Well, I learned something today, something very valuable.
I literally just walked through the door. My friend Cassie and I spent the day at the National Whitewater Center, which was totally awesome!
On the way home, we passed by a motor vehicle collision. Guy had front ended his pickup truck into the guard rail. The front end of the car was completely smashed in. Cassie said, "Oh, he hit a deer!"
I asked Cassie to pull over. I didn't see the deer, but I did see smoke coming from the engine, and it was obvious the accident had literally just happened (though neither of us saw the actual collision ourselves). I wanted to check the driver and any potential passengers for injuries, because I did not see anyone at the truck, not even a cop as yet (usually once a cop or EMS gets there I don't stop). So she pulls over. We had to hike a ways back to the scene. I ran part of the way; the accident looked bad and I was worried that if there was an injury, the person would start moving and make it worse.
On the way we passed a guy who turned and identified himself as a highway patrolman. He asked us to climb off the side of the road to the other side of the guard rail for our safety, which I did. I told him I was a nurse and I was concerned about potential injuries; he said good and seemed glad to have some help.
When we got to the scene there was a bunch of folks who lived in the homes along the highway searching the grass for passengers; there weren't any thank god. But they said the driver had been ejected. He was the "deer" that Cassie had seen.
So I ran to where he was; he was twisted on his side, and he was moving and trying to get up. There was blood all around his face on the ground. So I took off a bandanna I was wearing to use as a pressure bandage. No gloves, dammit. We were in Cassie's car (I carry a first aid bag with gloves in mine).
I immobilized his head and got Cassie and another guy to hold his shoulders to the ground so he wouldn't hurt his neck. That's when the HP man said, "You've got to move him out of the road."
"We can't move him," I said. "He could have a spinal injury."
"You've got to move him," the HP man said. "Someone's going to get hit by a car if you don't move him."
Well, the cop was 100% right, and I was 100% wrong. Scene safety trumps everything else, and I knew that, dammit. I was thinking like a nurse, not a paramedic or a cop, but it was the wrong way to be thinking at that particular moment in time.
So I said to Cassie, "I have to keep his head and neck in line. Grab his legs, and we need someone to grab his shoulders to move him." Now Cassie is a little thing. She's about 5'2" if that, and weighs about 90lbs soaking wet. But she's strong as hell (she and her husband live on a horse ranch): she grabbed him by the belt, and the front of his shirt and lifted him by her self to move him off to the side of the road while I kept his head and neck stable.
After that, it was a fight to keep him still on the ground. He was alert, and pretty oriented even though he was very obviously intoxicated. He denied any medical problems or being on any medication, so odds are it was alcohol and not a medical condition.
I specifically did NOT ask him how much he'd had to drink. I did that for a very specific reason: it was completely immaterial to what I was doing. Knowing that would in no way help me help him. He had a head injury, so I knew to watch for vomiting (he didn't thank god), and for an altered mental status. The only thing I could do for this man was control the bleeding and keep him still until the fire department and medics got there. Investigating the cause of the accident is not my job, and I didn't want to muddy the waters by asking inappropriate questions. I focused on the patient.
But I did tell the HP man that I thought he was drunk. So he'll get a legal BAC drawn in the ER, and after he's medically cleared odds are he'll be heading to jail with a DUI charge.
Once Fire got there, they were able to take over immobilization from me; a good thing. My arms were cramping, and my hip was killing me from the awkward position I was in. My right arm was so strained I was having a hard time hold his head still; an issue not helped by the fact that side of his face was slippery with blood (my hands were covered with it).
So once Fire took over, I asked HP man if he needed a statement or anything else from us. He asked if we saw the accident, we said no. He said, "Thanks. Then there's nothing else I need." We cleared out at that point; it was safer for everyone concerned for us not to stick around and rubber neck once we'd done all we could do.
I wish I could have gotten pictures of the car. But my hands were covered in blood and I didn't want to get it all over my phone. Fortunately, I had a couple of water bottles in the car, and Cassie and I were able to wash up before getting back on the road. I washed again with soap and water as soon as we got to her place (I'd left my car there), before heading home.
And that's my exciting tale. Moral of the story: if you stop to help at the scene of an accident, look to your own safety first. There is no need to add additional victims to the list.
It'll be quite a story for me to tell my senior nursing students in the Fall, when we cover disaster management.
I literally just walked through the door. My friend Cassie and I spent the day at the National Whitewater Center, which was totally awesome!
On the way home, we passed by a motor vehicle collision. Guy had front ended his pickup truck into the guard rail. The front end of the car was completely smashed in. Cassie said, "Oh, he hit a deer!"
I asked Cassie to pull over. I didn't see the deer, but I did see smoke coming from the engine, and it was obvious the accident had literally just happened (though neither of us saw the actual collision ourselves). I wanted to check the driver and any potential passengers for injuries, because I did not see anyone at the truck, not even a cop as yet (usually once a cop or EMS gets there I don't stop). So she pulls over. We had to hike a ways back to the scene. I ran part of the way; the accident looked bad and I was worried that if there was an injury, the person would start moving and make it worse.
On the way we passed a guy who turned and identified himself as a highway patrolman. He asked us to climb off the side of the road to the other side of the guard rail for our safety, which I did. I told him I was a nurse and I was concerned about potential injuries; he said good and seemed glad to have some help.
When we got to the scene there was a bunch of folks who lived in the homes along the highway searching the grass for passengers; there weren't any thank god. But they said the driver had been ejected. He was the "deer" that Cassie had seen.
So I ran to where he was; he was twisted on his side, and he was moving and trying to get up. There was blood all around his face on the ground. So I took off a bandanna I was wearing to use as a pressure bandage. No gloves, dammit. We were in Cassie's car (I carry a first aid bag with gloves in mine).
I immobilized his head and got Cassie and another guy to hold his shoulders to the ground so he wouldn't hurt his neck. That's when the HP man said, "You've got to move him out of the road."
"We can't move him," I said. "He could have a spinal injury."
"You've got to move him," the HP man said. "Someone's going to get hit by a car if you don't move him."
Well, the cop was 100% right, and I was 100% wrong. Scene safety trumps everything else, and I knew that, dammit. I was thinking like a nurse, not a paramedic or a cop, but it was the wrong way to be thinking at that particular moment in time.
So I said to Cassie, "I have to keep his head and neck in line. Grab his legs, and we need someone to grab his shoulders to move him." Now Cassie is a little thing. She's about 5'2" if that, and weighs about 90lbs soaking wet. But she's strong as hell (she and her husband live on a horse ranch): she grabbed him by the belt, and the front of his shirt and lifted him by her self to move him off to the side of the road while I kept his head and neck stable.
After that, it was a fight to keep him still on the ground. He was alert, and pretty oriented even though he was very obviously intoxicated. He denied any medical problems or being on any medication, so odds are it was alcohol and not a medical condition.
I specifically did NOT ask him how much he'd had to drink. I did that for a very specific reason: it was completely immaterial to what I was doing. Knowing that would in no way help me help him. He had a head injury, so I knew to watch for vomiting (he didn't thank god), and for an altered mental status. The only thing I could do for this man was control the bleeding and keep him still until the fire department and medics got there. Investigating the cause of the accident is not my job, and I didn't want to muddy the waters by asking inappropriate questions. I focused on the patient.
But I did tell the HP man that I thought he was drunk. So he'll get a legal BAC drawn in the ER, and after he's medically cleared odds are he'll be heading to jail with a DUI charge.
Once Fire got there, they were able to take over immobilization from me; a good thing. My arms were cramping, and my hip was killing me from the awkward position I was in. My right arm was so strained I was having a hard time hold his head still; an issue not helped by the fact that side of his face was slippery with blood (my hands were covered with it).
So once Fire took over, I asked HP man if he needed a statement or anything else from us. He asked if we saw the accident, we said no. He said, "Thanks. Then there's nothing else I need." We cleared out at that point; it was safer for everyone concerned for us not to stick around and rubber neck once we'd done all we could do.
I wish I could have gotten pictures of the car. But my hands were covered in blood and I didn't want to get it all over my phone. Fortunately, I had a couple of water bottles in the car, and Cassie and I were able to wash up before getting back on the road. I washed again with soap and water as soon as we got to her place (I'd left my car there), before heading home.
And that's my exciting tale. Moral of the story: if you stop to help at the scene of an accident, look to your own safety first. There is no need to add additional victims to the list.
It'll be quite a story for me to tell my senior nursing students in the Fall, when we cover disaster management.
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