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The value of an EMS chaplain cannot be understated, but sadly it’s underutilized. It’s easy to get wrapped up in the work of the day while still dwelling on that thing at home. Sometimes we are just not as spiritually available to our patients whose spirit alone is injured.

“The hot lead bullet had lodged itself in the ceiling. Her daughter sat in the living room, holding onto a letter from her mother telling her how much she loved her.

When the chaplain arrived, he listened intently as the daughter reported events of the day. My partner that day, a mother of many children, was also the designated mother for our company. She was always the one who would check on you first after a bad call. She was the one you could vent to without your frustrations being spread far and wide. She stood with this girl wiping her tears and offering bottled water while she talked with the chaplain. I sat in the ambulance, ipad in hand, and did my paperwork for this run. In this moment of profound mourning, Pastor Curtis looked at the girl and offered to pray with her.

Amidst his prayer and his counsel, he looked her in the eyes and said, “If you had known that on this day, at this time this would happen, you would have moved mountains to prevent it.” These words have stuck with me and remain a powerful memory from this scene. In that moment he visibly eased the guilt on that girl’s face. As if she had a deep spiritual epiphany, she stopped blaming herself. This is not to say that her mourning was over; but from that moment, she never once repeated that it was her fault for not being home when it happened.” Christopher Turnbull, The Double-Edged Sword

#emschaplain #emslife #spiritualhealing #SuicideAwareness #presentinthemoment #ptsdrecovery #ptsd #anxietyawareness #anxiety #anxietyrelief #supportnetwork #supportstructure #mentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness #letstalkaboutit #firefighter #police #guilt #prayer #prayersforhealing #prayersforthefamily #bereal #chaplain #pastors

I can think of 3 people I was close enough to that had I put the effort in to connect more deeply, to understand who they were, not just like them, I could have been their phone call.

I reflect back in hindsight not knowing their struggles, not seeing the signs, until I did… the day they died.

If there’s one thing anybody takes away from my book, it had better be that there are so many options out there. If your only foreseeable future is a hell on Earth for the next 5 minutes, and you’ve made up your mind, call somebody. Call that person who has been making it hard and tell them about themselves. Call one person in your life that has made you laugh and thank them. Prolong yourself just long enough to have another voice on the other end of the phone. I’d be willing to bet that at the end of the conversation, you’re sidetracked just enough to make one more phone call. I have spent the last year advocating for the national suicide prevention hotline, and it was a long number. Today, it’s 9-8-8. Make the call and stick around.

Better yet why don’t we call people anymore? When I was in 8th grade watching wrestling on TV, I spent 2 hours on the phone with my buddy who was at his house watching the same thing. We laughed, we made fun of the wrestlers. We watched the toy commercials between matches and declared loudly how bad we wanted the cool new Nerf gun. Then by 10th grade, he faded away. There were no more long phone conversations. There were no more weekends glued to the Playstation with chips, ramen noodles, and Mountain Dew. Why? What changed? I still don’t know.

In the 90s you weren’t cool unless you had your own corded phone in your bedroom. AND if you were super cool, you had your own phone number. Maybe it was AOL that took away our ability to speak? The last words spoken before a conversation were whatever expletives we uttered as we listened to the phone line connect to the internet. Then when you were connected and discovered you had mail, you pulled up the chat box to see who else was online. The art of multitasking was developed as you had 16 different chat windows open talking to so many different people at once. If somebody walked away, you knew it because the conversation froze; that or your parents picked up the phone to make a call (’90s problems).

Nothing has changed today. We stretch ourselves across multiple text messaging conversations. When somebody doesn’t answer we don’t care because we have 30 other apps to get to looking for likes, shopping, shares, food, God forbid porn. But in that text message, aside from emojis, do you really know what that person is feeling? They just texted “LOL” so they’re definitely not crying over their wedding album right now, right?

I see posts all the time about how we’re such great friends that we can go long periods without talking and just pick up where we left off. What’s a long period? Since the last time you worked together? Since the last time you ran into them at the store? I don’t know about you, but I work a lot and go home tired a lot. I overbook my days off so it feels like I no sooner wake up and it’s bedtime already. What are my friends up to? I don’t know.

I think that we live in a time when we have no idea what influences are getting into our friends. We are attacked daily by everything–finances, politics, hot new gadgets, credit cards, cars, solar power, fossil fuels, everything. The only way to listen and maintain a well-connected friendship is to call and check in, even if just to ask if they’re still alive. Then like the video below, you can be the jokester or the screaming infant. Be who you are. Your true friends know you.

Life is hurtful sometimes. Make a phone call. Don’t be like an AOL chat box left wide open because of a poor connection. When your friend answers in tears, you may have just saved their life. I’m going to start calling more often. In your darkest hour, call me. Don’t suck it up.

Upcoming ConEd Opportunity 2.0 CEUs. This is the class that accompanies my book, The Double-Edged Sword, designed to address multiple areas of interest mentioned throughout the book. If you have not already done so, pick up a copy of the book here (not required for class): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09K21SLZM then click onto https://www.120compressions.com/service-page/stress-management-course-2-0ceu-1?referral=service_list_widget to sign up for the class.
#smashthestigma #paramedic #ptsdrecovery #itsokaytobebroken #itsokaytonotbeokay #firefighter #emergencymedicalservices #EmergencyMedicalTechnician #anxiety #depressionawareness #resilience #leadership #mentalhealthawareness #youarenotalone #youarenotyourthoughts #youarenotyourpast #jeremiah2911 #chaplain #emschaplain

https://www.120compressions.com/service-page/stress-management-course-2-0ceu-1?referral=service_list_widget

President Biden Sings Law Extending PSOB Benefits for PTSD, Acute Stress, Suicide

This is a win for first responders. This will recognize work-related suicide as a LODD moving forward. If management cannot evolve into leadership and address the issues taxing their employees, then their families can still be taken care of.

Comparatively if you lose a limb at work, you are compensated. Until now if your line of work caused you to take your own life, there was no compensation.

Continue to press on, reach out, network with individuals who will support you, and pray. The worst day of you life doesn’t have to be your last. #emslife#suicideprevention#emergencymedicalservices#paramedic#police#firefighter#emergencymedicaltechnician#mentalhealthawareness#ptsd#anxiety#depression#safety#basiclifesupport#andvancedlifesupport#emergencyservices#resiliency#canyouhearmenow#louderforthoseintheback#itsokaytobenotokay

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I’ve hated this man. I’ve not loved him at full capacity. I’ve fed him lies & told him he wasn’t good enough and have allowed others to tell him he wasn’t good enough. He has been broken. He has allowed others to treat him disrespectfully. He has run through brick walls & battle for others who won’t even stand up for him. He couldn’t stop individuals from abandoning him, yet I’ve seen him get up and stand to be a light to the world & love others despite all that. He has stood paralyzed by fear while he fought battles in his mind, heart and soul.

This man has screwed up many times, as a son, husband, father, nephew, boyfriend, cousin, friend, Brother and leader because he doesn’t always say or do the “right things”. He has secrets. He has scars… because he has a history.

Some people love this man, some like him, and some people don’t care for him at all. He has done good in his life. He has done bad in his life. He is random and sometimes silly. He is who he is.

You can love him or not. But if he loves you, he will do it with his whole heart, and he will make no apologies for the way he is.

This man is a WARRIOR & A SURVIVOR. He’s not perfect but he has a lot of WORTH!

If you have not read The Double-Edged Sword, buy it here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0924NDQ3J

#itsokaytobebroken #smashthestigma #endthestigma #ptsdawareness #ptsdrecovery #PTSD #ptsdwarrior #resilience #strength #posttraumaticgrowth #healing #nofear #firstresponders #firefighters #lawenforcement #EMS #dispatcher #veterans #unresolvedtrauma #mentalhealthawareness #suicideprevention

“Anybody who comes into this job is brought up by a team of providers who will help to educate, train, and make the provider a better version of themself. Everyone we encounter has something to offer us. As you build on the educational foundation of the job, senior providers will offer you their tips and tricks to offer shortcuts or a more thorough way of documenting or just a different mentality to the overall approach. They’ve experienced things differently and have adapted to their experiences as they have shaped the provider they have ultimately become. In much the same way, I believe that everybody we contact in our lives is put there with a purpose as well. I believe this theory applies to all aspects of our lives regardless of the faction people label themselves into. In the emergency services, we adapt pieces of our partners to ourselves and to the type of clinician we will ultimately become.” –Christopher Turnbull, Author “The Double-Edged Sword” Buy the book here https://www.amazon.com/Double-Edged-Sword…/dp/B0924NDQ3J

#emslife#mentorship#workfamily#nurture#Legacy#preceptor#fieldtraining#EMS#firefighters#management#education#comradery#lessonslearned

https://www.120compressions.com/service-page/the-double-edged-sword-2-0ceu-1?referral=service_list_widget&fbclid=IwAR3NWoVaJqDsD7jO69OPmskYcpyfMyo32OaIDDmsjPHNxoENSABTFvcBhOw

Join me on August 8th at 7pm ET for 2.0 CEUs. This is the course I created after writing the book, The Double-Edged Sword. The lecture highlights all the unintentional lessons learned over the course of my career. I’m looking forward to a fun evening. Follow the link to sign up. #suicideawareness #emslife #worklifebalance #workhomebalance #dontgiveup #stress #mentalhealth #workculture #zoom #continuingeducation

“I am genuinely appreciative when somebody recognizes us for the job we have and takes just a second to say a quick little cliché to remind us that we aren’t invisible.  But there is a dark side occasionally that presents.  

‘What is the worst thing you have ever seen?’

I don’t care if it’s your first day or you’re reading this after retirement, you know what the worst call of your career was.  You flash to that scene when you encounter a certain smell.  You have the same day every year that is an anniversary you’d rather do without.  You pass that intersection, house, nursing home, bridge, landmark, whatever the setting was; and you remember every detail of that moment.  You remember how you felt.  You remember how bad you were tested.  You remember who your first phone call was to and probably the entire transcript of that conversation.  

So no, I don’t answer this inquiry from the public.  I like to respond ‘my paycheck’ and then turn and walk away.  I don’t understand why people don’t think about the impact of a question like that.  To me, it’s the equivalent of asking a military veteran if he ever killed anybody.  In both cases, we’re not proud of those moments.  My advice to anybody in EMS who has that bad call that will stick with them for the rest of their life is to come up with a quick remark as an abrupt end to a conversation that never should have started.” –Christopher Turnbull, The Double-Edged Sword (book available on Amazon and Google Books)

Like the Facebook Page “The Double-Edged Sword”

#dontdwell #ptsd #mentalhealth #publicjustdontunderstand #job #career #worstcall #worstday #stress #emslife #paramedic #firefighter #policeofficer #thedoubleedgedsword #nightmares #despair

It has been over a year and a half since I said goodbye to social media. I found it to be so much negativity in one place, and it was definitely occupying way too much of my time. So in December 2020, I got rid of the toxic environment.

However, the reality is that if this book’s sales are going to continue as great as they are, I need to connect to a broader range of customers, so with the use of Facebook and Instagram ads, we are going to get the message out there to a lot more people. My goal still remains to put this book in the hands of the right person at the right time to prevent any further suicides. If I can change just one person’s mind, then I have accomplished what I set out to do by the grace of God. Please find me on Facebook (The Double-Edged Sword) and Instagram (Christurnbull07042021) and follow, like, subscribe, or whatever the latest cool thing is to do. In the meantime, I will be educating myself on all the new features of these platforms and figuring out how to get ads approved.