Imogen Rawlings, Editor
@irawlingcourant
In this series, I want to bring you the real stories from local heroes working on the gritty streets in two of the largest hotspots, Bridgeport and NYC, and from our beloved hometown of New Canaan. What does it feel like on the ground? What has changed? What are they seeing?
This series will include the stories of an EMT deployed into the hot zone of New York City in Brooklyn for 35 days. From the perspective of Kevin Burwell, a Bridgeport EMT for 36-years who said he has “NEVER had to deal with something like this.” This will also include the stories of two local EMT’s, Bonnie Rumilly and Tracy Evans. Bonnie Rumilly grew up in New Canaan, went to NCHS, and joined NCEMS when she was just 17-years old. This year marks her 20-year involvement with the organization. Another New Canaan EMT, Tracy Evans, has seen every side of EMS from both the air as a Flight Nurse/Paramedic and from the ground as an Acute Care Nurse Practitioner and an EMT. Just a few weeks ago marked her 40-year involvement in the EMS community and said: “My life’s work is lifting others”.
After interviewing these incredible EMTs from NYC to New Canaan, I am going to share their stories in a three-post series. The first post will dive into the daily situation changes in response to this pandemic, the next one will examine the EMS community interactions, and the last will share their takeaways and mixed emotions.
