INDIANAPOLIS (WRTV) -- While many of us watch the fireworks with our families and friends, for some, it begins with a shift to serve others.
Dr. Tyler Stepsis is the Chief of Emergency Medicine at Eskenazi Health. He's been there for decades, covering July 4th throughout the years. This holiday, he will work the evening shift. "Different places are closed for the holidays. One place that never closes is the emergency department. We are still full steam ahead because we know that we are there to catch all things that fall through the cracks."
Dr. Tyler Stepsis will be working the evening shift this Fourth of July alongside his colleagues, and he says the holiday weekend is one of the busiest times of the year.
"I've seen injuries to folks who have tried to have fireworks shoot out of their hands. I've seen burns. I've seen eye injuries. The hard part is you think it doesn't stick with you, but the stories absolutely do."
Dr. Stepsis doesn't sugarcoat the injuries he sees. Some patients are left with permanent, life-altering injuries.
He says one split-second decision can have lifelong consequences.
" If you are going to use fireworks, maybe don't drink a lot of alcohol or use other substances along with it because your judgment does get impaired with that. When you're outside in the heat, if you've been drinking alcohol or using substances, it tends to delay your recognition of bad things that can happen. So we want to make sure you stay hydrated, stay cool, and stay safe."
Dr. Stepsis says he treats many hand, eye, and burn injuries every year. He also points out that even sparklers can reach temperatures of about 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit hot enough to cause serious burns. His advice, leave the fireworks to the professionals.
And while he's busy saving lives, he still manages to take care of his family. He says he's grateful for his wife."Always a little bit of a sacrifice because you're trying to make arrangements to make sure everyone in your family has somewhere to be or something to do or is with someone who loves them as well."
For Dr. Stepsis, missing the holidays is part of the job, but saving lives, he says, makes the sacrifice worthwhile.
