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A calling to emergency medicine

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Contributed by: Andy Lyon on 3/11/2008

Cherry Creek SchoolsWhen you're a paramedic, not every day has a happy ending, but South Metro Fire Rescue's Mike Porter says he realized early in his firefighting career that he had "a calling for emergency medicine. So," he says, "I went to paramedic school and never regretted it." Now, every day on the job Porter says he has the chance to make a real difference in people's lives, though some days it's easier than others.

About twenty years ago, not long out of paramedic school, Porter responded to a woman in labor. "I'd been taught that 97% of all births are perfectly normal, without problems, and I was psyched, I was excited." But shortly after they got the woman into the ambulance the child was delivered stillborn. "Unlike TV," Porter says, "they don't always have happy endings." Despite seeing tragedies that drive some people away from his profession, Porter remains upbeat "When people call 911, it's an emergency, and having a calm, compassionate, caring person show up at their door can make a difference in the outcome."

Days start at 7:00 a.m. and the first task is to get a "pass down" from the paramedics going off shift -information about what happened the day before or perhaps about equipment that needs maintenance. Then it's off to do a check of the supplies and gear on the ambulance. After a morning crew meeting, Porter likes to hit the gym if there's time. If he's cooking that day, it's off for a quick trip to the grocery store. "I'm a pretty decent cook now," he says. "I learned the hard way -cooking all the time my first year, with guys who weren't bashful about saying if the food wasn't up to standard."

Most medical calls Porter and his fellow paramedics respond to during the day are not lights-and-sirens emergencies, though they could be. Mostly it's back pains and breathing problems, with some severe car crashes and heart attacks, too.

Many of the calls, routine or severe, will result in a trip to the hospital, just to be sure. Of course, every so often there is a fire and like most area departments, South Metro's paramedics are trained on the business end of a fire hose, as well as a stethoscope. Another part of Porter's daily routine is mentoring new or soon-to-become paramedics. Porter has helped train dozens of South Metro's paramedics and it's something that makes him look forward to work each day. "I love to share what I know with people who want to get into paramedicine," Porter says. Battalion Chief Bob Herdt says that passion has not waned: "Even after more than twenty years Mike still displays the same enthusiasm and love for the job that you see in a first year firefighter. You see it in his attitude and in his desire to mentor new paramedics." Chief Herdt adds "He is passionate about patient care. He ensures that he and his crew members stay abreast of new technologies as well as maintaining their everyday skills, so that they can routinely deliver the quality of care that meets his and the patients' expectations."

"I've been doing this job 22 years," says Porter "and I consider myself blessed to have gotten into this profession and to have spent my career with this department."

Andy Lyon is the public affairs coordinator for South Metro Fire Rescue.

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CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION

Andy Lyon

Centennial , CO

Andy Lyon has posted 32 stories and 0 comments since joining on 9/14/2005. Andy Lyon 's average story rating is 5.

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