Eleven-year-old Josiah lives a quiet country life in Perth, Ontario. Josiah and his three brothers enjoy time outdoors swimming, fishing and gaming. Mom Melany keeps the household and their family running, happy and healthy. However, in the early morning of Monday, April 20 this year Josiah would receive a life-changing diagnose leading to a trip with Ornge to Kingston.
 
For the whole weekend, Josiah was feeling unwell. While the rest of the boys were able to quickly recover, Josiah was still groggy and lethargic.
 
Josiah developed abdominal pain and when he went to attempt a bathroom trip Josiah’s urine was crystal clear. This prompted Josiah to have his blood sugar tested and the reading came back at 32 – a medical emergency.
 
Josiah was rushed to Perth and Smith Falls District Hospital and was quickly triaged. An IV was inserted as the attending clinicians waited for test results. Josiah was in and out of consciousness at this time and could only manage short answers when he was awake.
 
Within 30 minutes, the decision was made to airlift Josiah to Kingston General Hospital (KGH) with Ornge. The Ornge team arrived and began to prep Josiah for transport.
 
The team was ready for transport and Josiah boarded the helicopter to Kingston. Throughout the whole process, the paramedics explained what to expect, Josiah’s treatment plan and were able to answer their questions. 
 
Once at KGH, Josiah was admitted to the paediatric unit. Clinical staff continued to administer insulin by IV and put him on Dexcom CGM to monitor his blood sugar. Every four hours Josiah would have his finger pricked to determine if any adjustments to the insulin and fluids would be required to continue lowering his glucose levels. For the first 24 hours in the hospital, Josiah was in and out of consciousness and does not remember much about his transport or stay in the hospital.
 
By Thursday, Josiah was discharged and sent off with an official diagnosis of type one diabetes. It has been a learning curve, but with special gadgets that alert Melany to changes in Josiah’s blood sugar, Josiah has been adjusting well.
 
The biggest challenge Josiah said was having to do his finger pricks and insulin every day.
 
We acknowledge the pilots, paramedics, and Operations Control Centre staff that were a part of Josiah’s transport. Your professionalism, coordination, and skills are what made the difference in Josiah’s transport and to his family.
 
“I know it takes a certain special kind of human to be in these jobs and do this all day and see what they have to work with,” said Melany. “To paramedics Randy, Matt and Esther, thank you for caring for Josiah! Forever grateful and thank you is never enough. You saved him. Your tireless effort, work ethics, dedication prove you are worthy of so much more.”
 

• Patients and Families