Along for the ride...

I was fortunate enough to get to ride along with paramedics in Mexico City Saturday night. After waking up Saturday morning and getting the address for an ambulance station operating in the neighborhood where I'm residing, I took a short bus ride to check it out only to find the station to be a house with an elderly women living there. She said the station had moved but her son Carlos worked there. Two minutes later Carlos was on the phone explaining that most ambulances in Mexico City are private and operated by volunteers and there actually is no station. Many paramedics here buy ambulances and park them at their homes. He didn't own one himself but knew someone who did. After a few minutes Carlos simply said to come back at 7:00 and an ambulance would pick me up. At 7:15 that evening a doctor and a medical technician showed up and after a brief introduction we were off. They said to put on one of their jackets and to just say I work for them if a cop questions me on a scene. When we took off in the van for the first call...Flying full throttle past traffic with the sirens blasting as I bounced around the back......unforgettable.