Croak (noun) is the characteristic sound a frog makes; croak (verb) is to die. Frog is a term of endearment for an intensive care paramedic (ICP).

ICPs are called Frogs because many of their patients die: they croak. Not all paramedics want to be ICPs. There’s rigorous training to become a Frog. Frogs are called out to the more difficult cases.

Sally Gould undertakes a three-year university course and graduates with a degree in paramedicine. She is employed by NSW Ambulance as a probationer. That’s when the ‘real’ learning begins … on the job. Sally qualifies as a paramedic and, after many years, applies to join the ICP program. She passes with flying colours and becomes a Frog.

As a probationer, on her first day, Sally joins two ICPs and learns quickly. The first call-out is to a patient who has a VF (a ventricular fibrillation) that I now know is a chaotic heart rhythm and, therefore, the patient is likely to croak at any tick of the clock.

One of the ICPs delivers a shock with the defibrillator and the patient jolts. The paramedic gives a second shock and the patient, fortunately, goes into sinus rhythm, another name for the patient having a normal heart rhythm.

Paramedics usually work in pairs and, over the years, we are taken to many emergency situations with various colleagues. Motor vehicle accidents, heroin overdoses, cardiac arrests, suicides and welfare checks predominate. Many end well with the patient recovering; others, sadly, do not.

Time is a major reason whether a patient lives or dies. That’s why it’s so important for other drivers to pull over and allow an ambulance through.

The chapters where Sally has to deal with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) and depression are compelling.

This candid, enlightening memoir is engrossing, educational and often harrowing.

Reviewed by Clive Hodges

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Aally Gould has been a paramedic for fourteen years and counting, and still finds joy in her self-proclaimed dream job. The professional and personal growth she experienced on the frontline, and the journals she kept during her early years in the field, were the inspiration for her memoir Frog. Her draft manuscript won the narrative non-fiction category in the 2023 ASA/CA Award Mentorship Program. When she’s not in uniform, Sally can be found tutoring paramedic students or immersed in her writing. She spends the rest of her days off nurturing herself through running, bushwalking, baking, attending theatre, and spending time with family and friends.

Sally lives in Sydney with her husband and their two children.