One beautiful winter day the tones went off and there was a call for a possible cardiac arrest at the State Park, three minutes from our house... if you obey'd the traffic rules.
Miss Tina jumped in her Grand Marquis I had bought her at Auction, (a former unmarked Sergeant's Car) and plugged in the red light on the dash and was off. She was on scene and working the Full Code at the park before the volunteers ever got to the squad house. The man was at the park from out of state, on vacation with his family... down from the hill's of Kentucky. He was here for Hunting season, and had overdone the hiking thru the woods a tad. By the time the squad arrived, she had the man breathing again, and his ticker ticking.The call would be a scoop and run. The nearest trauma center is an hour's drive in normal traffic, but about 35 to 40 minutes in the ambulance with a bit of luck. It's less than 15 by life flight. The Sheriff's Office had approved Tina's request and the helo landed in a farmer's field and he was gone.
About a month later, a package arrived for Miss Tina in care of the Sheriff's Office. They had a Deputy drop it off at the house. Tina opened the package and found a "gift" from the hunter. Seems he was a custom knife maker and wanted to express his appreciation, for still being around to make them. Every year after that, he returned to hunt with his friends, and he dropped off a hunk of venison and thanked Miss Tina again. Until the doc told him he couldn't make the drive anymore.
It's a beautiful knife, but Tina has never done anything more than show the knife to friends. The note she only shared with me, it's personal. The knife, it's priceless. It lives in the gun safe, protected. It means a lot, representing a save, and someone grateful for the effort.
