The symbol of San Antonio is the Alamo. Here, in 1836, a hearty band of Texans chose to stand against an army of 5,000 Mexicans, at a cost of their own lives. The people who live in San Antonio today are no different — they have chosen to be out here. Whether they've braved the difficult passage from across the Mexican border or have come from the East, everyone is here by choice. Nowhere are those choices more poignant than at University Hospital's emergency center. Approximately 70,000 patients come through its doors every year. Here, seven days a week, San Antonians are faced with life-and-death choices. And like their ancestors before them, the people at University Hospital generally choose to tough it out, no matter what the cost.