It's 3 a.m. and you've been called to a residence for an 83-year old woman who got out of bed to use the washroom, but tripped over a pile of laundry that was laying in the middle of her bedroom in this less-than-tidy little apartment over the Three Sheets Laundromat. Her 61-year old daughter meets …
Category: medic steve
A New Year Rising
Thank goodness it's a new year. There's something about January that reminds me of Spring. Like slush from a city street, we push the detritus of the old year to the sewer of time. January reminds us that it is a time for renewal, so bring out the plow. It's a time to look back …
The Siren’s Song
I was a mere child when I started this job in 1983, three months before my twenty-first birthday. Now, close to a quarter century later, I look back on my career and think: how the heck did I get here? I never imagined I would be in this profession for quite so long. It seemed …
Tased and Confused
Every so often media attention shifts to a particular topic that galvanizes public opinion, either because of its importance to society, or just as often because the sensational elements of the story guarantee increased viewers or subscribers or advertising dollars for the media outlet. One such issue is the use of the Taser and other …
The Curse of Indifference
"The opposite of love is not hate – it's indifference." – Elie Wiesel.When the polling firm of Ipsos-Reid announced the results of a survey conducted from December 21-27, 2006 on behalf of Sympatico/MSN, I wasn't surprised. The survey found that "Canadians rate "firefighters" (93%) as the most 'trustworthy' profession in Canada, followed by "nurses" (87%), …
“Care. Competence. Compassion.”
A few weeks ago, my dad had a fall at home. He was alone, but fortunately was able to call me on the phone. “I’m okay,” he said. “But I’ve cut my face and I’m bleeding.” Now, for the average person this might not be a real big problem. But my dad cannot be described …
Ghost in the darkness
"They rest in honour; may they rest in peace."These were the words of British Columbia Lieutenant-Governor Iona Campagnolo speaking of the two paramedics killed in the line of duty. The memorial service for the four victims of the Sullivan Mine tragedy was held on May 29 in the town of Kimberley, BC. In further reference …
The Third Deadly Sin
I'm gripped by a serious case of envy. Not the Freudian kind, thankfully, but the kind that has me looking at another profession and its professional organization in a kind of muted awe. I know it's a cliché, but it seems to me that while some other professions are making great strides and advances on …
January gives us time to reflect and renew
I attended high school at St. Michael’s College School in Toronto from 1976 to 1981. St. Mike’s is very much a school steeped in Catholic tradition, but also gives its students a well-rounded and classical education. While I was there, I studied Latin for four years and in so doing I developed an appreciation for …
We Don’t Need Another Hero… or Do We?
Growing up, the first person that I can remember idolizing as a hero was a British RAF pilot. His name was Douglas Bader. Bader was an athletic, slightly rebellious man who lost both of his legs in the crash of his airplane in 1931. He was discharged from the RAF, but rejoined in 1939 and …
Medic Steve's Corner 