On the night of Friday Nov. 24, around 10PM, this happened:
I was having severe asthma, I am a Type 2 air trapper. I'd been fighting it for a few days, with hundreds of milligrams of pred, but the tightness overcame me.
A lot of your team is familiar with me and my condition, and so are the firemen - who arrived first.
The AMR crew was a white, light haired middle aged woman, and a younger male partner (who seemed scared of her) who I didn't know.
The woman refused, flat REFUSED to take me to the hospital unless I "sat right" on the gurney. I have a very severe respiratory condition and I HAVE to tripod - a distress position that she should be familiar with. She argued with me until finally a male voice, a fireman, defended me quietly - "She always sits that way". And I do. But this lady actually said that if I sit tripod, she wouldn't take me to Dominican. After wasting life-saving and very panicked minutes, with irritated reluctance she "allowed" me my distress position, but forced me to face the backrest.
We finally get into the unit and she mumbles to the driver "Code 2". Lady if I'm Code 2, then I don't need the ER
I had to plead and beg, with what little air I had, for her to "hit the lights", again mumbling.
There was NO epi in the field, she left me with an empty neb, there was no sense of urgency on her part whatever.
I've been incubated many times, hospitalized hundreds of times, and been to the ER thousands of times for my respiratory condition - it is VERY severe.
Ring security captured what malfeasance it could, but it seems like an attorney is what I really need. An audio recorder at the very least.
Less bravado and more swift, immediate response would be nice from AMR. At no point did I feel like I was taken seriously by this woman. I'd like a follow up on this incident.
I won't hold my breath.
L.Blaz