Kevin Milne: Should you always call an ambulance immediately?

A bit of drama this week raised a question for Kevin Milne. 

Though it turned out to be nothing serious, Kevin had a bit of a health issue in the middle of the night. He convinced his wife to put off calling an ambulance, in case it came right, but he’s now pondering the question: should you always call one immediately? 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:07):
You're listening to the Saturday Morning with Jack Team podcast
from News Talks.

Speaker 2 (00:11):
That'd be Kevin Milne is here with us this Saturday. Hey, Kevin,
how are you?

Speaker 3 (00:18):
I'd be interested in the daily sleep score at least
for a few weeks, because I think that there's a
difference between how much sleep we think we've had in
the night and how much we actually get. Of course,
it's hell hard to tell that unless you've got a
reliable phone that can tell you. My wife's got one,
and she promises to tell me what it is, but

(00:39):
she sets it for herself all the time.

Speaker 2 (00:41):
Okay, do you do that? Do you do the activity
rings or you know that step count or anything like that?

Speaker 3 (00:47):
No, I no, I don't do any of those things.
I'm just fascinated by sleep really because sometimes I think
I've gone almost right through the night in his sleep, Yeah,
but then something will crop up, little c you were
storing last night, and I'm thinking, well, I can have been,
but I was. So That's what I've been said in

(01:08):
the sleep score for how much sleep do are we
actually getting without realizing it?

Speaker 2 (01:13):
There are also some part of those monitors and apps
and things I think you can get a snore score, Kevin,
So that could be an option for you as well.
Maybe that's a way to start with Linda instead of
saying just a sleep get a snore score as well.
But anyway, you want to raise a tricky issue about
ambulances this morning.

Speaker 3 (01:28):
Yeah, we know you don't we to call an ambulance
straight away with stroke, a heart attack or meningitas if
we pick that up, But what about other stuff? A
little drama On Wednesday night, I got into bed, tried sleeping,
then tried to get up for a glass of water.
Couldn't When I tried to lift my head off the pillow,

(01:48):
excruciating pain in my neck. Tried again again shut nerve
pain in my neck. My yelps woke Linda up, who
saw that I was in distress. I told her the problem.
She tried to help me out of bed, but it
was too painful. I couldn't get out. Linda checks her
phone under nerve pain and neck. Turn out it could

(02:09):
be arthritis, herniated disc, stiff neck, even meningosihs Her thoughts,
if you can't stand up in your in real pain,
we'd better call an ambulance. No, no, I said, no, No,
let's wait, it might come right, but it didn't, and
Linda suggests we call an ambulance immediately rather than wait,

(02:31):
which is always the advice. I protest. There'd be a
hoo ha, the neighbors would be thinking I'd had a
heart attack, and if I'm tagging into the hospital, we're
in for a huge disruption to our lives for all
the wrong reasons. I convinced Linda not to call an
ambulance straight away. After a painful, sleepless night, in the morning,

(02:53):
I managed to get on my feet and called my
health center. I told the nurse and a symptoms. She
told me I likely had a stiff neck, but take
some canadle, do some stretchers and it'll come right, which
it did, and once again I was left to consider
that advice. If you're worried there's something serious, don't back around.

(03:18):
Call an ambulance straight away. Had I done that, I'd
have been fronting up at the emergency department in Wellington
with nothing more than a stiff neck. Embarrassing. It's a
really tricky thing that jack knowing when or not to
call an ambulance.

Speaker 2 (03:36):
Yes, and I think if there's any sintilla of a
chance that you might be wrong. Your best to err
on the side of calling it, aren't you, like, if
this should be all right? But if they just think, oh,
maybe not, then you really want to be making that call.

Speaker 3 (03:55):
Yes, I guess so, you know. But if you're wrong
and you go into town.

Speaker 2 (04:02):
Been embarrassing, yeah, yeah, yeah, you're awkward and.

Speaker 3 (04:05):
You're in Wellington without a car, if they suddenly say, look,
it looks like you got the stuff neck give old boy. Yeah,
you like, I've had stuff next all my life, but
never like the one I had the other night.

Speaker 2 (04:18):
What do you think do you think caused it? It
was just a just a bad slop.

Speaker 3 (04:21):
I think probably just sleeping in the wrong way.

Speaker 2 (04:23):
Yeah, I got the product for you. Oh, dear, well, look,
I'm I'm glad that I'm glad that you turned out
okay in the end, because you know, sometimes people when
they've done their back, they really do need an ambulance
and they need assistance being lifted and all that kind
of thing. So I'm glad that things.

Speaker 3 (04:40):
Would being You should say, yeah, interesting, you should say
about it back because it felt just like lower back
pain than your neck.

Speaker 2 (04:47):
Yeah, right, hey, very quickly before we let you roll off.
I just want to be double sure you're not going
to the rugby tonight.

Speaker 3 (04:53):
Are you. No, that's a great relief. Yeah, that's a
great Now I'm in the wrong town for that.

Speaker 2 (04:59):
Well no, but I mean, given given the result against
the spring Box two weeks ago, that's probably good that
you're actually choosing to say.

Speaker 3 (05:07):
I see what you mean. Yeah, yeah, I see what
you mean. Now stay well away. Thanks. In fact, I'm
not sure that I've attended the game in recent years
where I got the result of bonded of any type.

Speaker 2 (05:18):
Anyway, staying far away then this evening, Thank you, sir.
We're all catching him very soon. That is Kevin mel
with us this Morning Thing.

Speaker 1 (05:26):
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