Police Officer Jerry Foster Philpot, II

Dear Jerry, I took care of you as you came into Detroit Receiving. I was a respiratory therapist (studying to become a trauma /Pulmonary intensivist). I was with you and talked to you the whole 2 hours (?). I did everything in my power to save you and I fought as hard as you were fighting. Your life crossed my path and in doing so you became my Guardian Angel. I still carry since that day your photo and badge number with me, it is in my phone now. I look at it on the hard/bad days to remind myself to keep going. You were my first LEO death and you know how hard I worked. The moment you let go , I remember touching your hand as i left the open trauma bay. I had to walk out into the hallway filled with your LEO family and other 1st responders. All I could say is “ I am , so sorry”. The looks on their faces and the tears in their eyes as I walked through them broke my heart and it told me what kind of man you were. I was very young and it impacted my life in so many ways. It confirmed that my calling, of service to others was my path. I still continue my ED and ICU work. I have done disaster medical work/also taught it all over the world. I became a Vol.FF/medic for 5 years in NY , an outdoor emergency medicine instructor for the National Ski Patrol. I worked teaching “Devil Docs”new skills in San Diego as they went with the Marine’s into Iraq and Afghanistan. I spent 3 months in a C19/ ICU unit in NYC recently. I am currently in Florida working in the ED and in the C19/ ICU unit. You have touched so many lives through me. Thank you publicly for your service and watching over me

Catherine Paulina Wojtaszek
Medical Care

July 5, 2020