Johnson, Sherman happy to help as EMTs

A young child breaks his arm, a family wrecks their car, an elderly woman slips and falls, all of these situations have one thing in common, they will be responded to by an emergency service.

With an EMT training class currently being offered, those with the will to serve can develop the skills to lend a helping hand.

Virgil Johnson has been certified as an EMT for six years, and will be renewing his certification at the upcoming EMT class. He originally took the training as a way to spend time with his daughter.

“The EMT class was being offered and my daughter was interested, so I thought it would be a nice thing for us to do together,” Johnson said.

Kevin Sherman has been with the Kimball County Ambulance Service for 23 years. Prior to that, he was a volunteer firefighter.

“I was interested in taking the EMT training to supplement my training with the volunteer fire department. It was actually when my daughter was a year old and she had a seizure that made me want to become certified. She had the seizure and I didn’t know what to do, I didn’t like that feeling,” Sherman said.

Despite the different reasons people may have for becoming EMT certified, they still experience the same job once they put that training to use. It can be taxing both physically and emotionally. It takes a certain mindset, according to Sherman.

“There are things to consider when you decide to work with the ambulance service. You’re going to be seeing things and situations that some people will never encounter in their day to day life,” Sherman said.

Working on an ambulance service brings one into contact with what can be very upsetting situations. Calls involve people of all ages, from infants to the elderly, in dangerous and life threatening situations.

“It can be troubling, but you have to try to focus on your task at hand. If you get too emotional, that could cause a problem,” Sherman said.

In addition to the emotional toll that can be felt working as an EMT, there is also a physical one.

“Sometimes that call goes off at two in the morning and you have to get up, out of a dead sleep, and go do your thing. You finish, come home go to sleep and then get up to do your everyday day job. So physically it can be tiring. You have to be ready for that,” Sherman said.

Even though the job of an EMT is demanding, it is also rather rewarding.

“I get to help people. I’m not a doctor, I would never say that, but my training allows me to provide people with help understanding medical terms. I’m a pastor, so I am already helping people during rough times, but to be able to provide them with a little comfort and understanding when it comes to medical terminology is a blessing as well,” Johnson said.

Despite the stress of the job those who choose to do it have a way of looking at the silver lining.

“A smile from a kid you helped, or a simple ‘thank you’ is all it really takes to make the job worthwhile,” Sherman said.

Both Sherman and Johnson expressed how privileged they view Kimball to be, considering they have an ambulance crew and they have new people interested in working toward the EMT certification.

“Kimball is so fortunate to have this service, and to have people willing to get that training completed,” Johnson said.