6.
“I have POTS, a disability that can cause me to faint. After several instances in high school where I fainted and an ambulance was called to take me to the nearest hospital just for them to tell me they found nothing wrong with me and then charge my mother thousands of dollars, I started informing everyone I knew that if I ever faint, don’t call an ambulance unless something is clearly wrong.”
“Well a couple months ago, I fainted at my Pilates studio. Despite knowing of my condition and my preference to not have an ambulance called, they were still legally required to call one for me and they’d just have to wait for me to wake up and refuse it.
When I woke up and before I was even fully coherent they were informing me of the ambulance and I immediately refused it. The employee on the phone immediately relayed to the EMTs that I was awake and did not want an ambulance, but they informed her that since my BP was ‘concerningly low’ (which is normal for my condition) they were coming in anyways even though I was refusing care.
Two separate ambulances and EMT teams showed up. I refused all services and refused to go with either of them. Despite this, my insurance still sent me a bill weeks later for $300 after they had oh so graciously covered the other $2,000 I’d been charged for an ambulance I did not need, want, or take.”
