This is personal. It involves a friend, his son, an experience with EMT personnel in the Capitol Region. And a tragic death that should matter to us all.
Saving a diabetic
Recently, while I was on board a bus about to leave from Albany for New York City, a passenger fainted. Everyone was on edge.
Within just a few minutes, two EMT professionals were on the scene. They quickly discovered that the passenger was suffering from low blood sugar. Treatment was fast. And free.
It's very personal
Pvt. Tim McCormick, an EMT in Indianapolis, was one such dedicated, skilled professional. He was tragically killed on duty late last week when a collision from a passenger car running a red light overturned his EMT truck. Also killed was EMT Cody Medley.
Tim was the son of my very first editor and college friend, Bob McCormick. Bob later went on to serve as copy editor and writer for the New York Daily News. He currently serves in a similar capacity for the Staten Island Advance.
Tim was openly gay, like me, which makes this news even more personal and saddening.
In 2011 Tim posted a YouTube video, "It Gets Better 2.0," in which he encouraged everyone to be proud of who they were. "Keep your head up, keep working at whatever it is you are trying to accomplish," he said.
Tim is survived by his boyfriend, Alex Brinley and parents, Bob and Rosemary. A grief-stricken Brinley stayed with Tim at the morgue, "so that he would not be alone." He added, " I loved him just for the amazing, selfless person he was."
Protecting our protectors
Said one of Tim's colleagues in Indianapolis, "They were wearing their seatbelts. They were being safe. What can we do? What else can we do?" she asked, her voice breaking, according to the Indianapolis Star. "The public needs to watch out for us, because we watch out for them."
After an oupouring of support in Indianapolis, Tim was flown home to his native Staten Island, New York for final services.
How to close? I guess by urging parents to support and love your children. For all of us, honor and respect the skilled, dedicated professionals who work in our communities, selflessly risking themselves to serve us all. Think of your community.
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