Not all of the jobs we do are lights and siren responses. As the main workhorses for the Service, we also do routine jobs interspersed between the emergency jobs.

These jobs will take the form of transfers for elderly patients who are bed ridden, patients requiring transport to neighbouring medical facilities, or patients requiring specialist transfers.

One such job happened in the morning of a beautiful, sunny summer day. We were required to pick up a patient from up in the hospital ward, and transfer them to the specialist suites across from the hospital, a simple job, just a standard routine.

Little did I expect that this patient would change my perspective on life, and have a profound impact on my view of the world.

We sauntered into the ward, and were greeted by staff, who told us the patient we were transferring, would require a stretcher for transport. Luckily, we knew in advance, and had brought the stretcher up with us.

Well, we walked into the room, one of the few private rooms in the ward, and were greeted by a man, popped up into a semi sitting position by the bed and pillows, and he had one of the most genuine smiles, I have ever had the grace to be greeted by. It immediately told you that this was a person who cherished life, and the people around him.

We introduced ourselves, asked him his name, to which he responded Raj.

Now Raj was from a Fijian Indian background, and was in his early forties.

Raj was a representative for a leading chemical company, that specialised in industrial cleaning products. It was his job, both as representative, and manager for two of the eastern states of Australia, those being New south Wales and Victoria, to service the customer bases for those two states. Raj had been doing this for the last two years, and was apparently going to be contracted to service Queensland as well.

Fate however, had different plans for Raj.

About 4 days previously, Raj awoke in the morning, and had some back discomfort. It started off as a kind of ache, centring on the small of his back. The area was tender to touch, so he decided to go to the doctors to have it checked. By the end of that afternoon, it had progressed to a very uncomfortable level, as he stood to have Xrays done of the area. His doctor rang him that evening and requested he have a scan done first thing the following morning. The pain by now was requiring analgesic medication to keep it in check. When he woke the following morning, his legs were feeling numb and he was having difficulty walking, so his wife did the smart thing and called for an ambulance to attend the house.

Raj was transported to the nearest hospital, which fortunately for him was not only a trauma hospital, but also had some really good neurological people as well. (they are the guys and gals that look after your brains, nerves and spinal parts) The news wasn’t great at all, he had a rapid developing, aggressive tumour, forming part way up his spine. The nerves involved were responsible for his ability to walk and control parts of his lower body.

Initial investigation at that time, indicated that he would lose the ability to walk, and some control over other body functions. The location was such that they identified that the damage occurring, may not be completely reversed through the use of surgical procedures. Wow!

In a period of just 4 days, he had gone from a fully functional, energetic member of the community and household, to a bed bound person who may never walk again. Talk about a profound impact on your life.

So, after our little discussion, and picking our jaws back up off the ground, I asked him how he felt about all of this.

He really surprised me.

Raj said that one day ago, he had been able to not only get a phone line to his bedside, but a fax line as well, all paid for by his company, and he was had been taking orders and servicing his customers, from his bedside. He was so positive about the event, that he carried on as normal, even though he was at that time paralysed from the hips down, with no secure future of being able to walk ever again. This guy was amazing. Even in his bed, he’d still tell us what he was going to do when he got out of hospital, whether the surgery worked or not, and how he was arranging meetings in Queensland, to take over the distributorship there as well. He spoke of his faith, of the support of his friends, family and workmates.

One thing he couldn’t say enough about, was how well the hospital staff were treating him, and how they looked after him. I could totally understand that, as he was such a great person to be around. A condition which in most cases would bring about despair and depression in a lot of the general community, was just another step (so to speak), in his daily routine, that he was planning around as he got on with his day. This guy was genuinely amazing.

I now look back at Raj, and think about some of the people I’ve met since then, and think how much he could have changed their attitudes and purpose, just by listening to this man.

So we transferred him onto the stretcher, and casually wheeled him out of the ward, accompanied by the hellos and well wishes of the staff.

It may have been, that we had the good fortune to spend around forty minutes with Raj, during the transfer, but he made an indelible, lifelong impression on me, and how I view adversity. Before we left the ward, Raj gave me a small keepsake of our meeting, it was a pen, made up of four interconnecting parts that were screwdriver tips, pen and hex key, all connecting to each other. I had it for many years, but can no longer find it. It’ll turn up one day, and I’ll think again of this amazing man.