An ambulance races to the scene of yet another human tragedy. It could be a road accident, a heart attack, shooting, drowning, suicide, or perhaps a very sick child. Whilst we might experience or witness such events in our lifetime, for paramedics these are routine events. But continual exposure to the work often comes at a significant, sometimes tragic cost to the paramedic and his or her family and friends.

In Signal 8, author Erik Schanssema, a retired front-line Australian paramedic, relates some of his experiences and his reactions to them. He provides graphic...

An ambulance races to the scene of yet another human tragedy. It could be a road accident, a heart attack, shooting, drowning, suicide, or perhaps a very sick child. Whilst we might experience or witness such events in our lifetime, for paramedics these are routine events. But continual exposure to the work often comes at a significant, sometimes tragic cost to the paramedic and his or her family and friends.

In Signal 8, author Erik Schanssema, a retired front-line Australian paramedic, relates some of his experiences and his reactions to them. He provides graphic...