It is very hard to be the significant other of a first responder, be it medic, firefighter, or police officer. The down sides are huge. My husbands works 3:30 AM (!) to 4:30 pm Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Yes, he gets up and leaves before dawn and works weekends, a double shift whammy (I work M-F 9:00am-5:00pm). If a holiday falls during his shift, forget getting it off. Accidents and sickness don't take holidays off, actually the 911 calls tend to go up. The pay is horrible, although the healthcare is great. They often go into situations on par with those that documentary filmmakers go into in third world countries. They bring germs home, I was sick the first six months that J.D. worked until my immune system adjusted. He strips down as soon as he walks in the door and has a special work clothes basket and shoe location so they don't contaminate me or the rest of the house. There is a constant danger of him contracting something vile from his patients. They are required to have yearly TB tests...
But there are a few benefits. My horse friends appreciate J.D. being around for the occasional fall or mishap. We have a never ending supply of latex gloves for gross situations like when the rascally dogs get into the trash:
But I suppose the main benefit is quite simply, he loves what he does. His face lights up when he talks about his day. Sometimes he goes "oh! I forgot to tell you about this one!" and proceeds to give me some crazy story, while excitedly waiving his hands around. And at the end of the day, don't most of us wish for a job that we're passionate about?
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