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I have, on more than one occasion, phoned 911 dispatch.

All but one of those calls were on behalf of others.

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The one time I did call for myself was on a cold January night a few years back. I was out on a run, when it came to my attention that I might be having a stroke. I tried to remember the acronym we’ve all been taught for just such an emergency, but my brain couldn’t move itself beyond the singular notion that “I was going to die in sweatpants.”

The dispatcher told me to wait where I was, and that help was on its way.

Firefighters arrived first. Three of them stepped out of their big red truck and approached me with a lack of urgency that I found oddly reassuring. They surrounded me and started asking questions. A small crowd of looky-loos gathered. I felt like Joseph Merrick.

One of the firefighters — the one I presumed was in charge — performed a number of roadside tests to determine the status of my existence. He was quite jolly and comforting. I felt safe in his care. I made a joke about spontaneous combustion. He laughed — politely.