Ambulance Service

Receiving a call at 3 in the early hours of the morning, she rushed out after giving instructions to her teenaged daughter to take care till her return. She reached his house and found him lying on the bed totally unaware of the people around him. His breathing was irregular. His body was too cold. She tried to wake him, but no response. The dental doctor near his house checked his pulse...way too abnormal. Take him to a hospital immediately, he said. But how. He just was not in a position to sit in a car. Ok, an ambulance it is she decided. With various numbers in her hand, she dialed them. Each refusing to send an ambulance immediately. She checked his body temperature...it was very cold even now. After an hour of pleading with several ambulance services, she finally caught hold of a hospital number. But the person on the other side wanted to ensure that the patient was alive. Should he send a doctor to check, she was asked. For what reason to send an ambulance if there is no life in the person. It would be a waste of money, he said. She was seething in anger and almost screamed at him. The dental surgeon, known to that hospital owner intervened and asked the ambulance to be sent immediately. Having given the address, she expected the ambulance to reach the residence in ten minutes, that is the time it would take had she taken her bike or car, that too with no traffic that early in the morning. But no, the ambulance took more than 30 minutes to reach the residence. Reaching in 30 minutes was more due to the help of a security officer who was on rounds that day. Her heartfelt gratitude to him.
Hurriedly he was taken inside the hospital, and drips were administered immediately. An hour after we reached the hospital, he regained consciousness. The doctor attending to him said all was well now. Though reaching few minutes later would have lead to unwanted complications and sometimes stroke too.
Well so much for the ambulance service, (better late than never)- her uncle is on his feet now.