Discussion
I have no idea why I'm writing this. I've had a bad few weeks at work and I've just got home from the worst day of them all. I'm genuinely not sure why I bother. I've been at work since 4:30 and just got home, I've been at work the previous week on shifts that mean I've not seen my girlfriend, who's asleep in the room next to me, since the 18th.
This is how it started;
I was stabbed as a teenager when I helped a woman being mugged, I wasn't in the job then but it seemed the right thing to do. It was quite bad and left me with no feeling in half my hand and arm and quite bad scars. I really hate knives. Probably the wrong job to be in I know. I really, really hate knives! So when this happened to me at the start of the month I knew it was going to be a bad shift!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-17...
the pain wasn't so bad, I've had worse, it's the psychological aspect of it. The sword hit the front of my stab vest 6 mm from the side of the plate. 6 mm the other way and it would have gone between the plates and into my ribs level with my heart.
Then, 5 days later I went to a sudden death of a 6 month old baby. I've got 10 year's service now but somehow I've managed to avoid this before, it's just always been someone else. I don't really need to say anything else about this one.
The next week was fairly quiet 4:30 starts again but it left the evening free to see the good lady. I work on a van and we'd been used all week as part of a week long operation. I've been tasked with forcing entry to the properties for the warrants. A great week in all as the lads on the van are great and the job itself is one I pride myself in being very good at. I was very good at it until I dropped the enforcer (the big red key we use to force doors) on my finger breaking it! for such a small thing it doesn't half hurt! It's now a rather funky shape but it's mending well.
Fast forward to today. Now I'm not new to seeing nature in its rawest elements. I've dealt with dead bodies almost weekly, I've seen them burned, stabbed, poached (really) and squashed but today just got to me. I saw a man die. I watched and helped and panicked and did everything I possibly could, but ultimately, I watched him take his last breath. His wife was there with him and I worked on him for as long as I could, until a doctor told me to stop Infact but it was the way it happened that got to me. From talking to taking his last mortal breath. I did everything I could but it just wasn't enough. His wife was calm and lovely. It's rare I meet nice people but she was wonderfull, charming and polite. The lads and I stayed at the address and tidied the medical detritus left by the ambulance guys. I just thought about this poor woman returning from the hospital to this reminder so tried to do what I could to help her.
We carried on with rest of the shift, understandably subdued but we went back to our normal patrol area. That's where we met the next part of my rubbish month. A lovely young gent who decided to punch his girlfriend whilst they were both in the pub. We arrested him and he played up massively. Punching, kicking biting and spitting. Fairly normal really until we see on the computer he's HIV positive and spat at all of us. I've got tests tomorrow but apparently it takes a few months to be totally sure you havn't got it.
So there you are. Twenty four days. I've been stabbed with a sword, carried a dead baby, broke my finger, watched a man die and now I have to tell my girlfriend there'll be no sausage hiding on our anniversary just in case I've got HIV.
I still don't know why I've written this, I'm a bit dazed I guess. I've just really had enough, I don't really see the point of putting myself or my family through it any more. I rarely have any interaction with decent people, the ones who I joined the job to help but spend the day dealing with scum and being abused. Please don't see this as a public sector thing, I'm really not like that, I work hard and know I'm lucky to even have a job and there are many in far worse positions than me. I've just had a s
t month and wanted to moan.
This is how it started;
I was stabbed as a teenager when I helped a woman being mugged, I wasn't in the job then but it seemed the right thing to do. It was quite bad and left me with no feeling in half my hand and arm and quite bad scars. I really hate knives. Probably the wrong job to be in I know. I really, really hate knives! So when this happened to me at the start of the month I knew it was going to be a bad shift!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-17...
the pain wasn't so bad, I've had worse, it's the psychological aspect of it. The sword hit the front of my stab vest 6 mm from the side of the plate. 6 mm the other way and it would have gone between the plates and into my ribs level with my heart.
Then, 5 days later I went to a sudden death of a 6 month old baby. I've got 10 year's service now but somehow I've managed to avoid this before, it's just always been someone else. I don't really need to say anything else about this one.
The next week was fairly quiet 4:30 starts again but it left the evening free to see the good lady. I work on a van and we'd been used all week as part of a week long operation. I've been tasked with forcing entry to the properties for the warrants. A great week in all as the lads on the van are great and the job itself is one I pride myself in being very good at. I was very good at it until I dropped the enforcer (the big red key we use to force doors) on my finger breaking it! for such a small thing it doesn't half hurt! It's now a rather funky shape but it's mending well.
Fast forward to today. Now I'm not new to seeing nature in its rawest elements. I've dealt with dead bodies almost weekly, I've seen them burned, stabbed, poached (really) and squashed but today just got to me. I saw a man die. I watched and helped and panicked and did everything I possibly could, but ultimately, I watched him take his last breath. His wife was there with him and I worked on him for as long as I could, until a doctor told me to stop Infact but it was the way it happened that got to me. From talking to taking his last mortal breath. I did everything I could but it just wasn't enough. His wife was calm and lovely. It's rare I meet nice people but she was wonderfull, charming and polite. The lads and I stayed at the address and tidied the medical detritus left by the ambulance guys. I just thought about this poor woman returning from the hospital to this reminder so tried to do what I could to help her.
We carried on with rest of the shift, understandably subdued but we went back to our normal patrol area. That's where we met the next part of my rubbish month. A lovely young gent who decided to punch his girlfriend whilst they were both in the pub. We arrested him and he played up massively. Punching, kicking biting and spitting. Fairly normal really until we see on the computer he's HIV positive and spat at all of us. I've got tests tomorrow but apparently it takes a few months to be totally sure you havn't got it.
So there you are. Twenty four days. I've been stabbed with a sword, carried a dead baby, broke my finger, watched a man die and now I have to tell my girlfriend there'll be no sausage hiding on our anniversary just in case I've got HIV.
I still don't know why I've written this, I'm a bit dazed I guess. I've just really had enough, I don't really see the point of putting myself or my family through it any more. I rarely have any interaction with decent people, the ones who I joined the job to help but spend the day dealing with scum and being abused. Please don't see this as a public sector thing, I'm really not like that, I work hard and know I'm lucky to even have a job and there are many in far worse positions than me. I've just had a s
t month and wanted to moan. Sounds brutal mate, think you probably need a holiday.
The things you have experienced and how you deal with them is often influenced by how you are feeling and the more events get to you the worse the next becomes.
On the HIV issue, HIV transmission requires certain circumstances and a relatively large infected fluid volume (I'm sure it's something like 3ml) So as long as he wasn't spitting blood at you which was some how entering your blood stream it is unlikely that you would contract it. I hope this puts your mind at rest a little.
Keep your chin up, roll with the punches. Most of you lot do a top job and if it weren't for you society wouldn't function for having to deal with the morons and darker side of humanity.
The things you have experienced and how you deal with them is often influenced by how you are feeling and the more events get to you the worse the next becomes.
On the HIV issue, HIV transmission requires certain circumstances and a relatively large infected fluid volume (I'm sure it's something like 3ml) So as long as he wasn't spitting blood at you which was some how entering your blood stream it is unlikely that you would contract it. I hope this puts your mind at rest a little.
Keep your chin up, roll with the punches. Most of you lot do a top job and if it weren't for you society wouldn't function for having to deal with the morons and darker side of humanity.
simoid said:
Thanks for doing what you do.
+ 1 It sounds like a truly s
t month and i think you need a holiday. I hope it gets better for you.simoid said:
You can't get HIV from saliva 
I know a young lady who recently had to go through the HIV check, even though the chances she had contracted it were minuscule to non-existent it still didn't make the wait any easier for her. It is the bit where she kept running the worst case scenario through her mind that really ground her down. I would imagine Seb feels something similar. That does sound a somewhat stty month 
I saw a documentary the other day on police officers in the rural highlands. they get to drive around sleepy villages, stopping to chat to the residents who they all know personally, and who give them mugs of tea and biscuits before they carry on with the beat.
It may be worth requesting a transfer......
tty month I saw a documentary the other day on police officers in the rural highlands. they get to drive around sleepy villages, stopping to chat to the residents who they all know personally, and who give them mugs of tea and biscuits before they carry on with the beat.
It may be worth requesting a transfer......
I hope that's not a (normal) month!
It does sound like you are fried and could do with a spot of leave
to recharge and do some (normal) stuff away from the uniform for
a while.
"These are the main ways in which someone can become infected with HIV:
Unprotected penetrative sex with someone who is infected.
Injection or transfusion of contaminated blood or blood products, donations of semen (artificial insemination), skin grafts or organ transplants taken from someone who is infected.
From a mother who is infected to her baby; this can occur during pregnancy, at birth and through breastfeeding.
Sharing unsterilised injection equipment that has previously been used by someone who is infected."
From the Quick bit of research i've done it looks very unlikely that you can
become infected via saliva so i know it's difficult but try not to stress
over the gimp that spat at you and your team.
Chin up and all that crap we appreciate you wearing the uniform and doing the job
It does sound like you are fried and could do with a spot of leave
to recharge and do some (normal) stuff away from the uniform for
a while.
"These are the main ways in which someone can become infected with HIV:
Unprotected penetrative sex with someone who is infected.
Injection or transfusion of contaminated blood or blood products, donations of semen (artificial insemination), skin grafts or organ transplants taken from someone who is infected.
From a mother who is infected to her baby; this can occur during pregnancy, at birth and through breastfeeding.
Sharing unsterilised injection equipment that has previously been used by someone who is infected."
From the Quick bit of research i've done it looks very unlikely that you can
become infected via saliva so i know it's difficult but try not to stress
over the gimp that spat at you and your team.
Chin up and all that crap we appreciate you wearing the uniform and doing the job
Yep, you had a st month... Done well to share it on here, but I would urge you to speak to someone. Once upon a time there was a stigma attached to wanting or having to talk about things of this nature. As if it were to somehow bring into question the state of one's mental health... Thankfully, not anymore.
It might also help to have someone with a fresh perspective. It did for me a few years back.
As for why bother? In your place, many might feel the same, and sure, you have dealt with the scum and some pretty horible situations... But in dealing with them, you have made a differnce. For the woman with the dieing husband, how much more difficult and traumatic for her could it have been if someone like you, had not been there.
Ok, so your efforts to revive her husband were unsuccessful (In truth, the chances of reviving someone with manual CPR are remote at best) but the fact that you tried, and continued for so long are testimony of the dedication of someone that obviously doesn't give up that easily.
No one here can promise you won't endure another tough month at some point... But there are those that appreciate the difference a person can make. And usually, that person wears a uniform just like yours.
t month... Done well to share it on here, but I would urge you to speak to someone. Once upon a time there was a stigma attached to wanting or having to talk about things of this nature. As if it were to somehow bring into question the state of one's mental health... Thankfully, not anymore.It might also help to have someone with a fresh perspective. It did for me a few years back.
As for why bother? In your place, many might feel the same, and sure, you have dealt with the scum and some pretty horible situations... But in dealing with them, you have made a differnce. For the woman with the dieing husband, how much more difficult and traumatic for her could it have been if someone like you, had not been there.
Ok, so your efforts to revive her husband were unsuccessful (In truth, the chances of reviving someone with manual CPR are remote at best) but the fact that you tried, and continued for so long are testimony of the dedication of someone that obviously doesn't give up that easily.
No one here can promise you won't endure another tough month at some point... But there are those that appreciate the difference a person can make. And usually, that person wears a uniform just like yours.
Christ and some say you're overpaid!
As above its sounds like it was just an unusual month when everything that could go wrong did go wrong.
Just winds me up when there's critisism of the police.
Whenever I've had contact with them they have always been polite and professional. It always helps if you are polite and not go on the defensive from the off.
Try to sort out some leave if you can and get away for a few days. I know the job will still be there when you return but it surprising how much it recharging your batteries.
As above its sounds like it was just an unusual month when everything that could go wrong did go wrong.
Just winds me up when there's critisism of the police.
Whenever I've had contact with them they have always been polite and professional. It always helps if you are polite and not go on the defensive from the off.
Try to sort out some leave if you can and get away for a few days. I know the job will still be there when you return but it surprising how much it recharging your batteries.
R0G said:
ShayneJ said:
we appreciate you wearing the uniform and doing the job
+1thank you.
next time I am on here moaning about the BiB someone remind me of this thread and my post please.
i feel like a prize knob now.
Sympathies, stty month.
Ill remind you why you are doing it, though.
You help people, your job is varied, fascinating and seldom dull.
You spend 35 years of your life working and you will have more good memories than almost anyone. You need the lows in a job to get the highs.
ALternatively you could work 9-5 in an office for 35 years. Up to you
tty month.Ill remind you why you are doing it, though.
You help people, your job is varied, fascinating and seldom dull.
You spend 35 years of your life working and you will have more good memories than almost anyone. You need the lows in a job to get the highs.
ALternatively you could work 9-5 in an office for 35 years. Up to you
simoid said:
You can't get HIV from saliva
It's very hard to catch at the best (or worst) of times.I've been told there's been this "thing" going on in parts of the gay community, actually trying to catch HIV, the logic behind this escapes me..... But it is apparently very hard to catch.
It doesn't help the "not knowing", but it does help to put things into perspective against the pure scaremongering (perfectly rightly I feel) that goes on around the subject.
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