There are times I really get tired of my job. You probably know the feeling; you wake up one particular morning and your head hurts at the prospect of another day at the office.
Yet though I might complain from time to time and have days where all I want to do is stay in bed and watch TV, I never have to worry about my work putting me in harm’s way.
There’s a lot to be said for that, even if it’s not something most of us stop to consider every day. Indeed, it’s easy to forget that there exist professions out there that aren’t just mentally challenging, but also actively hazardous for the people who do them.
Being a firefighter is one. Personally, I don’t think firefighters get enough credit for the bravery they show simply in turning up for their shift each day, but there’s a photo doing the rounds online at the moment that quite rightly pushes firefighters – and awareness as to the insane conditions they’re sometimes expected to operate in – to the fore…
When I was younger, I dreamt of being a firefighter – if my NBA career never took off, that is – but these days I’m rather happy to have other people doing it in my stead.
Call me cowardly, but there are few things I’d relish less than the task of charging headfirst into a burning building.
Fortunately for society, not everyone is of the same mindset as I am. There are brave souls who regularly risk their lives to save others and limit casualties whenever fires break out or serious accidents occur.
And we’re not only referring to pulling people out of burning cars of entering apartment blocks engulfed in flames – both heroic acts, it must be said – but also those times when firefighters are tasked with combatting one of nature’s most terrifying, destructive forces: wildfires.
If you live in a country where wildfires occur, you’ll likely be all too familiar with the damage they can cause. Of course, they don’t simply stop burning on their own, and left to run riot they will destroy virtually everything in their path.
That’s where firefighters come in. Instead of fleeing the affected areas, as everyone else is advised to do, they charge in to do their utmost in an attempt to halt the advance of the fires, saving countless lives in the process.
A few years ago one such wildfire was raging in Portugal, requiring the skills of a combined 1,150 firefighters to slow its spread.
The apocalyptic scene was frightening to behold, but it did produce a rather incredible photograph that paid testament to the incredible work firefighters do to keep people safe.
As per reports, a man named Pedro Brás posted the image, along with the caption: “After a night and a day fighting the Góis Forest Fire we were entitled to 25 minutes of river beach, although it was covered by smoke.”
The picture in question showed a group of firefighters sleeping on a lawn, so overcome by exhaustion that they had pretty much dropped where they stood in order to get some rest.
According to Pedro, the firefighters took a short break of 25 minutes after working nonstop for 24 hours to fight the wildfire.
Parents say goodbye to their newborn as life support is switched off, then he starts breathing immediately
Most moms will agree pregnancy and labor can be a scary time and all you want is to deliver a healthy baby, kicking and screaming.
But one mom was faced with the unthinkable when her baby boy was born with medical issues that left him on a ventilator.
Lisa Hough shared an image of her sweet baby grandson born to her daughter Chelsea and also shared the unthinkable tough decision that her daughter had been faced with.
The mom of three and nana of two said her grandson Karson had been born with many medical complications.
“The only way to describe what has happened is that this beautiful baby boy has suffered two very rare traumatic conditions that are completely unrelated to one another,” Nana Lisa shared on her Facebook page.
She added her newborn baby grandson had suffered a “hemorrhage in the left temporal lobe” and had also been diagnosed with a rare, genetic, metabolic disorder called Non-ketotic hyperglycinemia (NKH).
“His case is presented as severe and would cause him to be severely neurologically impaired – functioning at a 2-3 month old level at best for his lifetime,” Lisa wrote.
His mom, given all the information from the medical staff around her, made the incredibly tough decision to take him off life support.
Lisa wrote of the heartbreaking moment they had to say goodbye to their sweet little one.
“While we weren’t ready to say goodbye to Karson, we had come to terms with the inevitable. We were given 10 minutes after withdrawing intensive care and the ventilator and told he would not breath on his own and to expect his heart to stop within those 10 minutes.
But, according to Lisa, it seemed “God had other plans” and said she and her daughter witnessed a miracle.
“He immediately started breathing on his own once the ventilator was removed, heart rate and oxygen stabilized, and here we are 5 hours later with this miracle baby that we were told would never breath, swallow, have gag reflexes, or even survive. He is breathing unassisted.
“He is swallowing. He is surviving. He even has slightly opened his eyes a couple times today.”
She said his doctors had no explanation for what happened saying no medical or science data supports this little fighter surviving; the only explanation they have is that it’s a miracle.
“I’m not sure why I ever thought we were so underserving of a miracle…and I’m not sure how long we have with him, but we have him now. And now we will take,” Lisa wrote.
Finally, on March 1, she and her family were given the joyous news that their tiny bundle of joy would be coming home that week.
“Every day, I am brought to my knees, and just when I think God is done, I am quickly reminded that he isn’t….I have no words for my gratitude and I will praise Him for as long as I have air in my lungs for giving Karson his,” Lisa wrote.
From her very first post, commenters were fully supportive of the journey, celebrating the survival of Karson with more than 30,000 reactions to the post announcing the wonderful news that Karson survived and is thriving
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