Natalie Jayne Peeke continues her conversation with best selling author, Lysa Walder – A Paramedic’s Story. A book that moved, informed, and which she found unputdownable.
What was the most difficult story to share, Lysa?
No one story was the most difficult, but in general the situations where I could overlay the image of someone I loved on to the patient I was attending or their relatives (because they were the same age or had similar characteristics) always had the capacity to invoke a visceral response in me. So if the child affected was the same age as one of my own or the older man was the same age as my father I may have had an internal battle with my instinct, as a mother or daughter, to become emotionally involved. Hopefully I always maintained a professional demeanour despite any inner turmoil I may have been experiencing.
What advice would you give to anyone who is training to be a paramedic?
I think people don’t always appreciate the mental and physical toll being a paramedic can take. There is a fair bit of heavy lifting of both patients and equipment which can result in many injuries especially to the back and joints. The around the clock shift pattern can have a detrimental impact on health and family life. I missed out on so much; kid’s birthdays and other milestones in particular. Seeing extremely sad or horrific sights so regularly can contribute to anxiety, depression and PTSD.
On your hardest days, what kept you going ?
Our shifts are nearly always twelve hours long and clock watching is an occupational hazard. Sometimes the only thing that kept me going was thinking about the end of the shift when I would get back home to the family or my next day off. Occasionally we cross paths with our colleagues and have a chance for a laugh or informal debrief. A nice treat such as listening to music in the vehicle or a coffee & slice of cake can be good pick-me-ups to break up the day too.
What books or authors do you enjoy reading?
For a bit of escapism I enjoy reading novels in my free time (when it’s not nice enough weather to be outside) and I particularly enjoy Andrea Camillieri & Donna Leon, who write about their detectives Montalbano in Sicily & Brunetti in Venice respectively. Elena Ferrante’s novels that describe the bonds of female friendship and growing up in the tough streets of Napoli is a powerful read. Bill Bryson is about the only non-fiction writing that I enjoy, he manages to pack so much in and the mix of information and humour is just right for me.
What do you like to do in your spare time ?
I now live in Italy with my husband in an old farmhouse in the mountains north of Lucca with Mr Darcy the dog, Mr Grey and Toulouse the cats, Miss Havisham and Little Cosette the chickens. During free time we are kept occupied with maintaining the many terraces and the woodland around the house which keeps us extremely busy and reasonably fit. The great thing about living here is that so much of our socialising and general life is lived outside. I love nothing more than a nice long therapeutic walk in the surrounding forests and mountains with friends and dogs, it’s a fabulous way to really relax. I’m still learning Italian and writing in my free time to keep my mind active too. The only problem with living in Italy is being so far away from family and dear friends, though it never felt far away when we could still go to the UK and they came to visit us here frequently. Who could have known that the pandemic was looming and the devastating restrictions it would place on our travel.
If you could invite any 3 people, real or fictional , to a dinner party who would you invite and what would you serve ?
If I could invite three people to dinner as well as my friends and family I’d invite Dolly Parton, Michelle Obama and Graham Norton and serve up an enormous lasagna with lashings of wine. After dinner, which we would eat outside on the terrace, we’d have a good old sing a long with those that can, playing guitars. We have no near neighbours so this could be loud and continue well in to the early hours.
Fighting for you Life by Lysa Walder is available here