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The real thing
By PAULETTE LASH RITCHIE © St. Petersburg Times, published October 5, 2000 INVERNESS -- Florida Regional Emergency Medical Technician Kathy Weber strapped 5-year-old Blake Haufler onto a stretcher behind her ambulance in front of his Pleasant Grove Elementary School kindergarten classmates. Weber and EMT Vikki Blocker were at the school presenting the ambulance to eight kindergarten and prekindergarten classes as part of a week-long program about emergency vehicles. Weber and Blocker collapsed the stretcher and slid Blake inside. Then Weber showed the students how the heart monitor works by attaching sticky pads to Blake's chest and hooking him to the machine. She told them it didn't hurt, the pads were "like Band-Aids with squishy stuff in them." She made a print-out to show the children the boy's heartbeat. She demonstrated the use of an oxygen mask and tried it on Blake. She asked the children if they had ever had shots, and explained how a catheter works. "It's like a little tiny garden hose," she said. During one class' visit 6-year-old Lauren Lingo called out, "I got 17 shots when I was five!" All the children then had the opportunity to walk through the ambulance from the back opening to a side door. A few looked around, but most seemed intent on just getting through and getting out. Other emergency vehicles that visited the school during the week included a fire engine, a marine patrol boat, a police car and a helicopter. The purpose of the visits, said kindergarten teacher Erin Janicki, was for exposure to different emergency vehicles, to make the children aware of community helpers and to help them be more comfortable in the event they should ever encounter one. "We don't want them to be afraid of people in their fire garb," said prekindergarten teacher Debbie North. "It's not a monster. It's someone who's going to help." The big hit with the ambulance was when Weber turned on the siren and, with the fire truck, it was when the children got to spray water out of a hose. Dominique Hollis, 6, seemed to have been particularly impressed with the fire truck, but picked up some information about the ambulance. "It was fun," she said. "If we were very sick, we would have to put the mask on. We saw a fire truck. They said if there was ever a fire, they told us to call 911 and they let us squirt the water. The water was the best part!" Five-year-old James Jones' take on the week was appreciation of getting a good look. "I like seeing the real things," he said. "I saw one of these (ambulance) before, when we were driving." When the helicopter landed, piloted by Sgt. Donald Lestinsky, the children were blasted with flying sand. Then they got a close look, class by class, while the others listened to Lt. James Martone describe the safety equipment he wears: a gun, a stick and pepper foam. Autumn Creel, a 5-year-old kindergartener, summed up what she liked and the things she could remember learning during the week. "I like the helicopter, because it is much more green and much more lighter. I like that. I learned how he (the pilot) wears a helmet in the helicopter. I learned he's wearing a seat belt over his shoulder. I learned if you get lost, there's a little light (infrared) that can find you" She had never been in a helicopter or an airplane, but said, "I've been in a boat," and she would like to fly.
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