The stories we enjoy sharing the most with EMS1 readers are the reports of paramedics that went the extra mile for a sick child, a terminally-ill patient, a fallen colleague, or the family of a severely ill or even deceased patient.
If you are feeling blue about the impact you might be having as an EMT or down about the negative headlines of a few, outlier paramedics we think these stories will lift your spirits.
And we are sure there are hundreds of acts of kindness and going above and beyond performed by paramedics that are only known by a handful of people. The recognition might be a salute, a handshake, or a simple nod. Thanks for doing what you do for others.
Terminally-ill firefighter escorted home
Emergency response agencies from Houston to San Antonio united to bring a terminally-ill firefighter home to see his family before he died.
Kan. medics welcome a terminally-ill teen to their service
An 18-year-old was able to start pursuing his dream to become a paramedic in the final months of his life thanks to the paramedics of Sedgwick County EMS.
Calif. ambulance crew brings a teen home for the holidays
An AMR crew helped a medically fragile boy celebrate the holidays at home with family and friends.
Ambulance charity grants thousands of final wishes
The Ambulance Wish Foundation, with six ambulances and 230 medically trained volunteers, has granted nearly 6,000 wishes to terminally-ill patients since 2007.
Medics make it a special day for boy battling cancer
In Ontario, paramedics visited the home of a 6-year-old boy battling cancer with surprise presents for him, his brother, and single mom.
Wis. and Conn. paramedics return to finish shoveling
After rushing a Wis. man experiencing a cardiac emergency paramedics returned to the man’s home to finish shoveling his driveway.
A few weeks later paramedics, firefighters, and police officers returned to the home of a Conn. man that suffered a cardiac arrest to finish the roof shoveling project he had started.
Viral photo: Responders finish fatal cardiac patient’s yard work
Responders were unable to revive an 89-year-old man died from a heart attack while mowing his lawn. Officers were inside speaking with family members, and stepped out to find firefighters finishing the work.
Going the extra mile is about being present in your work
EMS1 columnist Steve Whitehead recently wrote about the importance of being present in your work. We all have the chance to, as Steve writes, “choose something spectacular and unexpected” in our EMS work.