EMT Saving Lives And Paying Price With PTSD

Paying the Price for Saving Lives- Part 2
Local EMT opens up about her struggles with PTSD
News8000.com
Author: Mike Thompson
Published On: Jun 03 2015

"I'm with people at the worst moment of their life, most of the time."

CAMP DOUGLAS, Wis. (WKBT)
A walk through the woods with camera in hand, takes Stephanie Forrer Harbridge to a place of peace and quiet.

It takes her away from the noise that often clouds her thoughts.

"Some days I feel like I take 5 steps ahead and sometimes I feel like I take 20 steps back."

She uses photography as an escape that helps replace the haunting images of her day job with those of nature's beauty. "Just to go to someplace else," says Stephanie.

"It's like I've got an actual tangible thing that I can picture in my head when I start to think about stuff I don't want to think about."

When she's not snapping photos, Stephanie is saving lives as an EMT with Camp Douglas Rescue. "I'm with people at the worst moment of their life, most of the time."

"I've had some, a couple of really bad calls, one that's affected me quite a bit. I'll never forget it."

It was the week before Christmas a few years back and there was a terrible snow storm and glare ice on the interstate.

Two kids heading home for the holidays were involved in a horrific crash. Stephanie remembers her patient like it was yesterday.

"I had to hold her face together and she was the same age as my daughter was at the time. They told them she had passed and I heard her mom scream on the phone, I never want to hear that again."
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Go here for Paying the Price for Saving Lives Part 1