Continued from Texas State Technical College A friend, who was also a former student and co-worker, had started a private ambulance company in Hidalgo County, so I decided to work some shifts for him. Shortly afterwards, his partner mentioned that he was looking to sell out his interests in the company and, since I had money in the bank, I bought into Advanced Cardiac & Trauma. ACT provided 9-1-1 services to the cities and communities of Edcouch, Elsa, Hargil, Hiedelburg, La Blanca, La Feria, Monte Alto, Progreso, and a portion of eastern Hidalgo County, as well as non-emergency transfers. Later, we were able to pick up a contract with the larger city of Mercedes, Texas. We had stations in Edcouch, Elsa, and Mercedes. By that time, the EMS business in the Rio Grande Valley had become very competitive, with some companies offering zero dollar contracts in order to edge others out, making their money from patient charges rather than city contracts. That was difficult to contend with because, being on the Texas-Mexico border, a large percentage of our patients were uninsured, and didn't pay. For example, while we were contracted for one ambulance in Mercedes, that didn't mean that we could budget for only one ambulance in Mercedes. When that unit went out on a call, we had to send another ambulance to Mercedes. When that unit received a call before the other one got back into place, we had to send a third. Also, because of the competitiveness, companies that could come in with all new ambulances were able to take contracts from older companies who might be running completely serviceable ambulances that were a few years old. I enjoyed the six years that I was with ACT, since it gave me a lot of insight toward actually running a business. Previously, as with Los Fresnos, I had a board that I could turn to if I needed to buy a new ambulance or some more equipment. With ACT, we had to come up with the financing and still be able to make payroll. Plus, my partner, his wife and family, were very nice people who I enjoyed working with, as was the case with most of the people who we employed, many of whom I am still in touch with. There were times when we would be in the office on a Thursday afternoon hoping that enough money came in the following day for us to be able to make payroll. We were always able to, although we sometimes had to wait for our own pay. While at ACT, I worked some shifts, but mostly my partner and I would staff a back-up unit covering for anyone else that was dispatched for an emergency. One day, we were dispatched to a patient complaining of abdominal pains. He was a big guy, but I had lifted patients much larger than him before. However, when we lifted the stretcher to an upright position, I felt a tug in my stomach. By the time we got to the hospital, I was in more pain than our patient was. I had suffered a strangulated hernia. During the operation, I contracted a drug-resistant bacteria, and was hospitalized for more than six weeks, unable to eat or drink anything during that time. Although I still worked some shifts, I was afraid to lift patients after that. A year or so later, I was married, and my wife and I decided to move to Maine. When we arrived in Millinocket, I had considered taking reciprocity, to be certified to work as a paramedic in Maine, but the volunteer fire department here, who provided EMS services, seemed to have no interest in recruiting anyone, so I let it go. ACT is still in existence, doing non-emergency transfers only. They no longer have a web site but the old one (made in Front Page) can be seen at the Wayback Machine. My next employment was with Blue Buffalo pet food company, but that was several years after I had left ACT. My wife and I earned our living online for quite some time before I sought outside employment. Continued on Blue Buffalo