Thank a Paramedic Day 2016
July 28, 2016in Community News
Ambulance Victoria has been overwhelmed by the support and well wishes from our patients on our second annual Thank a Paramedic Day.
Messages of appreciation have been tweeted, commented and posted using the #ThanksAmbos on Ambulance Victoria’s social media accounts.
Parliamentary Secretary for Health Mary-Anne Thomas and Ambulance Victoria CEO Tony Walker were on hand as a small group patients and paramedics reunited.
‘We are always touched when patients, their family or friends reach out to us to let us know that we are appreciated or that have made a difference,’ Mr Walker said.
‘Paramedics attend many cases throughout the course of their careers and, more often than not, don’t know what has become of the patients they have cared for.
‘To then hear from someone out of the blue, who says thanks for doing what you do, it is so inspiring.’
A small group of patients and paramedics gathered at Air Ambulance in Essendon to reunite and celebrate the day, including the very first Air Ambulance patient:
In 1962, 24-year-old Peter Connell was flown by air ambulance plane to Melbourne in a critical condition after a car accident. Mr Connell had facial, arm and spinal injuries, and remained in hospital for 13 months. More than 50 years later Mr Connell, now 78, remembered the lifesaving care he was given and donated $10,000 to the service. The donation will go towards a portable ultrasound machine to be used by MICA Flight Paramedics to help save more lives.Father of five Scott Mayman, who fell from his mountain bike in difficult terrain, also attended to meet paramedics Richard Marchingo and Neil Butler.
‘I didn’t want to say anything to my son who was with me but I thought I was a quadriplegic. I couldn’t feel anything in my arms or legs,’ Mr Mayman said.
‘I wouldn’t be here if the ambos didn’t know how to treat me for such a serious injury. I was given this opportunity at a life again, I’ve gotta make the most of it.’
After months of rehabilitation and determination Scott is now walking and even completed a 9.3km run for a spinal cord research.
In February this year, a week before his second birthday, Noah Palonek went into respiratory distress. His mum, Rebecca, called an ambulance and, a minute before the crew arrived, Noah went limp and stopped breathing. Noah was in a critical condition and had turned blue when Macedon paramedics Justyne Kristic and Murray Kennedy arrived. They began treating him and got him breathing again. On arrival at RCH Noah was awake and his normal bubbly self, happily eating an icy pole and his parents couldn’t be more thrilled with the paramedics.
Exactly two weeks before Thank a Paramedic Day, little Thomas Marriott decided to come into the world unexpectedly. Moonee Ponds paramedics Nick Rissik and Alastair Miller arrived to find Emma ready to give birth at home and, just 10 minutes later, Thomas came into the world. Alistair had been on just his fifth shift when he delivered baby Thomas, who arrived safe and well.
Emma, who is already the mum of two girls, sent Ambulance Victoria a Facebook message to let us know about the birth and that her and husband, Chadd, wished to thank paramedics.
Send a message to paramedics using the #ThanksAmbos hashtag:
- Tag on Instagram @ambulancevic
- Twitter @ambulancevic
- Post on Facebook Ambulance Victoria