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had not joined the rescue squad he would not get to see his family.
Mrs. Payne said, "You always figure there is a purpose for everything and we found that purpose." She added, "This has changed all of our lives."
Matt is an EMT and ran the most calls of any rescue worker in Sperryville during 1996. In January he responded to 11 of the 22 calls for the month.
You never know what calls will be, said Matt. When arriving at the scene, the patient could be worse than expected or might only have a minor cut on a finger.
Last year, Matt and EMT Stacey Alther responded to a call in Castleton where several teenagers that they knew had a head-on collision.
"I was there and they needed me," said Stacey. Matt said that one of the girls there looked up at him and said "Hi, Matt." He hadn't even realized that he knew her because he could not recognize her with all the blood on her face. "It breaks your heart to see your friends hurt," he said.
Stacey said that on a call they are not focussed on blood. "Your mind is focussed on what you have to do. The stress level goes up," she said.
He said, "Everyone here is a volunteer and we work hard.” As lieutenant, Matt assists with EMS drills, keeps records of supplies, assists with making sure equipment is up to date and in working order, fund-raising, mowing grass, washing vehicles, etc. "I don't know what I would do without him," said Mrs. Payne.
Matt explained that they all spend a lot of time on fund-raising. The biggest two fund-raisers are the Miss Rappahannock Pageant, which will be held on April 26, and their fund-raising letter which was sent out last week. Matt explained that they used to make $1200 in a weekend selling hamburgers, drinks and other food at a booth set up at the Emporium four or five years ago, but it is getting a lot harder to make money doing that because of other food booths which also set up there %! '■i. ' r now.
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