"We've got a burn trauma coming in ... Get room five ready, stat!" The excitement surrounding the Emergency Room was looming. Doctors running one way; nurses the other ... it was a chaotic situation, and I, the volunteer, was in the middle of it all. "Get the room ready, Dan!"

I hesitated ... then joined the scurry of people going in all different directions. I entered the trauma room and began preparing it. I made the bed and cleared the area of all obstacles. Outside, the deafening sound of an ambulance's sirens could be heard. I ran out immediately to view the arriving patient.

As the automatic doors pushed open, I laid my eyes on one of the most horrid sights I had ever see: an unconscious boy of about 15 with charred skin. Doctors surrounded him, taking vital signs and treating his wounds. I watched as he was rushed into the room I had prepared. The door was closed and I was again left in the hall, alone. I stood for a minute starring at the wooden bookcase which blocked my view of the merciful works being performed. The door opened for a split second and Jan, a friendly nurse, strolled out "He's gonna be all right, Dan."

I thought to myself how wonderful it is to help another person. I discovered my goal in life that day: to help others in any way I could. Their happiness would be mine. As Jimmy Durante once sang, "It's so important to make someone happy ... make just one someone happy ... and you will be happy too." -