Shopper`s Delight

     Welcome to EMS Magazine's ninth annual Holiday Gift Guide. Each year it gets a bit more challenging to find potential gifts for that medic or young medic-to-be in your life, but after searching the Internet and numerous EMS conferences and trade shows, we are pleased to share the following suggestions.

TOYS FOR TOTS
     Southern Belle Boutique, online at https://stores.ebay.com/Southern-Belle-Boutique, features handmade baby blankets, quilts and pads. They have at least three different patterned EMS/fire/rescue blankets for $6.99 each plus S&H.

     How many of you remember those little magnetic wooden block train sets? The folks at 2Blockheads have an ambulance for these sets available for $4 plus S&H. Check it out at www.2blockheads.com/inc/sdetail/10291. Along the same lines, Amazon has a Thomas & Friends wooden railway ambulance/hospital set for $42.07 plus S&H. They also have a companion fire station with several vehicles. Go to Amazon Toys/Games and search for Thomas & Friends.

     Have a Target near you? It's marketing a line of toys called Step 2. One of the Step 2 sets is the Village Doctor's Office. It comes with a clinic building, an ambulance and four figures for $19.99. The set is plastic, colorful and kid-safe. View it by searching for village doctor's office at www.target.com.

     Looking for something with a few more parts (and don't mind if it's pricier)? The folks at Giggling Toys are offering a 68-piece ambulance/hospital set complete with carrying case. You get a hospital, an operating room with various accessories, an EMS quick-response vehicle, an ambulance and an air ambulance with assorted accessories and figures. It's available for $68.25 plus S&H at www.gigglingtoys.com; search for woody click ambulance.

     If you need something to keep the kids busy in the den, basement or other open area, how about Pacific Play Tents' Hospital Emergency Play Tent and Tunnel Combo? This is one of those play house/tents that takes up some space: The tent, which is the hospital, measures 48" by 58" by 58". The attached (detachable) ambulance tunnel is 19" in diameter by 6' long. It's a little pricey, at $108.88 plus S&H; at www.joebrands.com, search for hospital play tent.

     Anyone have rubber duck races in your response areas? Or are you just looking for a good EMS-themed bathtub toy or novelty gift? The folks at Rubba Ducks, creators of themed rubber ducks, offer the Parameduck. It retails for $8.99 plus S&H at www.rubberduckworld.com/rubbaducks-00173-parameduck.html. (Also check eBay; I found one at a starting bid of $7.99.)

     McFarlane Toys specializes in action figures. Its latest line of military figures includes a U.S. Air Force parajumper in several ethnicities. At www.spawn.com/toys, follow the Toys drop-down menu to the Military Figures link. It's under McFarlane's Military Series 5. Series 4 also features a Navy combat corpsman. These are available at many toy stores, with prices from $17.99–$19.99.

     As well, 21st Century Toys has a line of 12-inch figures called America's Finest. Aside from your standard firefighter and law enforcement figures, this line features a female EMT (with accessories) and an EMS helicopter pilot. They go for $22.99 and $19.99 respectively.

CHILDREN'S BOOKS
     Moving on to children's books on EMS, first up is a British import, In the Ambulance Service, by Ruth Thomson. This is part of a series for kindergarten through second-graders entitled Helping Hands.

     In the Ambulance Service explains how EMS is provided in London, featuring numerous pictures and simple explanations. Topics range from the dispatch center to the ambulance and its station, and on what happens at scenes and on the way to the hospital. The book includes a glossary, quizzes and more, all supported by a diverse range of photos. A little pricey, at $24-plus, but a nice book about our craft for young minds.

     In the Ambulance Service by Ruth Thomson. Hodder Wayland, 2006, ISBN-10: 0750248580. $24.22 from Amazon.com.

     The next four books and DVD are available from the Firefighters Bookstore (www.firebooks.com, 800/727-3327). First up is A Day With Paramedics, by Jan Kottke. This book is similar in format to In the Ambulance Service, only it's set in New York City and features an ambulance crew from New York Presbyterian, a hospital-based EMS provider. Colorful, informative and affordable.

     A Day With Paramedics by Jan Kottke. Welcome Books, 2000, ISBN-10: 0516230166. $4.95.

     Next is a work from the Matchbox Hero City series, Annie Auerbach's Emergency! Aside from the fact that this is a marketing ploy by Matchbox to sell its toys, I found Emergency! to be a nicely written and illustrated book. It begins with a young girl of 4 or 5 having to call 9-1-1 for help and progresses through the emergency crew's response to this and other calls. Nicely done and inexpensive. Other books in the Matchbox Hero City series include Police on Patrol, Three-Alarm Fire!, Rescue at Hero Lake and several others.

     Emergency! by Annie Auerbach. Little Simon, 2004, ISBN-10: 0689868561. $3.99.

     For slightly older children is Karen Bush Gibson's Emergency Medical Technicians, part of a series called Community Helpers. This is a simple but nicely written book about EMTs, what they do and how they help people. It represents a cross-section of providers and service models and is backed by a glossary, quiz and even instructions for a science project.

     Emergency Medical Technicians by Karen Bush Gibson. Bridgestone Books, 2001, ISBN-10: 0736806237. $14.95.

     Another British import aimed at ages 4–8 is The Picture World of Ambulances, by Norman Barrett. This book features explanations of modern EMS and vehicles such as emergency ambulances, critical-care transport ambulances, air ambulances, ambulances at war and others. It includes a glossary of EMS terms.

     The Picture World of Ambulances by Norman Barrett. Franklin Watts, 1991, ISBN-10: 0531140903. $6.95.

     Looking for a decent DVD on EMS and rescue services for youngsters 3–8? Check out There Goes a Rescue Hero, part of Rescue Adventures' Real Wheels collection. This three-part DVD features Dave and Becky as EMTs, lifeguards, firefighters and police officers. Their adventures are kid-silly with many pratfalls; they also interact with real rescue types. It's a bit insipid for adults, but my nephew loved it. For more information, go to www.realwheelstv.com or www.warnervideo.com.

BOOKS FOR ADULTS
     Turning to grown-up literature, let's open with Bill Carey's Leave No One Behind: Hurricane Katrina and the Rescue of Tulane Hospital. We all remember the devastating storm of 2005; Leave No One Behind is a well-researched and -written tale about healthcare providers who stayed to take care of their patients and, after days of no electricity, high temperatures and humidity, surrounded by floodwaters and violence, eventually were able to evacuate those patients and themselves. This is an excellent book about a heroic effort. Frankly, I'm surprised there haven't been more books about the rescue response to Hurricane Katrina. Leave No One Behind is a good one.

     Leave No One Behind by Bill Carey. Clearbrook Press, 2006, ISBN-10: 0972568034. $16.47 from Amazon.com.

     Prefer something about pure, gritty, down-to-earth, "just shut up and run the calls" EMS? Try George Steffensen's Paramedic Buff to Burnt. This is a self-published book, but a very good one. Steffensen has tales to tell about his 15 years as a paramedic in New York City, and does it in a way that's very human—up close and personal, but not uncomfortably so. He looks not just at the adventure and the glory, but at the dark side and the price many of us pay over our careers. The title conveys Steffensen's journey from eager young medic through years of calls good and bad to the first flickerings of burnout and out the other side with his redemption. Paramedic Buff to Burnt is an enjoyable read and a great gift you won't find in most bookstores.

     Paramedic Buff to Burnt by George Steffensen. BookSurge, 2005, ISBN-10: 1419602616. $19.99 at Amazon.com.

     These next two books might make good gifts for fans of military medicine/EMS. Medics at War: Military Medicine From Colonial Times to the 21st Century represents a trip through the history of U.S. military medicine. Beginning before our country won its independence, Medics at War examines how early medicine, both reactive and preventative, was practiced in times of conflict (or not—this book also addresses the frequent disconnects between the medical and tactical military).

     This a broad but shallow book. Most topics are not gone into in depth. For instance, there will be a photo of some medic or corpsman, such as during the Boxer Rebellion, with a name and that they were a Medal of Honor recipient, but nothing on how it was earned.

     I'd give Medics at War a B-plus as a stand-alone book, but it would make a great gift for folks interested in this area of medicine.

     Medics at War: Military Medicine From Colonial Times to the 21st Century by John T. Greenwood and F. Clifton Berry. Naval Institute Press, 2005, ISBN-10: 1591143446. $34.95.

     If you're looking for a more personal and in-depth look at medicine on the modern battlefield, Dr. Richard Jadick's On Call In Hell: A Doctor's Iraq War Story is an excellent choice. Jadick was an experienced naval doctor who had risen through the ranks and was facing a decision: He could accept a promotion that would take him away from patient care and into the world of administration, or he could pull some strings and get back down into the thick of things. After much soul searching, Jadick took a step down the Navy medical hierarchy and went to Iraq as a battalion surgeon for a Marine unit. His tale covers setting up a combat EMS organization, training the personnel and selling his vision of what had to be done to take of his Marines.

     On Call In Hell follows Jadick's unit's deployment for the battle of Fallujah, where the Marines and Army went in to retake the city from insurgents and jihadists determined to take as many American lives as they could. Their relative lack of success was due in part to the medical support system set up to take care of our injured warriors. Jadick and his team were on the tip of that medical spear, setting up their battalion aid station ahead of where more conventional medical planners would have—but where it was needed and would do the most good.

     Jadick is generous with praise for all involved, including the Army National Guard armored ambulance platoon that transported the casualties he and his crew treated through enemy fire to an evacuation point outside the city. On Call In Hell is a warrior's tale that shows the best of military EMS. Jadick comes across as a medical director most EMS systems would love to have.

     On Call In Hell: A Doctor's Iraq War Story by Richard Jadick with Thomas Hayden. Caliber Press, 2007, ISBN-10: 0451220536. $24.95.

     One proviso on this last recommendation: The Holiday Gift Guide is written in September to allow for publishing lead time. This next recommendation was not slated to be released until November. However, if you're searching for a gift for that wilderness medical type in your life, I suggest Mountain Rescue Doctor: Wilderness Medicine in the Extremes of Nature, by Dr. Christopher Van Tilburg. Van Tilburg is an Oregon ED physician, wilderness and ski patrol doctor and member of the Hood River Valley-based Crag Rats, the oldest mountain rescue team in the country.

     Mountain Rescue Doctor is a collection of accounts of rescues in and around the Mt. Hood area. I wish I could tell you more about this book, but all I have to base this recommendation on is advance publicity. However, Van Tilburg is author of a number of other wilderness-oriented books, including Canyoneering: Beginning to Advanced Techniques, Emergency Survival: A Pocket Guide and Watersports Safety and Emergency First Aid, among others.

     Mountain Rescue Doctor looks to be a fascinating and entertaining read, and based on the quality of Van Tilburg's previous works, I look forward to doing a more in-depth review once it is released.

     Mountain Rescue Doctor: Wilderness Medicine in the Extremes of Nature by Christopher Van Tilburg. St. Martin's Press, 2007, ISBN-10: 0312358873. $16.47 at Amazon.com.

Art Minute
     How about a print or painting to decorate the study or station of your favorite EMSer? One suggestion is Alex Cherry's The Artist In the Ambulance. Numerous sizes and styles of prints are available at www.deviantart.com/print/344832.

     That's it for this year. We hope these suggestions have been interesting and helpful.

Norm and Vicki Rooker have been involved in rescue and EMS for almost 60 years between them. Their extended family includes four paramedics, three EMTs, a retired ER LVN and four other allied health professionals, plus four step-grandchildren and 12 nieces and nephews.