Wading Into Chaos: Inside the Life of a Paramedic

“It’s raining and the reflections of the red and white lights are dancing off the buildings as we race down the wet streets. Sirens are screaming a warning to the very few people who dare to walk the street at night.

We make a final turn and the scene comes into view. There’s a lone police car; its light bar extinguished so as not to call attention to itself. We follow suit and shut our lights and siren off as we approach. In the center of the rain-soaked street, a crowd has gathered.  A woman is screaming, being held up by friends or family.  A man lies crumpled in the middle of the road next to his wheelchair. The cop looks nervous as we roll to a stop and exit the ambulance.  ‘He’s been shot – a lot,’ he shouts from about 10 feet away.

The decibel level immediately increases from the crowd of distraught onlookers. We know we’re going to have to work quickly to try to save the patient and get away from the scene for our own safety. We grab the heart monitor, oxygen, trauma bag and the stretcher for the fourth time this shift and once again go wading into chaos…”

Paramedics and EMTs are the front line of the world’s emergency medical system and serve as eyewitnesses to some of life’s most precious and equally most tragic moments.

Wading Into Chaos, written by a veteran paramedic, gives you a first hand, real life glimpse inside the chaotic world of Emergency Medical Services. Ride along and experience the emotions, the frustration, the sadness and the dark humor that accompanies responding to fatal car crashes, 14-year-old suicides, inner city gang violence, train accidents, med-e-vac helicopter landings, and the forgotten elderly who just need someone to talk to.