The way we are
Iread Kit Johnson’s letter to the editor in which she wonders if she had a massive heart attack would the emergency services available in Rappahannock County be able to save her. Would they arrive on time? Would they have the necessary skills and tools they would need to save her life? The implied question is, would she have a better chance of surviving if she lived in Arlington or Fairfax or Manassas, for instance.
I don’t know Ms. Johnson, but she is doing research on a time period that interests me, the days of the CCC boys and the building, for instance, of the Skyline Drive. I feel certain Ms. Johnson is a learned individual, and probably already knows the answer to her question. And I, certainly, mean her no disrespect for asking the question.
Over the last decade or two we here in Rappahannock have had several tragic incidents and accidents that I recall. Some turned out well, others, unfortunately, did not.
A number of years ago I wrote an article for this paper that addressed the very question Ms. Johnson is asking. The short answer to the question is “it depends.”
It depends on where Ms. Johnson would be at the time of the massive heart attack. It depends on what time of day the heart attack happened. It also depends on the particular skills and abilities of the rst responders who arrived at the scene and, perhaps most important, the amount of time, even with their best e orts, to reach her.
If the question is, would she be better o in Arlington, Fairfax or other urban areas when she had the attack, the short answer is yes, as statistics go, she would be better o where there are ample rst responders, EMTs and the available skills and knowledge to save a life. Again, I’m pretty sure Ms. Johnson knows that. It should come as no surprise when you compare the emergency services in an urban area to those in a very rural area.
If the purpose of the letter is to start a discussion about the available services in Rappahannock County compared to, say, Fairfax, then the writer should know they are coming late to the discussion table. And they are also asking a question that should be self-evident to the people who have decided to live here.
One of the few shows I watch on television concerns the people in Alaska who have decided to go way o the grid and live in the wilderness. Now, I understand that the extremes of this situation do not compare well to our beautiful county, but the point is precisely the same: If you consciously decide to live in an area where the available resources are scarce, you should be prepared to live with your decision. Or, again, in the extreme, to die with your decision.
Alternatively, you can join the come-lately crowd who some have said just fell o the turnip truck and want Rappahannock to be just like Fairfax or Arlington. Or, as others have said, “You pays your money, and you takes your choice.”