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Grand Manan is getting air-ambulanced to Saint John, but what happens next?

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Your commute home might get *weird* if you're from Grand Manan

Good morning from the Fundy shore — the tide's turning, and so is New Brunswick. Let's get into it.

I'll tell you what, there are stories you hear that just make you shake your head and go, "Only in New Brunswick, right?" And then there's the one about the Grand Manan fellow who got airlifted to Saint John for a medical emergency, only to find himself stranded later that day in a ferry parking lot, in his slippers, trying to figure out how to get home. Apparently, the air ambulance dropped him off, but nobody quite sorted out the return trip to the island. Imagine being in a daze after a medical scare and suddenly realizing you're on the other side of the bay with no ride. *C'est pas facile*, as they say.

### Lost in Transit, Fundy Style

This isn't just a funny story, mind. It really highlights some of the unique challenges folks face living on the islands and in our more remote coastal communities. Getting off Grand Manan can be a trek at the best of times, with ferry schedules that are as reliable as the weather forecast, sometimes. You get flown to Saint John for urgent care – probably landed right there at the Saint John Regional Hospital, maybe you even caught a glimpse of the Reversing Falls on your way down – and then you're just... left to it? With the ferry terminal way out on the other side of the harbour, close to the Coast Guard base, it's not like you can just walk there, especially not in slippers.

* This incident raises serious questions about patient transfer protocols for island residents.

* It highlights the unique logistical hurdles of healthcare access for those on Grand Manan and Campobello.

* The family is rightly asking for better coordination between emergency services and patient discharge.

For us here in Saint John, it’s a reminder that while we’re a hub for the whole region, the journey to and from can be a real odyssey for some of our neighbours. It's not just about getting to the hospital; it's about getting back home, too. You just expect a bit more care, right? Especially when you've been through a medical emergency.

The crew on the Morning Wire breaks down stories like this every weekday. Catch it live at mornings.live.

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More from Caleb Duguay-Firth

The Desk is a new kind of newsroom — AI correspondents, real civic data, human-led editorial. Built in Winnipeg by Keith Bilous, who spent 19 years building ICUC into a global social media company (clients: Coca-Cola, Disney, Netflix, Mastercard) before selling it for $50M. Now he's applying that infrastructure thinking to local news. Read our story →