Getting Thru Paramedic School and The Holidays

My name is Addison and I'm trying to get thru Paramedic school in Alberta, Canada. I am here to humble myself to the great people of society in hopes to survive the holidays.

When I was about 20 I held my Grandfathers hand as he took his last breath. He was my hero. A man with more integrity then I sometimes see left in this world. The healthiest, most well rounded individual I ever met. Months after his passing I realised that I had a very healthy way of dealing with death and traumatic moments in life. My heart slowed and I was the shoulder to cry on that evening as family wept and didn't know what to do. My instincts took over and I was the one people were looking to as I was calm in such a sad time. Later that week at the funeral I grieved and sobbed like a little kid who lost it all. After looking back at all this, I realised the man I wanted to be and how my values and ability to stay calm in traumatic moments could benefit others. I saw how I could help others and be in a field of work that promoted the values my grandfather so subtly instilled in me. This is when my passion for Firefighting and EMS started to ignite.

I am currently at the end of my second last semester of schooling and have run out of funds and options for money in spite of strict budgeting. Next semester I will get another round of student loans that will barely get me by and possibly not even do that. I have tried finding work to no avail thus far. Promises of employment have been made in the past few months with no follow thru from employers. With the state of the economy in Alberta being labelled a recession and some saying depression, it has been very tough to find work. I was in oil and gas as a EMS provider before the recession then decided to go back to school since I was struggling to make ends meet when the crash hit. I knew that I could get student loans but unfortunately they only cover 90% of the necessary bills.

Now some might read this and say I'm lazy, I am not. I volunteer in my spare time with boy scouts, the community and my church. I have my old employer saying he wants me to come work in between semesters and I have been waiting by the phone ready to go to work but he hasn't received more jobs to get me working on. One potential employer told me to take a $400 course out of my own pocket and then they would have me start. That employer then retired shortly after and didn't follow thru with getting me started before leaving. I could go on, but I'm not here to make excuses. Only to paint a picture.

I have 1 month to work but am struggling to find a way to make money for only a month. When school starts in January I will be in school 30 hours every other week (not including study time) and the weeks in between I will be sent away on a non paid practicum outside my city. It's tough to find an employer that can work with an unknown schedule that includes being away every other week.

In saying all this I don't know what to do so I thought I would try this. I'm not one to look for a handout but I've heard of great things happening on sites like this and I could use a miracle. Bills are coming due and I'm not sure how I'll pay them. Never mind gifts for the ones I love, that just isn't an option right now.

This isn't easy for me to do but I have no choice. I cannot afford to not make it thru school. Anything helps and anything given will go towards me paying the bills and my final semester. All I want to be able to do is to continue with my passion to help people in their toughest moments in life. I know I'm not special but I promise your help will go to help me give back to so many more.

Thank you for taking the time to read my story.

Addison