KALONA

For many of us, our lives fall into a familiar, predictable cadence. We get up in the morning, take care of our daily work and chores, then have supper and relax in the evening. When the occasional emergency arises that takes us out of our routine, it’s an exception, not the rule. We deal with it, recover, and return to our habitual way of living.

For the past 35 years and eight months, Ethel Bontrager has lived quite differently. Whether day or night, she has lived knowing that if she receives a call, she may have to leave what she’s doing and go help someone. For her, responding to emergencies was the rule, not the exception.

She wasn’t paid to do this.

She may even have saved your life.

“I’ve always cared about helping people in need,” Bontrager says when asked what motivated her to become one of Kalona’s First Responders. Seeing nurses at work inspired her to pursue that career path; her family modeled a volunteer work ethic; and the Bible says to “Love your neighbor as yourself”.

“Much later in life, I learned that life is way too short to be about ourselves. It’s about caring for other people and their needs,” she says, adding that this approach to life informed her identity.

“It became a part of me. I really care about people, and I care about being there when there’s a need, helping them if there’s something I can do,” she says. “As far as First Responders, it’s just a great opportunity to serve the community. I really like Kalona. I like our people, and it’s just a great opportunity to reach out and help people in need.”

For many of us, this understanding of ourselves as contributors toward something bigger happens later in life. But for Bontrager, we can see the seeds for such a mindset were planted early. As a young person, “I spent five years of my life as a nurse in a remote village in Nicaragua,” she says. “It was volunteer. I’ve kind of always grew up volunteering. You know, you don’t have to be paid for everything you do.”

Perhaps not. But as a First Responder, you do have to be prepared to encounter almost anything when out on a call. While a number of the Kalona First Responders are nurses, that is not a requirement; whether First Responder, EMT, or Paramedic, each has their own level of training. At a minimum, you can’t be afraid of the sight of blood. You also need some psychological fortitude.

As the name implies, First Responders are those generally first on the scene when 911 dispatches a call, as they are closest to the location. For example, if there’s a call on Highway 1 north, Bontrager can be there within minutes, as she lives right there. First Responders are paged, respond, and are first to assess the situation and begin emergency treatment before a transport ambulance arrives.

In this role, Bontrager has seen some stuff. Some of it is funny, like the “frequent flyer” (one who calls 911 like you would a friend) who would call for a lift assist and then ask the First Responders to help with the laundry, or fetch some juice from the refrigerator while they were there. And some of it is disturbing, like the case of the loose horse that was hit by a car on the highway one night.

“I remember seeing the horse’s head on the front seat of the car,” she says. “Some of those things you just don’t forget.”

Some of it is tragic, like the man in respiratory distress whom the First Responders present “witnessed his last breath and immediately started CPR” but couldn’t be saved. Or the seven-year-old boy who suffocated in a grain bin and couldn’t be brought back.

“As a nurse, death doesn’t bother me. I’ve seen a lot of it,” Bontrager says. But seeing a child die who was the same age as and friend to a great-nephew at the time was “very traumatic,” she says, and “was one of the hardest deaths that I’ve ever witnessed.”

But fortunately, the majority of calls have the best possible outcome.

Bontrager shares the story of a rollover accident one foggy morning on Johnson-Washington Road where she was the first to arrive on scene. She found the car upside down in a ditch, “pretty flattened,” and the driver “alert and oriented,” but with “pretty extensive injuries.” She crouched down and talked to him through the window, and he, “scared to death,” begged for her help. “Pray for me, pray for me. I’m going to die,” he said.

“I called his name because I knew him, and I just prayed for him. I prayed and prayed for him until more responders came,” she says.

When others arrived, the car had to be cut open to get to the driver.

“Whenever we cut, especially glass, or we cut the car, one thing we routinely do is throw a blanket over the patient to protect from further injury,” Bontrager explains. “In order to do that, you have to get in with them. . . I remember crawling through a tight space with a blanket to get in and cover him up so the car could be cut open and get him out.”

Although Air Care wasn’t able to fly that morning due to the fog, the man was transported to the hospital and recovered from his injuries.

“That was a long time ago, but to this day, every time I see him, he says, ‘Oh, you’re my angel. You’re my angel,’” she says. “You know, I just happened to be there at the right time.”

Bontrager grew up on a farm West of Kalona; having spent her life here, she knows many of us. And that familiarity is an asset as a First Responder.

“There’s been a few times where different people told me later, ‘Oh, I’m so glad you showed up. I’m so glad to see you. I could relax when I saw you,” she says. “It wasn’t that I did anything different, but they know me. People are comfortable with their friends, right? Or somebody that they know. So that means a lot to people.”

While it may sound like a tough job, Kalona’s First Responders aren’t on their own. They have monthly business meetings, talk with each other, discuss difficult calls; and if they need help after a traumatic call, they have a number they can call for counseling.

In addition to psychological support, the physical support Kalona’s First Responders have to assist them has certainly come around in the last 35 years. Not only do they now have an ambulance docked nearby in Southtown, but they have also much more advanced equipment to assist in emergency situations. For example, the physical work of CPR is now assisted by the Lucas Device performing perfect chest compression.

“Technology has changed so much, but we also do a whole lot more than we ever did,” Bontrager says. “35 years ago, we didn’t have oxygen, pulse oximetry, or even glucose monitors. Back then everyone just had First Responder certification. These days most First Responders are EMT or Paramedic level.”

Bontrager’s journey as a First Responder began on April 1, 1989. At the end of 2024, “I just kind of felt like, yeah, it’s time,” she says, and thus she retired from service, getting very close to having spent 36 years running to aid the people of Kalona.

She’s seen us naked and afraid. She’s seen the way we keep house. But she is the consummate professional; even if curious friends ask her about a call, she’ll never tell.

“It’s highly confidential, of course,” she says. “Most people have found that out and understand.”

Although there have been some hard times, she has few regrets.

“It’s been a really good experience. I enjoyed it.”