Because Catherine was enrolled in the Palliative Home Care Program, we could call paramedics anytime, and have them come, without lights and sirens. I think we ended up doing this about half a dozen times over 5 years, and it was invaluable.

A few times the paramedics ended up transporting Catherine to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital; most of the time, though, she was able to stay at home after they administered pain meds.

You wouldn’t think that calling 911 could ever become routine. But it did, in a way.

That said, having five paramedics squeezed into your living room on a Sunday night was an event worthy of marking. So I did, in comic form, a year ago tonight.