Steven Kelly Grayson

Responding to 911 calls, paramedics deal with things from heart attacks, potentially fatal wounds in victims of violent crimes, to people trapped in cars after an accident. They have to keep their heads in some gruesome situations, and to keep their humor in check during some hilarious situations. This one paramedic shares what he went through not just with the people he helped save, or sadly had to watch slip away, but also with the doctors and nurses he sometimes had to work with.

There are some funny stories and some heart-wrenching stories, but they all showcase humans at the very best and their worst.… (más)

I downloaded the iBooks app just to get this book during a free period through Kaplan. I've read numerous paramedic-biography books for novel research, and this is a solid read. Grayson's book accounts his experiences starting out in rural Louisiana parishes, with the final chapters taking place ten years later. It shows the full arc from a green newbie to a burned-out stint where he lost proper perspective on death and back to a point where he had matured and was haunted by cases where he couldn't do quite enough. Some are humorous (such as an early chapter featuring an annoying chihuahua who gets a little too close while a defibrillator is used) whereas some socked me in the gut.

The book is written more for a medical audience; he doesn't take time to explain a lot of terminology as Peter Canning does in his books, but that's fine. It creates a more hectic pace, even if the drama often comes more from interactions with people rather than life-or-death situations. I was able to follow along most of the time. The true strength of this book is its portrayal of people in the worst moments of their lives. Grayson has seen it all, and some of the incidents in this book will stay with me for a long time.… (más)

Mr. Grayson has gathered together a series of incidents that stand out in his career as paramedic - either for their humor or grossness or irony. There is the bare suggestion of his life weaved in the stories, but there is no follow-through regarding his marriage, his child, his wife, the lawsuit that was filed against him - nothing but the calls. They were interesting to be sure, but they ended up being less a cohesive whole, and more a series of stories that could be shared over drinks in a bar.… (más)