“It is easier to get forgiveness than permission.” For so many in EMS, this unspoken motto has led to countless situations just like the one in which Powell County Judge Executive — and also Paramedic — Eddie Barnes found himself when a local zookeeper met the wrong end of a breeding mamba snake.

In the patient compartment of a rescue helicopter, Paramedic Barnes knew what to do and how to do it, but was missing the piece of paper allowing him to save the life he had been entrusted with. He did it anyway, and he was called to task ... as he should be ... sort of.

| MORE: Ky. EMS board dismisses investigation into medic’s administration of antivenom

EMS training vs. EMS reality

Anyone who has ever done EMS at any level knows the reality: in school, the rules are black and white

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