Jessica Van der Hoek: Hard Call, Healing, Hooves & Higher States

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Jessica Van der Hoek: Hard Call, Healing, Hooves & Higher States
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Career paramedic Jessica Vanderhoek has lived both sides of the job: the pride of service and the private cost. After years of high-acuity calls, insomnia, migraines, anger, alcohol misuse, and a brutal relapse, she hit the wall and looked for what actually heals. Her path led through equine therapy and carefully screened psychedelic work, then […]

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Creative After Crisis: From Tac Medic to Award-Nominated Author Steve Urszenyi

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Creative After Crisis: From Tac Medic to Award-Nominated Author Steve Urszenyi
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Decorated tactical paramedic Steve Urszenyi turned decades of frontline trauma into award-nominated thrillers. In this conversation, he reflects on a lifetime of crisis leadership – from commanding Ontario’s Emergency Response Team to managing the 2015 Pan Am Games – and how creativity became his path to healing.

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Fixing What Is Broken

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Fixing What Is Broken
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When retired Master Warrant Officer John Blaine finally looked in the mirror and decided to ask for help, it wasn’t a sign of weakness — it was the turning point of a lifetime spent in service. In this Remembrance Day special, John reflects on four decades in uniform: from Cyprus and Germany to Afghanistan’s Operation […]

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Devine Lessons

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Devine Lessons
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This week, The Other Side of the Call sits down with Don E. Devine, one of Canada’s earliest paramedics and a pioneer of ambulance service in British Columbia. From the early days when funeral homes doubled as ambulances to the 1996 Vernon mass-casualty call that scarred an entire responder community, Don’s career charts both the rise of […]

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Beyond The Badge: Boots On The Ground

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Beyond The Badge: Boots On The Ground
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After more than 30 years with Peel Regional Police, Constable Dave McLennan retired but wasn’t done service. He founded Boots On The Ground, a 24/7 volunteer-powered peer support line for first responders. What began as ten to twenty calls a month has grown to more than 150 monthly, with over 4,700 calls answered and 51 […]

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Trailer: The Other Side Of The Call

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Trailer: The Other Side Of The Call
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Coming November 4, 2025 – Stories of trauma, resilience, and recovery from Canada’s first responders, frontline members, and military personnel. Hosted by former 911 dispatcher Amelia Thornton and psychotherapists Rebecca Rafuse and Kathy Ann Laman.

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