Submitted by: Luanne Donahoe

Hi Dave!

 

Thank you for your 911 Song – it is so well done and such a great tribute to First Responders! My story is two sided really.

Firstly, my husband was a firefighter for 25 years and was always passionate about his career. He loved it and he did his job well! Like all firefighters, he was in many situations over the years and some didn’t have good outcomes while others did. I remember one time he received a lighting bolt pin for the first time he and the crew he was one used the defib machine to save someone’s life. He was so proud of that pin and what it represented. He was never one to boast about what his accomplishments were but this was different because they had saved a life.

After being on the department 20 years my husband developed CLL (Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia) an occupational disease. He was a Captain at the time and it was devastating for him to have to admit that he could no longer do his job. He was always happy and smiling and often visited the fire hall and ‘his’ crew. During his illness he was hospitalized 8 times with life threatening strep and sepsis and every time he managed to pull through.

I remember asking my husband at one point, “If you knew when you got onto the Fire Dept. what you know now – that you would develop this disease, would you still have been a firefighter?” and his response without any hesitation was, “Yes – absolutely!” He never had regrets with the career he chose and loved his job.

The second side to my story is that my husband died from a massive pulmonary embolism 3 years ago and the night he died, I had to call 9-1-1 for him because he couldn’t breath. I will never forget that night for many reasons but I can tell you that just knowing that fire, police and ambulance were on their way and as you said in your song – hearing the sirens as they approached the house helped me get through. I had to give my husband CPR until they came and knowing that our 9 year son was crying in the living room, it was all I could do just to get through the nightmare until help arrived.

That night made me realize that others must have felt the same way whenever my husband and his crew were on their way to help them.

As I said, my story is double sided – my husband was a hero for all he did for others and for dying in the line of duty and the night my husband died the fire, police and paramedics were ‘our’ heros. They took care of my family when we needed it the most and although my husband never pulled through – I cannot express how much it meant to have them there for us.

I have lived the life from both sides and I have the utmost respect and gratitude to all First Responders and to my husband who will always be a hero to myself and his son!

Submitted by: Cathy

A few years back, a family member was involved in a serious car accident that changed our lives forever. If it weren’t for the actions of the paramedics that arrived at the scene first, and the air ambulance medics that took great care of our family member, she wouldn’t be here with us today. It is because of their dedication to helping complete strangers that made a difference.
My husband, a paramedic with more than 20 years experience, was called into work a shift that day and was not able. Had he been at work that day, he would have been the first vehicle dispatched to the scene. Instead it was his paramedic “brothers and sisters” that we have to thank. Somehow we always forget to mention the paramedics and their efforts. While I realize that most firefighters are also paramedics, the medics are always forgotten heroes.
This video/song is amazing and deserves many many kudos. To all the 911 people out there, whether you are a dispatcher, police officer, firefighter, or medic……. thank you for everything you do!!!!! You are all true heroes in my world.

Submitted by: Virgnia Stairs

My husband served 30 years as a police officer and when not working as a police officer he was a volunteer fireman. He is now retired from the police force, however he still proudly servers as a volunteer fireman. The dedication of these volunteers is something we should all take pride in them. With out them where would we be in a case of emergency.
Our family feels we have been bless twice, as a police officer and as a fireman, so proud of him and his dedication to his communitee and fellow man!!

Virginia Stairs
Upper Kingsclear
New Brunswick.

Submitted by: Dawna Riding

Before we even met at a national first aid competition in Quebec my husband was in the service of helping others. He became and EMT while studying as a full time student at UNB. Logging many hours with St. John Ambulance and Nashwak Keswick Ambulance he lived by the pager. Tired of the limitations on his ability to help he went to medical school in Halifax, where we started our story together.

Over the years we have been each others therapist/debriefer many times. He was my support after being first truck on the scene of a building collapse and many calls. I shared the worst moments of peoples lives with many people I didn’t know. I was a paramedic in Nova Scotia.

We moved, set up a medical practice and joined the local fire department together. Today I admire the man I married more than I ever knew I could. He has resuscitated infants so that their parents could have the gift of a child. He has eased people from this life to what waits for them. He has helped people when the odds were against them, and at the scene of an airplane crash was the firefighter with the skills needed for the deceased and the living. He wakes at night to the pager or phone for whoever needs him next.

Last year he was my hero when I was suffering a medical emergency in our home. As I was struggling to breath and turning blue he called for help when he couldn’t fix it.

I owe to this man many things, he is a fantastic father, husband, friend and counsellor. He will always be my hero as I look at people that wouldn’t be with their families without him, myself included.