Where are they now
Bruna Dessena (DipOH 2001) is an Advanced Life Support (A.L.S.) paramedic with more than 23 years’ experience who has been working as a remote site paramedic abroad for the past seven years. Her work has taken her all over the world to many interesting assignments, although the bulk of her career has seen her working in and around Johannesburg, known for its high crime and busy casualties. She is particularly nostalgic about early Hillbrow where she lived and attended to countless emergency calls, and for which she has fond memories. She shares some of these memories and interesting calls in her book Tales from my Stethoscope. In the book Bruna takes you behind the scenes of accidents, sudden illness, shootings and human revelry gone wrong. In her off-time Bruna has worked an anti child abuse activist, volunteering as a counsellor for both Childline and the Teddy Bear Clinic. At the latter she was also a Senior Facilitator preparing children and parents for court. Bruna has two children herself and knows too well that every parent's nightmare is that their children might one day be abused. Earlier this year she released her first book, Every Parent's Nightmare, which is a practical guide for adults and parents dealing with child abuse. In addition to helping adults know what to do when child abuse is suspected or has been disclosed, the book also aims to build awareness around abuse and paedophiles so that parents can become more aware about when their children are most at risk. In addition to being a paramedic, Bruna is a qualified Oral Hygienist and has a diploma in Child Psychology. She is also the creator of the Emergency Dental Kit - a kit designed to take care of common dental emergencies when you can't get to a professional for help.