Enduring The Badge

Send us a textMy name is Patrick O'Neill and I am 40 years old.  I have been married for close to 10 years to my wife Julie and have two children, Makena 7 and Harrison 5.  I am a Captain Paramedic with the Phoenix Fire Department and have been on the job for 16+ years.  I am currently at Engine 17 A shift and have been a captain at this station for over 5.5 years.I was born and raised in Arizona and to say the least, I had an interesting upbringing.  People often look at my upbringing and are amazed I am on the path I am.  My parents separated before I was 2 years old and I was primarily raised by my Mom until she died when I was 15 during a scuba diving incident.  She never remarried and I was her sole focus.  She worked 4-5 jobs most of the time and instilled in me a set of tools I would later use in life to navigate the difficult times to come.  My dad was a "ladies man" and was married a total of 5 times with my mom being No.3 on the list.  I grew up with some pretty nasty step moms that w