I love being a female paramedic.⁠
⁠
I decided 20+ years ago that THIS would be my career.⁠
⁠
What I wish I had back then was SUPPORT from the other females, family, friends, and co-workers.⁠
⁠
People were constantly telling me why I shouldn’t do this, that this job is not for women, I would never be able to be a mom AND still work my crazy hours, that the job would destroy me both mentally and physically.⁠
⁠
I can’t image what my career would look like if I’d heard the opposite.⁠
⁠
Has this job been hard at times? Hell yes it has. Has it nearly broken me? Yep. But, I am not fragile. I can do hard things.⁠
⁠
I created a FB group that is just for Women in EMS, where women go to get encouraged, supported, and told “Yes, you CAN do this”. It’s the most beautiful thing.⁠
⁠
On the anniversary of 9/11/2001 I asked the ladies to share their memories from that day, and it was EMOTIONAL to read them all. We have ladies that were babies….yes babies when it happened, and many ladies who had family members at Ground Zero and some that were there themselves. To have a group where the women felt safe to share and be so vulnerable was such a gift to us all.⁠
⁠
My hope is that ALL EMS WOMEN will be in this group. ⁠
⁠
It’s gonna be fun to see what we can accomplish. ⁠
⁠
Love you ladies. See you inside.⁠
⁠
xox. Valerie⁠