my dad is a firefighter and i still think about this

So my dad's a firefighter. A while back there was this really bad fire, and he was out there for days. Cold as hell, surviving on those tiny cup ramens, couldn't even come home. Him and the other firefighters made the best calls they could with what they had. But people who didn't know anything were online absolutely TEARING into them. Saying they didn't save enough people. Just screaming at them.

And that got to him. Like really got to him. He got depressed. The medication had side effects bad enough that he fell down the stairs at some point, and he was drinking every day.

So he'd barely drag himself to sleep, and then he'd wake up right away crying, saying sorry. Over and over. Sorry sorry sorry.

And we all just. cried with him. the whole family.

I still get sad when I think about that day.