By: Kara Szymanski | Shelby-Utica News | Published November 8, 2023
SHELBY TOWNSHIP — Joel Morris, a firefighter/paramedic who served more than 20 years at the Shelby Township Fire Department and six years in the Utica Fire Department, who currently is a paramedic at Universal Macomb Ambulance Service, recently underwent open heart surgery.
Morris, who is 57, has had eight cardiac catheterizations since his first one in 2006. He has had seven stents placed in the arteries of his heart, including one back on Feb. 16. He and his fiancée got a bigger scare after that procedure when they were told that it would be a temporary fix and Morris would require open heart surgery.
Morris had a double bypass operation Oct. 5. He is now home recovering. The family did not want to ask for money donations for the surgery, but post-surgery, they found out he will be out of work for eight weeks. As a result, they set up a page at gofundme.com.
To find the page, go to gofundme.com and search for “Help Paramedic Morris after open heart surgery.”
Alecia Downey, Morris’ fiancée, said they are extremely thankful for the love and support they’ve received. Downey and Morris met while working at Star EMS in December 2021.
Duncan Walker, the general manager at Universal Ambulance Service, said Morris continues to be an inspiration for everyone, and Universal Ambulance Service will continue to support him.
“He’s been committed to helping others for his entire career, and he’s been a role model at our organization for topnotch patient care and professionalism. We are truly grateful to have him on our team, and he deserves every bit of support that not only we can give him, but that the greater community around him can as well. We wish him a full and speedy recovery,” he said in an email.
Dominic Dobbins was Morris’ paramedic student during this past summer and said Morris helped him become the new paramedic he is now.
“I can remember the day like yesterday when I first talked to Joel on the phone to introduce myself as his student. This was the man who was responsible for showing me the ropes and reality of life as a veteran paramedic, but instantly I knew I was in good hands. Hearing his calm tone of voice he reassured me with some humor and set my heart at ease from my anxiousness of choosing to be the only one of my class to work in Detroit. Joel is always happy to teach and lend a helping hand; due to this he is now a ‘big brother’ to me,” he said.
He said Morris and Downey have welcomed his family into their lives beyond the ambulance service and he knows they are a part of a lifelong friendship.
“Not only was Joel a great teacher but is now a great friend and I am excited to be standing up in his wedding this March,” Dobbins said.