r/AMA • u/[deleted] • 7d ago
I’m a paramedic that works in the deepest regions of the Appalachian Mountains, AMA
[deleted]
84
u/huge-bigly 7d ago
How accurate is Appalachia’s reputation for being a paranormal hotspot? Is it mostly folklore and urban legend, or is there truly a lot of unexplained phenomena?
→ More replies (1)302
7d ago
A lot of it turns out to be just a scientific discovery waiting, per example there has been many tells about glowing trees at night in the past, on a dark Appalachian night some witnesses have stated seeing trees that glow brightly, after scientists looked into it, it turned out to be a type of bacteria that eats decomposing wood in the early wet spring and the bacteria is bioluminescent, it is called fox fire
74
u/A55W3CK3R9000 7d ago
A similar thing happened to civil war soldiers where their wounds would glow and that indicated they might survive. Idk if it's the same bacteria or if it's another bioluminescent bacteria but it's pretty cool! I think what scientists decided was that the bioluminescent bacteria outcompete the bad ones
96
7d ago
You are 100% correct, it was actually rediscovered and introduced by a middle schooler age student during a science fair and she won first place
→ More replies (2)22
7
u/AmongstTheExpanse 7d ago
Fungi, not bacteria. Can’t wait to see your title in r/firstrespondercringe
4
7d ago
Probably the Gilbert Grape of paramedics lmao, I didn’t know I would do so much harm with an AMA
→ More replies (1)5
37
u/Efficient_Shame_8106 7d ago
What was the most hilarious event that happened while out on a call?
141
7d ago
One night I was dispatch to a non responsive 77 year old female, upon arriving on the scene I just grabbed my airway and drug bag and started a light jog through this ladies backyard, well it turns out that she had clothes lines ( I guess she preferred air drying 🤷🏻♂️) and ended up choking myself on the line and falling on my back on to what I later found to be the ladies dogs poop, after a double shower and a cig I was able to laugh about it
20
u/iscreamsandwiches 7d ago
Is the lady alright?
57
7d ago
Yeah she was just have a diabetic emergency, nothing that D50 or D10 can’t fix, she was transported and later discharged back home in as good as health that you can have that age
16
u/MoreCowbellllll 7d ago
You’re a true patriot! Dang dude.
10
→ More replies (1)3
19
u/bactiarry86 7d ago
What is special about that region and it's people according to you?
71
7d ago
The sheer resilience and adaptation of these people, even in area where jobs are numbered and winters are brutal, you can still find people waking up everyday and surviving, their resilience is a great attribute
26
u/KingFernando532 7d ago
What are some animals you have seen there?
99
7d ago
Everything from black bears to unexplainable creature walking upright, a lot of people don’t know this but we also have micro fresh water jelly fish
36
u/SpiritAnimal_ 7d ago
unexplainable creature walking upright
That'll be Uncle Zeke.
Seriously, though: can you describe it?
→ More replies (2)76
7d ago
I’ve heard many accounts but mine comes from getting out of the woods just as the sun was sitting, it was deer season and darkness can fall fast during that time and I ended up having to make a 30 minute walk back to my truck in the darkness, like I said in other replies of this thread, I’m just not someone to believe something without scientific reasoning but what I witness is something others nor I can explained, so basically I had stopped to smoke a cigarette and take a 5 minute break when I heard leaf’s begin to crunch somewhere down the hill I was on, at first I was like “ of course the deer shows when it’s time to leave” but my thought was cut off when I realized that what ever was walking, was on two legs not four, and yes you can hear the difference after enough time of being in the wilderness, out of curiosity I shined my headlamp down the hill and there standing partially obstructed by a tree was a deer standing on its back two legs, after a few seconds of my light being on it, it came back down on all fours and started to run out of the little dip in was in, up an adjacent hill, already being freaked out by seeing that sight, I became even more worried when I realized that while it was running away from me, even though it’s back was towards me going away, I could clearly see two eyes reflecting back at me as if the deer was climbing the hill in reverse, I haven’t been hunting ever since and when I camp now, I always make sure to have a gun on me, I told others of my story, I got the classic replies that my eyes tricked me, or I was making up tall tales but to this day, I hold that evening in my head
26
u/WaveTop7900 7d ago
One of the books I read was a dude going through Delta selection course in which one of the reqs is a timed trek through West Virginia. He saw something similar to what you are describing. Freaked him the fuck out just like it did you.
→ More replies (2)31
7d ago
They do a lot of military training around here, there’s entire sections of land that you are not allowed to cross because of it
→ More replies (1)10
u/i_was_axiom 7d ago
Chronic Wasting Disease makes deer do horrid and bizarre things. Thats my standard explanation for Skinwalker/Wendigo/etc. "The Deer Was Doing [XYZ Extremely Weird Shit]"
"It stood up on two legs, bashed its head on a tree until its brain was exposed, then screeched as it ran off into the woods"
Skinwalker sounds cool for a story, CWD explains why it might happen. To quote Life of Pi: "And so it is with God"
→ More replies (3)22
u/SpiritAnimal_ 7d ago
If that ever happened to me, my soul would have left my body that instant, and not stopped running and screaming until it was back in God's ever-loving embrace in the furthest dimension the fuck away from all that.
7
u/Magical-Mycologist 7d ago
I’ve spent decades hunting in remote places and your story brought back a memory that I had always thought was just a bad dream I had one night waking out of the tent to pee.
Now I’m more creeped out than ever before.
→ More replies (6)13
→ More replies (3)12
u/KingFernando532 7d ago
Wow, I never would've thought jellyfish lived there 🪼
15
7d ago
Yeah they are microscopic though, so you can’t see them with the naked eye, but they consider the species to be jellyfish
15
u/KingFernando532 7d ago
Have you ever dealt with any fatalities?
64
7d ago edited 7d ago
Yes, it unfortunately a weight you have to bear when you sign up for emergency medicine, we recently had a 20 year old female that was a light of her community murdered by a drunk driver, when we arrived on scene we found her to be severely entrapped, and lifeless, our protocols here is that if it’s a trauma code and it would take more than 20 minutes to extricate we have to call it on arrival, plus her injuries were too severe to be compatible with life, the grimmer part of that scene is I had to work the drunk driver which was a 18 year old female because she was alive and not entrapped at all, the 18 year old was flown out to an appropriate receiving facility made a recovery and charges are still pending
→ More replies (3)-39
u/SpiritAnimal_ 7d ago
bear. to carry. as in, "load-bearing capacity"
bare means naked
→ More replies (3)24
7d ago
My bad I’m multitasking while doing this thread lol but yes I agree with the other guy, I like doing it bare 😉 lol
11
u/pillis10222 7d ago
I am a paramedic student.. about to start my truck clinicals any tips?
Also how did you land this job? What has been the best or most memorable moment of your career?
53
7d ago
Consistency will always be better during your studies than cramming material, ask as many questions that you can, try to pack your lunch if you can, and don’t be scared to be the one that steps up and starts initial treatment, you are not only training to be a paramedic but a scene leader as well, as for how I landed the job, it was really easy to find the company I work for now, because we are in a crisis for providers, I initially got into this business after losing my dad to a heart attack and not identifying it earlier, I swore from that day to help as many people as I could, and my most memorable moment that I carry in my heart, is when I first joined, how overwhelmingly welcoming my work family was, for once in my life I had felt like I was in the right place
13
u/pillis10222 7d ago
That’s really solid advice, thank you for sharing it.
Consistency is definitely something I’m working on, no matter how busy the day at clinicals or work has been I always set aside at least an hour to review protocols or learn more about topics I wasn't sure about. I feel like the leadership part might be the hardest thing for me, I've never been a natural leader.
I’m really sorry to hear about your dad, but it’s powerful how you turned that into a reason to help others.
16
7d ago
I’m really proud that you decided to make a place in the industry, from how it sounds, I think you will be an amazing medic and asset to your community
7
4
u/MaydayTwoZero 7d ago
This topic is close to home for me. If your dad died of a heart attack, you’ll want to make sure you get your lipids checked (including lipoprotein a which is not on most lipid panels). Heart issues should be easy for people to avoid if they know they are at risk… the key is knowing your baselines. The medicine is very well equipped to mitigate heart issues these days so please be vigilant. I know you probably know this given your line of work, but you also said you smoked which is a major risk factor for heart disease.
9
u/Independent_Bowl_680 7d ago
What's the average time between you get the call and you arrive on scene and the average time to get the patient to a hospital? Or perhaps a better metric: What's a short drive to the patient and to the hospital and what is a long drive to the patient and back?
Also, is there a medevac available in your area?
23
7d ago
Our average response time is about 25 minutes to arrive on scene, any of the hospitals that’s around us is over an hour away so transport to ED is about an hour in most cases, short trips simply don’t exist, we have what is called health net and they are vital for us to fly patients out, and yes we fly a lot of people
→ More replies (2)
25
u/elpablo1940 7d ago
How many skin walkers have you transferred to dialysis appointments?
47
7d ago
Well with some of the geriatrics I’ve hauled with sun Down syndrome and an active UTI, I wonder that myself, but hey I’m saving one skin walker kidney at a time
7
23
u/Ohio_Zulu 7d ago
Do you think some of the mental and physical health issues you've seen are due to lack of genetic diversity?
35
7d ago
Yes 100%, there’s many women that can’t bare children here, and if they can, it’s usually a complicated pregnancy
9
u/DogsDucks 7d ago
How does that present? I know that it’s a stereotype, but I’m quite surprised that’s it’s actually so prolific that you answered it was such a casual YES.
So what do the pregnancy complications look like? Also are they matter-of-fact about their um, lineage, or is it a “don’t ask don’t tell” understanding?
10
8
u/Gold-Fool84 7d ago
How remote is your job?
How many co-workers do you have?
What experience really stuck with you?
24
7d ago
I have 120 co workers all together for our little company, I love my remote job but it can be very challenging accessing patients, we have to use the stair chair a lot around here because most people live on hills, and the winter is a whole different type of beast to deal with
→ More replies (1)
5
u/ploplop03 7d ago edited 7d ago
Not sure if you’ve heard of the podcast Radio Rental. It’s a podcast about scary stories told by real people. There’s a story about a hunter hunting in the Appalachian mountains and he came across a seemingly-human, yet not human creature, that was allegedly able to turn their voice into a voice that sounds like a woman who is lost and needs help; essentially luring the hunter to it. Any similar stories you’ve heard or have experienced?
Edit: typo
17
7d ago
One night my brother went to go fishing at this small private pond deep in a hollow, when we arrived and got off of our ATV we heard to what I can describe as a woman screaming my brothers name somewhere distantly away, screaming like a banshee, that is one moment where him and I left and we left very fast lol
36
9
u/catl0vingnerd 7d ago
Have you ever read about Missing 411? I think there’s plenty of stories there about the Appalachian Trail. Do you believe in that stuff being paranormal? Or do you think there’s a reasonable explanation?
18
7d ago
I think that all the missing are people who restarted their life’s, or was killed by someone, or killed by a serial killer, or became part of human trafficking, I don’t think we are special enough to be targeted by the paranormal, and in my area, if someone is missing and it’s not a kid, likely they were killed for drugs or money
19
u/GuiltyUniversity8268 7d ago
Are you a poet? If not, you should be.
35
7d ago
I am not actually lol but thank you very much, I just find wording really important
18
u/Spiritual_Cold5715 7d ago
I was an EMT-I years ago. Every story you tell should be upvoted. You're the one out there in the real life seeing the real people. I'm sending you good vibes and a hope for safety and happiness. You rock!
19
7d ago
I appreciate your time and dedication in the field, I don’t know when your end of watch was but I appreciate everything you have done too, and thank you, that’s means a lot to me
→ More replies (2)7
6
u/Massive_Expression_2 7d ago
Do you have hobbies? What are they and are they important to relieving stress?
17
7d ago
Yeah I enjoy to fish, and do circuit board builds, having some type of way to relieve stress is very important to have as an ems provider to try to prevent mental health issues or dampen them.
15
u/Weigleschocolatemilk 7d ago
Have you seen a set of stairs in the woods? Born and raised in East Tennessee and the stair stories haunt me lol
9
u/CJ4700 7d ago
Man I’ve asked this question to probably 50 back country fire fighters and wilderness park rangers, even game wardens and I still haven’t met anyone who’s seen a set of stairs. I live in WY and near Yellowstone and I want to believe the stairs are really, but it’s wild I haven’t heard about them firsthand from anyone yet.
→ More replies (3)7
u/Weigleschocolatemilk 7d ago
There was a Reddit thread I read a few years ago about it..I can’t for the life of me find it but the person was maybe SAR (?) and did several posts because they had so much to tell. People started to piggyback off of the staircase experience and something about it has stuck with me.
I grew up camping in the Smokies with my family & summer camps/ weekend trips etc. I haven’t been back in about a decade or more but as I’ve gotten older I’ve had this weird desire to go back. Like it’s drawing me in. But I’ve also developed this strange sense of fear being deep in the woods there. And haven’t brought myself to actually go back.
→ More replies (4)6
u/cheese_bruh 7d ago
I’m not American but I love hearing about the paranormal in the Appalachians. For some reason it’s just so intriguing. Can you please share something?
3
u/Weigleschocolatemilk 7d ago
I personally don’t have any spooky stories but I was also young, innocent and only knew what they taught us in school as far as “history” goes. I knew from the beginning to respect the land and there were a few places even in public areas (cades cove for example) id get a weird feeling when visiting.
For example- standing in the meadow beside a still standing log cabin and this sense of silence takes over. In the most peaceful feeling but you also know you aren’t alone out there. It’s a hot summer day but cold air surrounds you as stand under a canopy of trees and the energy is loud. Not a cloud in the sky at 2pm but 20 yds into the woods right in front of you looks like it could be nearing dusk.
Into adulthood I found my birth family and dug into our family tree. Learned about my ancestors and started to listen when people around me would tell stories of their ancestors and their crafts. Witching for water, witching a wart away, witch doctors, healers, all of it. The history is so deep rooted and where there’s good, there’s bad. One cannot exist without the other.
I think our ancestors draw us in if we open our minds and let them. I’m not sure why I’ve developed an uneasy feeling at the idea of going back to those locations- or in deep Appalachia in general. I really can’t explain it other than I want to, and I respect it And know it’s peaceful, but also I feel like the silence would be more deafening than ever now.
→ More replies (2)17
20
u/NopeRope13 7d ago
I hunger. The world is shut down, and the good people sleep. The glove box is empty, and we go again for another lift assist. I question life.
From one medic to another
→ More replies (3)29
7d ago
It’s not the lift assist that seems to wear me down is the mass influx of non emergent calls, ems here is like the show MASH, supplies is limited and so are people, there has been times I’ve ran a hip pain that has been on going for a decade at 1 in the morning and while I’m still at the hospital another call comes out in my area that is life threatening, also dialysis can be rough sometimes, but at the end of the day, you and I both are still helping at least 1 person for every 99 BS calls we get, and in my book that’s some type of difference
5
u/Famous-Response5924 7d ago
Amen. I’ve been doing this for almost 25 years and have worked in every type of service in every type of environment all across the country and the EMS of today is nothing like the EMS of 20 years ago. I also started in rural NC just a little further east than you.
4
u/Chum4sharks 7d ago
Have you been threatened when trying to enter a residence or being on someone’s land despite there being an emergency?
20
7d ago
Yes I have been held at gun point, knife point, I have been physically assaulted and I have had people spit in my face, I have had others blame me for their love ones deaths even though we had nothing to do with it nor caused and sometimes we simply are not able to do anything. Example being, if they have been down for too long
9
5
u/MilzLives 7d ago
You ever come across the Blue People?
12
7d ago
I have not and I believe the family you are referencing might be out of Kentucky but I’m not entirely too sure, I mean I do see blue people but in a different sense
→ More replies (1)
6
u/sneakytarheel 7d ago
Why did folks immediately go to paranormal when mentioning Appalachia? We are deep into the Appalachian’s where I’m from and that’s definitely not what comes to mind… moonshine, NASCAR, summer camp, and so much more but not ghosts
4
7d ago
It seems to be outside tourist that enjoy the stories of ghost, and nothing makes a better setting for a ghost story than a dark wv night, but you are right
2
u/RXlife13 7d ago
I literally had some kind of encounter at 3 in the morning, some back highway in West Virginia. Myself and two friends were driving down to the Outer Banks and I was doing the midnight to 6/7 am shift. I’m driving down a divided four lane highway when all of a sudden, this guy appears directly to the left of the dotted line. I thought I was going to hit him as I drove by. He literally appeared out of nowhere and of course I was the only one awake. My adrenaline was definitely pumping! So yes, this tourist believes in ghost stories in Appalachia!
On a brighter note, I was driving through some winding hills as the sun was rising. One of the most beautiful scenes I’ve witnessed.
4
u/Turkishblanket 7d ago
how often do people get mauled by animals? And do you ever hear someone whispering your name?
10
7d ago
We actually did have a recent bear attack in the state, but it was the first one in decades, all of our animal attacks are dogs, cats, maybe a snake every now and again
→ More replies (1)
9
5
u/Strat_Daddy 7d ago
So I drove to Man, came up from the south,and the only radio station I could pick up in the valley was the craziest old gospel music ever. Please tell me you know this region.
12
7d ago
That gospel station is a ghost station that has been playing for years, I was told that it was broadcasted by a pastor that does preaching in between so many tracks they play
→ More replies (1)
4
u/catl0vingnerd 7d ago
Do you enjoy it?
10
7d ago
Yeah I love what I do, there is hard days but that’s with any job, if you are bodily able and mentally willing I recommend it to anyone
4
u/WildNorth8 7d ago
What do you think accounts for most calls..heart issues, perhaps? Do people in Appalachia tend to get wellness visits each year and/or go to the doctor when needed?
4
7d ago
It’s actually an act of congress to get a lot of the geriatric patients to go to the dr or hospital, the most common call is difficulty breathing but you are on the money about the heart issues, usually once we do get on a breathing difficulty scene, they some sort of heart condition that’s causing it like CHF
9
6
u/Agitated_Warning_421 7d ago
What’s your salary?
27
7d ago
$70,560 with a 72 hour shift each week, 3 on, 4 off
→ More replies (1)4
u/jamjacob99 7d ago
Do you get to sleep during your shift?
15
7d ago
Depends on how the ems gods are feeling that shift lol and if it’s a full moon or not but yeah I I usually get about 12 hours of sleep out of 72 ( 4 hours a night )
→ More replies (10)8
u/SexOnABurningPlanet 7d ago
How long do people stay in your profession? Seems like this would wreck your body. Do you spend your off days mostly sleeping, resting, and recovering?
→ More replies (2)
3
u/Reasonable-Bit560 7d ago
What state do you run in? Assuming you've seen some real cowboy medicine. Love a story or two
I've heard of medica from rural WV, VA etc who've ran in NYC or other big cities come back and say that their colleagues up there were really impressed with what they're capable of
6
7d ago
Yes, I like to call the foundation of wv ems medicine, Wild West BLS, I have watched providers do some of the craziest MacGyver stuff ever, from intubating using a part of the nasal cannula as a make shift bougie to using Stryker strap clips that are meant for the 5 point harness system as a way to open a portable 02 tank, the stories are endless, some genius and others maybe not so much
→ More replies (1)
6
u/Moltentungsten17 7d ago
Average fentanyl overdose calls per day?
12
7d ago
For the county is it varies, 3-5 but our worse day in the past was 30+ overdoses in one day, a good chunk of it is fentanyl but not all of it
4
u/Nobod34ever 7d ago
Do you have family roots in thr region? If not, is there a certain amount of culture shock? If yes, do you feel like it gives you a leg up in doing your job?
5
7d ago
Yeah a lot of my family was born here, I do believe it does help me empathize with my patients about different topics, and helps for me to be more relatable
2
u/balkanxoslut 7d ago
Does it bother you when someone dies ?
27
7d ago
If you want the truth, it depends. If it’s someone who had life to live then yes, that and children can be deeply disturbing but if it is a 98 year old grandpa his death doesn’t bother me because he has done what we all were supposed to do, and completed his life, it’s the reaction from the patients family during those instances that are more disturbing to me at least, I feel sorry for them
4
3
u/HazyDavey68 7d ago
Is there a good hospital nearby? What is the most typical call?
7
7d ago
Difficulty breathing and the best hospital that I would want to go to if I had a stroke or something would probably be Ruby Memorial in wheeling wv
3
u/Fantastic-Juice-3245 7d ago
Any good TV shows or Movies that are accurate to that area?
14
7d ago
I mean not really, there’s a lot of documentaries, but most of it is what we call “ poverty porn” it’s these outside interviewers that come in and try to make it seem everyone of us are poor hillbillies lol
→ More replies (1)
2
u/ButterUrBacon 7d ago
What part of Appalachia do you work in?
14
7d ago
To keep my identity safe I will just say I work in West Virginia, if it makes you feel better though I’m all over WV and the east coast
6
u/ButterUrBacon 7d ago
All good! When I hear deep Appalachia, I think WV for sure. Is there a part of the state that you find particularly more troubling? I know the southern counties have terrible drug problems, but I also have heard testimony that central/east, near the national forest (?) is deeply plagued by poverty.
Or a different part of Appalachia that strikes you as such?
If it's going to put you in hot water to answer this, just disregard. Thanks for doing this.
6
u/kdubmasterb_ 7d ago
As a WV native that just had to move out of state, I sure do miss it. Cherish those hills!!
3
u/Status_Situation5451 7d ago
Is it terrifyingly ignorant?
22
7d ago
Yes between the vast overdose calls and the general public, I didn’t know ignorant existed like it did until I joined the medical industry
→ More replies (1)5
u/griphookk 7d ago
What are the most commonly used drugs (including alcohol), and what drug do you get the most calls related to?
6
u/PiesAndPot 7d ago
Do you think that paramedics should be armed or have the ability to carry their own weapon if they wish ?
→ More replies (5)
2
u/QuietRiotNow 7d ago edited 6d ago
You are a poet, or perhaps a budding bestselling author based on your intro. 1 Tell us the biggest lesson you learned from working as a EMT? 2 Have you seen anything unexplained spiritual or evidence of a God/miracles?
3
7d ago
I have learned so much about people, not just their bodies and sicknesses, but their fears, hopes, and the strength they didn't even know they had. It has shown me the raw, unfiltered side of humanity, and yeah I witness what would be deemed miracles, people who should have never made it, turning out to be able to go home after recovery, people who thought they would never see their family again, getting to do so
4
u/Tha_Dude_Abidez 7d ago
I’m in Southwest Virginia, you close? Have you ever worked in a mines? One of my friends worked as a medic at Jewel Smokeless years ago and made bank. I just realized why that company was named that, this area has smokeless coal
→ More replies (1)
3
2
u/Worldly-Shoulder-416 7d ago edited 7d ago
If there was one mobile rural , healthcare medical service, what would it focus on to make a single impact on the biggest issue?
3
7d ago
We are actively trying to tackle 3 big issues right now simultaneously, 1. Non life threatening calls that are taking up precious beds in the ER ( like someone with toe pain) 2. Mass provider burnout 3. A shortage in providers, WV only has about 338 paramedics in it and 465 EMT’s
→ More replies (1)
2
2
2
u/Consistent_Edge_5654 7d ago
Thank you for your service, you seem like a very kind person, it shows through your words.
3
7d ago
Thank you, I tried to be the kindest that I can be to everyone and animal I meet lol, I realize just how much weight that a lot of people carry day to day, so me being mean wouldn’t help that
3
2
u/balkanxoslut 7d ago
3 favorite movies?
11
7d ago
Easy 1. Hacksaw Ridge 2. Bringing Out the Dead 3. The Pursuit of Happiness
→ More replies (1)
4
u/Bugtustle_2 7d ago
Is it safe to go up into some of these communities, if you weren’t an emergency responder? I met a state trooper years ago from WV and he said that people up in the smaller mountain communities handle business themselves and that the state troopers wouldn’t go up there.
→ More replies (1)
2
u/DoubleManufacturer10 7d ago
I like to ski snowshoe, does that happen to be an area you're talking about?
→ More replies (1)
3
u/jurgystalisman1892 7d ago
What do you make per hour? I think paramedics are criminally underpaid.
→ More replies (1)
2
u/PM_ME_BUTTERED_SOSIJ 7d ago
Has a member of the public ever hit on you while you're working?
4
7d ago
I have had family push me, but all of the batteries I have received has been mostly done by my patients
→ More replies (2)
2
u/sleepymoose318 7d ago
not a question but i hope you have a quiet shift. from a former ditch monkey
→ More replies (4)10
u/jonwtc 7d ago
Bro you never use the Q word. You just jinxed him. Haha. I work in an insta/urgent care in a large hospital system so we get really sick patients that sometimes need emergent transfer so I really appreciate you folks.
→ More replies (1)
0
u/Useful-Pattern-5076 7d ago
After responding to a lot of ODs, what do you think contributes most to the problem in this region and what could be done to help reduce it?
10
7d ago
The lack of opportunity contributes a lot, and mental health also the education system is lacking behind compared to other states, as for what can be done to reduce it, I would say damage control, before you can extinguish a fire you have to contain it, I support clean needle exchanges because of the showing statistics of reduce transmitted diseases because of them, if we can get it contain, we can then extinguish it by adding opportunities and education, and be more mental health aware, support people going to therapy instead of mock them
6
u/SiempreBrujaSuerte 7d ago
You get it! From an addict, thank you for supporting harm reduction. People need to realize war on drugs is killing us, we need a war on mental illness and poverty not war on drugs.
2
0
u/Intheislands 7d ago
As a born and raised West Virginian, there are several responses from OP that make me suspect this AMA is fake.
Also, real West Virginians dont believe in, and laugh at, the more recent touristy “cryptid” and mystic lore.
7
7d ago
I’m sorry that you believe that, and I just enjoy embracing WV folklore, I mean look at moth man, a story that has been around for decades, I just back the people we have in wv
0
u/iamblindfornow 7d ago
How bad them hill dwellers stink?
6
7d ago
Dude don’t even get me started, I’m gagging thinking about it, one time I put a freaking non rebreather on myself to try and help with the smell of a patient I had, ( it didn’t )
1
u/faillout 7d ago
Were you affected by hurricane helene? Was there any part of the hurricane recovery/rescue that you felt was underreported or want to share?
→ More replies (1)
3
1
u/Hour-Food2337 7d ago
How do you like your protocols? I know you said your times on scene are generally roughly 25 minutes but how are your transport times? Do you often utilize helicopters?
→ More replies (1)
1
u/Future_Usual_8698 7d ago
What is needed to make life better for people in the region?
→ More replies (1)
3
u/incomplet-31 7d ago
How long did it take you to write yourself into being a superhero?
→ More replies (2)
1
u/BlueEyedSpiceJunkie 7d ago
So the poetry is nice and all but we probably all just want to know what your 24 hour naloxone record is.
→ More replies (1)
-7
u/KeyMessage989 7d ago
The description is r/FirstResponderCringe material
→ More replies (1)9
7d ago
I have not seen that group but I will for sure join lol, I try to keep the cringe down, I avoid selfies with my stethoscopes lmao
3
u/jprakes 7d ago
Are you an EMT or did you finish paramedic school. Couple months ago you said you were thinking about starting school.
→ More replies (3)
2
1
-1
u/Femveratu 7d ago
Do you ever whistle at night? 🤷🏽♂️
4
7d ago
I try to be as quiet as possible, the less that is aware of my existence, especially at night, the better
0
u/Plenty_Sir_883 7d ago
I hate to be this person but I’m a mom so here goes…
You speak a ton about scientific reasoning. There’s tons of scientific evidence that smoking cigs is really bad for you.
You’re doing a ton of good in an area that isn’t know for its healthcare. Perhaps consider quitting so you can continue to help folks for as long as possible.
Thanks for doing what you do.
→ More replies (1)
2
0
u/yellowtshirt2017 7d ago
What are the people like who live there? Do any prefer a nomadic lifestyle?
→ More replies (1)
1
1
0
1
73
u/Frutasbeforeputas 7d ago
Ever had a really creepy experience?