On Friday the 13 I will finally graduate with my Paramedic degree. It has been a long time coming and a hell of a road getting to this point.
I have had to sacrifice a lot just to get this far and to know the end is so close, it has been well worth the ride.
For an “older” person like myself to even go back to school, I had to give up having a “life” outside of school. My days were spent in class, in hospitals, and working on the ambulance. Family time was out the door, fishing was non-existent ( except the time MikeHD took me out for a morning of crappie fishing. Thanks Mike 
)
Hospital rotations consisted of ER, ICU, OB/GYN, NICU, Respiratory therapy, Dialysis, Cath Lab, and OR. On those rotations you get to deal with all kinds of medical cases. Some good and some not good at all.
The amount of training you have to learn and absorb was overwhelming at times and made you wonder if it was really worth it or not. Now that I powered through all the countless hours of no sleep, stress, and emotional rollercoasters, I know I made the right decision.
I still have to complete 250 hours of ambulance clinicals over the summer and then take a huge National Registry exam to get my license, but I will pass that without a doubt.
Looking forward to getting back to a “normal” life again. But more importantly, I am looking forward to being able to give people the help that they need when they call 9-1-1.
Early congrats……
