There are times when the world literally comes to a crashing halt and presents a situation from which one can gain valuable experiences.
A little over an hour ago there was an accident in the intersection just up from my house, a pickup truck full of teenagers was t-boned and flipped by a Caddie. Luckily there were no major injuries in the pickup which was a miracle considering it looked like only the driver was wearing a seat belt. I was helping take care of a boy that we helped out of the cab of the pickup truck and I'd say he was the worst of those in there. He was bloody from a busted lip and some other lacerations but he had what I suspected was a concussion by his general confusion and not remembering the accident. He could tell me what his name was but couldn't tell me the day or remember why he had blood on his hands. We kept his neck stable and did our best to keep him calm until the EMT's arrived. Once they got on scene I helped them out with the boy up to the point they got him on the stretcher and into the ambulance. After that I checked with the Trooper to make sure he didn't need anything from me and walked back down to the house. There was no point in hanging around and being in the way or standing around on the periphery like my neighbors just watching the carnage..which kind of chapped my ass.
Anyway, here are some lessons that I took away from this short event.
1. Seat belts...wear them. When I looked inside the vehicle after we got the boy out all of the seat belts, except the driver's, were retracted. In addition to that I didn't see any obvious signs or marks on the boy's chest from a seat belt. All of the kids in the pickup looked to be about 17 or younger, probably getting ready to go back to school. If you have young ones, implore them to wear a seat belt and if you don't wear one yourself, well that's just stupid no matter what the excuse is.
2. Good medical training is one of the best investments you can make. I'm sure there are many that spend thousands of dollars on rifles, gear, and tactical training but don't think anything about medical training. Sure you can buy a pre-packaged IFAK, watch a YouTube video, and call it good but are you really?
3. I need a couple more pairs of Nitrile gloves in my IFAK. I only put one pair in and those were done in about five minutes, plus there were others that could've used them too.
4. While my Surefire was a Godsend and very useful until they set up a more powerful light, I should've also taken my headlamp. It would've allowed me to keep my hands free.
5. On the subject of lightsources, I carry a small chemlight in my IFAK however I'm thinking of upgrading it to a small LED light or LED headlamp. Something to think about anyway.
While I gained some wonderful insights this evening I'm most thankful that I was able to help and do some good. That's all I have for now and I hope you all have a safe weekend.
A little over an hour ago there was an accident in the intersection just up from my house, a pickup truck full of teenagers was t-boned and flipped by a Caddie. Luckily there were no major injuries in the pickup which was a miracle considering it looked like only the driver was wearing a seat belt. I was helping take care of a boy that we helped out of the cab of the pickup truck and I'd say he was the worst of those in there. He was bloody from a busted lip and some other lacerations but he had what I suspected was a concussion by his general confusion and not remembering the accident. He could tell me what his name was but couldn't tell me the day or remember why he had blood on his hands. We kept his neck stable and did our best to keep him calm until the EMT's arrived. Once they got on scene I helped them out with the boy up to the point they got him on the stretcher and into the ambulance. After that I checked with the Trooper to make sure he didn't need anything from me and walked back down to the house. There was no point in hanging around and being in the way or standing around on the periphery like my neighbors just watching the carnage..which kind of chapped my ass.
Anyway, here are some lessons that I took away from this short event.
1. Seat belts...wear them. When I looked inside the vehicle after we got the boy out all of the seat belts, except the driver's, were retracted. In addition to that I didn't see any obvious signs or marks on the boy's chest from a seat belt. All of the kids in the pickup looked to be about 17 or younger, probably getting ready to go back to school. If you have young ones, implore them to wear a seat belt and if you don't wear one yourself, well that's just stupid no matter what the excuse is.
2. Good medical training is one of the best investments you can make. I'm sure there are many that spend thousands of dollars on rifles, gear, and tactical training but don't think anything about medical training. Sure you can buy a pre-packaged IFAK, watch a YouTube video, and call it good but are you really?
3. I need a couple more pairs of Nitrile gloves in my IFAK. I only put one pair in and those were done in about five minutes, plus there were others that could've used them too.
4. While my Surefire was a Godsend and very useful until they set up a more powerful light, I should've also taken my headlamp. It would've allowed me to keep my hands free.
5. On the subject of lightsources, I carry a small chemlight in my IFAK however I'm thinking of upgrading it to a small LED light or LED headlamp. Something to think about anyway.
While I gained some wonderful insights this evening I'm most thankful that I was able to help and do some good. That's all I have for now and I hope you all have a safe weekend.
