Editors Note: To celebrate EMS Week last week, my good friend Eric Garton wrote a poem in the style of Paul Harvey and recorded his narration. It has touched many people so I asked him to share the words here along with a link to the YouTube version. Feel free to share them further, but please give the credit to Eric for his hard work and creativity.
“So God Made an EMT”
by Eric Garton (c) 2018, All rights reserved.
And on the ninth day, God looked down on the world he worked hard to create and said,
“I have doctors and nurses in hospitals and clinics. Now I need a caregiver in the field.”
So God made an EMT.
God said, “It must be someone who gets up early in the morning, checks their truck off, scarfs
down breakfast, run a cardiac arrest, run two hospital transfers, skips lunch, finish paperwork,
run another transfer, command a horrible car wreck, restock, clean truck, run three sick calls
and hopes for at least four hours sleep before the end of their shift.”
So God made an EMT.
God said, “It must be someone who can work continuous CPR on an infant knowing they have
died, and while holding back tears console the family and tell responders on scene, ‘Good
teamwork everyone. Maybe next time.’ “
So God made an EMT.
God said, “It must be someone who can manage a patient’s airway while upside down in a
wrecked vehicle. Someone who can calm a ten year old girl and her parents, while splinting her
fractured arm. It must be someone who can aggressively recognize and treat medical
emergencies, yet has the compassion to hold an elderly lady’s hand who fell at nursing home
telling her, ‘I am here for you. Everything will be OK.’ “
So God made an EMT.
God said, “It must be someone who is selfless. Someone who will respond to an emergency
without a second thought. Someone who can handle the blood, the guts, the vomit, the broken
bones and give one hundred percent to all their patients. It must be someone who believes in
teamwork and respects all services involved. It must be someone who performs acts of
heroism, yet never calls themself a hero. It must be someone who praises victory, yet not
ashamed to admit defeat. It must be someone who can look the Grim Reaper right in the eye
and say, ‘Not this time.’ “
So God made an EMT.
God said, “It must be someone who is loyal to their community. Someone who will put their life
on the line with the hope of saving a complete stranger. Someone who cares more about the
lives they save than the money they make in a year. Someone who will educate themselves,
and willing to share their knowledge with others. Someone who will remain professional and
caring, no matter how minor or major the emergency may be. Someone who can bring their
coworkers together as a family and see them as fellow brothers and sisters.”
“Someone who will reply with a smile on their face and a tear in their eye when their child says
they want to spend their life ‘doing what you do.’ ”
So God made an EMT.
From Eric: I want to thank all for the support and kindness from everyone who has listened and shared my poem. Many of you have requested a written version of it for yourselves or to share. I hope all of you enjoy reading this to others as much as I have enjoyed reading it to you. Thank you for all that you do.
Download a PDF version here: SoGodMadeanEMT
26 Comments
Absolutely LOVE THIS !
Cindy Wilder, GA. E.M.T.A. # 7585
Hey this is Eric. Thank you so much for your kindness and sharing.
Love the poem makes me think of all the things my daughter does and never gives up.
That is exactly the reason I did it. 1st responders and EMS are underappreciated and least valued in the healthcare system. The overall consensus of EMS is we put a patient on a stretcher and drive them to the hospital, like a taxi. This creates low morale and doubt within personnel. I just want 1st responders and EMS to be proud of who they are and what they do. Also, like yourself, I want the general population to open their eyes and realize that this is a calling for people. We are more than ambulance drivres. We are underpaid for the stress we endure. We do it because we love it. Making a difference for a stranger is what gives us the enthusiasm to do what we love. Thank you again for sharing. (Sorry did not mean to get on a soapbox.)
Eric this poem is beyond beautiful I absolutely love it
Thank you so much. It was a pleasure to write and share with others. I just want 1st responders and EMS to be proud of who they are and what they do.
thanks
You are very welcome.
Dale I cannot thank you enough for what you have done. Thank you for believing in me and my poem. If it wasn’t for you, the poem would have just sat there, ignored. 100% respect for the man you are and the work you do my friend.
Love it.
I am glad you loved it. Thank you for your kind words.
thank you Eric Garton!! No truer words have ever been spoken and with wisdom and knowledge that you obviously have and show. I would love to have a copy of your poem as to me it is just as important as the EMS /EMT prayer. This has been shared many times because of the emotional and moving words and actions which it shows in the video and your words.
Do you have a copy CD wise? Would like to help you get this out and around for many reasons such as teaching purposes, debriefing purposes, memorable and life experiences.
Thank you so much. No I do not. I give you permission to download it onto CD if you choose as long as my name is credited. Also I do not have ownership of the pictures used. I have the audio I used in the video if you would like me to send that to you. Let me know and thank you.
Eric
The life of my brother John Creech Makes me proud to know him and his love for his job
Great poem
Love this! Couldn’t thank u enough for making this. Is there any way we could get a pdf copy of the poem?
My daughter is a flight paramedic. No truer words could have been spoken about her and everyone who works in the EMS field. I put her and her crew in God’s hands everytime she leaves for another shift and another flight. Thank you for giving God the credit for the ninth day and the beautiful words you used to describe these people.
Mr Garton
Thank you very much sir. Your words and video are touching and appreciated.
25 yrs of service in KC. EMS and proud of every moment of it.
Stephen Galvan NREMT
Thank you. As a past EMT and the mom of a paramedic, this message rings true. The most selfless and sometimes the most unappreciated people. Beautiful words and tribute to all.
I love this truly and posted on my Facebook! This is amazing!
Very well done Great job sir.
First, thank you for all the kind comments. It means a lot. For those you wanted a downloadable version of the poem, a pdf file has been added at the bottom of the post. Thank you for sharing this with others. I am grateful.
This is very touching and worth sharing. Need to share this so that others may live…
Totally awesome.
Thank You so much for doing this my dad is a paramedic, my uncle is an EMT and they both are fire fighters and part of the search and rescue. My grandfather is the local sheriff here and my brother is training to be on a hot shot crew. So to see this really means a lot.