Whether they’re firefighters, paramedics, emergency medical responders (EMR), surgeons, or emergency room nurses, Manitobans literally rely on them every single day of the year.
But until we experience our own health emergency, we may not fully appreciate their dedication, sacrifice, and call to duty.
For this article, The Citizen interviewed a cross section of Ritchot and Niverville residents who all share the same sentiment: a deep sense of gratitude for the medical heroes among us.
Ludolf Grollé
On November 18, Ludolf Grollé’s heart stopped pumping—not once, but six times over the course of the night. If not for the quick response of a string of on-call medical professionals, Ludolf can say with confidence that it would have been his last day alive.
Keith Bueckert, fire chief for Niverville Fire and Emergency Services, says that Ludolf’s was one of 50 cardiac and shortness of breath calls his team has attended this year so far.
In total, Niverville’s firefighters and EMS have been dispatched to 226 medical calls since the year began. That’s an average of 20 calls per month.
For Ludolf, that Saturday began much like any other. He and his wife Diane were headed downtown to pick up Chinese food. Diane was behind the wheel.
Diane says she was suddenly startled when Ludolf’s body began to convulse. He’s a practical joker, she says, so in the beginning she thought he was playing a cruel prank.
She pulled over and gave him a loving swat, making it clear to him that she didn’t find his antics amusing. Ludolf had survived a heart attack 13 years prior and, for the better part of the last year, had been experiencing some shortness of breath.
Within seconds, Ludolf came to and had no recollection of what had just taken place. Diane turned around and took him back home to rest before heading out again to pick up supper.
She implored Ludolf to call Jason, their neighbour and friend, to keep him company until she returned. Begrudgingly, he complied.
Within moments of arriving, Jason called 911. A firefighter himself, he was familiar with the symptoms of cardiac failure.
Diane was only gone minutes when she returned to another shock.
“When I came home my house was full of neighbours, [EMR] and firefighters,” Diane says. “They had Ludolf hooked up to some monitors and I could tell from his eyes that he wasn’t well.”
Within a brief time, emergency medical technicians [EMTs] arrived in an ambulance from St. Pierre-Jolys. Ludolf remembers with fondness the care he received from the attending EMTs, Jenn and Colleen, and their ability to make astute judgements on the fly.
Ludolf’s condition was serious, they determined, so they turned the ambulance in the direction of Winnipeg’s top heart specialists at the St. Boniface Hospital.
Attached to a gurney and en route to Winnipeg, Ludolf’s heart stopped again.
“I suddenly wake up and the [EMTs] have their masks off,” says Ludolf. “The ambulance was stopped and they were saying, ‘Are you with us? Are you with us?’”
Ludolf feels a sense of gratitude to the attending EMTs, who remained at his side for the next few hours as he reached the emergency room.
In the following hours, he was put through a barrage of tests and numerous visits by cardiologists. He was diagnosed with bradycardia, a dropping of the heartrate, and would need a pacemaker implant.
The average heartrate lands somewhere between 60 and 100, but Ludolf’s was dropping below 30 at times.
Throughout that night, Ludolf’s heart stopped another four times. Each time, he awoke to emergency staff pumping his chest to bring him back.
“I go to lie back and the next thing I know the orderlies are there and half the trauma team is all around me going, ‘Wake up. Are you with us?’ Then the cardiac guy comes down and he says, ‘Looks like we’re going to do the emergency surgery right now.’”
In the wee hours of the morning, a temporary pacemaker was installed. Ludolf was conscious throughout the procedure. Since he had to be fully horizontal during the surgery, an electrical pulse was applied to his heart. He describes it as feeling like a meat mallet pounding his chest with constant and discomforting regularity.
Hours later, Ludolf underwent a second surgery to have a permanent pacemaker installed.
And 48 hours after his arrival, Ludolf was on his way home.
During that time, Ludolf says he was seen by no less than six cardiologists and a host of medical technicians. From beginning to end, Ludolf and Diane felt the peace and assurance that comes from emergency attendants and staff who demonstrate kindness and professionalism amidst the urgency and chaos of life’s emergencies.
Both Diane and Ludolf can’t fully express the heartfelt gratitude they feel toward everyone responsible for his survival. And they are grateful as well to live in a country with our healthcare system.
“It didn’t cost me a penny,” Ludolf says. “Thank the Lord for that!”
Diane still shakes her head in happy disbelief when she recalls the level of support they received during that experience, from the neighbour who came to stay with her dogs to the other neighbour who dropped everything to escort her to the St. Boniface emergency ward.
“It’s overwhelming how much support we’ve had,” Diane says. “From the wonderful neighbours and the emergency people to the hospital staff. It’s just phenomenal.”
As fire chief, Bueckert has seen endings that don’t go as well as Ludolf and Diane’s. His advice, in all circumstances, is to never delay when symptoms arise, however mild.
“If you’re not sure, make the call,” Bueckert says. “Emergency services can attend. And if they are not required, then they can leave. No problem. EMS does not come from up the street in Niverville. EMS can come from anywhere in the southeast. Time does count, so don’t delay with the call.”
According to Bueckert, cardiac symptoms can include chest pain which may radiate outwards to the jaw, back, and arms. The pain can feel sharp, dull, or heavy. Sufferers may also experience sweating, nausea and vomiting, lightheadedness, or difficulty breathing.
Emily Scott
It’s been almost a year since Emily Scott experienced a trauma she hopes to never repeat. Even so, she’s thankful to this day for the rapid response of the local firefighters and EMTs.
Scott’s young son was about nine months old when she decided to treat him to a little peanut butter on his baby biscuit.
“Within a minute, he broke out into a rash around his mouth,” Scott says. “The rash started to spread all over his face and he became quite red and his eyes puffy and watery. He got hives on his hands as the peanut butter was all over them. I quickly washed him up and stripped his clothes off while my husband called 911.”
Although it felt like an eternity, Scott says that the first firefighters arrived within about five minutes of the call. They did everything to ensure that the infant’s condition was stable until the EMTs showed up in the ambulance.
Thankfully, the boy’s body was already self-regulating for marked improvement by the time they reached the hospital.
“The medics who came to our home to look after our son did a great job,” says Scott. “They checked his breathing, then gave us a rundown of how he seemed to be fine. But it was still vital to take him in to get checked to be safe. The medical staff [at the hospital] were all fantastic and the doctor prescribed an EpiPen for our son.”
Suzanne Lepage
On February 14, 2023, Suzanne Lepage was driving home from work in St. Norbert, headed east on Highway 210 towards the bridge that leads to her home in St. Adolphe.
Before she reached the bridge, though, Lepage’s vehicle was struck head-on by a vehicle heading west. The driver had lost control when they hit a snowbank created by high winds on this stormy afternoon.
Lepage’s vehicle was a complete write-off. Her battery was later located in a field nearby.
Two gentlemen immediately stopped to assess the scene. One directed traffic while the other climbed into the passenger side of the vehicle next to Lepage. It happened to be Christian Clavelle, president of the Winnipeg chapter of Canadian First-Aid Training Inc.
Clavelle kept her calm and talked her through the pain. When she feared that her car was on fire, he told her that it was actually the scent of deployed air bags.
Ritchot firefighters arrived on scene in short order and put their extrication equipment to use to free Lepage from her vehicle.
“They couldn’t get me out because both my legs were in pain and I had trouble breathing because all of my ribs on my right side and my sternum were fractured,” says Lepage.
They took great precautions, she said, first cloaking her with warm blankets and then a tarp to keep flying debris away.
A firefighter in the back seat covered her left ear while the extrication saw worked nearby. The firefighter performing the extrication placed his own body between Lepage and the saw blade in order to protect her.
Within the hour, Lepage was being whisked away by ambulance, in the midst of a winter storm, to the Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg.
“I knew some of the [emergency medical responders], but in most cases these people are strangers,” Lepage says of the firefighters who came to her aid. “They leave the comfort of their home, their families, and they drop everything they’re doing to come and help a complete stranger in a time of trauma. I can’t even explain how touching it is. These people are true heroes.”
Raya Friesen
In August 2023, nine-year-old Raya Friesen was doing what so many other adventurous kids do: climbing a tree. Unfortunately, she lost her grip and fell 12 feet to the ground, sustaining an open fracture to her elbow and another to her wrist.
Her mom, Jenn Trinkies, called 911 and EMTs arrived on site within seven minutes of the call.
“They were kind, empathetic, telling her jokes, and helping keep us calm,” Trinkies says. “They were efficient in gathering information without being too overwhelming, and so supportive of us.”
According to Trinkies, the EMTs determined that a STARS airlift would be the safest transport available. She was delivered to the HSC children’s unit where she underwent a five-hour surgery.
Trinkies describes the Niverville Fire and Emergency team as professional, efficient, and amazingly adept with kids.
As for the STARS crew, Trinkies just can’t say enough.
“They greeted me in the parking lot and told me what they would do to keep her calm and comfortable during the flight,” Trinkies says. “Apparently, they talked and joked with her the whole way, and gave her a VIP teddy bear in a STARS jumpsuit on the roof of the hospital. She was so excited to see it when she came out of surgery. Raya is waiting for her meeting with her STARS team now and is so excited to thank them.”
Immeasurable Value
While the Ritchot fire department does not have trained EMR on staff, they are able to administer CPR and first aid when required and while waiting on paramedics to arrive. Mostly, this occurs when responding to motor vehicle accidents.
“To date, we have responded to a grand total of 125 calls in 2023,” says Ritchot deputy fire chief Paul Houle. “This is down a little from our average of 150 per year. Perhaps the mild winter weather has contributed to this by reducing the number of motor vehicle collisions we usually see through November and December.”
Apart from firefighting, his team of volunteers have extricated people from vehicles and farm equipment, performed water rescues, confined space rescues, and faced many life-threatening situations.
They also help STARS air ambulance by establishing safe landing zones and provide lift assistance for patients into an ambulance when needed.
When asked just how valuable Ritchot’s volunteer firefighters are to the municipality, Houle says it’s almost too great to measure.
“Our men and women are very dedicated to serving their community,” Houle says. “Like so many smaller communities across Canada, the services we provide would not be possible without our volunteers. RFD is also well supported by municipal council, which makes it possible for us to provide a broad range of emergency services. Volunteers are our backbone, but training and equipment do come at a cost.”
Bueckert, too, can’t say enough about Niverville’s team of volunteer emergency service providers.
“Niverville emergency services work hard every day to provide service to our community,” says Bueckert. “Our members are dedicated to helping our neighbours in time of need. I could not be prouder of our group.”
