Working Together
“Boyne City works because Boyne City works together”
As many times as I have thrown this quote to the open air, I continue to like it more and more every time. Spoken by City Manager Michael Cain during our State of the Community breakfast, I see this common theme coming true every time I go downtown. Despite hard times in our economy, Boyne City continues to come together and find new ways to succeed. I give major credit to both the Chamber of Commerce and our Main Street program for facilitating this process. The Earlier Than the Bird promotional was a major success, due to the enthusiasm and effort put in by our local business owners. Seeing downtown Boyne City flocked around stores in their pajamas, smiling and excited made me realize that Boyne City can make it through whatever is coming. As my own personal admission, I didn’t see much of this until I became a small business owner myself. Since beginning this business three months ago (yes, it’s been three months) I have found a this to be a community that truly supports small businesses from subscribers to advertisers, and even people willing to help the Christmas Baskets in their time of need. We have a solid community that works together. With that momentum and energy, let us all try to keep that spirit up through these winter months and help each other out.
As an addition, after last weeks remarks, I got numerous comments on my previous occupation as a Paramedic and the story I told. As the request of some of our community, I will share another of my experiences.
December 2008
I sat in the back of the ambulance, leaned against the cabinet. As my partner drove us south to our next post, I nodded off. Having run six calls that night, and due to get off in an hour, my energy was slowly beginning to wane. As always, I heard the radio click. Alright, it might be someone else, it might be us. “Medic 291 from Dispatch” Yeah, it’s us. I picked up the mic “291, go ahead” I mumbled. As my partner frowned, I crawled up to the front seat, dragging my stethoscope behind me. “291, Dispatch. Respond to a long distance transfer from Collegetown Medical Center up north to Biggertown Community Hospital. We drove to the hospital and picked up our patient. Having been used to everything from nursing home transfers to dialysis runs, as well as emergency calls, knowing what to expect was out of the question. I found myself in the room with a girl in her mid-twenties, who was a pale shade of white, looking very tired. As the nurse came in and explained, she had been sick for days, experiencing a flare-up of a chronic illness she had since childhood. In addition to that was the revelation that she had a blood-borne disease. As always taught in school, I put on my gloves, and we took her into the ambulance. As I loaded the IV pump, cardiac monitor, and plethora of toys I had come in with, we talked, moreso her than I. This is probably one of the brighter aspects of my job: the chance to talk to so many people about so many things. She told me about her family, and continued to talk of her college and friends on the ride down. As the conversation grew more in-depth, she talked about her interactions in the medical facilities. She went on to describe the stigma placed on blood-borne diseases. While they can only be transferred through bodily fluids, she noticed that people were afraid to touch her, and seemed uneasy. The conversation progressed, as I smiled and tried to be understanding. We pulled into the hospital and moved her to her new room. As I got her paperwork to sign, I took the gloves off, knelt down, and shook her hand. She held onto my hand and smiled, wishing me a happy holiday season.
Note: Yes, I did this. I believe that sometimes, the small risk is worth the benefit of helping another human being. What you read up there is one of my prouder moments as a Paramedic. As you see more into how I do my job, you see more of who I am and what I stand for, and you see the real me.
