Chapter Blue
Tyra Valeriano, host of Chapter Blue, comes with 11 years of law enforcement experience and talks about mental health, self-care, work-life balance and more. Through honest conversations and personal experience, Chapter Blue allows for officers worldwide to share their stories, struggles, and successes both on and off duty and to give the public an insight to what the media has made into such a controversial profession. The podcast will establish the connection to the important topics and struggles in law enforcement and open up to all first responder roles in the new year to address how interchangeable the roles relate to the struggle. Join the conversation, because it’s long overdue!
Chapter Blue
Law Enforcement & EMS: Bridging the First Responder Gap with Stacee
Tyra Valeriano opens a new chapter for the podcast by welcoming her first non-law enforcement, but first responder guest, paramedic Stacee. Though they once worked alongside each other without forming a connection, they've since developed a friendship that bridges the gap between their first responder roles.
Stacey reveals the subtle psychological shifts that happen to EMS professionals after just a few years on the job. "I catastrophize things," she admits, describing how constantly witnessing worst-case scenarios creates a hyperawareness of mortality that most people never experience. This conversation exposes the hidden mental burden carried by those who respond to our most desperate moments.
The discussion tackles the physical toll of interrupted sleep during 24-hour shifts, the complex gender dynamics women face in these traditionally male-dominated fields, and the fascinating interplay between law enforcement and EMS on emergency scenes. Their humor about hoping the other first responder will "take" difficult cases reveals the unspoken professional dynamics rarely seen by the public.
Most compelling is their shared experience on a disturbing call with potential paranormal elements—a story that went viral when Stacee posted about it online. Their willingness to discuss this encounter is a story telling aspect Chapter Blue has not yet taken on how first responders sometimes face situations that defy easy explanation, adding another layer to their psychological processing.
For those considering careers in emergency services or trying to understand what their first responder loved ones experience, this conversation offers some interesting and fun perspective. With advice about avoiding burnout, protecting mental health, and prioritizing physical wellness, Stacee and Tyra provide a roadmap for sustainability in professions that constantly expose workers to trauma and stress. Tune into this bonus episode to hear more honest conversations about the realities behind the badge and beyond.
📌 Resources & Contact Info from the Episode:
Guest: Stacee | Light Sirens Action EMS
📲 Instagram, TikTok, YouTube: @lightssirensaction
🌐 Website: https://lightssirensactionems.com/
✅ Offers EMS education videos
✅ Free resources for those in or considering EMS
✅ EMT class advice for law enforcement crossover
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Welcome to Chapter Blue, the podcast where we discuss the world of law enforcement through an honest conversation on tough or controversial topics, real stories, perspectives and experience from officers all around the world. Whether you're here for insights on mental health, self-care, work-life balance, getting into law enforcement, getting out of law enforcement, or just trying to learn about personal and professional challenges officers face every day, you've come to the right place. I'm your host, tyra Valeriano, and whether I'm going solo or speaking with a guest, each episode will discuss different aspects of life behind the badge. Let's turn the page and step into Chapter Blue. Welcome back to Chapter Blue.
Tyra Valeriano:I'm pretty excited about today because I opened up the podcast to all first responders and their families, and she is going to be my first guest that is not a law enforcement officer. And the second reason I'm excited about this interview is because Stacey and I are actually friends. But the irony of us being friends is that we weren't friends when we worked together. We were actually. We became friends after we both exited our roles, but since we've left our original roles, stacey is back working as a first responder and I'm going to let her tell you a little bit more about her background and what she is doing today. So, stacey, thank you for joining me.
Stacee:Thank you so much for having me. Yes, as she said, my name is Stacey and we actually did used to work together. I was on the EMS side and I am a paramedic and I've been in EMS since 2015-2016 time frame and so, yeah, I was full-time in the field whenever I met you, and now I'm part-time and I'm more on the education side. I teach in class and I also teach online and, yeah, so excited to be here.
Tyra Valeriano:Yeah, I'm pretty excited, kind of nervous because I said a little bit before, this is our first time having a first responder.
Tyra Valeriano:That is not law enforcement. But the reason why I wanted to have other first responders join onto the podcast is because you and I have both talked about mental health and wellness and we've also had our discussions about scenes that we've went on together and kind of what the residual effects were afterwards. Because when you guys take somebody, we don't really know what you're doing. We just kind of hope that you're going to take them, or you know, if you guys leave somebody with us, then it's our problem and you guys don't ever have to worry about what we're doing. So we've had some interesting conversations like that. But the first question I want to ask you is to kind of get on the topic of mental health and wellness. But more on your guys' side, is there anything that you can think of that really affects EMS or even FIRE, because you've worked with FIRE particularly that you know. Maybe we don't know that you guys face on a daily basis.
Stacee:I don't know if there's anything that you guys may not know, but I think, very similar to what you go through with all the calls that y'all run on, there's just these little residual effects and quirks that you may develop over time. And I've noticed it within myself after being in EMS and I can't say, oh, I've been in EMS for 20 years and I have PTSD. You might expect someone who's been in for a really long time. But even after a few years you start to notice little quirks within yourself. I was actually just talking about this with someone recently and there's little things that I've noticed.
Stacee:And one thing is I kind of catastrophize things. I kind of think about worst case scenario. I kind of think about our mortality and how we're all this close to death and that seems a bit morbid, but it's just something that happens when you work in the field. And I think you guys probably see that a lot on the PD side too, where you've seen so many bad things that you start to think what, if, what if? What if it happens to my kid? What if it happens to me? And then you start to think how can I control the situation? So well, if I don't get on that plane, then I may not, the plane may not crash. It's like you can't live your life worrying about all of these things, but after a while of seeing all the bad things that could go wrong, you kind of worry about them. It's just natural, I think.
Tyra Valeriano:Yeah, I agree with that. I actually wanted to ask you about your sleep. So I know on the PD side we always give you guys a hard time, you know. Oh well, you guys are sleeping while we're working, but, to be honest, you guys do longer shifts than us and you guys do get woken up in the middle of your sleep. So I am curious to hear how your guys' sleep schedule affects your daily life, because even though we give you guys a hard time, we don't know what that's like because, yeah, we work 12 hour shifts. We might get woken up in the middle of the night because we have a hot call that they need extra bodies, but at the end of the day we still get that extra sleep that you guys don't get. So what is that like for you guys?
Stacee:Oh, it's horrible. It is horrible. So the schedule that I worked was 2448 for a while and then we switched to 4896. So we would be two days on and four days off and I always thought about how you guys must think, running into us at 3 am because we would try to be getting sleep during that time. We probably looked crazy, but it definitely took a toll on my sleep, and I am not the only one. I think anyone, even still in the field, probably struggles with it. I sleep a lot better now that I'm not full-time, but it's still not the same. It's just the disruption I'm. Usually I wake up throughout the night. I have zero problem knocking out or going to sleep, but it's the staying asleep and I was not like that prior to EMS. So it definitely has some residual effects.
Tyra Valeriano:So since your break, when you left from your first agency and now you're working with a different jurisdiction, between that time frame, did you notice how you had to adjust your body Like? Did you have trouble sleeping? Were you still experiencing the same things that you were when you were in your first agency? I mean, how was the transition for you when it came to just normalizing your body?
Stacee:It took quite a while. It definitely took a while to kind of get into the routine of going to bed around 10 PM and getting up at a normal hour and not, you know, having those interruptions throughout the night. And I think I got healthier after I left and I didn't want to admit that because I loved my full-time gig. It was a blast. I liked the uncertainty and the adrenaline, rushes and the good calls where you feel like you made a difference. But at the same time it was very hard on my health, and not just sleep-wise, I mean just overall. There were days where I would have headaches and not just sleep wise, I mean just overall I did. There were days where I would have headaches and not feel good and I'm sure you can relate with that where you kind of wake up, especially in your case if you were on night shift, kind of waking up feeling like a zombie throughout the day trying to function like a normal mom, a normal wife. But it's difficult.
Tyra Valeriano:Yeah, what do you think is in maybe on your side, because right now law enforcement has the mental health and wellness just at the forefront. It's something that we're trying to push out there is. Are you guys experiencing that at all on your side? I mean, are they talking about this? Are they trying to give you guys any kind of programs or resources that can help you through these times where you guys are struggling with sleep or you guys are having any issues that are coming from the job?
Stacee:I would say it's definitely on the forefront more than it's ever been. But we run into a stigma and I'm sure you run into it as well on the law enforcement side where it's like oh yeah, talk about the rough calls If you're having difficulty processing or going through anything, we'll have a critical stress, debriefings and things like that. But as for addressing just normal day-to-day stuff like stresses at home, kind of turning off work and going home and, like you said, sleep I wouldn't say that I've noticed a huge, huge shift. But I guess, if you compared it to probably back in the 90s or early 2000s, yeah, there's definitely more talk of mental health and taking care of yourself.
Tyra Valeriano:You've noticed, like you said, you've noticed a difference now that you are in part-time. So for people who I'm sure we in fact me and you both know, an officer slash firefighter that has kind of went between the two jobs in our agencies. He went from firefighter to law enforcement, back to firefighter, then he went back to law enforcement and I want to say he's back with fire. I'm not sure, I'm not sure if you know who I'm talking about, but for that reason you know. I'm just curious, like is there any tips that you can give for maybe officers who want to become EMTs and think that, you know, maybe that's the route that they want to go? Is there any advice that you could provide if that's the transition that they want to make?
Stacee:I mean I would say definitely, think about it long and hard, because it is just like we talked about our shifts.
Stacee:Our shifts are very similar it's long hours, it's interrupted sleep, but on the EMS side we have obviously different priorities. Ours is more medical based, it's more about the patient. I feel like we still stress scene safety and scene control, but you guys think about the entire big picture and so it would just be shifting your mindset and it's like, okay, are you ready to be a medical nerd too? Because if that's what you're interested in, if you're interested in the long hours and the interrupted sleep, but the medicine part of it, I mean I say give it a go. You can always take an EMT class. An EMT class is six months, it's one semester, and I think that would give you a really good idea if it's for you. And then if you want to go on and progress to be an advanced EMT or to be a paramedic, then you can. But that would give you a basis and, honestly, if you decided to stay on the PD side, I think it would really help you understand our job when we're on scenes.
Tyra Valeriano:What are your guys' opinion about law enforcement? I know we've had this conversation, just as friends. Do you guys have any pet peeves from law enforcement being on scenes or maybe the way we handle things? Is there anything that you guys just really do not like?
Stacee:Oh gosh, you're putting me on the spot here. So yeah, actually and you and I have talked about this I don't have a ton of complaints about my experience with law enforcement. I really leaned on you guys, especially with our behavioral emergencies where we had violent patients and things of that nature. You guys were kind of our safety net and so I don't have a lot of negative to say. But I will say there were times where I would be on a scene and be talking to a patient and everything would be a bit calm and there were specific officers that tended to hype the situation up, maybe be accusatory towards the patient I don't know about drugs or the environment that they're in currently or what have you, and it would just make our scene go from completely calm to a 10. And it was like really Just let us get them to the ambulance, you know, give us a second. But I don't really have a ton of complaints.
Stacee:I think one thing that you probably noticed that we've talked about is I really kept to myself. I feel like there's this big stigma of EMS and cops and nurses and the flirtation and stuff. So I always I mean, obviously I wasn't, it wasn't a concern with you, but I always just kind of kept my mind on the job and kind of stayed out of that scene because I saw a lot of that. I saw a lot of our, you know females either on the EMS side or on PD side, you know, kind of hanging out with the opposite one and that's totally fine. But a lot of times there were marriages and I'm sure you can understand things got a little muddy.
Tyra Valeriano:Yeah, no, we've had that conversation and it's very relatable, and I think this is kind of where it comes into play, where we were not friends while we worked together. We didn't have a problem with each other, but we really did keep to ourselves and we weren't really just social. I was never social on scenes, even with the female fire EMTs Nobody, just I just kept to myself, did my job, and I think you did the same. So, yeah, I can see how that is probably one of the bigger problems that we have. I'm going to say for law enforcement.
Tyra Valeriano:I don't, we don't have an issue with you guys. I think more we're hoping that you guys are going to take. If you're responding, we're hoping you're going to take the person, Because if you take the person, depending on the situation, we're not going to have to do a report, we're not going to have to call for a detective or whatever the case may be. So it's less work for us and I mean you call it lazy, but it's really not. It's just now. It's you guys could just take the body, you know, like maybe they need some kind of medical attention and you know y'all, if you just take them off the scene. It's no longer our scene, and I think there's been times where we're really just standing there crossing our fingers You're going to take him right, You're going to take him or her right, right, right, and sometimes you guys would and sometimes you wouldn't, and then that was probably the only issue that I could ever remember.
Stacee:You know, you saying that just reminded me there were times where I would run into officers saying, well, if you're not going with them, you're going with us. And it was like the EMS providers would be like wait what? No, don't threaten jail because they're not going to the hospital. So that was one thing that we ran into. But I didn't realize that if we took them to the hospital, that you didn't do reports on them. So that makes a lot of sense. No wonder you were over there crossing your fingers.
Tyra Valeriano:Yeah, and I mean, like I said, it depends on the circumstance.
Tyra Valeriano:But most of the time if we got, like, a medical call and somebody's not breathing or you know, it might be a DOA where there's been times where you guys actually took the person and it was a DOA and we were just like, oh, thank God, like now we don't have a scene and it's nothing against the families or anything like that, but really just on the on the side that we understand, right, the law enforcement side, we just understand what goes behind all that.
Tyra Valeriano:And when you guys actually show up and you take a person that we're looking at the situation, like, oh, this looks like a DOA, and then you guys take them in, we're like, okay, we were wrong, we're sorry, you know 10-8, no report, we're good, let's go. So yeah, but other than that, when we would threaten I don't really think it was a threat, I think it was more like it's either you go to the hospital or you're going to go to jail because there's a crime and we know that you're saying, know, incarceritis, you don't want to go, and you guys would call it out. But unfortunately for you guys, you can't really say we're not taking you right.
Stacee:Yeah, no, we don't have a choice, and that that's funny. You say that because, yeah, there there are very few circumstances where we could put our foot down as EMS providers, one being our safety is in jeopardy. So if they were acting a fool with us and maybe getting violent, it's like, okay, you're going with PD, they can take you to the hospital, which is unfortunate for the patient because you guys don't have the resources that we have in the back of the ambulance. When you run into abuse of the 911 system and someone's called multiple times throughout a day and it's gone on for long periods of time, even that's very difficult and tricky to kind of work around, because you know you can say, okay, it's abuse of the 911 system, but who's to say it's not the one time that they actually are sick or they actually are in danger, sort of thing.
Tyra Valeriano:Yeah, I remember we had a couple of those people. I'm sure we've worked a couple of those calls together back in the day. Oh, yeah, I want to ask you about you know you being on the job since what you said, 2016. Is there any kind of experience that's really stuck with you that you think about? You know even today that maybe has affected you long term?
Stacee:about. You know, even today that maybe has affected you long-term I think I could even speak for other EMS providers anything to do with children. It really it's just so unnatural, right? You know things aren't supposed to happen to babies or kiddos and you know they're supposed to just be happy and growing. And you know, innocent and anything when it came to child abuse or um, child death or anything like that was always really really difficult. Um, also, suicides kind of bothered me. I mean you, you see so many of them, but when you see the young ones you just wonder what got them to that point. And so, yeah, and I don't know if you were like this, but when you would drive by places that those types of emergencies happen, whether it be pediatric or suicides or what have you, it's like you associate it with what emergency went down there. I don't know if you ever were like that.
Tyra Valeriano:Yeah, you know, and I haven't done any really storytelling on the podcast, but I will say that there was an incident it was a suicide at the park on Grimes. I don't know if you worked it, but there was a kid, I want to say he was in high school and and he parked his car there at the park and he committed suicide, but with a shotgun, and I just remember the scene being unreal. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I couldn't believe the way he looked. I couldn't believe that he did that in a park where there were families, park where there were families and I remember driving through that park after that every time, you know, to close the gate on night shift or to make sure that there was nobody there past the curfew or the hours that the park was open, and just thinking, like every time I would drive by there.
Tyra Valeriano:Man, you know, I'll never erase that from my head and I know a lot of the law enforcement officers or I don't. I don't remember seeing you guys there, but I know that the law enforcement officers and detectives that showed up they were just like this is crazy and I'm sure it affected them. But yeah, I would say that I definitely can associate some scenes with the experiences that I've had. I want to ask you about stress. So obviously first responder roles are very stressful. How have you handled your stress with your job?
Stacee:Well, I would say more recently, in the last couple of years, I've really gotten into the gym and kind of been focusing more on my health and spending time with my family, like prioritizing that time with my family. But I would say when I was in the full-time role I didn't, I didn't take very good care of myself when it came to. You know, we're, we're up at all hours of the night. So you know, if we were up at 3 AM and we were hungry, as a, as a crew, we would go and grab a pizza or do something like that. So I'd say, in the last couple of years I've really learned to channel, like my stress and, you know, take it out in the gym or going on a walk or hanging out with my husband or things like that. It's amazing how simple those changes are, but when I was at the department it didn't feel as simple as just that.
Tyra Valeriano:Yeah, you know we have this. I don't want to call it a stigma, but there's more of this kind of rule that police officers don't go home and talk to their spouse about their day. They don't really talk about some of the scenes that they went on and you kind of just keep it to yourself. I, on the other hand, was not like that. I, you know, if my husband wanted to know, he was always interested. Of course I wouldn't give all the details, but there were times where I could vent to him and be like, oh, I went on this scene and you know it was crazy and I could talk to him. Is that the same for you guys? Or were you guys more on the same side as law enforcement? Don't talk to your spouse about, you know, what you've seen, what you've dealt with. You guys talk about it internally and that's that.
Stacee:I think there were some people that lived by that rule. I was kind of more like you. I was open. I mean we have a thing on the medical side called HIPAA and we just have to respect, like, no patient names, no identifying factors. But I could talk to my husband about things like that. But I think I had to learn pretty early on that I can't expect my husband to react in the same way I do. So if I felt a certain emotion about a certain call, that doesn't mean that he's going to feel it. So if I'm telling that story and expecting this perfect reaction, I may be disappointed. So I had to learn to be a little bit more open-minded in that regard.
Tyra Valeriano:Yeah, no, I understand that. I feel that when you have a spouse that has a first responder spouse, it also takes them time to learn how to respond or how to listen. And with that, how do you feel your husband responded to you? Was he pretty understanding with the stressful situations and job that you had?
Stacee:I think I was really fortunate in that my husband number one was shift work. He had done it, he had been in the military and then even his then job was shift work. So he understood like when you get home, just go to bed, just grab you something to eat and then go lay down and go to work. So he understood like when you get home, just go to bed, just grab you something to eat and then go lay down and go to sleep. So I was very fortunate in that regard. But I think that, just like I said, we kind of had to learn you know what one another needed.
Stacee:He was not okay with physical violence towards me in any way. He felt like they should be prosecuted to, you know, just to the max, and absolutely nobody should be putting their hands on his wife and it's a danger of the job. And it happened a couple of times where you know I had violent patients and you know they actually got a hold of me in the back of the ambulance and he he had zero tolerance for that and I'm like, well, it's a risk of the job, like not with his wife. So I mean there were some things that he didn't budge on, but most of the time we just kind of learned each other and what one other needed. So I was fortunate in that regard.
Tyra Valeriano:How do you like teaching? You know there's a lot of first responders that I'm hoping they don't want to get out, but there's a lot out there. Let's just be real. They want to get out and they want to know what kind of transitions they can do. We're both adjunct instructors. Obviously, you deal with your field and I deal with mine. But how would you say that role was for you and transitioning into that role from a full-time position?
Stacee:I really enjoy education, so I really enjoy teaching, but it definitely was different. It was a slower pace. I kind of had to get into the mindset of like my baby was more the college and the university. And yeah, I would have, you know, firefighters and EMS providers and in our area most of the time they're combined it's going to be fire and EMS together. But I would have them come into class and, you know, I think one of the things that I really missed out on was they come in talking about a call and I'm like how did it go? What happened? Tell me all about it. You know, I think one of the things that I really missed out on was they come in talking about a call and I'm like how did it go? What happened? Tell me all about it. You know, because I missed it. I missed being in the action, so but I really enjoyed it. I've enjoyed adjuncting and I still do it in person, I still teach in person or as well. But yeah, that's what I miss the most.
Tyra Valeriano:What made you decide to go back and do part-time?
Stacee:That I mean just the fact that I missed it. I really and also I didn't want to be that teacher that hadn't been in the field for 20 years. But I'm trying to tell these people, these students, how to do their job and I'm not staying up on my education, I'm not running calls, I'm not going through what they're going through. Even if I'm not going to do it in 48-hour shifts, I want to be taking a piece of the pie a little bit so that I can I don't know, I don't wanna say have street cred, but just keep up with my knowledge.
Tyra Valeriano:Yeah no, I get it, it sounds kind of silly.
Tyra Valeriano:No, I get it. I mean, if I had an option for part time, I probably would have done that route, but it's very hard to find an agency that actually offers part time. I do know that there are law enforcement agencies that do that, but it's like very rare. I hardly ever see that. So I I get it because I think I would definitely want to do part-time if I could. You miss it as well, I do, I miss it.
Tyra Valeriano:In fact, there was a show that just aired, I guess last month, and I posted it on my social media. I didn't know that the agency was on a TV show, it was on Max, hbo Max or something like that, and I watched it yesterday and it was really good and it was all the people that I worked with in that show and it was an incident that happened a month after I left. So I had no clue that it had happened and it was my first time seeing it and getting the details of the case and it was just interesting to watch and it just made me feel like, you know, I'm in there with them because I used to work with them and I know every single person and I know the way they respond. I know the kind of cops they are and I'm you know I'm thinking, oh yeah, don't do that. No, I know they're going to stop, and they did. See, I knew that first responders are always going to feel this way. And that kind of brings me to my next question.
Tyra Valeriano:So when you got out the first time, before you went into your part-time role that you have now, how were the relationships within the agency that you used to have? Does it change for you guys? Because for us it does change. If you're not in law enforcement, you will always remember. You know the friends, the ties, the relationships, the bonds that you had. But sometimes it feels that if you're no longer in that circle, you're no longer in the circle. So you know it's a hit or miss if you're going to be talking to the same people, the same friends. Do you guys experience that too?
Stacee:I think so. I think you know I could run into any of them in town and it's going to be hey, how's it going? How's the wife and kids, how you know, and we'll be able to, you know, talk. But of course communication after you leave it just falls off. And I mean some of some of the relationships that you build during it. You keep in contact for an ever and ever, but then some are strictly because you lived that portion of your life together, Right. I mean kind of similar in law enforcement. You guys are there, sometimes you're around them more than your own family. So you build these bonds and then when you leave and you realize like, like you said, I'm not really in the crowd anymore, it can be really sad, it really can.
Tyra Valeriano:Yeah, what about? You know I haven't had many female guests on my podcast and I do have some schedules for the future, so I'm looking forward to that. But since I have you here, I want to know is there any kind of, you know, stigma or anything that you experience that you feel is because you are female? Obviously? An example would be a female in law enforcement. You know we're going to get. We're going to have to try extra hard because we have to prove ourselves If we get promoted. You know we're dealing to get. We're going to have to try extra hard because we have to prove ourselves If we get promoted. You know we're dealing with oh, she got promoted because she did X, y and Z instead of acknowledging work ethic. You know there's a lot of things that we face as a female in law enforcement. Do you guys have something similar in your field?
Stacee:I think so I, you know, I tried not to focus too much on that stigma because I think at a certain point you can get in your own head and you're like, oh, it's because I'm a female, but there is, there is a reality to it.
Stacee:I, what I've noticed is that if you get a female that, like you, in your field, you promote or is in charge on the EMS side, and you have to have assertiveness, right Because you just do to be in a position of authority or of you know you're in charge and then you're taken for being I don't want to cuss on your podcast but kind of being a witch, you know, because it's like you.
Stacee:You rose through the ranks and it's like now you that that power has gone to your head and what have you? When in all reality you're just doing your job. But on the other end of the spectrum, if you're nice and you just want to get along with everybody and you don't want problems, well then you're that girl that is just going to get stepped on and you're weak, you're not assertive and you don't deserve to be in a position of authority. So I think if you get too much into it, it's like, wow, how can I win? And that's not. You know that's not true. You can find a balance, but it is really hard to find that balance, being a female in this field.
Tyra Valeriano:I've always wondered that, and that's actually something we've never really talked about, but I've always wondered if you guys have the same problems that we do, because it is still a male-dominated field that you work in. And when I say FIRE and EMS, it's because that's how I know our agency in our jurisdiction that we work to be. I don't know that every agency works that way, where it fire and EMS is combined, but that is just what I'm accustomed to. So I know that of course it's male dominated and fire is going to have your, you know, your guys that are just, you know, not wanting that they don't want a woman to be telling them what to do, and I guess it's the same for both of us.
Stacee:Yeah, no, I think so. I think it's very similar.
Tyra Valeriano:What do you think is a common misconception that law enforcement might have on EMS or fire in particular?
Stacee:perception that you guys have of us.
Stacee:I don't that we're always looking for refusals, maybe that we're always looking for the patient to be like, no, I don't want to go to the hospital and I'd be a liar if I said that I never wanted a refusal.
Stacee:But I, honestly, was always trying to make sure that the patient didn't want to go, even when they would refuse, because, ultimately, sure that the patient didn't want to go, even when they would refuse, because ultimately, I mean, you know there's a side of our job that involves litigation and it involves like you could be taken to court. But I ran into EMS providers that that is, all they wanted to do was get refusals because they didn't want to transport the patient to the hospital. So I could see how you guys would see it from our perspective, kind of like how you said you stand and you're like, oh, I hope that I don't have to like, just take them, take them to the hospital. I could see how maybe you could see that from our perspective where it's like no, no, no, don't go to the hospital, we don't want to take you, sort of thing.
Tyra Valeriano:Yeah and no, and I want to kind of touch back on that because some people might take that the wrong way and think, oh, they just, you know they didn't care about the person or they didn't want to do their job. It's not that. It's just there are certain DOAs or people that are not conscious breathing when you arrive. That we know are natural causes, but if we're left to deal with it, we have to do a whole investigation. It's like we have to shut down the house. We have to interview people. I mean, it's very different compared to a homicide scene. But when we know that it's a medical, you know a medical concern, and we're just hoping that you guys take it, because now we're going to be using resources. When we know that it's medical, we still have to do a full blown investigation. And I just want to clear that up because I don't want people to confuse it with. You know, there's an actual thing that we need to be investigating and we're just hoping that medical is going to take over and we don't have to worry about it. That's definitely not it.
Tyra Valeriano:But I will say a common misconception that we may have of you guys is that you guys don't like us, that maybe you guys don't want us messing up your scene, and I remember several cases that I went on and you guys are, you know, doing your own thing, working away, and you know we're walking in and we're seeing okay, are they going to take? We're trying, you know, we're trying to see what's the status and we're bothering you guys asking questions because we want to know what we got to do. But I can see how that can be annoying and that would. I don't know if that's a misconception, but I'm going to say it might be. Maybe we don't bother you guys, but I would say that we can be kind of annoying sometimes.
Stacee:No, I never experienced that. Honestly, I really, like I said, I leaned on law enforcement, especially when we were in those kind of uneasy scenes. It's like, okay, at least I got someone here who, if crap hits the fan, we're going to be okay, sort of thing. So no, but I could. I mean there were times where we would go on accidents and we would need to go to the hospital and law enforcement might hop in the back of the ambulance in order to get the license of the patient or what have you. And I think at those moments were like, can we snap a picture? Can we just take a picture really quick so we can get to the hospital? But I can't. I can't really think of a time that I was just super annoyed with your, with law enforcement presence.
Tyra Valeriano:I do remember that I would. I'm probably one of those people Cause I've definitely done that where I'm like, hey, I need to get their driver's license or I need to get their name, or whatever the case may be. But yeah, I can say that I want to kind of just share we talked about it earlier about one of the cases that we both responded to and we actually didn't know this, that we were together on scene until we became friends and then we're like, hey, weren't you on that scene? And it was. It's one of our paranormal talks and for the listeners who don't know that, you made a video on this specific scene and it went viral. It went completely viral and I want to talk about it because now it's out there, so everybody's going to know whether the TikTok goes away or not. There's a ton of people out there who have heard the story. So can you just kind of share with the listeners that story, Because you've already told it, so I'll let you tell it again.
Stacee:Yeah, we had gone on a call for seizures and it was kind of odd because we had a stage prior to getting there and I'm sure anyone who listens to your podcast knows what staging is. But basically EMS just kind of parks a little ways away until you guys say that everything is all safe and good to go. And so we were staging for seizures, which we thought was odd. But eventually they told us that the scene was clear and to come on in. And then, as we're driving there which we're only about, I don't know, it seemed like a minute minute and a half away, I don't know, it seemed like a minute minute and a half away they're coming over the radio PD wants an ETA, pd wants an ETA. And it's like okay, we're almost there, sort of thing. And I'm like what is going on on this scene? And so we get there and we had some law enforcement officers meet us at the ambulance and they're like are you good? Like and this is obviously time has elapsed. Everything might not be crystal clear anymore, but this is the way that I remember it. Law enforcement met us there and, are you okay? We're going to head out if you're good. And I'm like well, why don't we just hang out for just a second? Cause I had no idea what was going on and one of the newer law enforcement officers she kind of looked at me and she said I've never seen seizures like that before and I thought, ok, what am I about to walk into.
Stacee:So we walked in and when we walked in, the patient was on the floor and everything had been moved out of the middle of the room. There was like a Bible laying there, her spouse was in a full suit and tie and it wasn't until later that we had kind of pieced everything together. But she was contorted, like she was kind of putting her body into weird positions, making weird noises, like growling, hissing kind of noises. It was odd, very unnerving and nothing that you guys could do for us in that situation. Like you know, normally it's like okay, they're violent law enforcement. Here you go.
Stacee:I couldn't. I mean I, you guys were like you gotta do something because we don't know what's going on. And so we managed to, you know, get her into the ambulance. But there was just a lot of things associated with that patient that it kind of made us wonder like, is there something paranormal going on? Was there a full-blown exorcism happening before we got there, because I think the spouse had told me he was a pastor for a church and, like I said, it was probably 11 at night, maybe midnight, I can't remember really well, but it was just and her kids were terrified, terrified, and she was chanting and, yeah, it was wild to say the least.
Tyra Valeriano:Yeah, and it's funny because this story I remember standing outside and I looked in there. I saw I saw the kids, I saw the husband, I saw her and I remember I don't remember who was standing outside with me, but we stood outside the house for a little bit and I don't remember who responded with you, but one of the guys came out and they were like we're going to transport and we're like, okay, we're leaving, and I left. I don't know if other officers left, but we had this conversation because I wanted to know what happened after that. Like how do you guys deal with situations like that? Because for us we're thinking thank goodness, because we don't know what we would have done. I mean, there's nothing we could have done, but we're glad you guys took care of it because, yeah, that's freaky as hell. So I mean, did you have an experience on the ambulance?
Stacee:Yeah, you know, she woke up and there was just some chanting and you know, just, it was so unnerving I had never experienced anything like that and just very similar to on scene, like her body was kind of contorted and yeah, it was very unnerving and me and my partner my partner and I, we were yeah it was, it was scary, it was really scary and I felt like, once again back to that stigma, I feel like a wuss or a wimp, saying I was scared in this situation. But it wasn't a situation where, like I said earlier, where I thought, okay, I'm in immediate danger of someone beating me up or something like that. But it was more on the paranormal side. And yeah, I did post a video about it and people had opinions. People were like you should be ashamed for talking about that, and it's like this is normal. Ems providers are still human beings and they have feelings and things can be unnerving and scary for them, just like you guys.
Tyra Valeriano:Yeah, and that's why I brought it up, because I know that it's already been out there and it's something that people already heard. And, just like you said, even for law enforcement we have a hard time talking about cases that we've worked, because there's just also that fear Am I allowed to say this, am I allowed to talk about this? And you know I don't want to say the wrong thing and then the family is upset that I said something. But at the end of the day, if you're just like not identifying them and you're sharing an experience, I don't really see that there's any issue with it.
Tyra Valeriano:But it is a very uncomfortable thing to do is talk about a case, especially like this, because there are opinions out there. There are people who they didn't experience it. They were looking at it maybe as a medical emergency you know it could be X, y and Z and here you are saying that it's probably something else. But I remember clearly looking at that scene and thinking, yeah, I don't want to be in there, I just want to know that you guys are going to transport and then I'm out of here and that's kind of what I did.
Stacee:So I can't even be mad at you with whatever you went through, because obviously your experience was very different than mine- yeah, yeah it's, and I don't know if you've ever been on any other calls that made you kind of get the that unnerving, uneasy feeling like that, but that was one of the only times I ever felt that way, so it was it was pretty scary.
Tyra Valeriano:I actually have only been on one other one and she was somebody that we dealt with a lot. But we went to her house one time and I went with one of the guys and she was pointing at me and she was like saying some kind of chant and she wouldn't stop pointing at me. I kept trying to move around like a half circle, you know, just to kind of keep that L position with my partner so we can have a visual of her. And she pointed at me the whole time and I was freaking out because I was just like what is she? What is she saying? What is she doing? Is she, is she trying to like, put a hex on me? What's going on?
Tyra Valeriano:And I remember her doing that for clearly a whole three minutes and I just stood there because I knew she wasn't going to stop doing it and my partner was trying not to laugh because for him it's funny, but for me I'm freaking out. Why is she doing that to me? I do want to talk about, maybe, some advice that you would give a new EMT as far as how to handle stress, now that you've done the job. You've done it full-time, you've done it part-time, you've done it part-time, you understand what is the job, what are the stressors, what is a piece of advice that you could give somebody who's new so that they don't struggle with the same things that you had to experience and learn the hard way?
Stacee:One of my biggest pieces of advice, and first and foremost, is just because there's overtime, don't always take it. You know, I know in the beginning it's kind of exciting, you're learning your job and you just especially you kind of get that taste of like, oh, I went on that call, oh, I saw that, and you know and you don't want to miss out. It's almost like this FOMO thing that you get, and maybe not everybody goes through it, but I went through it and I definitely saw other people go through it. I just don't know that you should do that, especially in the beginning, because then you run the risk of getting burnt out pretty quick. One of the other things that I would advise that was actually advice given to me and I did take it to heart was, you know, not having to see all of the things.
Stacee:So, for example, if we go on a call and you know it's a DOA, like, say, you guys were working a murder scene or something, oftentimes EMS would be called to maybe pronounce or make sure that you know the patient had passed or what have you, if we went in a big crew over to that call, there's no need for everyone to go in and I don't know. You probably could understand this too. It's, I mean, you remember all those really traumatic calls like the murders, the suicides, the things like that, and if you don't have to have that mental image connected to that call, it's almost a better thing. I'm not saying push it off on your partner, but if there's a partner that's already going in there and they're going to confirm death or what have you just let them? You don't need to see that, you don't need that mental image. So I don't know, that may be something that people disagree with because they think teams you know crews need to go in all at once as a team.
Tyra Valeriano:But I disagree, yeah, and see, and I feel like that's, I agree with that wholeheartedly, even on the law enforcement side, because for us, I'm going to say that we're all still pretty nosy. You know, law enforcement is nosy and a lot of people want to be cops because they're nosy. I'm sure that every single law enforcement officer has driven past a crash at some point in their life before they were a cop and they slowed down because they wanted to see what was going on or what happened. You know, let me see if I can see someone. Everybody just has that curiosity and you know, law enforcement, there are times where you guys don't get called because we know that there's nothing you guys can do and if you don't have to respond, then you're not going to respond.
Tyra Valeriano:But you know, I still remember that there were some pretty gnarly scenes that we would go to just because we wanted to see what was going on. And there are some scenes that weren't mine, that I did that and I remember them till this day, you know, and it's not that they haunt me, but I otherwise would not know anything about that scene if I didn't go, but we just happened to be nosy and I guess maybe if people don't take your advice now, they will later on in the future. You know they're just going to have to live with the decision of not taking that advice.
Stacee:And I truly do believe it does have a residual effect on the brain, like seeing all of those terrible things. It has a residual effect and if you're going to stay in this field for a while, protect your brain as much as you can or as long as you can.
Tyra Valeriano:Yeah, and I agree with that too. There's we could probably talk so much about the changes that we both probably have seen. I feel that the sympathy, maybe empathy, side struggles a lot. If you do not take care of yourself, you have a hard time caring. You start to see things for what they are. Death is death, and it doesn't matter how ugly the scene is or no matter how bad it was. It's just. You start to become accustomed and numb to these things and it's very hard for you to show that you care, and this is just one of those protecting your brain. If you don't do that, even on the law enforcement side, it's going to show that you care, and this is just one of those protecting your brain. If you don't do that, even on the law enforcement side, it's going to get to you Definitely.
Stacee:No 100%.
Tyra Valeriano:And we're running out of time, but I do want to ask you one more question. And what is your, what is your take on prioritizing physical health, being that you know you guys do have some pretty crazy hours, you guys have some irregular sleeping schedules. Of course we share that, but you guys have a little bit different of a schedule than us and how would you look at prioritizing physical health now that you know that this is what it's done over the years and you're trying to get a grasp on what you've already been through and make sure it doesn't happen again? What do you think your stance is on that now?
Stacee:Just it's utmost importance. It cannot be put on the back burner. It will have residual effects. I mean, it's just like you know, I tell my patients that have diabetes I'm like you may not have enough, like a terrible thing happened today because of your diabetes. It's the long-term effects that you have to worry about.
Stacee:So physical health is everything. Move your body every single day, even when you don't want to, and I think you're a great example of that. You know, on social media you're like I didn't want to get up and go to the gym today but I did. And you know I've been also really getting back into the gym and strength training multiple days a week and stuff, and I can't say that it's like so much fun when I get in there. But it is such a luxury to be able to move your body every single day and I'm glad that you know it kind of woken up and I realized that because it's I mean I could have ended up being. Any of us can end up being those patients that we run on. And so, yeah, while you can, while you're young, build those muscles, you know. Get your body out and moving, go on walks and get sunlight. Vitamin D is so important too.
Tyra Valeriano:And eat right. That's really hard to do in the first responder world but yeah, it's tough but it's definitely a benefit to eat better in the first responder world. So if there are any listeners that want to contact you, maybe they might have questions about some of the things that you've dealt with. I know you mentioned that law enforcement can take an EMT class and it's six months. Maybe there might be somebody who's out there who's on SWAT or they're just interested in doing that and having that extra credential. How can they contact you?
Stacee:So I have. I am on my social medias. I'm under Light Sirens Action EMS. I have a YouTube channel, I have Instagram, tiktok, and I'm always putting out information about EMS. A lot of times it's more geared to the people that are already in EMS. About EMS. A lot of times it's more geared to the people that are already in EMS, but oftentimes I do make videos about those considering it. So I would definitely say to you know, reach out, follow me there. Yeah, I have a website as well. It's lightsirensactionemscom. You can go check me out there. I have a lot of free education, lots of videos. But yeah, thank you so much for having me on. It's been good. I mean, as you said, we're friends in real life. But kind of going back and taking a trip down memory lane and really connecting the two first responder fields because even though we're so different and in our jobs, we're so the same too, if that makes sense, yeah, no, yeah, I agree, it was really nice to have you on.
Tyra Valeriano:I did feel like it might be kind of weird just because we know each other, but it really helps because you know I understand where you're coming from. We've been on scenes together, we can relate to these things and I feel like there's listeners out there that probably can relate to this too, because not everybody is listening. That is a law enforcement officer, you know. They might have a family member or somebody that is working in your field that is tuning in. And I think it's important for us to be relatable to each other because all first responders go through very similar mental health and wellness issues that are important to talk about. And if we're all on the same page and we all understand each other, that, hey, we're seeing the same kind of scenes, we're dealing with the same kind of stuff. Even though our job technically just our job description is different, we're still going through the same things. And if we can relate to each other, it just makes that bond a lot better and we can kind of bridge that gap, if there is one.
Tyra Valeriano:But, Stacey, thank you for joining me today. It was a fun conversation. I can't wait to talk off the air because there's a lot of things, of course, that I want us to discuss, that I'm not ready for the podcast, but hopefully in the future I can have you on again and we will be talking about some different topics. But thank you for your time. I appreciate you coming on today For the listeners. Thank you for tuning in and, as always, be safe, I'll see you on the next one. Thank you for joining me on Chapter Blue. If you enjoyed today's episode, be sure to follow and tag me on social media and share with your friends and fellow officers. If you're interested in joining an episode, I'd love for you to be a part of the conversation. Until next time, stay safe, take care of yourself and remember you're never alone in this journey.