GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Four-year-old Dominic Mikowski has allergies to certain foods - eggs, in particular.
It was 2 years ago that he had a bad reaction after eating pancakes, which triggered an interesting odyssey that has Dominic already considering a career as a paramedic.
"He was at school and instead of giving him the breakfast we provided, they made a mistake and accidentally gave him the school breakfast," said Marie Sinclair, Dominic's mother.
Dominic began to have a reaction, started throwing up, and had difficulty breathing.
"We called an ambulance," said Sinclair. "Dominic was taken to the hospital and then spent close to three hours in the emergency room."
During his ride in the back of the ambulance, Dominic was treated by a paramedic named Joe Hoffman, who helped stabilize him.
"Ever since that day, Dominic has had a fascination with ambulances," said Sinclair.
Two years later, Dominic decided he wanted to wear a paramedic costume for Halloween, so his mother contacted Life EMS Ambulance to see if she could get any stickers.
"They ended up putting together a wonderful tour for us," said Sinclair.
Dominic's family was invited to the Life EMS Ambulance Fleet Readiness center in Grand Rapids on Friday, Oct. 20 for the tour.
Dominic dressed to impress. He wore his Life EMS costume.
Not only did Dominic get an exclusive behind-the scenes look at the ambulance center, he was greeted when he arrived by the paramedic, Joe Hoffman, who treated him two years ago, when he had his medical emergency.
Hoffman escorted Dominic into the facility, then helped him into the back of the ambulance. Hoffman then showed Dominic how everything worked and what everything did. It was an internship-like experience most 4-year-olds don't get.
"Something positive has come from a scary incident," said Hoffman. "I think it's awesome that he wants to be a paramedic, and I maybe helped spark that fire."
"It's fun to see something so positive come out of something that was so scary at the time," Sinclair said.
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