Emergency Service Volunteers

In honor of National Volunteer Week, April 10-16, I thought I would share some of my wonderful experiences with volunteerism.

Last February, I had the opportunity to meet some folks who volunteer with the Brunswick Volunteer Ambulance Association. It wasn’t an opportunity that I had planned. It happened quite by chance.

Since my husband was away on a trip, my dog and I decided to have a pizza party! We do this frequently. We called the local pizza joint and ordered a medium pepperoni pizza. The feast of pizza occurred while I was watching the television news reports. Belle ate her pizza out of her bowl on the floor, and I had mine as I sat on the sofa. It was a grand time.

About forty-five minutes after we had had our dinner, I began to feel a tightness in my chest. It was something that I had never experienced before. I also noticed that might heart rate seemed to be a bit more rapid than normal. Because I was concerned, I decided to open the back door and get some fresh air. I walked around the house for about ten minutes trying to calm myself down and get things back to normal.

When my discomfort continued for more than fifteen minutes, I decided I would call 911 just to chat. I thought the operator would tell me that I was just imagining things and that I would be fine in a few moments. I was quite surprised when she asked me to go to the front door and unlock the storm door. “The ambulance is on its way,” she said. I assured her that it would just be a matter of time before I felt better, but she stayed on the line with me until I could see the ambulance at the corner of the street.

The EMT’s came very calmly into the house and greeted me and Miss Belle. She was quite happy to have company. They took my blood pressure and pulse and watched my breathing. We discussed heart attack symptoms and the tightness in my chest, which had not eased up. All my vital signs appeared to be normal. One of the EMT’s asked if it might be indigestion. I had never had indigestion before. She asked if there might be Mylanta or Tums in the house. I told her that since indigestion had never been a problem that I didn’t keep those things around.

“Baking soda,” she said. “Do you have baking soda?” I showed her to the kitchen and she mixed some baking soda with some water and told me to drink it all. We returned to the living room where the other volunteer ambulance members were. I sat on the sofa and then let out an enormous belch. To say that I was embarrassed would be an understatement. “How does the tightness feel now?” she asked. I belched one more time and was delighted to tell her that it was gone.

That’s when the real feelings of foolishness kicked in. I had these wonderful, caring people in my living room because I had indigestion and didn’t know it! They all assured me that it had been wise to call and that situations like that are precisely why they are on duty. “We prefer these types of calls,” one of the EMTs said.

I know that that night I was very grateful that Brunswick was blessed with such a dedicated group of volunteers. People who are willing to give their time and efforts to provide a service for the community. Be sure to thank the volunteers near your home this month. They truly are lifesavers!