Real things people said to me as a Paramedic. This happens more than you know. #ems #chips #sleep

Published May 19, 2023, 11:20 p.m. by Arrik Motley

"I'm not dead yet!"

This is a phrase that I hear all too often from patients in the back of my ambulance. It's a phrase that I'm sure many other paramedics have heard as well. And it's a phrase that always makes me smile.

I've been a paramedic for over 10 years now and I've seen a lot of things. I've seen people at their worst and I've seen people at their best. I've seen people who are fighting for their lives and I've seen people who are just trying to get through the day.

One of the things that I love about my job is that I never know what I'm going to see or who I'm going to meet. Every call is different and every patient is unique.

I remember one call in particular that really sticks out in my mind. We were dispatched to a report of an unconscious patient. When we arrived on scene, we found a young woman who was unresponsive and not breathing.

We immediately started CPR and after a few minutes, she started to breathe on her own. We loaded her into the ambulance and started to transport her to the hospital.

As we were driving, the woman woke up and started to talk to us. She was confused and didn't know what was going on. She asked us where she was and what was happening.

We told her that she was in an ambulance and that we were taking her to the hospital. She asked us why she was in the ambulance and we explained that she had been unconscious and not breathing.

The woman was quiet for a moment and then she said something that I will never forget.

"I'm not dead yet?"

She said it with such surprise and disbelief that it still brings a smile to my face every time I think about it.

It's a phrase that reminds me of the importance of my job and the difference that I can make in someone's life. It's a phrase that reminds me that every call is important and that every patient is worth fighting for.