A teenage boy lies on the pavement, bleeding from a stab wound; a distraught mum watches, in mute shock, as her daughter suffers a terrifying fatal asthma attack; a young girl is gang-raped and her stricken boyfriend takes an overdose; a disturbed young man flings himself in front of a speeding train at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve.

Few people can imagine living in a world where such situations are part of everyday life. Yet for veteran paramedic Lysa Walder, these and thousands of other emergency call outs are part of a day’s work: scenes of tragedy, heroism loss and horror – but also stories of triumph and humour.

Lysa has been a paramedic for over twenty years, working for the London Ambulance service – the world’s biggest and busiest free service – for much of that time. Here, she reveals what it’s really like to work in a job that brings paramedic teams face-to-face with death – and destiny – every day.

I, like many others, am fascinated with the stories of a Doctor, A nurse, A midwife , a Paramedic. They work in a sector that is completely alien to those of us on the ‘outside’. They are there for us when we need them most, but have you ever stopped to wonder whether they treat us, forget us as they move onto the next person who needs their medical expertise. Well,  it seems, they don’t forget us quite so easily.

Lysa shared just some of her cases with brutal honesty in this marvelous book, which is extremely easy to read as each patient’s case is walked through in the span of 3-4 pages. So easy in fact, that as time for bed approaches,  it is very easy to tell yourself ‘just one more’.

Lysa is full of sympathy, compassion, understanding and her stories reflect this along with the sense of reward she must get from a job well done. There are some stories that are downright frustrating and others that made me cry. The NHS and its employees are often taken for granted and it does make you stop and think and appreciate them, now more than ever.

If you are a fan of books such as ‘Prison Doctor’ ‘Call the midwife’ ‘This is going to hurt’ or TV show such as ’24 hours in A&E’ then you will devour this book just like I did.

Thank you for everything you have done Lysa, I applaud you.

Fighting for your Life by Lisa Waldon is available in paperback and eBook.