As a single mom for 14 years, I always felt one of the most important things I could give my daughter was confidence. I started early and maybe to a fault, telling my daughter she was smart, beautiful and could do ANYTHING if she was willing to work for it. And I want to share with you just a few things about Abigail that perhaps I've not shared with you before and then tell you about this week and how very proud I am of her.
Rescue 911, hosted by William Shatner that began before my daughter's first birthday and ended just a few weeks after she turned 8 in 1996 has ALWAYS been on her list of "favorite tv shows". She has lots of episodes still on VHS and still loves to watch them. A few years ago I put some of them on DVD for her and I think it made her love me more. I have always known she was destined to work in the medical field helping others.
When she was 6 years old she was a friend and neighbor's house after school one afternoon. It was hunting season and her friend's dad was watching her and planning to go hunting that afternoon when his wife returned from work. My daughter and her friend were in the back bedroom when they heard a gun shot. It was just an accident, but Abigail's little friend's father accidentally shot his wife through the front door as she was arriving home for work and he was headed out with a loaded shotgun. One would think this would scare a little 6 year old and well while my daughter's friend was screaming my daughter was taking control. She took clean towels and told the dad to press the clean towels on the wounds and not to move his wife who was on the porch. She also dialed 911 and handed the dad the phone to "get help" and then she took her little friend into another room where she couldn't see her mom and sad down and held her hand and explained that if you call 911 then everything is going to be okay. When I arrived my daughter was still sitting with her little friend patting her hand telling her that since the ambulance had arrived everything was going to be okay. In fact it was okay. Not only has that experience stayed with her, but frankly I think helped to shape her life.
A few years after that when Abigail was in middle school we were shopping in a local super market and rounded a corner to see a woman on the floor near her cart. 911 had been called but help had not yet arrived. My daughter began to throw a fit that the store employees weren't doing anything and the woman actually had wet her pants when she was having a heart attack and a store employee said something really rude and uncalled for and my little 11 year old daughter began to scream at her for being rude and not doing anything to help. That lady died right there on the floor of the super market and my daughter cried and cried. She didn't do well in school or sleep well for months after that day. And after that I went and took a CPR refresher course.
So when my little girl told me last fall that she was going to take a break from college and enroll in EMT school I gave her my support. She knows I still expect her to finish college and she plans to do so. But in January she started two more journeys. First she enrolled in Firefighter I training and passed that class. Then last Tuesday she graduated from EMT school. She took part I of her national registry test on Thursday and came home and cried that she had failed and it was really really hard. She got her results on Friday about noon and in fact she passed. Then before the sun came up on Saturday she left home to take the practical part II of her national registry. Oh there was drama. First she had to wait 3 or so hours for the test to start because the power was out in the testing facility. *who needs that kind of stress before a test? 70 students were tested and 35 passed. Of course Abigail was among those that passed. So on Monday morning my daughter will mail the required documents and check to the state of Georgia to get her license.
And one of days, you'll be reading my blog and she will be becoming a paramedic and after that a nurse. My daughter loves helping people. And if you live in Georgia and you ever dial 911 and are lucky enough that she answers that call, you'll know how much she cares and what a great work ethic she displays. You'll be proud of her work too.
Recently Donald and I took her out to dinner and a lady on the street recognized her from one of her student practical ambulance shifts. She stopped Abigail on the street and asked her "Were you my EMT the other day?" Abigail told her yes she was on that call and the lady then asked if she could give her a hug right there on the street. I'm so very proud of the woman my daughter has become and the progress she has made on her journey. I hope you'll join me in leaving her a message here to congratulate her and encourage her to keep moving forward until she reaches her dream.
I love you Abigail. And don't ever give up until you reach your goal. If you can dream it, you can have it. Never doubt yourself and don't let others discourage you from reaching your goals. I'll always support your decisions and love you with all my heart. I'm super proud of how well you did in your class and that you breazed right through your test on the first try. I never doubted that you passed. And Donald certainly didn't think you were in the bottom 38% either. :) We both love you so much.
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