Category Archives: Uncategorized

It’s a subject that isn’t often talked about. As much as fire/police/EMS want to be recognized for what we go through in the line of duty, nurses and hospital staff are still falling to the wayside. I’ve had many conversations on this topic lately, and it occurred to me that no matter which of myContinue reading “Our hospital staff are human too!!”

Yesterday, I had to remove all the equipment, tools and hose from the first truck I rode on at my career department. It made me think… How often have you felt empty on the inside? Felt drained, lacking, or even useless? Fact is, this truck is still in great condition. Engine runs like a champ,Continue reading “A lot can be said for an old truck”

Me with one of my personal hero’s in the fire service, Paul Enhelder The problem with mental health issues both in the ranks of first responders, and in the civilian world, is not in the illness itself; it’s in how it’s treated. Treatment is often the same in a professional setting as it is forContinue reading “Are you ok with just getting by?”

See me smiling? See me laughing? I don’t have a care in the world but to enjoy a weekend with some of the best people I’ve ever had the privilege to know. there is a secret behind this smile though. Would you believe that this happy face is just moments away from a panic attack?Continue reading “Where is it?!”

Before you saw the picture, I’m sure you knew what the next question was going to be. I’ve heard it countless times, and I’m sure you have too. These words asked hundreds of times a day all over the world, are, in my opinion, second only to “Thank you for your service”. Oh wow! YourContinue reading “Oh you’re a (insert first responder title here)?!…..”

The words cut me like a knife. My son, my life, my reason for being, right out of the blue. I knew I had a problem, but I also felt as though I was getting a handle on things. It seemed like something so simple, a car in front of me that was moving tooContinue reading “Why are you mad all the time?”

I have been dwelling on the dark side of my brain for about a month now. I recently received some “not good but not necessarily bad” news from my annual physical. I instantly got the webmd flu. Anything that COULD possibly be wrong… suddenly BECAME wrong. To make matters worse, I was not receiving anyContinue reading “Once it’s gone…”

What a deal! The long weekend and After I get home from work, I get to have the house to myself! No wife, no kid! Just me and, well… Me! My wife calls and asks when I’m coming home, she says she is in no rush to leave. I came home as soon as IContinue reading “I survived”

I’ve haven’t known Adam that long (My fault really). Like most of my close brothers, we crossed paths because of the bagpipes. Adam has a way about him, a kind of immediate family effect. Talk to him and you find out quick, you need to be his friend. Like many of us however, Adam wasContinue reading “Adam tells us why brotherhood is so important in his life”

“I just need someone to talk to, I don’t need any of that hippie stuff.” I must have said that dozens of times. The problem was that talking wasn’t helping. It hadn’t helped for the last few doctors, in reality, it only pushed me away. It delayed treatment. Every time a doctor tried talking toContinue reading “Not every doctor is for you!”