It’s not all about the glory, says paramedic

THE life of a paramedic is not for the faint of heart. This according to Glenashley paramedic, Kyle Van Reenen, who found himself at the centre of the violent protests that rocked Durban last Monday. Van Reenen said he was on his way to attend the protests at the Westville Campus of the University of KwaZulu-Natal that saw students torch a car when he found himself at the scene of another strike.

As fate would have it, residents of one of the informal settlements in the Umgeni Road area were also protesting and when things got violent, police implemented the use of two teargas canisters to disperse the crowds. Speaking to the Northglen News, the Crisis Medical spokesman recalled how he was hit while attempting to treat children caught in the crossfire.

“People think it’s all about fast cars and glory, but in reality it’s a dangerous occupation. Every call-out is different. And we never know what we are going to get. We face danger rushing to the scene, danger at the scene, and then to top it all off after arriving safely back at the office or home we could develop post traumatic stress disorder,” he said.

Harrowing accidents and crime scenes are a daily reality for these men and women. “You have to be dedicated to helping people and saving lives,” added Van Reenen.

While responding to various incidents, Van Reenen has also been shot at and has had rocks flung at his ambulance.

“In 2011, on Christmas Eve, I responded to a reported stabbing in Chesterville. While treating one of the victims people tried to hijack my ambulance. People rob us and our vehicles all the time,” he said.

Two years later, Van Reenen was held hostage in Phoenix while responding to a reported overdose.

“I soon learned that the young woman’s overdose was staged. It was actually an attempted murder where the woman’s boyfriend and his father had given her the medication. They refused to let me leave the property,” explained Van Reenen.

Then, in 2014, the paramedic had to fight off an intoxicated patient who tried to stab him.

Accordingto Van Reenen, the man had crashed into a tree in Glenwood. When Van Reenen arrived at the scene to treat the motorist, the man became violent and tried to stab him. For most people, the trauma of one of the incidents are enough to leave us running for the hills – paranoid and petrified. However, Van Reenen is determined to continue saving lives.

“It is rewarding to see the results of a successful rescue. Helping and saving innocent children is especially rewarding, he said.

 

Related articles:

Become a hero and register as an organ donor

One killed and three injured in North Coast crash

Dog humanely euthanised after being hit by a motorbike