Intro

Everything has to start somewhere. My career as paramedic started back in the year 2014.

In Austria, every young man needs to go through a medical screening at a military base. Not only is this the first “large” medical checkup in the life of those young men but it also marks a changing point.

Based on the results of the check, three options open up. The first one, you aren’t healthy enough to serve the Austrian state. For example, you’re very obese or you’ve got severe asthma.

The second one: you serve six months as a soldier in the Austrian army. There are several professions you can choose from, again based on our health. The “jobs” vary from truck driver to fighter battalion or tank driver. No matter what you choose, all start with basic training.

The third one, which I choose: civilian service which lasts for nine months. Civilian service also has a bunch of different “jobs” to offer. You can work in a hospital or hospice or an elderly care place. Besides that, there is the chance to work as a paramedic.

I applied for a place as a paramedic at the Austrian Red Cross. After the end of the civilian service, I stayed as a voluntary paramedic.

From the end of 2015 till the mid of 2019 I was living inside the Homebase of the Red Cross where I worked as a paramedic. Thus I did night shifts on an almost daily basis.

In that time I saw many things that burned into my mind I wrote them down here, as stories, for you to read.

Nowadays I’m only doing paramedic shifts if I’ve got time for it. But still, there are a lot of stories to tell.

Disclaimer: All opinions in this book are my own. I’m by no way a lawyer and all the information I present might not be completely accurate. Please keep that in mind. If you’ve got suggestions to edit some parts, let me know.