When we asked EMS1’s Facebook fans to tell us about their most memorable call of the year, we received many responses. Some made us smile, some brought tears to our eyes, and some made us cringe. Read our top picks below, and feel free to add your top call of the year in the member comments section.
The successes
AP Photo/Noah Berger
“Standing at the emergency entrance after a call having a rare meal break, and having a car drive up, a man get out and hand me a blue neonate. I ended up rushing the baby into emerge and trying to get someone’s attention as I grabbed an adult mask (closest thing) and started bagging. I felt as helpless as the parents. It was my first neonate encounter outside of a hospital and it was my second week as a student. Baby ended up being extremely hypoglycemic. The hospital stabilized and several hours later we did the transfer to a better-equipped hospital. As far as I know the baby made a full recovery.” - Erin Walsh
“Ran an unresponsive female call. Got there, she was hot to the touch, snoring respirations, had surgery about 4 weeks prior and never went for a checkup. Got her in the truck, she was in SVT at 220. Two cardioversions failed (she was about 450 lbs). About a week later heard she might be brain dead. About a month after that I went to pick up a patient for a doctor appt and it was her. No deficits! She was almost in irreversible septic shock. Nice feeling to meet someone that you had a hand in saving.” - Stephanie Gresham
“Father and daughter (9) walking to school were knocked over by a car. He took the hardest hit of both. We loaded up and took a family friend with. Both patients were stable. His little girl came up and said, ‘Thank you for helping my daddy.’ Best call ever. I will never forget that call.” - Warren Blaker
“Traumatic full arrest field save. MVA. He walked out of the hospital a week later with zero deficits. Can’t get much better than that.” - Celia Ames
The tragedies
AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi
“Trying to save a horse in August. Worked on it for 5 hours straight and then the owners decided to put it down.” - Alexander Daniel Boyer
“Also, one I’ll never forget, my first infant death (about a month ago), 8 week old boy in resp. distress. Got him to hospital alive but found out the next day that he didn’t make it. First call that actually brought me to tears.” - Allicia Marie
“Working a call with my volley group, call goes out for “injured... unknown,” walk into the apartment to find blood all over the floor and walls, 25y/o female pt sitting on couch with ice on her face. We removed the ice to find she looked like she went 7 rounds with Ali... broken jaw, right eye closed, nose bleeding. Her BF beat the crap out of her. Besides the facial injuries he broke her arm and cracked at least 3 ribs. Needless to say, he was wearing a nice pair of silver bracelets when PD arrived!” - Paul Stabile
The horrors
“Wrist degloving with fingertip amputations from a hot air balloon accident.” - Andrew Blevins
“Man falling on top of vacuum cleaner with genitals hung inside almost degloved.” - Billy Profitt
“Gentleman falls and becomes impaled on his Hoveround.” - Nicole Kreitzer
The oddities
AP Photo/Jamie Nicholson
“Just the other day, had to take a lady out the porch window because there wasn’t enough room the get a lbb around the corner.” - Joseph Horst
“A woman I took the other night believed she was Jesus, and she tried to get me to become one of her sisterwives. When we got to the facility she threw herself on the ground screaming ‘I am saved, hallelujah,” and that she had sex last night and she was now pregnant. I had to keep a straight face, no laughing, no cracking up the entire time. At the end she was crying ‘Why me?’ Sad but still didn’t trust her always aware. In Flint, the minute you let your guard down something will happen.” - Alix McGinn
“CPR student collapses and goes into arrest in the middle of a class. We brought the patient back (CPR/Defib x2), and we ended up having dinner together (the patient, my partner, and I). Good times.” - Peter Wine
“My best call this year was bringing birthday cake an ice cream to a 76-year-old stubborn German woman that was lonely and needed to know someone cared about her. God knows her kids didn’t. She is awesome!” - Walter West