Cambridge couple experiences medical scare amid village EMS shortages

CAMBRIDGE, Wis. (WMTV) - Imagine picking up the phone to call 911 and not getting the potentially lifesaving help you need. One Cambridge couple doesn’t have to imagine that, because it happened to them.

The brave pair is sending a strong message to first responders in their town, don’t put politics over patients.

Ed and Bonnie Vanderbosch have been married for 45 years. The husband and wife say it’s a miracle to be sitting with one another after the unimaginable on February 24.

“All of a sudden, I felt pressure on my chest, and it didn’t get better,” Ed explained.

Bonnie gave him two aspirins and immediately dialed 911 for Cambridge EMS.

“My husband, aged 69, high risk for stroke, is having chest pain and pressure,” Bonnie relayed to the 911 dispatcher.

The struggling patient has stage four prostate cancer and receives care at the UW Carbone Center.

The 69-year-old wanted to go to a hospital that knows his medical history. He said Cambridge EMS responded within minutes but couldn’t finish the job.

“We did not have a paramedic on that night,” the interim medical director for Cambridge EMS said.

“They did inform us they didn’t have the personnel to transport to the University of Wisconsin Hospital that we requested. They call Fort to come,” Ed said.

Without a paramedic, Cambridge EMS could not legally transport a patient.

“Cambridge 96 cleared from the scene. Patient’s care transferred to Fort,” Cambridge Dispatch said.

They could only provide Ed partial care on scene. Cambridge called Fort Atkinson for backup. Ed went to Fort Memorial Hospital for treatment but decided to sign himself out.

Ed gambled with his life from that moment.

“Our daughter drove him to UW Hospital at four in the morning mid-heart attack while she does work in a hospital,” Bonnie said. “She does CPR and stuff, that is something no family should have to do.”

Ed received quadruple bypass surgery and valve replacement days later.

“It turned out fine for me, but who knows the next person,” Ed explained.

Looking back, Cambridge’s EMS Interim Director Jonathan Williams feels for the family.

“I apologize for the outcome regardless of the situation,” Williams said. “I’m sorry it turned out that way and that’s not where they wanted to go obviously. "

After years of fighting and disagreements between the board that oversees Cambridge EMS over how it should be run. The former embattled director is gone.

Now Williams wants to make a change, so no other love story experiences this much heartache.

“She is my supporter, she does everything for me,” Ed added.

Ed said he does not have much feeling in his left hand. He is now focused on recovery; Thursday was his first day of physical therapy. He will go three times a week for three months.

Cambridge EMS still does not have a permanent medical director. Currently, the village is working on an agreement with Mercyhealth in Janesville.

Officials have to come up with a plan by April 5th or they legally cannot run any ambulance services.

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