In Tales from my Stethoscope, Bruna, an Advanced Life Support paramedic with more than 23 years’ experience, takes you behind the scenes of accidents, sudden illness, shootings and human revelry­ gone wrong. You’ll experience the fun and excitement­ of Johannesburg on a Saturday night … but you’ll also go to the lonely places where old ­people suffer in silence­ and children aren’t properly­ cared for. You’ll read about running a clinic on a mine in deepest Africa and being­ the resident­ paramedic on a geo-survey ship plying the waters around the globe. You’ll fly helicopters over cities praying that the patient survives, and you’ll be there in the middle of farming country helping to amputate a leg caught in a harvester. If you can stomach the drama, the blood, the grief, and the quirky humour used to get through harrowing situations, you’ll get to the end of these tales with a deeper understanding of the human condition and renewed admiration and gratitude for those who listen and act when we call out in distress.