National EMS Memorial Bike Ride

2008 rider Dave Milsted has posted his photos of the 2007 EMS Memorial Bike Ride…all 278 of them! Click Here to see Dave’s photos and get a sense of the experience.

Dave also has written a blog documenting his experiences on the ride.

Thanks Dave!

I first rode in the EMS Memorial Bike Ride last year to honor a good friend of mine who died the year before of a 911 related illness. When the general public talks about heroes, police officers and firefighters are always mentioned, rarely do you hear EMS, or as we are referred to AMBULANCE DRIVERS. My intention was to bring a little recognition to the importance and dangers of belonging to EMS.

I saw my friend fight the city to get the benefits he so rightfully deserved due to getting sick from the WTC. The city kept denying him the benefits, the same benefits they handed out to every firefighter who applied for them. In the end Timmy received what was due him, his first check arrived a month after he died. There was no reason he had to spend his last couple years fighting the city which he dedicated his life to!

The question I was asked most when I told people of the memorial ride is “Why would you want to ride a bicycle 600 miles?” That followed the exchange of “600 miles on a motorcycle is not that bad, how come it is taking 6 days?”

I, like a lot of others on the ride, had friends, co-workers or families on the wall. My friend, Junior Godsey, was placed on the wall in1998. Junior was a medic in my town when I first got into EMS. I was a first responder running calls with a local fire department. I took a couple of classes where Junior was an instructor and our friendship just developed. He was killed during a flood in Carter County TN in 1998. He was killed doing what he loved, helping others.

People asked me if the ride was hard or difficult? My response was always “yes, but no harder than the ones that made the ultimate sacrifice”. I hurt every night after the ride but my hurt healed. The families that have lost loved ones learn to deal with but their hurt never heals.

So this is my motivating factor, to honor those that paid the ultimate price!

This was written by a dispatcher in Turner, Maine after her shift last week with a tragic line of duty death of a paramedic, Allan Parsons. So, remember him as he is laid to rest, and remember the hearts of those that need healing, and remember that dispatchers are often the unsung heros and forgotten team members.

My day started early, with the ringing of the phone,
10-55 on route 4, P.I. was unknown.
It was reported Truck/Ambulance, I knew this was not good,
I began making the calls, starting everyone i could.
Auburn fire was started, United Ambulance was too,
I even started LifeFlight, doing everything I could do.
Central Maine was called, probably injuries of all kind,
3 patients were being transported 1 was left behind.
Daylight finally breaks, the reports start coming in,
The phone has not stopped ringing, the hard part will now begin,
I learned that it was a medic, taken from us this day,
Doing what he loved to do, with your life you did pay,
I started reading the blogs, and the stories from on-line,
Of the type of person that you was, from the people left behind,
You was a father, a brother, an uncle, your dedication knew no end,
A son, a nephew, a husband, someone you could call friend.
The lives you saved, so many lives you did touch,
Your sacrifice to care for others, of yourself you gave so much,
Your time on earth was cut short, for reasons we know not why,
You left us way to soon, no time to say goodbye.
Today we say our final farewell, from this earth you have gone,
Always remembered, never forgotten, your memory will live on,
You will always be with us, watching down on us from heaven,
So EMS Lt. Allan Parsons You are now 10-7.

Turner Rescue Dispatcher Brenda Joyce Parker July 12, 2007

There is a special bond created, in my opinion, to those you share an experience such as paramedic school. Eric was one of those individuals for me. Eric was one of the quieter in our class but his strong drive to help others was quite evident. He was extremely unique in his demeanor and his compassion for others and life was unlike any other.

The morning of October 10, 2006, I was getting off of work. We had received a page shortly before leaving the station stating an ambulance MVA in Travis County did not involve one of our (A/TCEMS) ambulances. The off-going and on-coming crews were both watching the TV at the station to see exactly what EMS service was involved in the accident. The news report stated that there was an accident working in southwest Travis County of a Marble Falls ambulance and a pick-up truck. They went on to further state that one of the paramedics in the ambulance had died on scene. The overwhelming sense of tragedy that one feels over an accident like this is beyond words, not only for it to be a fatality but a line of duty death of a fellow paramedic. It was during my drive home when I was calling several of my friends that worked out in Marble Falls that I learned Eric was the driver that had been killed and another friend of mine, Kyla Wilson (the paramedic passenger), was being rushed to the trauma center in Austin. The driver of the pick-up truck died later that morning in the emergency room.

Approximately a week after Eric’s funeral, I was reading an issue of JEMS (Journal of Emergency Medical Services) when I came across an article on the EMS Memorial Bike Ride. I have a personal history of coupling passionate social issues with long distance bike riding. So, riding my bike from New York City to Roanoke, VA, in Eric’s memory and to honor him at the EMS Memorial just seems like an appropriate thing to do. I solicited others to join me from our Employee Association. Over the course of a couple of months, the final team was formed.

Tree Marsoobian

When I heard about the EMS Memorial Bike Ride, I knew immediately that I should ride. I’ve been in the EMS business for a while and through the years I have known a few EMS folks who have died in the line of duty.

This year, ATCEMS paramedics are riding to honor Eric Hanson. I did not know Eric. I have heard a lot about Eric. I know that Eric was young and had a lot of plans. Eric has a supportive family as well. And that is why I will ride. No one in our business lasts long and well without a supportive family.

Eric’s family is still here and they must deal with his loss every day. I know personally what it is like to suddenly lose a son at a young age. Many people supported me at the time and now it is time to return the favor. Eric’s family needs to see that they are part of a very large EMS family that will be there for them, not just in the first hours, days and months, but for years to come.

Cheryl Bakhtiari