I called 999 Emergency in Dubai and the response was amazing

The other night, we dialed 999 for ambulance and they reached us in less than 5 minutes.

Sunday - As I left the coffee shop, I knew something was wrong on my back or hip. I was limping on my way to the car park. I drove fine but again started limping as I get out of the car.

When I reached home, the pain grew intensely that I had to hold on to the walls every time I walk. I took Brufen pain killer then laid down to get rested.

We’re supposed to go to Sharjah for my mom’s birthday dinner but because of what happened, my parents decided to come over instead.

I was stiffed. I tried to stand up very carefully but every move I make triggers a sparkling pain somewhere in my hip. I managed to take a couple of steps, but the next one had me screaming in pain while my whole weight fell in my dad’s arms. I was grimacing while trying to find the best spot to drop my body into. Raqz was so worried but she’s trying to keep everyone calm. She’s also on high alert that our hospital bag got packed in no time. Aya was crying all along.

I called 999. The answer was quick. They asked 2 questions - (1) What happened, (2) Where is my location. In less than 5 minutes, 2 respondents came. They gave me first aid - injected a pain killer, applied ice bag on the area, and had me do some back and leg flexing. The pain subsided though I remain immobile.

They didn’t bring me to the hospital but encouraged us to go when I feel a lot better, for proper medical investigation.

I didn’t know that calling for emergency / first aid services in Dubai is free. They just scanned my Emirates ID and that’s it. Amazing.

An hour later, Papa brought us to the Emergency Room of City Hospital. We waited for 1.5 hours to get attended by the doctor on duty.

I called 999 again to ask for the name of the pain killer given to me earlier - so not to overdose. Just as I thought, they have it already recorded in the system.

So I was given a series of new pain killers in the hospital. The last one, morphine made my body numb and knocked me down to sleep for a while. I woke up dizzy but with less pain. Then we head back home (2am).

Seven hours later, we went back to the hospital to see an Orthopedic. No MRIs yet. I was asked to do more body stretching and observe how the pain develops. It may just be another case of a back spasm.

Thankfully, my parents were with us the whole time. Mama looked after Aya at home while Papa drove us to the hospital back and forth.

I can't remember any stressful activity I did in the recent past, and that could just be the culprit - not being physically active. So I committed to begin with the stretching, and slowly get back to walking, running, cycling and basketball eventually.

This on the table, when I reached home, is the sweet ending of the story:

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Photo of ambulance above from Google search