Yes, absolutely, patient first...
And having been a patient going to the ER, let me add a few things from the panicky patient point of view. The ER and those around it are there for YOU! No one, as a patient, should be so concerned with being all self-sufficient and "nice." If someone asks if you need help or if you see someone and you indeed DO need help of any kind, then your answer is, "YES", of course you do. Don't pass up help if you clearly are having trouble. Ask that person to help you or call for help if they can't. And yes, this is the time to be assertive. Once in the ER ask questions; find out how long do they think you will need to wait before seeing someone, for example. Can you have some water? You feel like you are going to be sick and need something...Don't be a pest, but you have a right and a need to know.

I hope he's doing OK, too.