Interview with Poet Victoria Fray

Victoria (known to her friends as Vee) Fray is a woman of many talents and interests. She was kind enough to share some with me starting with her days as an EMT (emergency medical technician). Victoria says “Being an EMT meant that I was there for people on their worst days. That was the most rewarding part of it. Being able to help another person in any way that I knew how to, my job was to provide comfort and safety. As far as standout patients, I can’t offer much due to HIPAA laws, but what I can say is that there are a few patients that I still find myself, even a few years later, thinking about on quiet days.”

Victoria has lost patients, a situation many of us would find very difficult to encounter. “The reality of working in healthcare in any form is that you will eventually lose a patient. Unfortunately, working in emergency medicine you lose many of them. Ultimately, you become accustomed to the feeling of loss and learn to work around it. When you work in medicine, you are expected to be the strong face that carries others through that dark place. The person who can handle those feelings with grace, and move on to the next call with a smile on your face. You learn to adjust, and compartmentalize things, because there is always another patient waiting.”

Victoria says that outside of a hospital CPR has a 5 to 10 percent success rate. “In the 5 years I spent working as an EMT, I was a part of 1 call with successful CPR and was a part of many, many other unsuccessful attempts,” she says “It is a guttural feeling of disappointment and grief when you are unsuccessful, but you can at least have the knowledge that you tried your hardest. Any success makes you feel good, knowing that you were able to use the skills that you have to make a difference.”

Victoria is also a poet with a debut collection Code 3. “Code 3 is the signalment used during radio communication to say that you are using your lights and sirens when on the way to an emergency or on the way to transport a patient to the hospital. I wanted the title to reflect the contents of my collection, which is split into two sections; “On Call” is poetry related to my time spent working as an EMT, and “Off Duty” is poetry related to other facets of my life. I feel that the phrase Code 3 was a good way of melding them together.”

Eventually Victoria switched from human medicine to veterinary medicine, which she says “has proven in many ways to be more challenging”. “The patients that I see can’t speak, which means that we have to rely on other factors like body language, bloodwork and other diagnostics to determine what’s wrong.” She talks about euthanasia, putting an animal to sleep if it is sick or in pain. “Saying goodbye to a pet is never an easy decision, but it is one that unfortunately many of us have to make. However, what I have come to realize is that euthanasia is a kindness that we can offer to animals. When we have an animal who is clearly suffering, who has a poor quality of life or a chronic illness that makes daily living unbearably painful, we can offer them a peaceful way out. I have been witness to the slow and oftentimes painful process of death in many human patients and it is never pleasant to watch someone you love wither away. Being able to help people come to terms with that decision and be present for them and their pets in those moments is a double edged sword- both difficult and a blessing.”

“As far as the best thing about my job, it is definitely the satisfaction of being able to see a patient from sickness back into health. As an EMT, we would bring our patients to the hospital; give report, and then move on to the next patient. This meant that we would not often get to learn the outcomes of the patients we cared for. Working in veterinary medicine, I get to see my patients sometimes from birth to old age. I get to see them when they come in for wellness exams and to get vaccines, as well as treat them when they are ill or elderly. When I get to be part of the team that takes a pet from sick to healthy, and get to send them home with their family- that’s the best part of my job” she says.

A typical day as a licensed veterinary technician can have Victoria doing a number of things including (but not limited to) “drawing blood, placing IV catheters, administering medications or vaccines, taking radiographs, running diagnostics, intubating patients, monitoring anesthesia, the list goes on and on.”

In Victoria’s book she addresses several of her passions as well as beliefs. Take the poem Double D and D which is (on the surface) about a female Dungeons and Dragons player. “Double D&D is a poem that I wrote as a reminder for myself to keep being whoever I want to be. I play Dungeons and Dragons as a hobby and have for many years now. It is a fun and imaginative roleplaying game built around storytelling and adventure. This poem is a culmination of my nerdy habits along with some feministic ideals. It refers to the ways that women are oftentimes portrayed as a damsel in distress or in need of saving. They are rarely seen as the protagonist. I wrote this piece as a reminder that just because you are a woman does not mean you are weak. Just because you are female does not mean you have to take on a particular role in the world. You can do anything you want.”

My personal favorite poem of Victoria’s is Discovery Channel, a lighthearted poem incorporating literal animal facts and standing up for yourself.  Discovery Channel is a poem near and dear to my heart. It includes references to things that I learned through watching the discovery channel as a young child, and things that I learned in the real world. I was raised by a single mother who taught me to take no shit and this poem speaks to that. I learned through life how to stand up for myself in any situation, and how to be my own advocate. This poem includes some of my favorite animal facts and is meant to showcase them in a lighthearted format while including some of the harsh truths of life as a woman.”

Victoria went to the National Poetry Slam (NPS) with the Rockland Poet Slam Team. “Performing at NPS in Denver was to this day one of my favorite experiences despite some events that took place. The way that poets come from near and far, from all areas of the country, to get together and support each other’s art is incredible. To create a space safe enough for some of us to showcase the most vulnerable parts of ourselves is a feeling that matches no other. There is a saying that many use in slam poetry, and that’s that “The score doesn’t count”. Yes- there is a judging system and there are scores and teams and it is a competition, but the real joy of slam poetry is the joining together of poets as a community. The workshops and friendly competitions, the strangers that became friends, the joy of seeing someone you know work through an emotional piece, those were all some of the best parts of NPS.”

Victoria’s star will continue to shine- as a veterinary technician, as a poet, as a caring human being that wants to give back to animals and fellow humans. I am very glad to know her and I encourage you to check out her book Code 3. It will probably inspire you.

Link to Code 3: https://a.co/d/4tvKl6x