A Little More Than 2 Weeks To Go

Well, if time flies as quickly in Iraq as it has here the last month or so, I'll be back home before I know it. If only...

It's 1130am, and I just got home from work about an hour ago. I didn't get much sleep (2 hrs) because we had to fly at midnight, and I didn't get to bed until 4:30am, but that's ok, last night was special. It was my last shift at LifeNet 1, the Air Ambulance base I've been assigned to for the last year. LifeNet 1 is different from any other base I've ever worked, because our quarters are in a fire station. Now, anyone who's known me for a while must know how excited I was to go work at a fire station. Yes, I've always wanted to be a pilot, but what kid doesn't daydream about driving the big fire engine and putting fires out? I'm still just a big kid.

Aside from all the adrenaline that accompanies this job, the best part about LifeNet 1 was the people. The pilots and medical crews I worked with were all top notch, each one a dedicated professional in the truest sense of the word. The Florence firefighters took us in and made us a part of their family. They didn't have to, we were some group of weird flightsuit-wearing invaders in their space, but they immediately made us feel at home, and welcomed us as part of their team. I'd always heard that firefighters were a tight-knit group, but for the past year, I got to experience that first hand and I will never forget it. Thank you guys.

Last night, the A Shift firefighters threw me a going-away ice cream party, and insisted that I bring Jamie and Jaislyn out for the festivities. Of course Jaislyn was more than willing to oblige, and it didnt take much arm twisting for Jamie either. One of the firefighters brought his wife and 6... yes, 6 kids out, and our paramedic's wife brought their kids as well, so as you might imagine Station 549 was a busy place for a few hours. Everybody wanted to go see the helicopter, especially Jaislyn, who's already decided that she can fly it. (Stretch the pedals out a bit and it wouldn't surprise me in the least.) As the previous pilot had left the fuel a bit lower than normal, I decided I needed to fly to the local airport just to "put just a little more fuel on". Well, I had to fly anyway, and all of the seats were going to the same place as the rest of the helicopter, so why should they go empty? (SHHhhhhhh!!! Dont Tell!) Strangely enough, it was rather difficult to find 3 willing volunteers (Jamie "had no desire", but I think she just wanted to stay on the ground and take pictures), but Jaislyn was the first in line. "I go fly Dada's Hewlikoptir?"

As she sat strapped in her carseat, patiently waiting for everyone else to do whatever it was they were doing, she was literally squealing with excitement. She had no idea what she was in for, but whatever it was, she was thrilled about it! It was only after we closed the doors that she decided she didn't reaallllly wanna go fly, but by then it was too late! I gave her her earmuffs, and after a few attempts and some help from Ms. Jennifer (our Flight Nurse), she got them on and then thought she was pretty cool. As we were taking off, I could hear Jais telling me all about something. I would have loved to have heard that story, she was having a blast!

We got to the airport a whole 3 minutes later, and after I shut down, the airport kitty came out to visit. Jaislyn was in hog heaven. Helicopters AND Kitty Cats at the same time? What more could a 2 year old possibly ask for? As I rolled up the fuel hose, kitty ran home and so did we. Jaislyn was babbling to herself again as we took off, but I looked over about a minute later and she was passed out asleep. I reached over and squeezed her leg to wake her up, but she wouldn't have any of it. After all, it was just a ride in Dada's helicopter. Big whoop. Aren't all kids shuttled around in helicopters?

She woke up as soon as I shut the engine down, and then wanted out of her seat. Back on terra firma, she resumed her pre-flight quest: to find the froggy she saw on the helipad before we took off. No luck. Gee darn.

Soon thereafter, the social events of the evening drew to a close, mostly because all the kids were having a hard time staying awake (Not Jaislyn tho, she'd had her "helicopter power nap"!).
45 minutes after everyone left for home (about 12:10am), reality hit as the "bat phone" rang. Time to go to work.

My last flight with LifeNet 1 was a run of the mill prison flight. People find all kinds of interesting ways to harm themselves, and this guy was no exception. Due to the privacy laws that protect overly stupid people, I can't go into what this bonehead did, but it was mildly entertaining, even at 1am. I did get into a brief discussion on the pros and cons of being in prison (There's that prison referrence again), and he told me all about how living in one of Sheriff Joe Arpaio's "tent city" prisons was such a terrible ordeal, and how he never wanted to go back. My comment to him was: "Well isn't that the whole point of a prison?"

As I tend to do, I've rambled on and on yet again. My apologies (and my thanks if you've managed to get this far.) The whole point of this post was to document my last day (well, night) at work, and let you all read about some of the wonderful people I've had the pleasure of working with, and some of the things I've enjoyed most about this job. I will miss the people the most, but will also miss the adrenaline rush of setting a helicopter down at night in the middle of the desert, or on a busy highway, or on some residential street. I will miss helping people in need. I will miss the 7 on/7 off schedule (The Army has a similar schedule tho, it is 7 on/7 on.) Lastly, I will miss being part of the LifeNet 1/Florence Fire Dept family, altho everyone has promised to keep in touch via Email. That being said, I am looking forward to becoming part of a new (yet old) team. I have just as much respect for the officers I am being deployed with, and I know I will yet again form friendships that will last a lifetime.

Things do happen for a reason.