Signal 8

An ambulance races to the scene of yet another human tragedy. It could be a road accident, a heartattack, shooting, drowning, suicide, or perhaps a very sick child. Whilst we might experience orwitness such events in our lifetime, for paramedics these are routine events. But continual exposureto the work often comes at a significant, sometimes tragic cost to the paramedic and his or her familyand friends.In Signal 8, author Erik Schanssema, a retired front-line Australian paramedic, relates some of hisexperiences and his reactions to them. He provides graphic descriptions of a small sample of themany cases he and his colleagues attended with the intention of providing information rather thanshock. Erik opens his heart and soul and tells us frankly and often with humour, albeit sometimesdark, what it was like for him to be a paramedic on the road and how it has affected him-as it stilldoes today. The cases he describes are indelibly imprinted on his psyche. He shares his story in aneffort to help former, current, and future paramedics and emergency workers who may feel aloneor isolated by their experiences and to leave them with a sense of pride in their chosen work and,ultimately, hope.This personal narrative offers a true account of a front-line paramedic’s experiences with humantrauma and his struggle with and survival of grief and posttraumatic stress disorder