Like most paramedics, Brian Ferguson knows a thing or two about stress at work. Being a paramedic is the kind of job where you can spend hours sitting around, doing not much more than waiting to do your job. Then the call comes that someone needs your help and you go from zero to the top of your game in a matter of minutes.
And the top of Brian Ferguson’s game is in the clouds. Literally.
Ferguson is one of the many paramedics who fly on Carilion Clinic’s Lifeguard helicopters. He has to take care of the most critically sick. The most critically injured. His skills are needed when time is critical.
So it may be surprising that if he was given the opportunity to live his perfect weekend limited only by time, he would spend a chunk of that time up in the air with his three-year-old daughter Chloe. He would take her to Ireland and show her the history of the country and of his family.
“I’ve got Dutch and Irish roots and it’s always been a place that fascinates me” says Ferguson. “It’s a place I eventually one day want to make it to.”
He imagines he would stay in a traditional Irish inn and explore different types of foods. And he would show his daughter castles. Little girls like castles and all that goes along with being a princess.
As a medical professional, he knows the importance of taking some quality time away from work.
“It’s a natural debriefing for yourself. You break out of the normal wear-and-tear of your job and are able to just let loose and just relax.”
