Albury woman Laura Bishop working full-time as paramedic after childhood inspiration

Laura Bishop knew she wanted to be a paramedic at 12 years of age when her seven-week-old sister Ella had stopped breathing but was brought back to life by Fiona Dillon.

As her mother began to panic, Ms Bishop called triple-0 and along with her other sister, Caitlin, passed on vital instructions until Ms Dillon and fellow paramedic Bernie Meares arrived and got Ella breathing again.

Ms Bishop studied to be a paramedic and nurse in Canberra before she transferred her degree to Ballarat and recently landed her first job with Ambulance NSW on the Central Coast.

"It's an amazing job, I can't see myself doing anything else," she said.

"You just never know what you're going to get at your next job. It's fast-paced and you have to think quickly.

"It's very challenging, but very rewarding work."

IN OTHER NEWS:

Ms Bishop found herself in the spotlight when a photo first published in The Border Mail after her sister had recovered in 2008 appeared on the screen at a lecture she was involved in about newborn care and resuscitation.

"They were talking about a scenario which was based on our family and they used the photo of our family and I didn't even have a clue about it," she said.

"They got me up to tell everyone what happened, so I shared the story.

"Someone must have mentioned it to Ambulance NSW and it's sort of taken off from there.

"The guy had been doing the lecture for 10 years and didn't know I was studying to be a paramedic."'

Ms Dillon died from ovarian cancer in 2012, but Ms Bishop never lost the connection.

"Her husband Mick wrote me a beautiful email during my studies to touch base," Ms Bishop said.

"I sometimes run into some of the Albury paramedics who came to the job as well and it's lovely seeing those guys all these years later."

Ms Bishop said she would be open to a return to Albury later in her career.

"You usually end up doing a stint in a regional or rural area," she said.

"It would be good anywhere, I'm honestly happy wherever I get placed."

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: