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Final Ambulance Update
Posted by JeanneC on April 7, 2026, 6:23 pm
Even though it’s just been two months since my last ambulance summary, I felt like this was the right time as many people are headed north. Once again, I want to stress that we are not supported by the government. The ambulance exists because of your donations, making the La Manzanilla Ambulance truly a community project. And over the last two months we did 48 calls.
So, a quick summary of the calls we received in the months of February and March. We had quite a variety of calls this time, but once again, let’s start with scorpion stings. We had 24 calls for scorpion stings, with 2 pregnant patients and 3 more who had to be taken to the hospital because their reaction to the scorpion venom was so severe. Our patients ranged in age from 4 years old to 94 years old. As I’ve explained before, we store the antivenom at the ambulance base. Once there, the patient is given the antivenom in an IV. Everyone’s reaction differs. Some people have no reaction at all. Others go immediately into anaphylactic shock as soon as they are stung and can’t breathe. Our highly trained technicians are available 24/7, and they monitor the patients carefully to watch for a reaction. A team member will stay with the patient, monitoring them for 2 hours—yes, even in the middle of the night! We want to make sure every patient gets the proper care. There is no charge for the antivenom, but we appreciate any donations you give to pay for the IV solution, the tubing, and needles involved, as well as paying for the team.
As usual, we had a number of calls for vehicle accidents. One was for injuries resulting from a flipped truck, and 4 from motorcycle accidents. We dealt with fractured bones in the leg, and lots of abrasions. Again, it’s a very good idea to wear a helmet, especially out on the highway, and also to have lights on your moto, even if it’s just a flashlight attached to the front of your machine.
There was quite a selection of other calls, including 4 falls, one in a pool, intestinal—and very painful—gut issues, a couple of people with dangerously high blood pressure, one with very low blood pressure, leading to fainting. Also a couple of patients had cuts requiring sutures, and one bee sting.
There were also some more serious calls, two that dealt with people who had too much to drink, leading to psychiatric problems. The team even had to deal with someone wielding a knife! We had two calls for coronary problems, and we helped one person with post-operative trauma, as well as moving 2 people who needed to be transferred to a different hospital to get the care they needed. Finally, we helped a person with a severe kidney infection and one whose dialysis probe ruptured.
That’s about it for the last two months. As you can clearly see, the team has been hard at work dealing with a critical service for our community. When I first returned to La Manz last October, we had no money at all in our coffers. Because of great participation in our fund raisers, and because of the generosity of many people in the community, we now have enough funds to make it part-way through the summer. If you’d like to help and are still here, you can make a donation at La Manzanilla Homes, 26 Maria Asuncion. Mayan is our treasurer. There is also a donation box at Cafe du Calcetine. Remember, it costs around $1600-2000p for each call. Without your support, the ambulance can’t exist. The community ambulance belongs to all of us. We save lives. Help us to continue in our mission.
If you would like to make a donation internationally, respond to this post and I will send you specific instructions.
Re: Final Ambulance Update
Posted by SpencerC on April 8, 2026, 11:30 am, in reply to "Final Ambulance Update" Moderator
I read these reports always thinking of Jeanne with extreme gratitude…..it only matters when you need it…make it matter when it needs you. Every little bit helps everybody. My mother always said…those that can MUST.
on April 7, 2026, 6:23 pm
