You Get What You Pay For: A Dog Attack & The Outcome

On Sunday night, September 7 at about 5:26 pm, I was attacked by a dog while canvassing for the election. 

The dog took a chunk out of my left calf. This lead to an ambulance ride and more than 40 needle sticks to numb the bite, give me meds, and treat me for rabies.  All of which was *completely* unpleasant.  

But that’s not the story I’m here to tell. 

Our community gave me many bright spots in this unexpected event.  

One neighbor who witnessed the event brought me a tshirt and bottles of water to stop the bleeding and help me hydrate. 

Another neighbor made sure my kids were covered for the evening. 

Still yet another neighbor offered to feed my crew while my husband and I were at Memorial Hospital. 

And one came to the scene to make sure my husband and I were ok. 

Also bright spots were the first responders from the Port Wentworth Fire Department, the two Port Wentworth police officers, and the three EMTs. 

There’s a candidate running for council who thinks the city pays its employees too much.  Because I  experienced their level of care first hand, I can say with absolute certainty that you get what you pay for.  

Firefighters Shook and Folwell were the first responders on scene and were textbook perfection.  One managed the scene while the other took care of me. 

When the police arrived, Officer Altman and Corporal Dragoui immediately took reports from the fire fighters, and while one spoke with me and my husband, the other spoke with the bystanders and dispatch. 

The three medics on the ambulance, Tadyana Sandhoff,  Jonathon Estrada, and Kyle Davis, who actually work for Chatham Emergency Services, were also top notch. 

Brief Backstory: I was an EMT-intermediate when I moved to Georgia, and I finished Paramedic school in the early 2000s under Mary Hill. In EMS circles, Mary is a revered, respected educator.  She made sure her students learned and performed to her personal standards of excellence and those of the National Registry.  

So when I praise the first responders, the firefighters, the police, and the paramedics, I’m speaking from experience. Port Wentworth pays its employees well, and in return, they perform at the top of their professional standards.  

Good emergency services can make or break a community.  Poor patient care and scene management can lead to further injury or illness, property damage, and general mistrust in the system. 

I have nothing but positive things to say about the people who took care of me and the holes in my leg that day.  It was obvious that they knew what they were doing, that they cared about their jobs, and by extension, they cared about me.  

I will always be an advocate of well-paid professionals who do their work to the highest standards in their fields. The emergency services personnel who cared for me Sunday night were all that and more. 

They showed up for me and did their jobs with professional excellence, which is exactly what I’ll do as your mayor.  

Five days later, I’m doing ok. The dog is in quarantine, and my wound is about what you’d expect— gross to look at and painful to deal with. However, I am still in this race to win, and I look forward to being the mayor of the city of Port Wentworth. 

Thanks for reading, and may you never have to get rabies shots.  Those suckers hurt. 

As always, if you like what I have to say, please consider donating to my campaign by clicking here.