She had a sneezing episode and passed out. Her original plan was to lay down and take a nap. Thankfully, she called EMS and was treated immediately for a severe concussion.
#EMSHeroesHighlights #RuralEMS #FirstResponders #EMSSavesLives
Submitted by: Kathy Nelson – Timber Lake, SD
In October 2021, I was sitting at my desk in the back room of my office one evening when I sneezed three times in quick succession, felt dizzy and said to myself, “I think I’m going to faint.” I woke up a short time later on the floor. I had hit my head on a corner of the pull-out shelf of the desk and landed on the concrete floor.
I first thought of calling friends, and they came to my office. I told them I just needed to go to sleep and headed for the office couch. They said I should stay awake and they called the EMTs. The bumpy ambulance ride to the ER 40 miles away was no fun. I was riding backwards, vomiting, and wanting to sleep. The EMTs knew what to do. After 12 hours in the ER and two days in the hospital, I started a long slow recovery from a serious concussion. Four years later, I am what I call 90% recovered.
I tell this story to praise our volunteer EMTs, thinking how it might have been worse without their help. They need more than just thanks and praise. Our rural ambulance services are so important! They need public support in the form of county/city/state funding, so they don’t have to rely solely on volunteers with good hearts.
@South Dakota EMS Association @SDAA
