By Dale Barnett
Elmore/Autauga News
The community of Eclectic, near central Elmore County, has endured several tragedies recently involving serious injuries and deaths to young children and teens. It goes without saying there is huge emotional experience for the parents and family of the kids. The community is very close knit, and everyone knows each other or are friends with people involved.
It isn’t just Eclectic, though. There have been multiple recent tragedies throughout our area. There is a lot of hurt and sorrow among so many we know and love.
In the middle of every tragedy, there are the members of our community known as First Responders. A large number of those are volunteer firefighters and they are joined by EMTs, police officers and a wide array of people who work every day waiting on that next call. It could be a call where seconds matter, and there is no time for emotion in the midst of the life-saving work.
These servants that work and perform for the good of our communities face so much tragedy on so many calls. These are people trying to perform a civil service and while many have some training in dealing with fatalities, even the best training can fall short when it is a friend or family member that they are trying to save.
In the smaller communities, people have ties to everyone else through school, work or church. Their kids know the other kids. In many cases they have played on the same sports teams or are in the same classrooms. So many families have grown up around each other.
So, the impact of the emotional and mental traumas that the first responders who live in these communities must endure is hard for most to understand. After they have had to handle their task, and things quiet down, it is not unusual for the images and memories to come back repeatedly.
While the town of Eclectic has rallied around the families that have children involved in tragedy recently, the town has also embraced those first responders that experienced the scenes first-hand.
EAN understands that various clergy have come to counsel and support the responders that are dealing with these events. How each person deals with such a tragedy and the aftermath can vary. What these men and women must go through mentally to carry on is surely a tough task.
While EAN respects this time for these first responders to recover, we also wanted to share this information in hopes it helps this community and others to understand what our brave first responders must endure for the sake of protecting and assisting their fellow citizens.
I talked recently with Rodney Barrett, a now-retired Montgomery County Sheriff’s deputy. Years ago, Barrett was on his way home after a shift. He was the first one on the scene at a fatality accident in Wetumpka on Hwy 231, that involved his step-daughter who was killed.
Barrett said “There has to be a process for the responders to digest what they have gone through and that will be different for each person.”
Barrett continued, “So many in the communities have a perception that first responders are immune from dealing with death and tragedy, which is far from the truth. There are so many levels of pain and grief each responder must deal with while also performing their jobs and even after leaving the scene. If these first responders do not find a way to reason with the experiences then it can seriously affect them when dealing with other stressful moments of everyday life.”
Barrett said “Finding a method to compartmentalize each tragic experience is vital, because a first responder always remembers those events. It might take sitting down with family or friends, counselors or clergy to get their thoughts out and then finding a means to cope with it. Some people might feel they have to act brave or without emotions because they are first responders. But that is just not true because they are people first and foremost. Everyone must deal with emotional trauma to be able to function mentally and no one should be ashamed to seek a source for help in dealing with the trauma.”
Barrett also stated that it might take time to come to terms with each tragic event and the responder should be aware of that fact. They should not be discouraged if they cannot quickly recover or it is taking longer to process being involved with a death or tragedy. It might take years of finding the right method to handle each event.
Barrett said hopefully what he can share will be words of wisdom or comfort to even one responder, help them realize where they are in the process and to seek help if needed.
Eclectic is a strong community that has endured too many tragic events lately. There will never be an explanation for how tragedies come in waves, or when or where they will occur. But that call will come again, sooner than later.
For now, Eclectic in particular, is just one of our area communities trying to recover.
