So my tour last week came after a string of particularly crappy work-related events that were beyond anyone's control. Just file them under "shit happens"... I honestly think the tour could not have come at a better time to help cheer me up.
The mom pulled her autistic son from public schools where he was not getting the proper attention he needed. She is now homeschooling him and wanted to show him all the kinds of community helpers there are. This includes the police, fire department and of course our paramedics.
Her son is somewhere around age 10 (I think, I'm not great with judging the age of children based on size) but functions on the level of a 5 year old. He was thrilled with the trucks lined up in a row. I asked a paramedic who is on light duty to help show off the truck for me, since that's not really my area. Matt was super patient with the kid, Patrick's his name, and took time to show him the truck inside and out... turning the lights on, then off, then on at Patrick's request. Patrick took a ton of photos with his camera. One photo of each side of the truck, with lights on and off.
His mom seemed thrilled with their visit, and she says Patrick got a lot out of it. I hoped it was true, and didn't think more of it until I got a little package in the mail today. It was a thank-you card from Patrick's mom, and 2 handmade cards from Patrick, 1 for me, the other for Matt.
Mine's going on my desk, to remind me why I love my job if I'm ever having a hard day (though those days are few and far between)...
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