AMERICAN DREAMING

story by katie murphy

East parent and Hispanic EMT Andres Borja achieves his own American Dream after immigrating from Colombia

EAST PARENT ANDRES Borja dropped out of high school at age 13 to stucco cinder blocks full time where he was living in Houston, Texas, paying for half of his family’s rent. Fifteen years later, he became the first Borja to not build roofs, clean homes or cut hair — and the only Latino, Spanish-speaking emergency medical technician in Johnson County.

But his family wasn’t proud. Not at first.

In Colombia, first responders aren’t respected, but treated more like “fast food workers.” Firefighters are lucky to have a working truck back home, he says. His mom thought his JCCC program was just ambulance driving school.

But now-teenage babies Andres has helped deliver, overdose victims he’s saved and heart attack patients he’s revived have seen him doing much more than just drive the ambulance.

It wasn’t until Andres and his mom were flying home from Colombia six years into his EMT career that his mom really understood. Over the intercom, an urgent voice asked for passengers with medical experience to proceed to the back of the plane. A man with purple lips and ashy skin was splayed out in the aisle, unconscious.

Andres got to work: propped the man’s legs up into a passive lift, assessed his heart rhythm, ran fluids. Five minutes later, when the man woke up, Andres finally caught his breath.

“When I looked behind me, my mom was bawling,” he said. “Just bawling her eyes out because she finally saw what I do for a living. Now she goes around telling all of our relatives nearby and in Colombia that I’m a doctor. Even though I’m technically not. I get international calls asking for medical advice.”

When senior Sofia Borja was 3 and lost motion on her right side from a nerve collapse, Andres was able to calmly and quickly help her to the hospital, saving her from permanent paralysis. Sofia feels safe today knowing that calling him is as safe as calling 911 — literally.

“Even when he tells graphic stories about babies being hit by cars, 18-yearolds overdosing and leg amputations, I’m so proud when he comes home from a 24hour shift because I know he’s saving lifes,” Sofia said. “With the hardships that he sees, I’m impressed by the way he emotionally handles these things. He doesn’t really complain.”

When his ambulance gets muddy, Andres cleans it. It’s not in the job description, but a good Colombian son is tidy, according to Andres’s mom. He answers dispatch calls in Spanish when no one else can understand the patient. He joined the honor guard committee to walk in local funeral processions. The EMT standby team to see even more patients. The hiring team to help find diverse, new talent. He’s been recognized for his efforts with 10 medallions and a promotion to lieutenant.

He calls himself a “living example of the American dream.”

“Back home in Colombia, you could be a genius and still not succeed without political connections or knowing somebody,” Borja said. “The first thing that I loved about America is that every apartment complex has a pool. Now I love how if you really, really want a dream and work hard, you can make it happen here.”

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Awards

Some of Borja’s life-saving efforts and medals that he’s been awarded for them helped a drug addict translated documents assisted hotline calls in Spanish