Blood, Sweat, and Tea: Real-Life Adventures in an Inner-City Ambulance

I found this book while stocking up on reading material for an international business trip - I selected it for the title and the format (diary-like entries make it easy to pick up & put down). I was delighted to find it such a great read, well written and completely engrossing (turns out, I couldn't put it down!).

I've always believed people in this profession are true heroes, like others in the medical industry, but this firsthand account proves them to be absolute saints. This man is the British Energizer bunny of saving lives and dealing with death. It's an absolutely fascinating read and truly funny at the same time.

Ever wondered what the guy behind the wheel is thinking of the ambulances you see stuck behind a#@!holes who just keep driving and won't get of the way? Or what that guy thinks of busy body members of public who want to gawk at the "free entertainment" that is some poor person goes through the indignity of needing their help. Then Blood, Sweat and Tea is the book for you! Brian Kellett (or better known as his online pseudonym Tom Reynolds) takes the reader on the journey that is life as a London Emergency Medical Technician. This book will have you laughing out loud at the stupidity of the public and shaking it at the same time as you realise these dregs of society are delaying ambulances and tying up their time while those who need them die waiting for an ambulance to arrive. The book is a series of online blog entries throughout the year of 2003 (from the author's popular blog website Random Reality which makes it extremely easy to pick up and put down again when you need to or only have a few minutes to spare and fill in that time. During 2003 Reynolds drives both normal ambulances as well as a Fast Response vehicle (vehicle which can arrive on scene faster and therefore before ambulances for the most severe call outs). Reynolds has a number of serious and heartbreaking clients as well as a lot of lighter entries as well. He also recounts the day he found out about the London terrorist bombings and went into work on his day off to help out and do what he could. Some examples of the idiots he comes across and writes about are pedestrians who walk out in front of him when he has the sirens on and lights flashing. People who open the back door and abuse him for blocking the road while he is doing life saving work on a patient. People who use the ambulance service as a taxi. People who use it for insurance scams such as whiplash. Morbidly obese people who injure paramedics who are lifting them and who often die as results of the delays their excessive weight has caused. Motorists who flash their headlights in anger as the ambulance crosses onto the wrong side of the road to get around traffic at an intersection. There's hundreds more. You can't help but like the author and hope if you ever need an ambulance, you get someone like him. You'd like to think that those who are tying up the ambulances with unnecessary call outs will learn from this book but something tells me they are too stupid or cool as they see it to read a book. I'm also not sure in fact I highly doubt it but there are some other really good funny books also under the author name Tom Reynolds called Touch Me, I'm Sick: The 52 Creepiest Love Songs You've Ever Heard, and I Hate Myself and Want to Die: The 52 Most Depressing Songs You've Ever Heard. Those books are written by someone claiming to live in the USA (Wisconsin if my memory is correct) so they are probably a different guy but they are funny and Reynolds is a pseudonym in this book so they could well be t

Honestly, this is a fabulous book. It is in my top 10 for the year! From the moment I picked it up I loved it, and it has been responsible for many bouts of laughter amongst myself, my colleagues at work and my family at home. Being an ambulance officer myself, I can totally relate to the jobs the author has written about. It amazed me that half a world away EMT's are suffering the same highs and lows as we are. If you have ever wondered what type of work we are going to as we scream past you lights and sirens, then this is the book for you. It is well written and has a good mix of the humourous sides of the job, the frustrations that can be faced, and the times of sympathy for the patient and their respective families. You won't be disppointed in this book, regardless if you are and EMT yourself or just plain curious .... Highly recommended!!!

I've never read the original blog that this is apparently from, nor have I ever worked in the emergency services. But if you want a great book that you can pick up and read any amount of, large or small, in a single sitting, without having to remember any plot details or break-off mid chapter then this is the one. A fascinating insite into how stupid / tragic / brave / interesting ordinary people can be, and how the emergency services deal with them. I almost got 'roids through sitting there far too long while reading this - there's always "just one more" anecdote to read before putting it down. Fingers crossed he brings out another, I don't care if it's a cut and paste from some website I've never seen. I hope the ambulance-bosses read it as well, and learn what it's like for the people on the "front line".