DETROIT – They’re the people responding to the calls about coronavirus. They encounter and help patients at home, treat them and rush them to hospitals.
RELATED: What it’s like to be a paramedic in the middle of a pandemic
Two Detroit paramedics who recovered from COVID-19 are sharing what it is like surviving and working every day to help save Detroiters.
Kyle Weaver and Kyle Fowle don’t call themselves heroes, but they are willing to share their stories to offer hope to those who may have COVID-19 and to show how hard the healthcare industry are working.
Update April 30, 2020 -- Michigan coronavirus (COVID-19) cases up to 41,379; Death toll now at 3,789
The decontaminating of an ambulance is a timely task, but its one that could be a matter of life and death.
“Everybody has fear. There has been a handful of citizens when I walk into their house, they don’t want us in their house,” Weaver said. “They know we are dealing with germs and the virus on a daily basis.”
Weaver was diagnosed in March with coronavirus. He said he didn’t have a fever until the last three days and was eager to get back to work once he recovered.
“I had a hard time being OK with that I wasn’t out there helping,” Weaver said.
Fowle, a father of five, said watching his children play outside while he was quarantined to his bedroom for two weeks was an emotional time for everyone in his family. He also wanted to get back on the frontlines to help others.
“You have to build that trust relationship right away. You know, that starts as soon as you get out of the ambulance,” Fowle said. “Let them know that’s everything is going to be OK. They did the right thing by calling 911 for their loved one.”
Fowle said arriving at the hospital every day is a scene he never imagined and that there’s more ambulances than ever before.
“It’s a different time to be serving as a paramedic,” Fowle said. “This is something we train for and this is the real deal.”
He said he finds peace with his family -- at the dinner table, over backyard s’mores and movie nights. Those moments got him through.
Weaver said his girlfriend and his dog bring him job and comfort.
Their families fuel them both, motivating them to suit up, clean up and head out every day for that next family that needs them.