LA MESA - Gordon Anderson has seen a lot and saved many lives over the last 58 years as one of the first EMTs in San Diego. Now, he's calling it a career.
Warm hugs from friends, family, and colleagues as tears glisten in Gordon Anderson's eyes. After decades of working as an EMT, Gordon is finally retiring from his job.
"58 years ago there were no EMTs and no paramedics," said Anderson. "We started out as with a basic first aid card and took it from there."
Photos with headsets are hung on picture frames, showing what Gordon cared about and who meant most to him.
"This is exactly who I am to be real honest," said Anderson. "I love to help people, and every single day when I would when I would go home, I would reflect on my day and usually long days, cause that's what we do in the business. And I would reflect back and ask myself, what did I accomplish today. And it was to help people."
Anderson spent his career responding to large emergencies like the Witch Creek Fire back in 2007, but what he remembers are the smaller, day-to-day interactions.
"It's not the big major events," said Anderson. "It's the one patient at a time that you take care of. And as you do that, it makes a whole lot, it means a whole lot to you."
Some, like Mike Rice, have known Gordon for their entire careers.
"I'm happy for him because I don't think there ever be anybody like him," said Rice, who's the vice president of operations for American Medical Response. "And I think he has established himself as such a staple in our industry, and I'm just very proud to be able to come through the industry at a time where I got to call him a colleague and a mentor."
Gordon said his colleagues and his family are his priority.
"My team, the people that I worked with," said Gordon. "They meant a lot to me, they still mean a lot to me. I still go up and see them and visit them and everything else on a regular basis, so that's what I like to do."
Gordon also responded to the 1970 Laguna Fire and the 1978 plane crash in North Park, where he was one of the first medical professionals on the scene.
