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About the Writer:
Michael is a Paramedic – Administrative Training Coordinator throughout the state of South Carolina
Michael began his career as a volunteer firefighter and had no plans of going into EMS, let alone choosing emergency services as a full-time career. Shortly after he joined the fire department, there was a large commercial fire at a neighboring department. This fire would become the single most life-altering event of his life. You see, most firefighters in the area were paid career firefighters with the larger cities and counties in the area, as well as volunteers at their local fire stations. Two friends of his were volunteers with him at neighboring departments, but were also career firefighters for the City of Charleston Fire Department in Charleston, South Carolina. On the night of June 18th, 2007, a total of nine firefighters were killed in the largest “Line of Duty Death” event since 9/11. Michael’s two friends were part of what would later be known as the “Charleston 9”. Since that day, he has chosen to dedicate his life to training and advancing his knowledge in emergency services, to prevent an incident like this from happening again.
So what led Michael to EMS? Well, he became a full-time firefighter at a department that also had a transporting ambulance, and was required to become an Emergency Medical Technician. He wasn’t very happy about this change at the beginning, however he have found his niche in public safety.
A few years later he moved to Atlanta, Georgia however his fire department certifications did not transfer to the state. He took it as a sign that this was the end of his public safety career. But as they say, you can take the firefighter out of the fire service, but you can’t take the fire service out of the firefighter. Michael had a need to return to his “family” and help others in need. A year later, he returned to public safety as an EMT at a local EMS transport company. He moved to a couple of companies until he found the correct fit. Once he found “his spot”, he moved up the ranks to eventually becoming a Critical Care Paramedic, Field Training Officer, and Critical Incident Stress Management Team Member, and “fill-in” Field Operations Supervisor with one of the largest ambulance services in the area.
Just when Michael thought this was where he should be, life threw him a few curveballs. He became a father to a beautiful baby girl, while also going through a divorce. He also sustained an injury on the job, resulting in extensive back surgery. These two events led him to yet again change his career, off of the truck full-time. Currently Michael is a Critical Care Paramedic – Administrative Training Coordinator for both 911 and IFT markets throughout South Carolina, American Heart Association BLS/ACLS/PALS Instructor & Faculty, National Association of EMTs PHTLS, AMLS, MHRO, & EVOS Instructor, Arc of South Carolina ALERT Instructor, Stop the Bleed Instructor, EMT/AEMT/Paramedic Instructor, and private EMS/Firefighter Tutor. In his free time, Michael loves to spend time with his girlfriend Deanna and their two shared kids, who are his entire world.
Michael was diagnosed later in life with “high-functioning” Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) which has played a major role in his career and life development. Due to complications from his diagnosis, Michael has overcome many of his life obstacles by finding unique ways to retain information. These unique techniques have resulted in him having a true passion for training and believes that it can mean the difference of life and death for ourselves, our patients, and our fellow crew members. If there is one thing you take from this, it’s to never stop learning.
As his former Captain once said:
“You’ll never know everything about this field of work. If the day comes that you think you do, you need to get the hell off the truck because you are going to get someone killed”
Medic Minute 