Ever been taken to the hospital in the back of an ambulance?

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There are some pretty scary stories in this thread.
Glad to see you all made it alright though!

Ambulances are supposed to be wiped down and cleaned inside after every run if possible.
The gurney is stripped of the sheets(if they didn't go with the patient) and the mattress wiped down with a disinfectant.
Now-a-days, EMTs wear gloves for every call, and some wear eye protection as well.
When I was working, we never did for most calls... but that was before the big AIDs scare in the early 80's.
After that, we started wearing gloves.

You should not be smelling diesel smell in the back of an ambulance unless there's something wrong with the unit.
You might get a whiff when the doors are opened, and many ambulances run on gasoline, not diesel.

I've actually been in two accidents in my units... both times no one in the ambulance was hurt though.
One guy who was a student and riding in the back on the way to a call, wound up with almost all the contents of the cabinets on top of him... we were git broadside and spun around 180 degrees.

I agree that riding in the back of an ambulance is not... pretty, quiet, nor comfortable... but then.. neither is an emergency room or e.r. bed!

Yeah, just when the doors opened. It's just a very nostalgic smell for me, so when I notice it, it sticks in my mind for a while.

I left out the really scary part of my story. I had called 911 an hour earlier with the same symptoms and a slightly lower temperature. Even though I had all the classic signs of heat stroke, the paramedics told me I had the flu. I explained that I had just gone for a long walk in the hot sun and then suddenly stopped sweating, felt really cold, couldn't drink water without vomiting, etc. They laughed at me and said there was no reason to go to the hospital.

Fortunately, when I called again with a higher temperature, they sent a different ambulance company. The second team was a little silly, but the ones who came first were real idiots. I've had the flu plenty of times, just like anyone, and it's obviously nothing like heat stroke. It's also less likely to kill you!

Several times. I had to go to hospital following my first epileptic seizure (which happened when I was 11, during an RE lesson at school), and I've been to hospital in ambulances on a few occasions since then. Benefits of having something seriously wrong with your brain, I guess...

Quite a few seizure stories here.
I've never experienced one myself, but have taken care of folks who have been in the throes of a seizue.

I imagine when you first called you were at home, just having come back from the walk?
Getting out of the sun, the cooler temp of a house, and your body shutting down peripheral circulation might have been the reason you felt cold at first, briefly... glad you're still around though!

Just don't get forget that you could wind up the same way here in California... even in the Bay Area, but that would likely be another extreme case.

I kind of approximated the details for the sake of brevity. Both 911 calls were placed by my boyfriend. About a half hour after I got back from the walk, I realized I was in really bad shape. It was warm in the house, but I was shivering, my temperature was rising really fast, etc. So I called my boyfriend at work. He could tell by the way my voice sounded that something was seriously wrong so he hurried home. Then he decided to call the ambulance. I was too delirious to make that kind of decision. He called the second time an hour or two later because I was getting worse and my temperature was really high. (More details omitted for brevity's sake, but you get the idea.)

Anyway, yeah, it can happen almost anywhere. Now I'm a lot more careful about heat and exercise. Just taking water with you can make all the difference.

I was in the back of one today, but that's because I was talking with some friends whom run with the ambulance company.

I have been in one once to go to a hospital, one other time.

Just once, when I broke my arm playing football.

In retrospect, it was pretty cool. Arms go like this --- mine was -v-. Thank god for morphine.

I have, twice. One time, somebody exploded a can of bear spray in my high school, a long time ago, and I was affected by the fumes. The second time was when I've had a massive meltdown at Starbucks, last year, around this time, when I was looking around town, for my friends.

ive never been in an ambulance but been to emergency many times

when i was in the back of one i could just smell a plasticy type smell. mainly because they stuck a oxygen mask on me.

I was in one once. While we were in San Antonio, TX, my friend and I were playing in the street, we were 4 or 5. I was hit by a pickup truck. I was conscious again when the ambulance arrived, they put a neck brace on me because I landed with my neck on the curb and for some other reasons I don't remember them saying but shock may have been another one. I don't remember much about the ride. They put me on a stretcher, strapped me in and pushed me into the ambulance(Pushing the stretcher in was bumpy). They put an oxygen mask on me and told me to breathe deeply. They checked my pulse I think and asked me a few yes/no questions every once in a while. I may have blacked out a few times, I don't remember arriving at the hospital. I puked my guts out at the hospital, that I remember.

I have been in one a couple of times. The most recent, was in 2003. I lived in an apartment building with a lot of heavy smokers. Since I am allergic, the fumes started making me ill. It was extremely cold outside, and I couldn't open a window more than a crack to get fresh air. After a few weeks of that, I finally came down with bronchial pneumonia, and had an asthma attack so severe that I was rushed to the hospital with an oxygen mask on. I don't have asthma now, thank God.

The ones where I am are not like that at all and they certainly don't smell of diesel.
I've been taken to hospital in an ambulance 3 times.

-The first time was because I fainted and hit my head. (was standing for a long time, thats why I fainted).

-The second time was because I overdosed on pills and they made me have a seizure.

-The third time was because I had a fast (217 bpm) and irregular heart beat and I fainted. Doctors said it was caused by sustained ventricular tachycardia. I had to have lots of tests at the hospital...arghh!

I guess we just have old ambulances

Twice in 1986 because I got hit by a car while riding my bicycle to work, first time I just needed a few stitches in my face,
the second time I broke my left elbow and I needed an orthopedic pin implanted. In 1998 I rode in an ambulette from
one hospital to another after having a mild heart attack.