Pulled by the rush of adrenaline and pushed by compassion, health workers at the scenes of disasters live extraordinary lives—in order to save lives.
Walk in their shoes for one day.
Stand in the ruins of a school in Sichuan Province, China, surrounded by rubble and human loss in the wake of an earthquake.
Heave sandbag upon sandbag, 12 high, at a Midwestern hospital as the rising floodwaters lap at the Emergency Room door.
Awaken to an explosion in Pakistan, the impact of the unrest sending tremors throughout your compound, debris falling like confetti in the air.
Suffer the anguish of scarring burns, followed by the transformative joy that fills you when you can empower another person who suffers.
Sleep alongside the dead during the aftermath of the Great Tsunami.
Tremble with the excitement on your first American Red Cross hurricane disaster duty.
Every year, more than 200 million people are affected by wars, floods, earthquakes, and other disasters. To the Rescue tells the stories of the EMT workers, firefighters, physicians, nurses, social workers, and volunteers who provide relief at disaster sites—both natural and man-made—across the world.
Celebrate the resilience of the human spirit with the remarkable stories of those who have overcome substantial odds to save lives and provide comfort to those in need.
From the Indian Ocean tsunami to the devastation caused by hurricanes in the United States and the Caribbean to the devastation of war, hundreds of thousands of people have lost their lives and millions their livelihoods due to disasters and emergencies.
No matter the danger or the circumstances, physicians, nurses, and EMTs spring into action in order to save lives. In To the Rescue, healthcare workersshare intimate stories from across the globe about the people they’ve met and the remarkable obstacles they have overcome in order to care for patients under extraordinary circumstances.
This inspiring anthology details not only how these workers made a difference in the lives they touched, but how their experiences affected their own lives as well. From a paramedic’s perspective at Ground Zero to a Kenyan woman who turned her own misfortune into education for millions of others to a 71-year-old nurse taking on her first assignment for the American Red Cross, these stories of healing illustrate the resiliency of the human spirit in the face of tragedy, and how one can learn from loss.
About the Editors:
Nancy Leigh Harless is a Woman’s Healthcare Nurse Practitioner who worked with International Medical Corps, in the post–Balkan War recovery effort. She is also an award-winning poet and writer. Her poems and stories have appeared in many anthologies, including
Lyrical Iowa, Traveler’s Tales, Cup of Comfort, The Healing Project, Chicken Soup for the Soul, and Kaplan’s own
Nurses’ Voices, as well as in many professional and literary journals. She is the author of
Womankind: Connection & Wisdom Around the World, a collection of short stories based on her international nursing experiences and travels.
Now retired, Nancy lives in Iowa with her husband, Norm, but travels often—usually off the well-paved road.
Kerry-Ann Morris lives in St. Andrew, Jamaica, and is employed as the Information Officer at the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM). In that capacity she is responsible for satisfying the disaster information needs of the Jamaican public through the development and implementation of public education and public relations programs in keeping with the mandate and functions of the Organization. During periods of emergencies, Kerry-Ann serves as the media liaison arm between the ODPEM’s National Emergency Operations Center in Kingston and the national and international media.
Kerry-Ann is the author of Living Well with Endometriosis: What Your Doctor Doesn’t Tell You … That You Need to Know.
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