Paramedics was a medical-based television reality show that ran on TLC from 1999 to 2001 and now runs infrequently on Discovery Health Channel. A spin-off of Trauma: Life in the E.R., Paramedics followed the activities of teams of EMTs and paramedics in a number of large urban centers in the United States. The show had no regular cast; every week featured a different city and a different group of paramedics. Actor Michael McGlone narrated the series. Composer Chuck Hammer scored the series. The excitement as well as the occasional tedium of being a member of a paramedic team is evident, as cases ranging from life-and-death to broken wrists to false calls are all featured. The show differed from Trauma: Life in the E.R. in that it did not show surgeries and hospital discharges. Instead, it focused on the importance of a paramedic's immediate care and social skills in dealing with a variety of people.
Orlando: A 70-year-old man was in a minivan rollover on I-4; A 21-year-old man goes into a diabetic shock when his plane lands at Orlando International; A 42-year-old man has been smacked in the head with a beer bottle; A 16-year-old girl is running a hight fever and is slipping in and out of consciousness; A 76-year-old woman slipped on a hard wood floor in her home,suffering a femur fracture; A large bookshelf falls onto two small children; An ER frequent flyer claims to have had a seizure, and a few hours later is picked up again.
Charlotte, North Carolina: A man has been shot in the upper arm; An elderly woman has fallen and broken her ankle; The water breaks on a woman 4½ months pregnant; An employee at a car dealership has been shot in a robbery; A drunk who has been on a bender for two weeks wants to go somewhere to dry up; A 19-year-old has injured his ankle in a sporting event; A drug dealer swallowed three rocks of cocaine to avoid arrest.
A 59-year-old man has taken a hard fall from a horse; A 26-year-old woman has been in a rollover accident; Paramedics have to retrieve a snake from someone's home; A young woman fractures her clavicle in an accident; A 44-year-old suffers a seizure in a grocery store; A 33-year-old man was hit with a beer bottle and punched in the mouth; A cancer patient is experiencing nausea; A woman complains of chest pains and breathing problems; A construction worker has fallen 20 feet, landing on his back; A diabetic man being taken to the hospital refuses to take an IV.
A 61-year-old man has collapsed in a parking lot; A shooting victim is bleeding heavily; A tracheotomy patient has some bleeding around his tracheal tube; A 61-year-old man has been hit in the head with a stick; Paramedics notice needle tracks on the arms of a woman complaining of chest pains; A 75-year-old man was sitting in his chair at home when he started feeling dizzy; A 34-year-old man is suspected of going into diabetic shock when he is found unconscious and unresponsive; A 79-year-old man collapses in his home and is experiencing rectal bleeding.
Reno, Nevada: A 72-year-old asthmatic man collapses after having trouble breathing; A 36-weeks pregnant woman was rear-ended on her way to work; A man inside a motel room is complaining of chest pains; A three-year-old suffers a pediatric seizure; A concerned neighbor calls 911 about her neighbor who has a history of falling down; A 36-year-old man has overdosed on 40 methadone pills; A 39-year-old man suffers a seizure; A 63-year-old man with a history of heart disease is feeling ill.
Indianapolis,Indiana: A man drives into a house in an apparent carjacking; A 16-year-old girl suffers a febrile seizure; A five-year-old boy has been hit by a van; A man collapses at a club from a possible drug reaction; An out-of-control man was arrested; A man driving a stolen car is badly injured when he crashes into a tree; A satellite installer was attacked by two pit bulls.
Orlando: A 20-year-old man has badly injured his legs in a high-speed crash; A 65-year-old man is suspected of having a stroke; A five-year-old sickle cell patient is running a really high fever; A car surfer is run over by the car he was standing on; A man his having chest pains after smoking crack; A 20-year-old motorcycle rider has been hit by a car; A 73-year-old man is crushed by a large tree; A man on a roof tripped and fell 30 feet to concrete pavement.
A 77-year-old man has been experiencing chest pains for several hours; A man has been beaten up in a robbery; A teenager injures her ankle jumping on a trampoline; A diabetic is acting combative; A 72-year-old woman is experiencing chest pains; A 39-year-old man has been ejected from his truck in an accident; A man has had an alcoholic blackout; A ten-year-old has been bitten by a neighbor's dog; A paramedic gets a new tattoo.
Kansas City: An elderly woman was working in her yard when she started feeling dizzy and weak; A 16-year-old boy has a severe laceration on the back of his head from a car accident; A retired fire captain is having a heart attack; A combative 40-year-old man having a seizure stops breathing after being given a sedative to calm him down; A man suffering from congestive heart failure has been having progressively heavy breathing for three days; An attendee at a religious event passes out; A 75-year-old woman is dazed and confused after rolling out of bed and falling on the floor; An 84-year-old former baseball star who has collapsed in his home is suspected of having had a stroke.
Reno, Nevada: An 50-year-old woman is trapped in a station wagon after it has been hit by an SUV; A 60-year-old man starts having chest pains while playing a slot machine; A 14-year-old bicyclist with a history of blackouts crashes into a car; A 16-year-old boy falls off the back of a truck while road surfing; A 65-year-old vacationer threw out her back; A 32-year-old man is having bad chest pains; A 23-year-old is unconscious in a bar after a fight; A 53-year-old man is complaining of chest pains; A 45-year-old man is in a diabetic shock.
San Jose: A young woman with a history of alcohol and psychiatric problems claims to have been assaulted; Various car crash victims; A man who has been drinking has passed out in a creek bed;
Santa Clara County, California: A 34-year-old man's neck has been slashed from side to side; A 35-year-old woman ran off the road and landed in a tree; A frequent flyer had a seizure and fell; A 54-year-old man has overdosed on alcohol and pills; A 78-year-old man has suffered a diabetic seizure; A young man has faked being beaten up after being kicked out of his parents' house; A 42-year-old man was stabbed in the abdomen; A young woman has stabbed her boyfriend in the chest; A 32-year-old man has suffered a diabetic seizure, and also has a large sore on his leg.
Little Rock, Arkansas: An intoxicated young man has been ejected from a car after it crashed; A young woman has been shot multiple times; A man who had previously been shot in the head months earlier has suffered a seizure; A 12-year-old girl has collapsed after a violent epileptic seizure; A young man has suffered a gunshot wound to the head; A 61-year-old diabetic man, acting irrationally due to low blood sugar, has walked away from his home; A 77-year-old woman is a frequent flyer; A three-year-old boy has swallowed a thumb tack.
Merilyn Holmes and Brandon Graham work together as paramedics in Washington, D.C., responding to calls during the day and at night.
Las Vegas, Nevada: A nine-month old in a hotel is having a seizure; A 52-year-old woman's car was hit by an SUV; A 71-year-old man almost collapsed with abdominal pains while playing a slot machine; Paramedics stop for a snack at a light night restaurant that had just been robbed; A man was assaulted with a hammer after dropping off a friend; A man's legs are burned after he tried to restart his barbecue with gasoline; An accident involving four vehicles, two of which rolled over; leaves four critical and two dead; A homeless frequent flyer calls for an ambulance to get a free ride; A psychotic patient has PTSD.
