Paramedic - by Peter Canning (Paperback)

About the Book

In this dramatic account of one man's experience as an EMT, Peter Canning relives the nerve-racking seconds that can mean the difference between a patient's death and survival, as Canning struggles to make the right call, dispense the right medication, or keep a patient's heart beating long enough to reach the hospital.

Book Synopsis

Peter Canning shocked his family and friends when he gave up a successful career as a speechwriter for the governor of Connecticut to become a paramedic. Making his way through a rigorous training period, overcoming his self-doubts and fear of making fatal mistakes, Canning went from a life of privilege to the life-and-death reality of the streets. In Paramedic, Canning relives the nerve-racking seconds that can mean the difference between a patient's death and survival, as he struggles - sometimes in the face of a hostile crowd or the glare of TV cameras - to make the right call, dispense the right medication, or keep a patient's heart beating long enough to reach the hospital.

From the Back Cover

In this unforgettable, dramatic account of one man's experience as an EMT, Peter Canning relives the nerve-racking seconds that can mean the difference between a patient's death and survival, as Canning struggles to make the right call, dispense the right medication, or keep a patient's heart beating long enough to reach the hospital. As Canning tells his graphic, gripping war stories -- of the lives he saved and lost; of the fear, the nightmares, and the constant adrenaline-pumping thrill of action -- we come away with an unforgettable portrait of what it means to be a hero.

Review Quotes

Canning's "book is both a personal story and a vivid portrait of his profession, one that despite its importance is often taken for granted.... PARAMEDIC deepened my appreciation for the work paramedics do".

-- The Washington Post

About the Author

Peter Canning is a full-time paramedic in Hartford, Connecticut. In addition to his government jobs, he has worked as a cabdriver, cook, meatpacker, telephone solicitor, book reviewer, and laborer. A graduate of the Iowa Writers Workshop, Canning is currently at work on a novel about EMS.