Wild Rescues: A Paramedic's Extreme Adventures in Yosemite, Yellowstone, and Grand Teton

Wild Rescues: A Paramedic's Extreme Adventures in Yosemite, Yellowstone, and Grand Teton

  • Downloads：7928
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-05-03 21:30:57
  • Update Date：2025-09-07
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Kevin Grange
  • ISBN：1641602007
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle

Reviews

Susanna ，

Ever wondered what it must be like to work in a rural setting， saving patients who fall high in the mountains， requesting helicopters to extricate patients， dealing with extreme weather conditions and the sometimes ridiculous stupidity of humans？ Well， this book is for you。。Kevin used to work as a medic for a small private company in Los Angeles。 He always craved the outdoor lifestyle and found it when he started working as a seasonal medic at Yellowstone National Park。 To work rural， you must m Ever wondered what it must be like to work in a rural setting， saving patients who fall high in the mountains， requesting helicopters to extricate patients， dealing with extreme weather conditions and the sometimes ridiculous stupidity of humans？ Well， this book is for you。。Kevin used to work as a medic for a small private company in Los Angeles。 He always craved the outdoor lifestyle and found it when he started working as a seasonal medic at Yellowstone National Park。 To work rural， you must make a few adjustments in your approach to patient care along with a few extra skills and drugs you can now administer。 After a weeklong training for the seasonal workers， the action is promised to arrive soon。。The hospital being two hours （plus） away， the weather being awful so that helicopters can’t come and help and only a small clinic to your disposal， your ambulance becomes the temporary hospital for injured and ill patients。 Yellowstone lived up to its promise of remarkably interesting patients – it’s the stuff you see on all these TV shows， but it really happens。 Described in respectful details and keeping you interested， Kevin writes of his wonderful and educational first season at a National Park。。Being an adrenaline junkie （99% of medics are） with a thirst for knowledge， Kevin does a few more courses during his time working in National Parks。 While working at Yosemite， he even starts to help with mountain rescues， learn how to mountainclimb and when to hand over authority as medic or rescuer。。It’s a fascinating read， and I absolutely loved it！ It’s close to the work I did as a paramedic in rural South Africa， with limited resources， help far away， and it’s just you， your wits， and an extremely sick/injured patient。 This is how you learn the most and gain valuable experience that only makes you a better medic in the end。 。。。more

Susan ，

I love our country’s National Parks （although admittedly in bite-size quantities）。 When I saw a new book out， about “a paramedic’s extreme adventures in Yosemite， Yellowstone， and Grand Teton，” I thought it would make for a good read。Author Kevin Grange is working as a paramedic for a private ambulance company in LA， but is getting a little bored with it。 He decides to apply for employment as a paramedic in the National Parks。 When a Yellowstone manager calls him， she says， ” We figured you coul I love our country’s National Parks （although admittedly in bite-size quantities）。 When I saw a new book out， about “a paramedic’s extreme adventures in Yosemite， Yellowstone， and Grand Teton，” I thought it would make for a good read。Author Kevin Grange is working as a paramedic for a private ambulance company in LA， but is getting a little bored with it。 He decides to apply for employment as a paramedic in the National Parks。 When a Yellowstone manager calls him， she says， ” We figured you could handle the call volume and craziness since you’re from Los Angeles。 You probably won’t see gang shootings， but we do have bison gorings and bear maulings。” Grange was sold on the position！He takes a seasonal position at Yellowstone， and loves the surroundings and the “vibe” of the place — quite different from his experiences in LA。 But he realizes， “the myriad of Yellowstone’s wonders is matched only by the many ways the park can kill you。”Having been to several National Parks， I remember feeling pretty awed by the sights but also by the ease with which one could get hurt。 I specifically remember the Grand Canyon， where dropoffs were （obviously） right in the open， with nothing between the rock edge and a drop of hundreds of feet。 Add in all the people wanting photos of themselves out on the very edge （probably made worse these days with social media photos everywhere）， and it was more than a little concerning。 There are so many people out there who just aren’t that careful。 How are hundreds of people not having accidents here？And sure enough， Kevin and his colleagues are involved in rescuing park visitors and workers who find themselves having slipped and fallen on trails， gone over edges， etc。 Often the victims were older， and Grange would wonder why these people would go to such dangerous places given their physical limitations。 But often， they would share with him that visiting the park， seeing Old Faithful， etc。 was a “bucket list” item for them。 “There was a life-affirming defiance of death in their decision to visit Yellowstone， and I came to love them for it” … he was reminded daily of the beauty and fragility of life。People behaved stupidly around animals， as you might expect — I witnessed many people getting way too close to wild animals in an attempt at a great photo。 Grange shares the sad story of a family who found a baby bison on its own， and then put it in their SUV and drove it to a ranger station。 The rangers brought it back to the herd， but it was rejected due to its contact with humans and had to be euthanized 😦I think doing a job such as Grange’s would be difficult， not just due to the trauma， but due to its seasonal nature。 Park employees live in dorm-type housing that didn’t sound all that appealing。 After his season at Yellowstone ended， Grange was hired for a season at Yosemite。In this park， the accidents could be even more serious given the rock- and mountain-climbing going on。 Grange notes， “In Hollywood， people reacted nobly to trauma … However， in real life a critical trauma call was always a messy and chaotic affair during which， rather than than giving thanks for our EMS efforts， patients were often combative。” He tells several harrowing tales of performing first aid， always trying to keep his patient alive until he can get them to the nearest hospital （which， in National Parks， may be hours away）。I couldn’t help being impressed with what a genuinely decent， nice guy Grange appeared to be。 He seemed very invested in his patients having positive outcomes， and dealt with a bout of depression once over some of the traumatic things he had witnessed while on the job — one example being a young dad who had a stroke while reading to his two children one evening while in the park。 “Tragedies like this hit me hard， here at a national park。 People came here on vacation， happily visiting a magical place like Yosemite or Yellowstone， distanced from the stress and demands of work and daily life， only to experience such an ugly event。 It was a cruel irony for them to undergo tragedy in such a pristine setting。”I found this book to be a fascinating glimpse into a life that I would never want to live， but I admire those who do。 I liked Kevin’s description of living in a National Park: it “plunges you entirely into the present moment。 Your world simultaneously collapses and expands。 It shrinks to your assigned district and yet grows larger due to the full existence you live while there。 You live alongside a diverse community of people who value a campfire over a television， conservation over consumption， and shared， spoken stories over social media。 You find ‘a world in a grain of sand’ and ‘a heaven in a wildflower，’ like the English poet William Blake wrote。 And， rather than by a clock， your sense of time is measured by geyser eruptions， the return — or departure — of waterfalls， and the lumbering migration of bison and elk。”Recommended。 。。。more

Katelyn ，

Fascinating！ I couldn't put it down。 Fascinating！ I couldn't put it down。 。。。more

Lori L （She Treads Softly） ，

Wild Rescues by Kevin Grange is a very highly recommended fascinating firsthand account of the life of a paramedic working with the National Park Service。In 2014， Kevin Grange left his job as a paramedic in Los Angeles to work at Yellowstone National Park。 The district ranger at Old Faithful told Grange， "We figured you could handle the call volume and craziness since you’re from Los Angeles。 You probably won’t see gang shootings， but we do have bison gorings and bear maulings。" Clearly this is Wild Rescues by Kevin Grange is a very highly recommended fascinating firsthand account of the life of a paramedic working with the National Park Service。In 2014， Kevin Grange left his job as a paramedic in Los Angeles to work at Yellowstone National Park。 The district ranger at Old Faithful told Grange， "We figured you could handle the call volume and craziness since you’re from Los Angeles。 You probably won’t see gang shootings， but we do have bison gorings and bear maulings。" Clearly this is a challenging job that requires paramedics to have the ability and skills to respond to both medical and traumatic emergencies。 As Grange points out， "the myriad of Yellowstone’s wonders is matched only by the many ways the park can kill you。"A paramedic with the National Park Service is not a desk job。 They encounter stroke， seizures， heart attacks， broken bones， allergic reactions， and diabetic emergencies in a field setting。 They may treat patients who are potentially suffering from heat exhaustion， heat stroke， burns， frostbite， hypothermia， lightning strikes， or insect bites， along with the numerous injuries caused by wildlife。 These paramedics may be expected to stay over night with a patient in the back country， do search and rescue missions， fight fires， assist visitors， keep visitors safe， and handle resource management。As Grange tells the many stories of just some of his experiences and the wide variety of calls he answered and emergencies he handled it became quite clear that these paramedics are a special breed all of their own。 Grange covers working in Yellowstone， Yosemite， and Grand Teton National Parks。 Each of theses park have differences and similarities。 Yosemite， for example， has a lot of climbing accidents which requires Grange to learn and sharpen his skills in that area。 Clearly I， as many people， am not cut out to be a paramedic at a National Park， but what I can do is appreciate the job these brave people do through the eyes of Grange。Wild Rescues is not just a heart-stopping series of tales of emergencies， Grange also makes it personal。 He shares bits of his personal life and his thoughts。 Sometimes there is humor in the pages while at other times there are touching tear-jerking stories or frightening encounters。 These paramedics have honed the ability and skill required to quickly assess situations and act accordingly and Grange shares events that clearly showcase this。 The narrative is organized into sections set in the three National Parks and the accounts are very accessible to those who don't have a medical background。 Clearly， after reading Wild Rescues， travelers will be thinking about safety as well as the natural beauty and wildlife when they visit a National Park。Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of the Chicago Review Press in exchange for my honest opinion。http://www。shetreadssoftly。com/2021/0。。。 。。。more