Being a good husband and father are the most important accomplishments any man could hope for. I’m married to the most beautiful, kind and intelligent woman that I’ve ever known and we have 3 amazing children. Nothing I do will ever compare to the happiness and fulfillment I get from them and I thank God every day for allowing me the privilege of sharing my life with my best friend.
I had my first “solo save” as a 16 year old lifeguard and was hooked. The emotional high that I got from being the first on scene or the first through the door on the initial attack team of a fully involved residential structure fire was intoxicating. Knowing that I personally made a positive difference in the lives of others was a feeling that couldn’t be replaced.
Aside from my family I’m most proud of the role that I played and the opportunities I had in saving many lives. In that line of work we didn’t always “win” and oftentimes despite our valiant efforts we found ourselves in the helpless void of our humanity, God had a different plan. In those sad cases when a husband watches his wife or a parent watches their child get intubated and strangers (us) perform CPR with IV’s hanging and a flurry of activity in their living room it’s those times when our love for one another is the only other thing that we can offer them. Hugging a mom and dad that just lost their 2 year old boy seems so inadequate, being asked to pray with a family that just lost their mom seems so inadequate, letting mom and dad know that their son didn’t suffer any pain when he committed suicide by shooting him self in the head with dad’s pistol seems so inadequate. Words always seem so inadequate. While our inadequacies are a function of being human it’s our ability to truly love and care for each other that transcends our humanity and allows us to do what pleases God. The hours spent hugging, crying, praying and reassuring family members were just as important to me as the hours spent intubating, doing compressions, getting IV’s, stabilizing fractures, securing an LZ, utilizing MAST pants, etc.
So aside from my family which is far and away my biggest and most proud accomplishment I am proud to have made a positive difference in the lives of countless strangers. When my time is up and I’m called home I hope I’ve lived up to the expectations that God had for me and that he’ll let me spend eternity with him.
