“One of the most noble aspects of rescue work is the impartiality of care. It does not matter who requires freeing or finding— rescuers go. The work is altruistic, meaning that the main goal is to help others. As experienced rescuers know, the satisfaction that comes from a job well done is immeasurable.”

“A friend of mine and I once got together for dinner after she had been awake for 36 hours. It was toward the end of her first year of residency in internal medicine at Harvard. She was haggard, red-eyed and had the waxy complexion of sleep deprivation most rescuers know well. Predictably, she fell asleep at the restaurant.”

“One of the most personal liberties given rescuers can be seen on virtually every rescue call: The medical provider actually touches someone else—from head to toe. Everywhere. Every day, people in need submit to total strangers, actually welcoming this relatively gross invasion of space; they realize that someone knows what to do about the situation.”