Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the station.

All was quiet except for our snoring Dalmatian.

Our boots had been placed by the bunk sides with care
In hopes that the shift change would finally be here.

The lights were turned down and the TV was off
The rigs had been washed and the floors had been mopped.

Firefighters and Medics lie nestled in bed
While visions of home life danced through their heads.

When out of the darkness, arose ringing and light
The Klaxton brought tidings of something not right.

The Firefighters and Medics were dressed in an instant
Aboard their trucks and racing into the distance.

The moon on the breast of the new fallen snow
Reflected the lights in a hellish, red glow.

The sirens, they wailed while the Federal screamed
Moving too slowly, as if in a dream.

The wreckage was there and came slowly in sight
Lending fear, pain, and loss to our silent night.

Each of us thought of our own Wife, Daughter or Son
Each prayed in silence, "Let me save at least one."

We leaped to the task without further a thought
And for more than two hours we worked and we fought...

To free the two drivers who hadn't been thinking
their driving would suffer after a full night of drinking.

The smoke of the flares, and the stench of the blood
The screaming of metal as we rolled back the hood.

The cry of one driver, the whine of the Jaws
Putting fear aside, we never gave pause.

With one driver out, and the other pronounced dead
We focused our efforts on keeping our heads.

C-spine and backboard and IV in place
We loaded him up and we started the race.

The monitor showed a heart rate to slow
BP revealed a systolic too low.

Level of consciousness rapidly dying
Despite all of this...the Medics kept trying.

Atropine, Dopamine, Epi and more...
to keep our reason for being from opening death's door.

We fought and we prayed and tried all that was known
While trying to believe fault wasn't our own.

The sun, she was rising as we reached the ER
We'd given all that we know, and all that we are.

The Doctors pronounced with barely more than a glance.

And gone in a blink, was the patient's last chance.

The ride back to the station was quiet, and then....
Despite what we'd been through, the singing began.

At first it was one and then all followed suit
This effort together was merely the fruit...

Of a labor that however needlessly bared
Was one of a million we knew we had shared.

As we sang out the words of the song, "Silent Night"
We acknowledged to ourselves that we put up a good fight.

The punch of the clock, the start of a car
we all realized and loved who we are.

And on Christmas morning, as we all drive away...
We know we'll all try in a couple of days...

To give someone back their one chance to live
Now matter how hard or how much we must give.

So please, when you pray on this new Christmas morn
Add something for us, and for all that we've borne.


Jamie Joyce