Hi for those of you who don’t know me I am Sherri Wittrock and am a nurse who runs as an EMT for the Paullina Ambulance Service. In speaking for Paullina ambulance and fire, we want to thank all those who have participated in this event. This list involves everyone that either helped, donated food or services, or were behind the scene.
Paullina Fire & EMS
Granville Fire & EMS
Primghar Ambulance
Sutherland Ambulance
Paullina Police Dept
O’Brien County Sheriff’s Office
Northwest Iowa Community College
MercyOne Primghar Hospital
Jared Johnson, O’Brien County EMS Coordinator
Prairie Market
JKM Screen Printing
Eldridge Family Funeral Home
South O’Brien High School
Old Market Antiques & Bock Suite
JW’s Bar & Grill
Casey’s
Stockton Towing
Broadway Marketplace
Our lawyers and other professionals:
Tisha Halverson
Rachael Becker
Katie Morgan
Todd Wood
Amy BadBerg MD
Pastor Mike Cooper
Pastor Cory Grimm
If you see any of these individuals, please thank them. I also want to thank the students who participated as well as their parents. This wasn’t an easy task and we appreciate all the time, emotions, and effort that went into this event. Also, a big thank you to the school, teachers, and administration for allowing us to put this on during school hours as well as your help in making it possible. To the students who were respectful spectators of the event, thank you as well. Last but not least a huge thank you to Kevin Miller from NCC and Doug Daniels EMT from Paullina Ambulance for spearheading this and putting hours and hours of work into this.
Our hope is that this will impact many lives but even if just one life was changed by recognizing the impact of our choices, it was worth it. I saw this saying about a pager, adapted it a bit and wanted to share with you all.
This pager weighs 5 ounces…until it goes off. When it goes off, it bears the weight of the world. It weighs as much as a dying child as a frantic mother drops them into our arms. It weighs as much as a monitor, jump bag and oxygen tank as we race up flights of stairs to our patient. It weighs as much as hauling that patient back down those stairs. It weighs as much as the Jaws of Life while removing a car door after an accident. It weighs as much as removing a lifeless body from that car. It weighs as much as firefighting gear and a fire hose, as we rush into a burning house. Sometimes, the weight of that pager is too heavy on our hearts and our minds, but we carry it anyways. We carry that weight because we care and are compassionate. It gives us pride and honor. It gives us a sense of purpose in this life.
Every time that pager goes off, I pray it isn’t for something you all witnessed yesterday. Yes, it was a simulation, yes, everything turned out ok but when we walk out of these doors today, for us…it’s real. You are our kids’ friends, our friends’ kids, you are one of us. We care about YOU. If we could challenge you all to stop and think about this event every time you get the temptation to pick up your phone while driving or are making the decision on whether or not to drive if you have been drinking, this was worth it. There are not a lot of things in this world we can control but we can control our choices. Please always remember the POWER of that choice. Thank you