Emergency!

What an extraordinary privilege it was to work on this show! It was like getting an advanced degree in television, and doing it with a group of people who became family. Yes, Emergency! demonstrated the enormous impact of television, and saved thousands and thousands of lives by educating the audience to the medical possibilities available to them. There were only six paramedic units in the entire United States when Emergency! debuted. Then the audience (millions and millions of them) saw it on television, and demanded paramedic services for their own communities. Yes, it opened the eyes of young people and encouraged them to choose a career in firefighting or medicine or associated professions. Yes, it taught me how to write and produce and manage people and incorporate reality in a real way into an entertainment vehicle that positively affected millions of homes a week. Most important, to me, it opened my world, taught me to interact with something bigger than myself, and introduced me to people who would have a lifelong influence on me. I loved that show, and loved working on that show, and loved the people on that show, and I cherish the memories and nurture to this day what it gave me.