember the rapier wit of my former mentor would make me smile and laugh, as he preferred to counter verbal jabs with his characteristic dry humor rather than handle it by physical means.
 
9. Is there anything I haven't asked about that you would care to comment on?
 During my time away from "active duty", I've had to think about a lot of things.  I've had to prioritize what is most important to me, including whether or not familiar surroundings can foster my personal growth and development or if I have to "cut the cord" and continue the tradition in another place.  I'm grateful to have had a fantastic network of firefighter friends (some company officers, others chief officers) who were there to support me; I might be worse off for wear and unable to have hoped to return to where I started, with a fresh
outlook, had it not been for these people.  They've not only consoled me with their words, but have also counseled me from their years of experience and inspired me to really look at what it means to be a leader, whether formal or informal.  I've learned that experience not only comes with time but also with how often you apply your skills and really get your hands dirty.  It also is enhanced the more one educates themselves and stays informed on the latest in firefighting and emergency medical service trends and research...above all,
change requires an open mind, open ears, and an open heart to embrace what is already good and what can be improved.  These friends, although I haven't met them in person (save for a couple of them), have become Brothers and Sisters to me.

I learned that Brotherhood means being able to let someone lean on you during their difficult times, that even if you can't help them personally you can at least offer something that may be of assistance to them, even if it's just words of encouragement.  I realized my mistake wasn't worth the self-degradation and loss of dignity, as well as the loss of respect that can come with such a big misstep.  Thanks to the firefighters with whom I've connected, my sense of hope and resolve has been restored.  I am ready to be someone who will work hard, expect the very best of myself as an EMT, and hopefully help to lead the future of the department I join in a new, positive
direction.

Besides learning the true definition of Brotherhood, I have worked on styling myself a student of "the best in the business", those firefighters, EMTs, and Paramedics who are on the cutting edge of trends in fire and EMS.  One has to go outside the limited scope of whatever department to which they belonged if they wish to find out more about what others are doing to make forward progress in how we fight fire and care for our patients as EMTs and Paramedics.  The old saying, "200 years of tradition unimpeded by progress,"
only applies to those departments whose members are not willing to make progress, to read up on the latest fire service news and research, or to expand their horizons and even change their SOPs/SOGs regarding patient care if they are not aware of how commonly-used methods of patient care may sometimes cause more harm than good, contrary to what they were taught.  Leadership, as I've
learned, can be found at all levels up and down the ranks if we open our eyes and really take a good, hard look, and it's not just the salty veterans who have something to teach...sometimes it's the new guy or girl who may have a lesson for them to learn.  All of us need to be humble and have a beginner's mindset when it comes to learning, myself included.  When you open your mind to different opinions, different ways of performing a task, different techniques that will change how we work as firefighters and EMTs/Paramedics in the future,
the wealth of information and experience that is shared with you (and others who are open and willing to learn) has a tremendous impact.  But we shouldn't keep that information to ourselves, because it doesn't benefit if others don't know the same thing; we need to share it, so we can protect all our Brothers and Sisters.  It could very well save a life!

10. What is your favorite dinner & what do you drink with it?
 This is a tough one for me to answer.  I like various kinds of dinners, but since you asked me to choose just one, a favorite since childhood has been our occasional Saturday evening Polish-style dinner with the staples of kielbasa and sauerkraut cooked together in a pot, served with pierogie (horseradish or mustard may be had on the side).  I have no preference for what I drink with it.
 
The Coming and Aftermath of Sandy
 The wrath of Superstorm Sandy was felt by many in the Tri-State Area when she made landfall in the early morning hours of October 29th.  Even during the previous evening her presence was keenly felt by many as the outer bands were the first to come ashore before the eye.  Sandy was a storm unlike any experienced by those on the East Coast, and its effects were felt as far away as Michigan and Wisconsin, as well as Ontario and Quebec in Canada.  What made it so eerie--and dangerous--was the fact that it was only a tropical storm, yet the millibars (measurement for the pressure around the central circulation of a hurricane or tropical storm) were quite low, causing the hurricane-force winds to spread out and cover an extremely wide field.  I recall being at home when Sandy came knocking; the sustained gale-force winds whipped about the flag on the neighbor's flagpole, and while we did get some rain, it was the winds that
turned out to be the more dangerous part of the storm for us, since we were on the northern edge of the bands swirling counter-clockwise about the storm's eye.
It was like nothing I'd ever seen before, and what was even more frightening to see was watching, with wide eyes, while green and blue flashes of light could be seen against the cloudy nighttime sky.  I swore I'd been dropped into the move "Twister" and began trying to look for a funnel cloud, even though one didn't exist (though the area was put under a tornado watch due to the intensity of Sandy's winds, which could possibly cause rotation within one of the bands on her outer edge).
 
At approximately 1845 hrs the lights in the house flickered, then darkened for a minute or two before coming back on.  My family all believed it was a temporary trip on the power grid, but only seconds after the electricity had restored itself did it go out again.  Seconds turned to minutes, minutes slowly ticked on into hours, yet the house--and, moreover, a whole stretch of street--remained dark the rest of the night.  As my phone's battery was draining itself, I had no means of charging it, thus I took the risk of going out into the wind and rain to find a store that was still open and might even have a charger to plug into my car's power outlet.  Two local CVS stores were closed,
and a local supermarket didn't carry such an item, so the trip was a wash; it so happened, however, that a guy I was seeing at the time dropped off two chargers in the house mailbox while I was out in the storm, so I finally had a means to recharge my phone in my car.  Morning followed--gray, dreary, and still quite windy--with only natural light from outside helping us to see anything inside the house.

 Work went on as usual for me, except that we saw a much sharper uptick in customer volume.  Many people throughout town were without electricity, thus the necessity to buy non-perishable food became much more evident to them.  I even did a little shopping of my own in order to help support a drive at the local high school; not only were non-perishables collected, there were tables full of toys for children, cleaning supplies, and chairs in the auditorium were draped with clothing according to gender and size.  It was amazing, heartening, to see people go out of their way to assist their neighbors in need, as many people in the nearby towns of Moonachie and Little Ferry had their homes flooded and possessions were lost as the river overflowed a berm and spilled into the streets.  The cleaning supplies would be very much needed in the coming days as the water receded and homeowners would have to begin the battle against mildew and mold inside their homes.

 My own experience with the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy came one morning when I volunteered to help with cleaning up at the Moonachie Fire Department headquarters.  On the outside, it still appeared as it always had...when I stepped inside, that was when reality hit me square in the face.  The ceiling on the first floor was gone, and the duct work hung down like an enormous silver snake...the station was unrecognizable as belonging to a fire department.  It was there that the President of the fire department was organizing the clean-up
effort, giving tasks to anyone who came to volunteer their time.  Cleaning bathrooms would normally seem like a mundane, even vulgar, task, but that day I did my best to make the sinks and the toilets sparkle.  A more difficult task was sorting loaned turnouts by town so they would be returned to the correct departments; for that I required assistance, as I was not familiar with which coats and pants went to which department unless it was labeled.  Another sunny morning with free time brought me to the building where Moonachie First Aid and
Rescue Squad has been housed (at the time they were given a temporary home with Hasbrouck Heights Fire Department).  To see the bare insides of the squad building, ceilings ripped apart revealing duct work and hanging wires, empty walls, floors with nothing occupying their space, was unlike anything I had ever seen.  My purpose was to help with cleaning up inside the building, scrubbing floors with bleach from donated American Red Cross cleaning kits, as well as move siding pieces from a trailer being ripped apart so that they could be rinsed down.  The teamwork among everyone involved, performing various clean-up tasks, left a feeling of satisfaction long after I had driven home to spend the rest of my day at my regular job.  The fire departments and EMS squads of both Moonachie and Little Ferry had been devastated after Sandy's winds and floods wreaked havoc with homes, possessions, and livelihoods.  Although they were down, they were definitely NOT out.  In fact, they are rebuilding and working to come back stronger than ever, particularly through generous donations of equipment, apparatus, and gear, besides raising funds to replace what was lost.

 Long after the gas lines disappeared and electricity was restored to virtually all parts of the Tri-State Area, people are still picking up the pieces.  Neighborhoods came together to assist in clean-up efforts, replace lost clothing and other items, and bring at least a
certain amount of normality back to daily life.  Of course, it will take many more months for areas that were hardest hit--such as the Jersey Shore--to fully recover; some areas will never look or "feel" the same again after the monster storm tore through and did its worst.  We are, however, resilient and tenacious.
Not even the biggest, most destructive weather phenomena can keep us down for very long.  We will rebuild, no matter how long it takes!

Thanks for reading, be safe, and God bless!

by Dan Heidt

1) Where did you grow up and what was it like?
Well I am East Indian but I was born and raised in South Africa. Iam literally a slave descendant from Indians that were brought to South Africa by the British, 151 years ago as slaves. In order to work in
sugar cane plantations and railroad tracks......

I grew up during the Apartheid Era so life was difficult, being a non-white person. Growing up, it was easy for a kid to understand that because of the color of our skin. We were not allowed to go to certain areas where we lived. We were not able to go into a store and buy something that we liked because most places were for white peopleonly. There were only certain places, we as non-white people were allowed into.

 When I completed high school, there were only 2 choices as non-white people, were allowed to go and study. That was either to become a Teacher or a Nurse. One could go to University if you had enough money to go then study what you liked. However, my mom as a singleparent could not afford to send me to study. I disliked both professions so I decided to get a job as an Administrative Clerk.

2) How do you define success?
 My personal definition of success is to always rise above your own standards of excellence. By that I mean, one should always compare
themselves to themselves (their own accomplishments and achievements) and rise above that.

3) Who has had the greatest influence on you?
I would say that my mom and my late fiancé have had the greatest influence on my life.  My mom raised 2 small children on her own and instilled respect, morals and ethics in us. 

My late fiancé (being an Attorney) believed in acquiring an education along with knowledge.
Knowledge is POWER.....

4) Why did you decide to become a Paramedic and where do you see this leading to?
Well, I did not choose to become a Paramedic, it was through DivineIntervention. I was 1 of 50 people selected from 7500 other people, in my state that were chosen to be trained as paramedic. It did not take long for me to fall in love with my profession and I feel blessed to
have been chosen for this calling......

5) Can you tell me where you work and in what capacity is your involvement?
Currently, I work in Afghanistan as a contractual, Remote Site Medic. It’s very different compared to working in South Africa, because in
Afghanistan, I predominantly work in a Clinical Environment treating patients in a more stable secured work area. Where as in South
Africa, I was an Operational Medic, and worked full time on an ambulance. 
 
South Africa has changed over the years, becoming on of the most dangerous places to live in. As a medic, I was assaulted many times by intoxicated patients and our ambulances would get hi-jacked frequently around the country. People seem to have no respect for us. Even though, we risk our lives each and every day in an attempt to help people. So I would say that I am far safer working in Afghanistan than working in South Africa.

6) What have you learned over your life time that you would like to share with others?
I have learned that the greatest gift anyone could give to anotherindividual is a sense that you care. I have come to realize that we
live in a cold cruel world where, care and compassion have become scarcequalities. I believe that it takes just one person to make a
difference and to set an example for others.

7) Are there any causes or organizations that you support?
I’m an avid blood donor. I also support organizations that are trying to stop animal cruelty, an organization that is trying to preserve the Rhino species.  As these animals are frequently being poached for their horns. I also support organizations that care for abandoned babies and children, infected with H.I.V.

8) Is there anything I haven't asked you that you would like to comment on?
Yes.
1. Where do I see my profession leading to? Well in the future I would like to further my studies and become a Flight Doctor and
probably work for an organization such as AIR MERCY.

2. What do you enjoy doing when you are not working? I enjoy traveling, very much. My last trip was to India and I was given a
surprise opportunity to visit the TAJ MAHAL in AGRA. It was the most amazing experience.

9) What is your favorite meal and what do you prefer to drink with it?
My favorite meal is prawns grilled in garlic butter, served on a bed of rice or  with crisp potato wedges. I prefer to have my meal with freshly made orange  juice.

Bio:
My name is Katie. I am a 20 year old EMT-B and a medic student from the midwest. I have worked for a combination 911/transport ambulance service for almost 2 years now. I swam competitively at a combination of the club, high school, and NCAA levels for 10 years and just recently quit because I decided to pursue a career in paramedicine.


1. What is your current title & some of your previous experience?
I am currently and EMT-B and have not quite 2 years of experience with 2 different mixed 911/transport services. The service change came because of a company buyout.

2. What is your favorite part of working for your department?
I really love my work family. The first company that I worked for was a small mom-and-pop type of company, and so we all became very close. Since all of the employees were absorbed with the buyout, we are all still very close. I have found that after bad runs, I can always go to my work family for comfort and advice. We are there for each other no matter what.

3. How do you define success?
I define success in my field as being happy with what job you are doing, making your patients happy, and caring for the community. None of us are in this job to get rich, so for most of us, success doesn't have a monetary value.

4. What have you learned over your lifetime that you'd like to share with the younger generation?
Hard work will get you a long way. I know that I am one of the youngsters in the world of EMS, and I have seen firsthand the difference between the people who work hard, and the ones who don't. I feel like so many in my generation feel that the world owes them something for simply existing. The world owes us nothing. The only way to be successful in life is to pursue the career you dream of, and work your butt off to achieve your goals. I have discovered that the people who expect to be handed everything will achieve nothing.

5. What is your favorite hobby?
I still remain fairly active with swimming, however I no longer compete. I also knit a lot. I suppose some people would call me an old soul.

6. Who has had the greatest influence on you?
My grandmother definitely had the greatest influence on me. We were very close while I was growing up, and she taught me pretty much everything I know about working hard and being successful in life. Unfortunately, she passed away almost a year ago from Alzheimer's Disease.

7. What will be your legacy? Is the world better because of you/your work/your influence?
I hope that I can make a difference in somebody's life, whether it be somebody I'm close to, or a complete stranger. I hope that should I be lucky enough to have children someday, I can teach them the importance of hard work and selflessness. I really do hope that my work has or someday will make the world a better place.

8. What's the funniest work story/ event you remember?
Lord, there are so many to pick from. One of my favorites would have to be the little old lady my female partner and I went on for a fall. We walked in and her brother and sister were there. They explained to us that she had been down for a while, and they did not have the physical strength to get her off the floor. We walked into her line of sight and she said something to the effect of "Well, I was hoping if you HAD to call 911 they would send me some hot young firefighters! I guess you two will do." I responded with "Well, if you really want me to, I can get them to come out to pick you up." She turned beet red and declined. Refused treatment and transport and all was well once we got her moved back to her armchair.

9. Is there anything I haven't asked about that you would care to comment on?
I don't believe so.

10. What is your favorite dinner & what do you drink with it?
I would have to say chicken wings and onion rings. With a soda.

In my 25 years in many aspects of EMS I have never worked a day in my life. You will notice that none of my answers have the words “work or job” in it because work to me is something you dread and a job is something you do until you find your career. I was Perry Medic to my patients and it wasn’t really a career, but it was my life and what I looked forward to every single day.

1. What is your current title & some of your previous experience? 
Right now I am a Safety Training Manager for Bigge Crane & Rigging, my career was ended 7 years ago lifting a 650lb pt. Even with 6 people total, the years of lifting people finally took its toll. Over the course of 25 years I did Search & Rescue for the Navy, Combat Medic in the Army and was a firefighter and/or medic. 

2. What is your favorite part of working for your department?
To sound corny I have to say taking someone at their worst and giving them the opportunity to be on this earth with their loved ones for a little while longer. With some it might be an hour, day, week, month or years, but it is more time than it would have been if it wasn’t for the team work of the EMS crew that responded to you. Also every day is different, you never know what that shift holds for you and is continuously keeps you on your toes, wanting to expand your knowledge and give the best possible care.

 3. How do you define success?
 In this career, to me success in the field of EMS is doing your best each and every day, working with a team to achieve a goal and striving to learn something new every day and pass on the knowledge that you have to those willing to learn. Knowing that we can’t save everybody, but we can sure give them our best and in the end of the day being able to look yourself in the mirror and feel good about yourself. 

4. What have you learned over your lifetime that you'd like to share with the younger generation?
1 - To the EMT’s, you’re not JUST an EMT, you are responsible for the important things like Airway, Breathing and Circulation. Don’t just be a driver, ask questions, be part of the team, understand why your medic partner is doing what he/she is doing so that when you are in that seat you will want to teach your EMT partner. It only makes a better team and that is always better for the patient. 2 – Leave your prejudices at the door, you are not there to judge anyone, no matter who they are. Everyone is part of someone’s family and you need to treat them as you want your family treated 3- Don’t be a “clipboard” medic, don’t be afraid to get down to your patients level, touch them and let them know you are going to do everything you can to help them, but don’t lie to them. Once you do that and they catch you, your credibility is shot and that cooperative patient is now an uncooperative one. And lastly 4 – If you ever get burned out, dread that pager or tones going off and don’t want to be there, then turn in your uniform and stay home. When those people call 911 they are expecting and should get someone that truly wants to be there and care for them, not someone just going through the motions, you need to hold on to why we got into this field in the first place.

 5. What is your favorite hobby?
Fishing, hiking, biking, running and photography.

6. Who has had the greatest influence on you?
Jim Holbrook, my paramedic instructor at Crafton Hills College in Yucaipa.  That man was absolutely amazing and really knew how to bring out the best of all of his students. He would do scenario’s, like the one time he walked in, threw up coffee grounds and lay on the ground and said “now treat me”. He would have us do our assessment and treatment and when it got to the point of “at this time I would establish and I.V” he would have us do it. By the end of the day he would be walking around with band aids all over his arms. Absolutely incredible, and if he can teach me A&P, he could teach anyone.

 7. What will be your legacy? Is the world better because of you/your work/your influence?
 I think everyone in EMS would like to think so, that there is something they leave behind or a life they touched that will be their legacy. I was lucky to have both. I was responsible for getting the Flex Guide ET Tube Introducer implemented into the field in the Riverside
Division AMR. The use of that device in the field has helped medics get the tough intubations that at other times would be hard to get.  The other was that I was able to help teach EMT’s on how to be a medic, not necessary try to make them a like me, but to show them what they already had inside of them to truly get what we, in EMS, are here for. One such EMT was my friend Eric Williams, he was an incredible EMT, a sponge for knowledge. I always told him that no matter what the situation, no matter how bad it is, always remain calm on the outside, because your patients, the people that called you, need reassurance that you got this. He was great with people, had incredible skills and he always remained calm. He took that knowledge and training and became a Combat Medic in the Army, assigned to 82nd Airborne Division and was a flight medic. At his funeral this July one of the soldiers he saved after being shot numerous times remembers dying and opening his eyes. He said that he expected to open his eyes and see how bad his injuries were on Eric’s face, but
instead when he opened his eyes all he saw was Eric’s goofy smile and in a calm voice Eric said “ I see you zigged when you should have zagged huh Jones”. When I heard that story I knew that what I had shown him what he had inside continued to help save numerous soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was killed July 23rd, 2012.

 8. What's the funniest work story/ event you remember?
There are so many, but one that sticks out is when we had just watched “Super Troopers” at the station and we got a call for shortness of breath. When you are out in the field for a long time you pretty much get a feel for your patients and how you can converse with them. We arrived on scene and the firefighter bet me I couldn’t say “legs” 10 times in my assessment. After initial assessment on the patient and vital signs and sensing she had a good sense of humor “Ma’am, did your legs hurt before your shortness of breath?” “no”, I asked a couple more questions then “ When you breathe in deep do your legs hurt?” “no” – after asking multiple questions and getting the “legs” reference in about 6 times she looked at me and said with a big smile “Super Troopers?” “yes ma’am” “how many more do you have to go?” “4” “go ahead and get it over with” – it was pretty funny. One other time is I always taught my EMT’s to call their patients by either their name or sir/ma’am, not sweetheart, dear or anything like that. One time we went on a 90ish y/o female and I had my EMT doing the assessment and he kept calling her “sweetheart”. After the second time she looked annoyed and after the 4th time she said “young man, are we dating?” The EMT said no and she told him that her name was Dorothy and not sweetheart. It was classic and he never called a patient sweetheart or dear again. 

9. Is there anything I haven't asked about that you would care to comment on?
To the medics, I can’t emphasize enough about making your partner part of the team. Let them run the calls at times and help them improve their skills under your direction. It all comes down to basics regardless of what letter is after EMT. I’ve seen too many medics get the “paragod” mentality and all they do is limit themselves, isolate the people around them and rob their patients of the best possible care. We are not here for our egos and accolades, we are here for that person in front of you looking to you for help, we owe it to them to give them the best possible care. 

10. What is your favorite dinner & what do you drink with it?
Anything BBQ, especially ribs and my homemade BBQ sauce that actually will be on the market hopefully early next year. But besides that one of my favorites is chicken on a bed of artichokes marinated with dry vermouth topped with mushrooms and salsa mixed with cheese, with baked artichokes with garlic olive oil, balsamic vinegar and garlic pepper served with a nice Papapietro Perry Pinot Noir 2007

Perry Churchill
 Safety Training Manager
Bigge Crane

I first became interested in EMS in 1985 when I was in the Navy. Me and a friend was on a bus in Israel and there was a lady that had a heart attack. The bus was filled with people and no one knew what to do, not even me. The bus driver was rushing to the hospital while all any of us could do was watch her die, which she did. It had to be the most helpless feeling I had ever felt and I swore from that point on I would never feel that way again. I became a volunteer firefighter in Chesapeake, VA and Search & Rescue in the Navy. Over the course of the next 25 years I continued my career as a firefighter and/or medic, Combat Medic in the Army and going on 25 years of teaching CPR/First aid so that no one will feel helpless when someone is in need

The ear piercing screech of the firefighter locator beacon coupled with the screaming engine trying to pump the water & hysterical yells of the family & neighbors was a bit overwhelming at the moment. How I wish I could shut off this cacophony... my head was starting to hurt. My right side began to feel very wet... I look over and the snake coils of the water hoses were leaking badly, spraying cold water onto my side. The fountain of water coming out was almost refreshing on this hot, humid, muggy night. Just seconds earlier two firefighters tumbled down a flight a stairs trying to carry a 250+lb man.
 
"You alright man?!" I scream at him, trying to battle through the chaos of the noise. "Yea!! Just check him out, damn it!" He yells back at me. As he tears his mask off, he looks visibly shaken... I would be too if I just somersaulted down a Victorian flight of stairs carrying guy on top of me. I turn my attention down at my knees where the patient that was tossed at me lay. The porch where we were was way too small for everything that it contained. Me, my partner, two firefighters, hoses, bags, a variety of fire equipment I can't even begin to name... and now a body... alive or not was for me to decide.

Moments earlier, I was peacefully munching on my mini-chocolate donuts downing it with a quart of milk... a gas station dinner of champions baby! at 1am on this busy night.... when our peaceful "dinner" gets interrupted by dispatch to a possible house fire "smoke coming from the 3rd story window." The area we were going to is well known for some impressive house fires... the houses are old... all made of wood... and they love to burn. Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring... egh whatever... season non-specific, they burned nonetheless. Knowing all of this, there were normally two outcomes... this was either nothing & we were going to be back in service in 10min or we were going to be there for rest of the night. "I hope it's burning man." My partner exclaims. "We EOT in 4 hours, and this would last us through the night!"

EMS is a weird kind of profession... in it other people's misery can occasionally make our life easier... sucks, but that is the way it is. My partner was right. The house was going to burn regardless of whether I wanted for it to burn or not. That decision was already made for us. People are going to get shot... whether I want them to or not. They are going to die... despite even some of my best efforts... that's just the way it is. For us to say, "I hope it's burning man" doesn't mean that we HOPE for houses to catch on fire... it just means that WHEN they catch on fire, that WE be the ones there for it. This is an interesting concept that no one outside of EMS rarely gets.

We get on scene just behind the fire department. Amazing. 1am. When it is a house fire, they beat us there in droves... when it is a "chest pain" call, I'll have the patient half way packaged before they show up. As we stage a block away from the scene, the fire command advises us that this is a working incident with one upstairs bedroom on fire. "Egh I don't see flames... they gonna have that thing out before we even get out of the truck. I'm not getting out." My partner exclaims. I went in the back to set the stretcher up just in case. I throw in: immobilization, monitor, jump bag, suction... drugs? Nah... I'll come back for them if need be. What else do I need? Blankets... nah... it's too hot out. I jump back in the front, and as soon as I do so, fire command advises that they have possibly two to three casualties in the upstairs bedroom and outside behind the house. "Well @#$@#$!" My partner exclaims again. I call for a 2nd truck as we now have a possible "confirmed" patient/s... the city is holding calls so my call is 3rd in line. Typical night indeed.

We get out & drag our heavily packed stretcher across the cobblestones to the front of the house... spectators have gathered far & wide... some look at us with awe... some with disdain for having awoken them at this time of night... others with pure boredom, I guess expecting to see flames or other sorts of excitement. Just as we get up to the porch, two firefighters tumble out of the front door having lost their footing on the stairs...

And now in front of me was a man... a body of a man... lying prone across the coils of the fire hoses... in front of the entire neighborhood. It was so loud... I could barely hear myself think. I begin to turn the patient over with my partner's assistance when the man's pant legs
slide off under my hands... and with his pants came his skin... all of his thigh & leg skin. He was a bigger man... and the fat underneath clearly reached the boiling point... I have never known fat could & would boil out of a human being... but it did... I hope never again to see it... my instinct already told me the verdict... but my brain has not quite caught up. I immediately open his airway & see a charred tongue & throat... pulseless... apneic... the decision became split second... and final. "He is a DOA!" I yell to the firefighter that brought him out... he is standing right next to me, but yelling was all that I could do to get him to hear me. "Are you @#$%ing serious!!!" He yells back. I wave my arms side to side indicating DOA. "NO!!! WTF man... you @#$@#ing work him man!!! WTFFF... NO!" He and the other firefighter angrily shove past me down the stairs off the outside porch ... in front of the entire neighborhood.

It was done. There was nothing more I could have done. I was the only paramedic on scene. I had the possibility of 2 more patients, and
no additional assist units within the foreseeable future. The man was dead. He boiled inside out. I made my decision. A split second decision. The toughest decision... a decision to officially call it what it was and to do it without hesitation, in front of the firefighters that "saved" this man from the burning building... in front of his family... in front of the neighborhood... all in the midst of a chaotic scene. Right decision? Wrong decision? Who cares... the end result is the same. I had two more patients to worry about, and this one became an afterthought... at that moment.

We in EMS are occasionally faced with split second decisions... and we make some of them without hesitation... because when we hesitate at the WRONG moment, people die... when we hesitate at the RIGHT moment, people live. But when is the RIGHT vs the WRONG moment? Who the hell knows... Like a police officer that has someone at gun point, and makes a split second decision to either pull or not to pull the trigger... I held in my hand the power of working the patient or not... work it, and my other more viable patients may die... not work it, and the patient... may have had a chance.... I guess in the end it really is all about chances... about statistics. At this point, all I really needed now were just two blankets... one to cover the body... the other to cover myself, as I was getting cold from getting soaked by the fire hose... but I didn't bring the blankets, I didn't think I would need them... plus I have other patients to worry about... I'll see them wet, and cold... it's not a problem... done it before... will do it again.............

Mitchell Stern, Paramedic

It was September 11th, the day after my sister's birthday. I had been retired since March of 2001, ending a 24 year career in EMS, and I had just opened a restaurant named Uncle Mitche's Kitchen in Travis, Staten Island. As I had been doing since August, I opened the store at 5 AM, and my crew came in at six.

It was a beautiful fall morning, and the drive from one side of Staten Island to the other was fabulous. I got in, started up the grill, and turned on the coffee. And my regulars started to come in. At about 08:50 my wife called the store and told me to put the television on. We all stood in silence as we watched the smoke and flames come out of the tower. The radio was on 10:10 WINS and they stated the fire and police requested all retirees and available
personnel to report to the closest firehouse for mobilization. I told my waitress to hold the fort and I flew home not stopping for any lights, stop signs or any other traffic.

My wife had already pulled my uniform and equipment belt out of the attic when I got home. I donned the uniform and turned on my portable radio which I kept from retirement with blessing from the FDNY Communications Commissioner. I turned to SOD PD and heard the craziness that was on the air. I proceeded to drive to Manhattan. I was on the Gowanus Expressway when my brother-in-law called my cell. "Are you crazy," he said.

 "You don't understand," I responded. "You never worked with these people. This is what's in my heart and soul. I have to go there."

 I understood where he was coming from. I was retired from EMS, I had already fulfilled my obligation, completed my tour, but I knew in my heart it was something I had to do. I hung up the phone and sped down the expressway, through the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway Tunnel, and out the other side. I parked right across the street from an area set up for construction personnel and responded to the North tower where they had the unified Command post.

I confronted the chief. "Take care of the treatment sector on West Street," he ordered.

So I proceeded to West Street, and it was about that time that the second plane struck the North Tower. I found an ambulance and was directing the triage and priority treatment of the injured that were streaming to the ambulances. I performed these duties for what seemed eternity. Time just seemed to stop. It was bizarre. One of the EMT's ask me to enter the ambulance and assist with a female burn victim. I jumped in and started working. We heard a low rumble, and then smoke and dirt began to fill the ambulance. The EMT said, "The tower is collapsing!" I had thought we were far enough away and that the tower would tilt back where the plane had struck, but it didn't. It was like
watching a slow motion 8 mm film. The ambulance started being struck with debris. I was sitting in the captain's chair attempting to secure an airway when suddenly the roof began to crush down on us. My helmet took most of the force, but I would find out later that my neck endured some compaction. We had to get low, so I lay down with the EMT on the bench seat. Several minutes passed, then we heard movement outside the truck. Someone was working on the door. And a moment later a firefighter was able to crowbar the door open enough to got us out. 

We ran to the American Express building. It was 9:59 AM. I didn't feel hurt, and I was breathing okay, so I went began to help with search and rescue on the pile. After many hours I went home. 
 
When I got home my uniform was covered in white and gray material. My nose felt like I had been doing concrete work. My wife said my speech was slurred, and she suggested that I see Dr. Tambour. So I went to see him. He sent me to what was then St. Vincent's and they discovered several compressions of my cervical spine and a linear fracture. I was admitted and went to surgery. I came out with rods in my posterior cervical spine and wearing a halo. I was discharged around September 30th.
 

Disposable Heroes was picked up for optioning rights by Snap Independent Features LLC. of Hollywood, CA. Its script was taken from the book Disposable Heroes by Dan Heidt which was published in the year 2000.

Dan Heidt is a man that helped changed the protocol of Emergency Medical Services (EMS), fights his way of being a drug dealer to graduating medic school with honors and finally earning a name for himself on the crime ridden as well as poverty stricken streets of Harlem.

His first night on the job, Dan is trained by "The Godfather of EMS," Tom Giorgi. Tom, with a sink or swim attitude to his training, has Dan working late into the night. Figuring throw the new jacks right into the fire. No sense babysitting them only to find out they can’t cut it.

The story then flashes back to Dan as a younger man running down the street away from the police, carrying a bag of guns for a budding organized crime syndicate. He is caught and forced to reevaluate his life. Dan Heidt decides against his wife's wishes and becomes a Harlem Medic to give back to the community that he once took for granted in his criminal past.

Dan exceeds expectations, both by avoiding prison and by graduating school with honors to become a Harlem Medic. With the new hours he is forced to work, he barely finds time to see his daughters.

Back to present time, Dan is working late on his second night and meets Howard, the bureaucratic, overweight lieutenant that believes that the system and the rules are more important than saving lives. Dan works night after night for years until he becomes one of the top medics in Harlem. He is soon respected for fighting Howard and doing whatever it takes to save lives; While Howard consistently tries to break him into following the rules blindly. Dan fights Howard at every turn and, eventually, in the battle of politics and the street, brings it
home.

Everything in Dan's life becomes the job, and slowly he realizes that the man he was is lost on the streets of Harlem and on the desk of Howard. Disposable Heroes is a story of EMS that takes you onto the streets of Harlem with gritty imagery, and hard-hitting, real life look into what the saviors of EMS see every day.

1. When did you decide to write your book?
I decided to write my book after being in Harlem for about 4 ½ years. I was actually up to chapter 12 when I left the service. I even knew how it was going to end. But history has a way of changing things doesn’t it? I loved being a Harlem medic and people needed to know exactly what we live with and go through in order to serve them. When I told people I worked in Harlem that was usually enough. To cause them to think, when I told them some of the stories I could tell they didn’t believe me. In my opinion the general public is vastly uneducated as to what a paramedic in an overnight urban setting is constantly bombared with. Writing was my way of purging myself from what became repetitive concentrated misery. And re-enforceing the good things we accomplish.

2. How long did it take?
The book actually took 13 months to write. Writing is an outlet for me. So I do everything on pen and paper first. Burning out two pens in one night writing into the sunrise I would describe that as a good night writing. I would then bring it to the computer for fine tuning. Guess that was simple enough. I would like to mention I took 11 months off during the writing of this book. When I pick the pen back up it was as if it was still warm in my hand. To this day no one has been able to tell me correctly when I stopped writing for 11 months. I believe that is smooth.

3. Did you ever hit 'writers block'?
Writer’s block is an impossiblity for me. There is always something I can write about. The biproduct of working as a Harlem medic left me in a state that I call functionally insane. Sanity is a one trick pony. After all, all you get from it is straight rational thinking. I just don’t think circular . I think spherical and I don’t even have to be in the center of that sphere. I can think in pictures and then paint those pictures with words. I think outside the box and everything is possible for me. I’m only limited by my imagination which is quite vast in my opinion. I don’t just write EMS books I write about everything and anything. I even have three unpublished short stories for children. This was part of a writing course I took. I was given a picture and told to create a story from it. I am incorporating these stories into my hobby book.Titled “Enter the White.” 255 pages into this and I can finish it tomorrow or I can take it all the way to 900+ pages. It has been previewed as a modern Alice in Wonderland.

4. Did you expect it to become a movie?
This is such a great question. Because, the core of my co-workers that was in on this with me right from day 1 thought this is great stuff Dan. And many of them went to great length for me to get their stories into Disposable Heroes. Others I had to promise I would get their stories into No Back Up. The reality is I had so much material Disposable Heroes could have went to 600 pages. And I could have had 3 other partners that were edited. So as for a movie absolutely yes we had a lot of laughs over this. Arguing who would play who in a movie. Orginially I was Kiefer Sutherland playing my role. Morgan Freeman or Samuel L Jackson would have been Sy. In our dream cast there were endless possibilites. You may see one of my partners who goes by Brooklyn Medic on facebook. Constantly breaking my chops, he will just put in the comments box out of nowhere Lou Diamond Philips. That’s our inside joke.

I would also like to add to this my partner Bobby said to me recently I keep picturing you sitting on a rig in the projects. Freezing on a winter morning waiting for the sun to come up. And asking yourself where the hell is job leading too? At this point I come up and tell you publishers as well as movie production companies are going to be scrambling for you. Only for you to tell me get the hell out of here whacko.

I told Bob he was wrong in that regard. We (me and my partners) knew we had some great material here. And we were gonna take the high road all the way till the end. So yes call it a dream still in the works. But I did expect my book to hit the big screen someday. And the
ultimate dream is an NYPD Blue version of Harlem EMS. You know Sunday nights on NBC. Dream big, make a big reality. That seems to make sense doesn’t it?

5. Is there any 'secrets' that you can divulge? Like who is doing the soundtrack? Or anything else?
What I can tell you is that the soundtrack will be composed by Alan Roy Scott. Mr. Scot has a highly impressive resume. I would like to list just the tip of the iceberg on some of Mr. Scott’s accomplishments. And this could easily take up the whole page. Some of Mr. Scott’s musical partners include, but are not limited to Fleetwood Mac, Cyndi Lauper, Michael Bolton, Desmond Child, the Go-Go’s. Faith Evans, Delbert McClinton, R.E.M, Andy Summers (from the Police), Bonnie Raitt, The Scoprions and even Burt Bacharach as well as Luther Vandross. Celine Dion, Ray Charles, Rick Springfield, Pat Benatar, Patti LaBelle, The Neville Brothers, Peter Frampton, Styx and this is not even half of all the names I could run off.

Mr. Scott has enjoyed over 20 years of success of writing songs for major artist, films and television programs. Some of this his blockbuster films include, Top Gun, Coming to Amercia, The First Wives Club and FAME the tv show. He has even done the soundtrack for As the World Turns. We look forward to adding Disposable Heroes to this quite magnificant resume.

I would like to add my personal suggestion. The song called “For What It’s Worth” by Buffalo Springfield. There was a movie that took that music then Chuck D put an original rap over it. To me this was total genius. And that is the type of creative originality I am looking for in regards to a movie that is set in Harlem.

6. Who is the company that is producing it? How would you describe that relationship?
The company is Snap Independent Features, they are a small production company based out of Los Angeles. The main people in the company are Samuel Morris and Shawn Bittar. I wish that I could talk to them more often, for example they are currently working on a project in Florida and due to that I don't get information as fast as I would like. But I'm confident in our relationship and look forward to having a long and productive working relationship with Snap Independent Features.

At times this is difficult for me because Hollywood is much different than the instant action world that most EMS workers live in. Hollywood is much more deliberate and the average movie from conceptualtization until the time you see it. Averages 4 years so in this regard I am actually being fast tracked.

7. Is there anything I haven't asked, that you would like to add?
Snap is currently in production in Florida, they started principal photography on August 15th teaming with Short Bus productions on a horror/comedy entitled "The Lighthouse" They hope to have it completed by November for AFM.(American Film Market) They wrote the screenplay as well with the owner of Short Bus Productions.

We wish them success on this as it can only help as we move onto production of Disposable Heroes.

The following is a synopsis of how I chose EMS as a form of redemption. From a criminal past. The change in the protocol that is referenced below is when 16 Victor volunteered for a 5th floor difficulty breathing. The patient in said job was in full blown Pulmonary Edema who cardiac arrested right into my arms.

Dr. Trowers had taught me central lines and this is what I did for this patient. The result was a patient who was clearly flat lined to a living viable patient upon arrival in the Emergency Room. Imagine that I volunteered for a job I was closer too. Not a trauma or a shooting or anything glorious. Not a baby job, just you’re run of the mill dif breather. All the way up on the 5th floor. Of course there was no elevator and this patient was close to 300 lbs.

That central line that I put in led to the change in protocol where you can now go intraosseous on adult cardiac arrest. That would be by drilling a small hole below the knee cap and establishing a way of delivering the needed medications. To save someone’s life this is a last resort when an endo tracheal tube becomes ineffective and full. As well as when there is no viable intravenous access. The central line is considered a very invasive surgical procedure.

If you miss you will collapse the patient’s lung. I had limited options at that time. I made a decision I saved a life and then I bought a big time suspension for that. Between getting arrested and that central line there is much to be told. EMS is a forever changing canvas painted daily. The same old same old is never the same old same old. And I really had to live this in order to write it.

Many of us took pictures and we would share them with the ER doctors. Who would use these in slide show lectures for future paramedics and students. As well as CME (Continuing Medical Education Credits).

Some I used in my book. Even in black and white they can be very graphic. And a couple even include myself working. My book is the cumlination of getting that white patch that once you sew it on and the ink finally dries. Becomes a part of you for life. Getting through paramedic school was the hardest thing I ever did in my life. And never and I do STRESS and mean NEVER. Have I ever wanted anything more than that white and orange NYC EMS Paramedic patch. The book was supposed to end with me working at the world series with Jason. In 2000 it was the best Yankees vs The Mets. But I think I mentioned something about history changing my plans. I will also mention that being this book was published in 2000 my 9/11 story is told in No Back Up. Published in 2004 I leave Sy as a cliff hanger is Disposable Heroes by design. Because I already know I’m going to do No Back Up which is his story.

Taking it back to the old school. My third book will soon be completed and it absolutely positively will be my last EMS book. People who follow your blogs already know about Harlem Knights. The story of Tom Giorgi and the happy ending his book will have. After
Congresswoman Nita Lowey presented my first partner with the Silver Star. 46 years after his Vietnam battle. That took place on the same hill as Mel Gibson’s “We Were Soldiers.”

I look forward in the coming years to showing my true diversity with Enter the White. As well as other projects I already have outlined. But after Tom, what better man could I possibly write about?

Causes I support my A number one favorite cause. Is Safe Haven for Newborns. A national organization that is not an in your face pro-life site. Rather it is a viable option to abortion for women who find themselves unable or unwilling to care for the baby they are carrying. My connection to this organization is Caren Peet. Who I refer to as an angel on earth. She finds good loving homes for neglecticed, abandoned and abused babies. I could think of no higher cause than this.

My second daughter Danielle suffers from Autism so Autism awareness is a no brainer for me. I also believ real men wear pink and some of my family members have succumbed to breast cancer. I have walked for the cure more than once.

I am truly an animal lover and in the past have done volunteer work. At local animal shelters and I live by this saying. “I don’t trust people that the animals don’t like.”

Finally I am fanatically patriotic I actually have a flag that flew over our Embassy in Iraq on my birthday January 8th. As well as my 9/11 flag. Anything that supports our troops as well as Veterans past and present has my fullest support.

One of my proudest accomplishments is that 16 Victor became a teaching rig. And I had the greatest of respect for some of the military Special Forces students. That we preceptored when they did their clinical rotations in Harlem. This would include the Navy Seals, as well as other branch serviceman such as Green Berets but I got to admit. I have a certain affection for the Seals. That’s just master of the obvious stuff. This one was really fun I hope the readers enjoy it.
Dan-0 3908 NYC EMS/FDNY 18Y1/16V1 Harlem Family

http://1ghettomedic.com