July 8 is the first International Day of Paramedics and, in commemoration of the occasion, two paramedics from the UK showed that they can be good at their job, but they are not good in front of the camera. While filming a video about what it means to be a paramedic, Dave Tamarro and Joe Cartwright of the Luton ambulance station could not contain their laughter.
His reel, shared on Facebook, shows Cartwright unable to utter a word because with every attempt, he starts laughing.
“Hello everyone. Welcome to Luton’s ambulance station,” Tamarro says. Before introducing himself, Cartwright bursts out laughing, which makes Tamarro laugh.
Finally, after several bursts interrupted by laughter, Tamarro can explain that the first International Paramedic’s Day is July 8 and asks his partner, “What is it like to be a paramedic?”
“It feels great to be a paramedic,” Cartwright says, before laughing again. “I don’t know why I keep saying that. I can’t stop saying, ‘It feels good.’ I’m so sorry!”
The clip was shared by East of England Ambulance Service, or EEAST, NHS Trust and garnered great attention online.
“We’ve received thousands of lovely messages about Dave and Joe’s many attempts in their message for International Paramedics Day,” Tom Abell, executive director of EEAST, said in a statement to CBS News. “I know they were both surprised by the response.”
“We felt it was important to celebrate this first International Paramedics Day on Friday, July 8 to celebrate the work of our dedicated teams, who work so hard to support our patients and communities.”
International Paramedics Day was created and organized by the UK College of Paramedics, as well as by professional paramedic organizations around the world.
July 8 was chosen because it is the birthday of Dominique-Jean Larrey, the man often known as the “father of today’s ambulance services,” according to the College of Paramedics.
The organization shared several other videos of paramedics on July 8 to mark the day. “I am very proud to be a paramedic and to see the profession grow,” Marcus Bailey, director of operations at EEAST, said in a video. “The amazing things that everyone does every day, it’s amazing. It’s so special.”
“Like 32,000 more people in the UK, I’m a paramedic,” says Graham Clark, paramedic and president of EEAST’s LGBT + network. “Being a paramedic is important to me. It gives me a privileged opportunity to be there for people in the best moments of their lives, but also to make their worst moments a little easier or bearable.”
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Caitlin O’Kane
Caitlin O’Kane is a digital content producer who covers trend stories for CBS News and its good news brand, The Uplift.