Hero to Zero

Hello. My name is Simon, and I was a paramedic who lost my job last week because of my vaccine status. Yes, it is still happening today. So, I am seeking help from you to help me overcome the immediate needs of my family and to give assistance as we prepare for what is to come next for us. What I am asking for is $10 to help out a mate.

So I’d like to share my story with you. Can you give me just 5 minutes of your time? It’s a bit heavy in parts and for me is quite emotional but it will give you an insight into my journey.

POSSIBLE CHANGE

My story is intertwined with the COVID story that we are all so familiar with. I won’t go into detail about that because it is all fresh still in our memories. We know and have lived it.

I call my story - from Hero to Zero.

HERO

At the start of Covid I was working as a paramedic in Maryborough, I can remember thinking at the time how this scary situation that was unfolding could affect me and my family, bringing potentially fatal consequences, as the news was reporting in other countries. I was in the firing line - my job takes me into the lives and homes of people who may have this contagious virus. And I remember weighing up at the time – “Do I want to risk my life and my family by going to work?” I could have given up and stayed home, being safe with my family and locking myself down --- with many others in the world at that time -- but I made the conscious choice to keep going, like most of us in the emergency services, medical facilities, and the essential services. So many of us made that choice to continue because it is what we do. Our job is to help and serve our community. So, I did.

I never thought of myself as a hero, but by definition all of us that put ourselves potentially in harms way for the good of others and for our communities, that is what we were: We became heroes. We who stood on the front line. We felt the fear but choose to keep going regardless, for the benefit of others.

We worked tirelessly with our workload increasing and community anxiety high; with extra demands put on us by management and government; and with cleaning, training and health and safety policies. It really was a crazy time. But all of us did what we could, often coming in for extra shifts at times of need to do our bit. We made sure people were safe and looked after.

After these initial crazy times, there was a point when everything seemed to change, when the government felt like it had more control. With low rates of covid in Australia, treatments improving, the virus weakening, and vaccines starting to come out.

ZERO

It was during this time that everything changed for me.

Working through all that and feeling the exhaustion, stress, and concern but faithfully continuing. Then the state government implemented the mandatory vaccine policy. It originally started as a personal choice, but quickly became mandatory for many, including me. And here the worst part of the journey started for me.

Now, I don’t want to get bogged down in arguments about vax, anti-vax or vax hesitant. My stance is a personal one based on my own beliefs, values, ethics and understandings. I haven’t ever forced my opinion on others, and I won’t now. I just believe in personal freedoms and individual autonomy. I believe that Australia should be a free county where we respect the individual’s right to freedom. Freedom of choice, freedom to practice their religion, freedom of association, free speech, and freedom to choose the medical procedures you want for you, in particular the things that you allow to enter your body. This choice was not given to me.

This is where I felt I was no longer a hero, but a ‘zero’. My choice was completely taken away from me. I had to either get vaccinated or not work. From November 1st, 2021, I could no longer enter my workplace or even talk to my workmates about what I was going through. The career I had invested 22 years into was being taken away. I was sent home feeling like a prisoner who had done some great evil. The process I went through over the next year put a lot of stress on my family and me. It is still very difficult even today. It has been a time of isolation, prolonged stress, and no clear end goal in sight, not ever being sure if I would be able to go back to the job I love. After doing everything I could, following every policy and using every process available to me to try and keep the job I love, my employment has now been terminated.

This left me feeling like an utter zero.

That brings me to why I am sharing this: I need some help.

I am a father of six and a husband to my wonderful wife. I am trying to be the best that I can be for them. The issue for me is that this has taken away my livelihood: my career that I had built over 22 years. I am concerned about how I can care and provide for my family.

That is why I am asking for your help until I can re-establish myself in another direction.

If you would consider donating even $10, it would be greatly appreciated. That $10 you would spend to take me out for a coffee and hear my story, to sympathise and show support for me, would be greatly appreciated. It could make a huge difference to my family and me as we look to an uncertain future. This could help remove the burden of debt and allow time to move into what is next.

Thank you for reading or listening to my story.

Please feel free to share if you think others might be interested.

If you have had a similar experience and would like to connect and share your story or speak to someone who understands, please contact me. You don’t have to feel alone.