Old Timey EMS & Lessons Learned With Guest Ed McGaha

Travis / Ed:
This is all clear the firefighter health and wellness podcast. I am Travis and over there is my cohost Eric and we have a special guest today. Eric, can you guess who we have with us?

Eric:
I would guess seeing he is in your setting,

Travis / Ed:
Hahaha

Eric:
he belongs to you,

Travis / Ed:
Yes, he yes

Eric:
or you

Travis / Ed:
he

Eric:
belong to him.

Travis / Ed:
oh Yeah, something like that. No, I'm sorry mama. I

Eric:
Hehehehe

Travis / Ed:
got my I got my dad with me today Ed McGaha My dad is our very first guest and he is a great guest for a very good reason So I'm not gonna tell his whole story, but we have chatted a little bit before we started recording today so Take it away dad. Why don't you tell us who you are? What my name is? I just go by Ed, Travis is dad. And back in probably mid 60s, we worked for an ambulance service here in our county. And before the funeral homes had it and they wanted to get out of it. So it picked up with a personal people ran it. The people we worked for, that bought the ambulance service, the man and his wife that we worked for. And we lived, we had the ambulance service at a house. And we actually lived there. We worked, we had, like I was telling Eric, we had a big crew, just four of us.

Eric:
Yeah

Travis / Ed:
For how big of an area? Oh, we covered the whole county. Yeah.

Eric:
Just a small little area. Just all of Cabarrus County.

Travis / Ed:
Oh, Cabarrus County. Yeah, bear in mind now the city of Concord, I think we're over 100,000 people and that's just one township.

Eric:
One city, yeah.

Travis / Ed:
Yeah, one city inside the county and this is a long time ago. Yeah, well, back then here and where we're at in Concord, it was, it's not as many people. It was kind of, and everybody's kind of laid back, you know, and it was a textile area and everybody knew each other. So they worked out good, but like I said, when I started, I just stopped by the office one day up there and I just out of the wild blue, walked in and asked them, are you hiring? And they said, yeah. I said, he said, can you start now? I said, no, I can't start now. And I said, maybe tomorrow. And he said, well, you come on in tomorrow and we'll give you your training. I said, okay, great. So I showed up next morning, went in there, and they basically showed me how to pick up a patient and put him on the stretcher so we could transport him. And I said, by the way, I can do that, yeah, that's good. And I said, what if, well, that's it right now. Says, about an hour later, I was on the call, didn't have a clue what was going on. I kinda winged it a little bit. know and basically before we could answer a call if it was during the night or day either one we had no way to know GPS or anything trying to get to a certain place house or whatever and we actually had a map on the wall downstairs we met another boy that worked together we lived upstairs we had to go downstairs, look at the map on the wall, and find out about where we were going. We had to get in the general area where we were going. And when we left, like I tell you now, we had no communications, we had no radios and ambulances. When you drove out the driveway, you were on your own. And so that's basically what we started with. And... And on the ambulance, we carry our medical equipment with a couple boxes of 4x4 bandages. We had an ACE bandage, and I think we might have had a little goss. That was it, you know. So basically all we done, we picked up a, especially a wreck. Basically all we could do is, you know. Stopped the bleeding, you know far as diagnosis and then no we couldn't do that, you know, basically we just Stop bleeding and transport them and that's basically the way the way it ran for the first year before we got radios and

Eric:
Wow.

Travis / Ed:
like Basically, so this brings up a very important question I know you did not have an ambulance like we're used to seeing now the box style What were you driving? We were driving Hurses. They bought used horses from the funeral homes had, and they converted them into ambulances. They put the lights and the sirens and the two jump seats in. That was basically it.

Eric:
That's crazy.

Travis / Ed:
We had oxygen tanks, we had that. And that was it. I mean. That's all we had to work with. Like I say, we mostly transported. So when you keep using the word transport over and over, you picked up people. Yeah, picked up people. Were they always alive when you picked them up? No, no, not always. Mostly the deceased would pick them up, mostly at homes, older people or so. Occasionally we'd get some wrecks, there'd be some just, you know, just east in the wrecks, but you know, basically we just put a bandaid on them, might as well say, and take them to the, transport them up to the hospital. And Cabrera's up here, it was about the main hospital. We had a couple hospitals around. but they didn't have a emergency room service after a certain time at night. So everything you picked up over night, it had to come to up to Combaris. And on the night shift up there in the emergency room, you did one nurse, that was it. And I mean, but we were, you know, we didn't have that, not much to do, not that busy back then. And they like now we got a hundred people sitting out there.

Eric:
Yeah.

Travis / Ed:
So I don't think Eric knows this, but did you know mom in the emergency? My mother is a nurse. Did you know her in the emergency room at the time? Kind of. Yeah.

Eric:
Hahaha

Travis / Ed:
She had to kind of first set me when I bring something in. But anyway, so that's a story for a different day. Yeah. But yeah. So.

Eric:
That's pretty amazing. How old were you when you started your job?

Travis / Ed:
I was in my early twenties, probably 22, 23, somewhere in that neighborhood. About the age that we get firefighters and, you know, young EMTs, when they go through training now that's about the age.

Eric:
Yeah.

Travis / Ed:
So that hasn't changed very much. Yeah. I was in my twenties and I was there for a couple of years and later on, you know, things kind of improved. We finally got radio. And like I tell you that the, but the communications that we had was only between when we were in the ambulance and the office. We had no contact with the hospital and no contact with nobody but who was there at the office. Like I said, if we get out somewhere and need assistance, you know, the only body to be there would be me and my partner. and the highway patrolman and that was it. We had like now, I know the fire department sends out the medics, the fire trucks and all for any kind of a call. But we didn't have that. We got there and we just had to do what it took. Once in a while, we'd kind of get in a bind. I know one time that me and my buddy, we had a, it was a house call. And like I said, you never know until you get there. And we got there and the patient was in the, they had a room set up in the basement for him. So we went down in the basement and there were about over 300 pound patient and he had deceased. And we had to figure out how to get him to the ambulance, even get him in it, come in him together, didn't we, 100 way. probably 200 pounds. So we struggled, we finally got him in there and he was so big that we had to take his arms and tie him. across his chest to keep him from, couldn't get him like you should

Eric:
Yeah.

Travis / Ed:
on the stretcher. But we finally worked it out and got him in there and got him transported. But like

Eric:
Mm.

Travis / Ed:
I said, no help. You know, that's interesting too that you mentioned that, Dad. You know, whenever I did my EMT training, they showed us the binder and the cards that they have in the ambulance. What to do if you have a... you know, anaphylactic react, whatever, you know, there's, there's a card for it. And if there's no card, you get on the radio and you call for, you know, medical supervision. So obviously you didn't have that. No, we didn't have, no. Make it up as you go. So yeah, yeah. It's make it up. When you get to a call, you make a decision and sometimes decisions were kind of difficult. Uh, I know we went to a, it was our head on collision. It was wreck. And when we got there, there were two patients. One was in the car and he was unconscious. We didn't know to extend the injuries. There's another lady in the other car, kept saying, well, I'm pregnant, I'm pregnant. And so we couldn't take both of them. So we had to decide which one we would transport. and we took the guy in the car, because we had backup come and they'd call for another ambulance or rescue squad. And they came to us, then shortly after we got loaded and left. But stuff like it just happens.

Eric:
It's a lot different times.

Travis / Ed:
Oh yeah, I can't believe it. Yeah,

Eric:
That's amazing.

Travis / Ed:
yeah.

Eric:
We need to spend more time outside of this podcast and I don't pick your brain.

Travis / Ed:
Well, yeah, that won't be hard. That won't be hard today.

Eric:
I just wanna hear stories. I'm sure

Travis / Ed:
Yeah.

Eric:
you got a ton of them, but that is absolutely amazing. Getting into the job and... what you see now compared to the way it was when you got in. If you could have had one piece of advice going into the job, what do you wish that had been?

Travis / Ed:
have more, uh, public more training. Yeah. No, but that would be, that would be the big.

Eric:
Yeah. You said when you stopped by that they were ready to hire you on the

Travis / Ed:
Oh yeah,

Eric:
spot

Travis / Ed:
yeah.

Eric:
and wanted you to work that day.

Travis / Ed:
That day, that night, yeah. I put it off to the next day.

Eric:
And nowadays, just going through an EMT class, it is several hundred hours just

Travis / Ed:
Yeah.

Eric:
in itself. And

Travis / Ed:
And the ride along.

Eric:
then you get into the paramedic programs and that's a two-year program.

Travis / Ed:
Yeah, like I said, we had the certification, just a basic Red Cross certification, basically just first aid, that was it.

Eric:
Wow.

Travis / Ed:
No training on the handle, you know, different situations like major trauma situations from a wreck. And a lot of the trauma from wrecks and all. they would transport them to Cabarrus. And back then, Cabarrus, they couldn't handle something like that. So then we'd have to transport them from Cabarrus to Charlotte, to Memorial Hospital, where they were more equipped to handle stuff like that.

Eric:
Wow.

Travis / Ed:
You know, Eric, I want to tell a story about my dad. Um, when I started my journey into the fire service and, and everywhere that I've wound up at over the last decade or so, um, you know, I had to get my EMT certification and I did it at the local community college and, you know, six months at night. You know, we, we passed the portion there, but I had to go take my state exam. And, uh, it was in Pinehurst, North Carolina at the community college there at sand Hills community college where I was

Eric:
Mm-hmm.

Travis / Ed:
going to take my exam. Well, my dad was the only person crazy enough to get up with me at like what four o'clock in the morning. I had to be over there by like six 30 and you know, that's a good little jump from here. So he rode with me and you know, he, he was the calming effect to get me through one of the more stressful tests I've had to take in my career. And,

Eric:
That's

Travis / Ed:
uh,

Eric:
awesome.

Travis / Ed:
Hey, you know, when I, when I was over, he looked at me and he said, how you think you did? I was like, No idea. I don't know if I did good or bad. I, it was very neutral. He's like, okay, let's go to waffle house. And you know

Eric:
Hehehehe

Travis / Ed:
what? It worked out, but I felt honored to have him with me when I was having to go through that. So, you know, uh, it, it's a generational thing on a lot of levels. I think we see, um, how much we can learn from guys that have done the job. Um, whether it be, you know, the paramedic side, the medical side, the fire side, whatever it is, and it's important to listen to the not just the stories, but the wisdom that come from these guys. And

Eric:
Yeah.

Travis / Ed:
you know, I've learned tons from him and not just, you know, first responder related stuff, but I've learned a lot from him in life. And a lot of that goes back to the stuff that he had applied during his career. And I feel like I need to say that. Yeah.

Eric:
You know, and that's pretty cool, having both of you that can, they can share the information of how it was compared to how it is today. And, you know, I reference a lot about generational gaps in the fire service. And, you know, Being able to listen to your dad and his time in the service compared to things that you see and do now on the job. And it's like, wow, how'd you

Travis / Ed:
Ha

Eric:
guys

Travis / Ed:
ha ha!

Eric:
do this way back then with only having four people cover the whole county, whatever else.

Travis / Ed:
Yeah.

Eric:
And being able to relate like that, I think that's amazing.

Travis / Ed:
Yeah. Go ahead. Oh, and they, we also, when we transported someone to the hospital, we had to ask them for the pay right then.

Eric:
Oh wow.

Travis / Ed:
You know, we didn't bill and we'd walk up to them, say, well, you know, you owe such and such for the trip, would you like to take care of it? And back then, I believe, to transport somebody within the city limits of here, thankfully like. $15, $20. That's not even a copay now. Yeah, yeah.

Eric:
Yeah, no kidding.

Travis / Ed:
Yeah, but if you went out and accounting now, you got 25. So. No, big money. Yeah, big money. So. Price

Eric:
So

Travis / Ed:
of stuff wasn't high.

Eric:
on the bean counter side of things, let's say somebody didn't pay.

Travis / Ed:
Well, they just have to come by the office. We just tell them, give them a bail like, and just say, you know, just come by the office. A lot of times if the people were stressed, if it was something serious, you know, we wouldn't ask for money. We just, you know. So y'all did have a heart. Oh yeah, yeah. Yeah.

Eric:
Hahaha

Travis / Ed:
You know, I think it's funny. I think you've mentioned before that you had some, like nowadays people have frequent fliers, people they see on a regular basis. Did you, how did you guys handle the reoccurring patients? Well, I know one lady we had, she was an elderly lady and she lived by herself. And she would call up to the station and say, I need to go to the hot, to the emergency room. And we said, okay. So we'd go, first time we'd go pick her up. So I started to get, oh, I don't need the stretcher. She crawled up in front seat and sit between us. and we drove her to the hospital. Every month or two later, we got caught. Well, I need to go to the emergency room. We went back down there and she got up in the front seat and we told her to go to the emergency room. And I think we might not even have been able to back then, cause you know, cause she was an elderly lady. And I told, when we got ready, they said, y'all boys come back and get me. I said, yes ma'am, we'll try if we ain't busy. And I gave the nurse like five bucks. I said, when she gets ready to leave, get her a taxi.

Eric:
Yeah.

Travis / Ed:
Yeah. And you know, it's funny things like that haven't changed a whole lot. There's still folks that call for, you know, just human contact, you know, to just somebody to talk to, just reassurance and things like that. And I know here in Cabarrus County, they have a program that the EMS department here has now, where they have folks that they check on a regular basis. You know, sometimes it'll be a diabetic or different things like that. Just, you know, to number one, help them maintain their health and be cautious so they don't have an emergency. But also it gives them a certain level of human contact that maybe a lot of people don't have. So sometimes I think we undervalue how important the job is, you know, just interacting and dealing with people.

Eric:
Yeah, most definitely.

Travis / Ed:
Yeah, back then, you know, like I said, a small town like we were, and the patients we'd take in, you know, we had time to, you know, spend some time with them and bond with them and help them to get through whatever they were trying to get through. And so it worked out. That is very true. And you know, Dad, I really, you know, mom and I had been talking a long time about how we need to record and put down from posterity, your experiences as to what you've done. Because it is very valuable. Not just to us and not just for a funny story here or there, but there is a lot that we can learn from our elders, you know, in the service. Whether it be a chief at the department now or. You know, it, you know, your dad who did something that, you know, it wasn't his career for the rest of his life, but he did it long enough to have an understanding for how things go. But, uh, I do have a favor I have to ask of you. No, go ahead. Okay. There is a story that I've always liked. Can you tell us about the time you had to transport the corpse? Oh yeah. And it, uh, made noise. Yeah. He talked to me. No,

Eric:
Hahaha

Travis / Ed:
it was, uh, One night, I don't know, some two o'clock in the morning, sometime late, and it was raining and foggy and just nasty outside. And they had a wreck here in the county. And so we know what the situation was before we left the office. And we had a station wagon. It was an old Ford station wagon. I... Back then, you know, they were the big honkers and we actually converted it into an ambulance the station wagon, I mean you can get the stretcher in and that was about it and Didn't have a partition between you and the patient and sometimes you had slide seat up and not to do the Be able to get patient in anyway went out there to direct the man turn the car over and I think the car might have rolled over him but he was deceased and the highway patrolman or sheriff or whoever who was there, you know, they helped load him up by myself. We put him in the back and I started up the road and all of a sudden something bumped me in the back of the head and grunted.  I was not sure if he had a hatchet or something so I had to keep one eye on the road and one on the rearview mirror.

Eric:
Hehehehe

Travis / Ed:
I said Lord how... I like being too DOA'd, I like...

Eric:
Hahaha

Travis / Ed:
Did you have a radio you could call for help? No, I only had no radio. So I flipped red lights on, I come through City Concord probably 100 miles an hour.

Eric:
Ha ha ha!

Travis / Ed:
Did you ever find out if he was he properly secured or not tied down or? Yeah, I had put my brakes one time, pretty hard when I transport. And I think then he slid up when he hit bumped in back of me. And my wife said that you build up air in your lungs and

Eric:
Hmm.

Travis / Ed:
then all of a sudden you just exhale. We chose to exhale when he hit me. We're

Eric:
Hmm

Travis / Ed:
both X-Tel. You see growing up, I would hear stories similar to that all the time. And I think we're going to have to do a special Patreon edition eventually where we, uh, let him tell some unfiltered stories, uh, that, uh, maybe the general public aren't quite ready for, but,

Eric:
Heh

Travis / Ed:
uh,

Eric:
heh

Travis / Ed:
you know,

Eric:
heh.

Travis / Ed:
I just want to tell you, dad, thanks for coming and hanging out and being our first real guest on the all clear podcast. Yeah, enjoy it. It's, it's an honor and I'm sure you'll be back. You live what a hundred yards from me. So if we ever get in a bond, we got instant, uh, instant fame here. But,

Eric:
man.

Travis / Ed:
uh, you know, uh, the, the one takeaway I have, uh, one thing that my dad has taught me over the years is you play, you pay, he's always told me that. And it makes a lot of sense in a lot of ways that. You know, if you don't take what you do seriously, it's gonna get you in trouble. And then also sometimes you have to take a risk in order to do what you wanna do. So, you know, that's kinda my takeaway from my dad and I just wanted to share him with our listeners and just see how awesome it is when you talk to some of the guys, the salty guys that have been around a while and you can learn some really cool stuff.

Eric:
I know I appreciate you being here tonight. That was phenomenal. Thank you.

Travis / Ed:
All right. I enjoyed it. Well, cool. Well, uh, you have been listening to the all clear podcast and we'll talk to you guys soon. Have a good evening.