AID – Day-to-day living for 83-year-old Ann Wilburn of Aid involves a lengthy list of medications.

Saturday, November 04, 2000

AID – Day-to-day living for 83-year-old Ann Wilburn of Aid involves a lengthy list of medications.

Family and friends often pitch in to help her with other needs, too, her son, Bill Wilburn said.

She has been ill for several years but has never had a need for an emergency medical squad – until this year, he added.

"We were just getting her out and helping her walk," Wilburn said, reflecting back on a near-tragic event earlier this year.

"We brought her here to the (Circle W Farm) restaurant to get a cup of coffee. She sat down at the table, got her cup of coffee then she just collapsed. There were no warning signs, nothing."

Wilburn said his mother’s head struck the table in front of her when it happened.

"We laid her down on the floor and called 911," he said. "Once (SEOEMS) got the call, they were here quick.

"Before the station was built here, it would always take at least 20 to 30 minutes for help to arrive. My mother couldn’t have waited that long."

That quick response for Mrs. Wilburn put many to talking about Southeast Ohio Emergency Medical Service’s new Aid station in the weeks afterward.

"Once we were at the hospital, the doctor described (her heart) as ‘running away with her’ and said it was very serious," Wilburn said. "My mother was in bad shape. I don’t want to say she would have died, but it is a very good possibility.

"Those guys were excellent with my mother," Wilburn said. "About a month ago, we had to call them again this time, not quite as serious. This station is definitely a benefit for not just my mother, but the rest of the community also."

With the help of county commissioners, SEOEMS officials opened the SEOEMS station earlier this year to serve Aid, Wilgus, Waterloo and other outlying areas of the county that often had to wait long periods of time for an ambulance to come from Ironton or Chesapeake.

And the community recognizes that benefit, Wilburn said.

"Everyone is very appreciative of the paramedics in the community," he said. "They come here to the restaurant on a regular basis to eat and socialize and everyone loves them. In the experience I’ve had, I’d have to say it saved my mother. I’m a firm believer that when God calls, your going. And, I believe they played an important roll in saving her life."