BROOKE COUNTY EMS
Brooke County EMS provides 24 hour advanced medical life support to nearly 25,000 residence with the help from many first responding fire departments.
We are a close group of people who truly love what we do and that's why we are here. The wonderful squad at Brooke Co EMS is a great group of people who love the services, skills and knowledge they are able to provide to their community. We recognize that our position as emergency providers is a symbol of public faith and we are the bearers of the utmost in public trust. We strive to protect the dignity and the confidentiality of those we serve, acting with excellence and compassion in all matters. Every call we run gives us the opportunity to learn from our patients, our partners and ourselves.
We are a close group of people who truly love what we do and that's why we are here. The wonderful squad at Brooke Co EMS is a great group of people who love the services, skills and knowledge they are able to provide to their community. We recognize that our position as emergency providers is a symbol of public faith and we are the bearers of the utmost in public trust. We strive to protect the dignity and the confidentiality of those we serve, acting with excellence and compassion in all matters. Every call we run gives us the opportunity to learn from our patients, our partners and ourselves.
So many stars shine in the sky at night. Gazing up into the endless expanse of space we bear our souls, picking a twinkle to cast our dreams toward, hoping that one day they’ll come back around. One night I picked a star – but my star is not just a wish, a dream, or a prayer. It stays with me all the time, and it shines all day and all night for everyone to see. It watches over us all, swooping down like a guardian angel to intervene when there’s trouble. It shone like a beacon over Oklahoma City, Columbine High School, and the World Trade Center. People all over the world recognize my star as a symbol of love and compassion, yet few truly understand what it means. For me and others like me it is a religion, a way of life. Like a child’s smile it’s glow gives us hope, renews our faith in everything that is true and good.
My star also has a dark side. I feel it over my shoulder at 3 a.m. as I race through the cold night to pull a drunk from the twisted wreckage of his vehicle while he cusses me and threatens my life. It’s unblinking, emotionless face dances mockingly over the body of each person I see die. It hangs around my neck, burning into my flesh as I tell my best friend that I have something else to do tonight – again. I could go with him, but what if the run I miss is my father, or a helpless child who might have a chance? My star is an unspoken message to friends, family, and a long string of ex’s; it says that I love what I do and strangers whom I have known for less than an hour more than I am capable of loving them, or myself.
Yet I display my star proudly on my chest, my clothing, and my vehicle, because to so many others it sends a very different message: that no matter who you are, where you live, or what you’ve done, I will help you. I will forsake food, sleep, social activities, free time, and my own family whenever you need me. When you’re with me you are safe – you can trust me with your darkest secrets, take your frustrations out on me, or cry on my shoulder, and I will take care of you regardless. And when you’re ready, I’ll leave and you’ll never have to see me again. You don’t owe me a thing either – you don’t have to pay me, tell your friends about me, or even thank me. All I ask is that when you see my star, you remember what it means to me. It’s not just a logo or a symbol; it’s my heart, and my soul, for I am an EMT.
-by Jody Marks, NREMT-Paramedic, Cherokee Vol. Fire/Rescue
Cherokee, AL
My star also has a dark side. I feel it over my shoulder at 3 a.m. as I race through the cold night to pull a drunk from the twisted wreckage of his vehicle while he cusses me and threatens my life. It’s unblinking, emotionless face dances mockingly over the body of each person I see die. It hangs around my neck, burning into my flesh as I tell my best friend that I have something else to do tonight – again. I could go with him, but what if the run I miss is my father, or a helpless child who might have a chance? My star is an unspoken message to friends, family, and a long string of ex’s; it says that I love what I do and strangers whom I have known for less than an hour more than I am capable of loving them, or myself.
Yet I display my star proudly on my chest, my clothing, and my vehicle, because to so many others it sends a very different message: that no matter who you are, where you live, or what you’ve done, I will help you. I will forsake food, sleep, social activities, free time, and my own family whenever you need me. When you’re with me you are safe – you can trust me with your darkest secrets, take your frustrations out on me, or cry on my shoulder, and I will take care of you regardless. And when you’re ready, I’ll leave and you’ll never have to see me again. You don’t owe me a thing either – you don’t have to pay me, tell your friends about me, or even thank me. All I ask is that when you see my star, you remember what it means to me. It’s not just a logo or a symbol; it’s my heart, and my soul, for I am an EMT.
-by Jody Marks, NREMT-Paramedic, Cherokee Vol. Fire/Rescue
Cherokee, AL
This website was made by T. Forrester
