Category: Mon Valley Miscellany || By

Last week, a family member called me at 1 o'clock in the morning. "Come up immediately," she said. "I think I'm having a heart attack. I want to go to the hospital."

Well, that'll snap you awake. "Are you breathing OK?" "Yes." "Does your chest hurt?" "No." "Well, why do you think you're having a heart attack?" "I'm dizzy, I'm sweating, I can't sleep."

My relative is diabetic. "Have you checked your sugar?" "No, my sugar is fine."

Sure. I put my clothes on, ran down the stairs, jumped into the car, and zipped across town.

Let's check your sugar, I said when I got there. "No, no, no. Call the ambulance. Just call the ambulance." Sigh.

Unfortunately, if you have diabetes or know someone who's diabetic, you know that low blood sugar tends to impair your judgment and can even make you hostile. Thank heaven that we finally have 9-1-1; at 1 o'clock in the morning, I couldn't even remember the old seven-digit number.

. . .

A patrol car arrived first, almost before I could get the porch light on and open the door. The cop, who also turned out to be diabetic, came to the same conclusion as I did. He took a knee and started talking to my relative. I checked her pulse; it was strong and steady, but she was definitely sweating and clammy.

Next came the wagon from McKeesport Ambulance Rescue Service. After they gave her a quick exam, the diagnosis of the non-doctors gathered in the living room was unanimous (low blood sugar) and a quick check by the medics with their blood-glucose monitor verified that her sugar was down to 47.

One of the medics called the ER at the hospital to talk with a doctor. "Can you get her some orange juice?" he asked me. "And maybe make some toast or a sandwich?" The other asked her questions to test her reactions.

Then they waited while she ate. ("You're awfully stingy with the butter," she told me, which was a sign she was starting to feel better.)

. . .

One of the EMTs sat down and paged through her blood-glucose diary, talking to her, pointing out that she had last checked her sugar at 3 p.m., and strongly advising her to make an appointment with her family doctor.

By the time they left, about a half-hour later, she was feeling better and her sugar was up above 200. And she didn't want to go to the hospital any more. "Are you sure?" they kept asking her. "No, no, no, I'm fine now," she said. And she was fine later that morning, too.

They could have scooped her up, dumped her at the ER, and gone back to the base. I went to bed that morning very impressed with their level of attention to detail, their kindness, and their professionalism.

. . .

Yesterday, when Google's "News Alert" emailed me a headline that said "McKeesport: Local ambulance driver to face charges," I was a little bit stunned. Can't be McKeesport's ambulance service, I thought.

It isn't --- it's one of the private transport services. One employee shot video of the driver as he drove through the city in an ambulance, siren wailing, while dancing in his seat to a Justin Timberlake song. The dummy then uploaded the video to YouTube. (The video has now been marked "private," so you can't see it.)

For what it's worth, the driver on the video claims he's not speeding and wasn't doing anything dangerous. But if he did have the siren blowing, either he had a patient in the back and was en route to the hospital; or he was on an emergency run. And if he wasn't doing one of those things, he's at minimum in violation of the motor vehicle code.

Without being able to see the video, I can't comment, but according to WPXI-TV, city police are investigating. (The ambulance service has apparently fired the driver, who perhaps was auditioning for the role of Gene, Gene, The Dancing Machine in case there's a "Gong Show" revival.)

. . .

Anyway, when you heard "a McKeesport ambulance driver faces charges," you probably thought the worst, too. Usually when a Pittsburgh TV station comes to McKeesport, it's to report something bad. Bad things make news. I understand that.

But just this once, I thought you might want to hear about some guys doing their jobs professionally. The 9-1-1 operator. The cop. The paramedics.

Though it doesn't make the news, I think it's worth reading about, too.