There are too many patients: too many people with COVID, people who can’t breathe, people who are in psychiatric crises or feel chest pain or have overdosed or fallen or crashed their cars. They want nurses, family doctors, home care, psychiatrists and social workers. They need hospital beds, long-term care homes and affordable mental health programs—all of which are in short supply.
But there is 911; there is always 911. The problem is there are not enough paramedics to answer the call.
Each paramedic has a life full of stories of resilience, coping and, sometimes, barely that. Here, they share their own.
