Paramedic offers behind-the scenes look into emergency responder’s role

Chris Dolbeare, a 13-year veteran paramedic with the Marion County Ambulance District, is the author of a newly released book on Amazon, “Stories From Inside the Box.” The book is based upon the journal he has kept throughout his emergency medical response career. Contributed photo.

MARY LOU MONTGOMERY

Many people keep life journals, but the journal - or black book - that Chris Dolbeare keeps is a little bit different.

As a 13-year veteran paramedic for the Marion County Ambulance District, he journals about on-the-job experiences; the day-to-day trials that few outside his profession ever encounter.

He doesn’t write about personal data that would trigger HIPPA violations. Instead, his writing is a tool to help him compartmentalize and process traumatic experiences. It is a means of protecting his own mental and emotional wellbeing.

He is not afraid to talk about post traumatic shock disorder (PTSD), which plagues individuals in emergency responder (and other) professions. In fact, he plays a leadership role in the Mark Twain Area Pier Support Group, which helps emergency responders when they are having a rough time.

That mindset has come a long way since his early days in the profession.

“I would come home with so much stress bottled up, I didn’t know how to deal with it in a positive way.

“I got my first EMT certificate in 1991,” Dolbeare said, when he was just 16. This certificate allowed him to ride along - as a volunteer - with the ambulance district where he grew up - in Pike County, Ill.

Words of advice from those early colleagues were harsh: “You need to suck it up.”

Now, as professionals in the field, “We have to break that stigma. It cuts your longevity working this field; it hurts your physical health. You have to take care of yourself if you’re going to take care of other people.”

When Dolbeare journals, he writes down his thoughts, then closes the book and puts it off to the side.

“It is a way for me to help process the call. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.”

Author in the making

Two years ago, Dolbeare - who admittedly is not a trained writer -  made the decision to use his black book entries as the core for a book based upon his own experiences in the medical field.

“Stories from Inside the Box,” is the result of his work. It was released on Sept. 30, 2025 via Amazon.

“This is me going way out of my comfort zone,” he said. “I was just journaling, with the idea that my kids would read it some day. It snowballed. I started including stories, things of that nature. It took a total of two years. I would put it down, then get inspired again and pick it back up. I wondered if I would ever complete writing the book.”

His biggest encouragement came from his wife, Kim, their three children, and from his mother Rhonda. "They have been my rock through anything I’ve dealt with in my career; they have always been there for support, my cheerleaders.”

Disclosure

“It was a decision of mine when I wrote the book,” Dolbeare said, “that I would leave the stories as they happened, My mother in particular, I told her there’s bad language in this book. I didn’t grew up in that environment, but I wanted to stay authentic to the story. I put in a little disclosure: ‘Strong language and graphic details,’ so we stay authentic to the story as it was told.

“We don’t work in a G-rated field; sometimes bad language comes out.

Writing the book “was a challenge, but it was a good experience. I’m proud of it. I hope I’ve done the book justice,” he said. 

Help along the way

Deena West Budd of Hannibal helped him with the editing. He associated with a designer from the state of Washington, who formatted both the print and e-version of the book, as well as the cover design.

Back at work

In the meantime, work as a paramedic continues.

“We as EMTs and paramedics, we’re introduced to people at their worst times. Often there’s no time to be ‘graceful’. By the time you get to a house, you’re focused and goal orientated on what you’ve have to do. 

“You have to jump in there and do your job.”

Afterwards, “This is something,” Dolbeare said, “a lot of times people will tell me thank you for saving their loved one. I don’t save people, that’s all about God’s timing. God makes that decision. I’m a tool in the process. God makes the decision.

“Sometimes you do have good outcomes, but I hate to take the credit for it. I’m just put in there to contribute what I can.”

He gives a lot of credit for his career successes to the people he’s worked with along the way.

“I included multiple stories (in the book) about the people I’ve worked with,” he said.

“People during my entire career helped me; sometimes they helped me more than what they really realized. The way they treated patients, or the way they behaved, their medical knowledge. They taught me helpful and beneficial things I never learned in paramedic class.”

The cover image selected for “Stories From Inside the Box” represents the interior of an ambulance. Chris Dolbeare of Hannibal is the book’s author. He is a paramedic for the Marion County Ambulance District. Contributed photo.