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Mich. EMT dies of colon cancer

Thirty-year EMS veteran Dan Neil, 47, is remembered as a caring, selfless and sarcastic person who lived a life of service

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By EMS1 Staff

ALBION, Mich. — An EMT died Saturday after losing a two-year battle with colon cancer.

WWMT reported that Calhoun County EMT Dan Neil, 47, began his EMS career when he was 16 as a dispatcher for an ambulance service. Neil’s family and friends said he continued for the next 30 years and worked for every EMS agency in Calhoun County.

The EMS veteran is remembered as a caring, selfless and sarcastic man who lived a life of service.

“He never wanted to miss a call. Every time a call would go off, he would hop out of bed and go on a call, doesn’t matter what time of day it [was],” Neil’s son, Mike, said.

“If people can understand the level of commitment it takes to serve a community for over 30 years in the same capacity in EMS, you know, that drive - that inner drive to always contribute back to the community in the selfless way that he did,” Neil’s friend, Tom Pitt, said.

Other friends added that Neil’s dedication to the EMS industry did not waiver during his battle with cancer.

“I was on a car accident scene and here he is, sicker than a dog from chemo and he responded to the call in his own truck, and I said ‘What are you doing out here?’ and he goes, ‘I told you, I’ll be running calls with you,’” Neil’s friend, Adam Day, said.

https://www.facebook.com/AlbionCommunityAmbulance/posts/1878452375518303

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