http://news.yahoo.com/s/usnw/20110606/pl_usnw/DC14699_1

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Add Maryland to the states considering making debriefings privileged.

My favorite line from this article:

Though debriefings occur in the most serious cases, workers in emergency fields say the more informal talk after stressful situations helps them cope. At firehouses, it often happens around the kitchen table, Ortman said.

That’s a good reminder that it is our personal network that gives us resiliency, not the debriefers.  These days, that’s one of the things I just about always say when kicking off a debriefing.  We (the debriefers) are only here for an hour or two – it is your friends, your family, church or other network, that help you live with trauma.

Grief counseling requests rise in wake of state worker suicides – Medical News – sacbee.com

Some comments on AP’s decision to publish a photo of a dying Marine, which hits close to home for me (my niece’s husband was killed in Fallujah, hit by a rocket, as was this Marine).  Also, thoughts about the stigma of suicide and schools – balancing the need for privacy with the need to address the issue.

Mattawa tragedy spurs fire detector program | The News Tribune – Northwest | Seattle-Tacoma News, Weather, Sports, Jobs, Homes and Cars | South Puget Sound’s Destination

The last time I saw Jimmy was a year ago today, when I stopped by the Los Gatos station to see if either he or Ryan could help me with a Calfire debriefing.  As it happens, it was Jimmy’s birthday, so my last words to him were “Happy Birthday!” with a strong handshake – definitely a happy memory.   Jimmy usually said yes to any request for help for firefighters, but he decided not to join me, saying he really needed a mental health day.  He died the day we would have been doing the debriefing.  He was on his bicycle and was hit by a fast-moving motorcycle.

This morning’s ride was up into the hills above Los Gatos and I must report that I couldn’t make it.  Although I’ve been biking a lot the last few months, it has been almost entirely on flat land.  I wasn’t ready for sustained hill climbing (I kept hoping to find one more low gear, but it just wasn’t there!).  So I turned around and joined the other flatlanders, including Jimmy’s brother Bill, also a county firefighter, at a coffee shop.  When the hill climbers joined us, out came the Drumsticks.  Mmm, coffee and ice cream at 7 a.m.  Not my usual breakfast, but it was all to remember Jimmy, whose favorite dessert (or was it favorite food?) was Drumsticks.  Apparently there’s a chant to go with them, or perhaps to invoke them – Drumsticks! Drumsticks! Drumsticks!

The hardest thing for me about losing Jimmy was that I really didn’t get a chance to get to know him well.  But even though he’s not here any more, I’m continuing to get to know him through his friends, in whom his spirit certainly lives on.

Especially hard hit – recovery workers.