Lufkin, Texas
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belinda75904
___________________________
This link goes to the messenger nick I use only for this site only!
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GoldStar Medic 409 EMT-LP
Passed Away 12/11/04 in Nacogdoches, Tx Your laughter & friendship will forever and always be missed. Your courage & strength lives on in all of us who knew you.
Pic Below: Lisa on duty during a 24 hour shift while unit 82 for GoldStar EMS
In Phoenix, AZ. A 26-year-old mother stared down at
her son who was dying of terminal leukemia. Although
her heart was filled with sadness, she also had a
strong feeling of determination. Like any
parent she wanted her son to grow up and fulfill all
his
dreams. Now that was no longer possible. The leukemia
would see to that. But she still wanted her son's
dreams to come true. She
took her son's hand and asked, "Billy, did you ever
think
about what you wanted to be once you grew up? Did
you ever dream and wish what you would do with your
life?" "Mommy, I always wanted to be a fireman when I
grew up." Mom smiled back and said, "Let's see if we
can make your wish come true." Later that day she went
to her local fire department in Phoenix, Arizona,
where she met Fireman Bob, who had a heart as big as
Phoenix. She explained her son's final wish
and asked if it might be possible to give her
six-year-old son a ride around the block on a fire
engine. Fireman Bob said, "Look, we can do better than
that. If you'll have your son ready at seven o'clock
Wednesday morning, we'll make him an honorary
fireman for the whole day. He can come down to the
fire
station, eat with us, go out all the fire calls, the
whole
nine yards! "And if you'll give us his sizes,
we'll get a real fire uniform for him, with a real
fire hat-not a toy one-with the emblem of the Phoenix
Fire Department on it, a yellow slicker like we wear
and
rubber boots. They're all manufactured right here in
Phoenix, so we can get them fast." Three days later
Fireman Bob
picked up Billy, dressed him in his fire uniform and
escorted him from his hospital bed to the waiting hook
and
ladder truck. Billy got to sit on the back of the
truck
and help steer it back to the fire station. He was in
heaven. There were three fire calls in Phoenix that
day
and Billy got to go out on all three calls. He rode in
the different fire engines, the paramedic's van, and
even the fire chief's car. He was also videotaped for
the
local news program. Having his dream come true, with
all
the love and attention that was lavished upon him,
so deeply touched Billy that he lived three months
longer than any doctor thought possible. One night all
of his vital signs began to drop dramatically and the
head nurse, who
believed in the hospice concept that no one should
die alone, began to call the family members to the
hospital. Then she remembered the day Billy
had spent as a fireman, so she called the Fire Chief
and asked if it would be possible to send a fireman in
uniform to the hospital to be with Billy as he made
his transition. The chief replied, "We can do
better than that. We'll be there in five minutes. Will
you please do me a favor? When you hear the sirens
screaming and see the lights flashing, will you
announce
over the PA system that there is not a fire? It's just
the fire department coming to see one of its finest
members one more time. And will you open the window to
his
room?" About five minutes later a hook and ladder
truck arrived at the hospital and extended its ladder
up to Billy's third floor open window. 16 firefighters
climbed up the ladder into Billy's room. With
his mother's permission, they hugged him and held him
and told him how much they loved him. With his dying
breath, Billy looked up at the fire chief and said,
"Chief, am I really a fireman now?" "Billy, you are,
and the Head Chief, Jesus, is holding your hand," the
chief
said. With those words, Billy smiled and said, "I
know, He's
been holding my hand all day, and the angels have been
singing." He closed his eyes one last time.
It appears a little wave was bouncing
along in the sea having a wonderful
time. Suddenly the wave notices that
he is going to crash into the beach.
The wave begins to cry and scream.
Another wave bounces up and asks
him what is wrong. "Don't you see
that we are going to crash into the
beach and die!", he yells. "Don't you
realize," says the other wave patiently,
"that you are not a wave. You are
a part of the ocean."
I think that one reason so many of us
are frightened in this world is that we
think we are only tiny waves. We see
ourselves as small, alone, and powerless.
We fear pain, death, and each other
because we don't see who we truly are.
We are not just waves. We are also a
part of the ocean. We may live in
separate bodies, but we are also a part
of a greater whole. We may be
individual human beings, but we are
also, all of us, Children of God.
We are brothers and sisters in this
world with the most powerful and
loving parent imaginable. We are
one family here to love each other,
help each other, and make this
world better. And when we do
one day crash into the shore and
die we don't disappear but rather
go home to the never ending love
and joy that awaits us there.
I will never see myself as a mere wave.
I will always know that I am a part of
the ocean. I will never see myself as
a lonely, isolated individual. I will
always know that I am a Child of God
and that all of you are my brothers
and sisters. I will never see myself as
a weak person unable to help others.
I will always know that it is my duty
and my joy to love and help everyone
from my own family to the homeless
drug addict lying unconscious on
the street.
Remember then who you really are.
You are a Child of God, a part of a
mighty ocean of love, and a powerful
being capable of endless goodness
and joy in this life.
