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Thanksgiving a few years back:
I came in from deer hunting to take care of some things and have thanksgiving. My truck was still loaded with generator, fuel, water etc so we took the wife’s car with her driving.
As we were leaving the Inlaws we came up on a wreck, from seconds earlier, that had debris over 5 lanes. I told my wife I was going in and to pop her trunk so I could get the IFAK on her bag.
I went to the first vehicle, where a woman was standing in a frozen position deer in the headlights look, but more on that later.
I donned my nitrile gloves while talking to the woman inside. As I’m speaking to her I realize she’s in the passenger seat. I’m like ok where’s the drivers seat. I look and I’m standing where it should be. I look to the right and yeah… I’ll leave out the details for many reasons.
Ok can’t fix him so back to her. An off duty volunteer fireman runs up with his radio and starts yelling asking if anyone has any medical equipment. (Hmmm your in the profession but carry nothing) I’m like I got an IFAK. He’s needing gloves but it only had one pair(lesson one and fixed that afterwards). He continued yelling until I yelled back at him and asked “where was his stuff”. He replied “well I always have the truck”. I replied “well apparently you don’t so hush”.
We pull out gauze and shears and go to work. An off duty nurse runs up and volunteers and he dispatched her to vehicle number two. A state trooper comes up and the patient is crying about the seatbelt hurting her broken arm. I hand him my pocket tool with the serrated blade to cut it. The decision was made not to as her injuries were so great, as well as unknown, and the angle would have moved her possibly. I continue to work on her. I ask the trooper later for my tool back. He says “oh s… I gave it to someone to cut out the guy in the other vehicle” (lesson two on not using anything you ain’t willing to sacrifice. I’m gonna miss that Gerber multi tool. I’ve had it 20+ yrs and it went overseas with me). Compared to what I was dealing with it was just a piece of metal.
<div><span style=”color: #000000;”>We decided to break out the rear passenger window which had somehow survived. We needed to get behind her. I tried my folder knife, the trooper tried his ASP baton and I think someone finally used a piece of metal from the wreck. That was the strongest side window in the history of automotives. (Another lesson).
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<div>It seemed like an eternity, always does, but all the response began showing up and they cleared the highway so the chopper could land. I held in place while the fireman collared her then we exchanged positions on the head wound pressure I was putting on.
I left and the next day found some phone signal at deer camp and saw the news story where it was a head on collision at approximately 65mph.
The patient was in shock, which I’m glad of because of what she saw. She couldn’t even tell me her name so her mind had shut down. They had probably been married 50 yrs. She had other injuries but the way the car was folded around her I couldn’t treat them.
Back to the woman standing at the wreck doing nothing when I ran up. She was in shock at the amount of trauma with the driver. She froze. I understand but if your gonna involve yourself you gotta get thru the OODA loop. Your better off staying outta the way and maybe praying if you can’t. We needed all the help we could get in that realm.
I’d ordered the replacement stuff for the kit. I used the Celox sponge, gauze rolls etc. I had some extra gloves and gauze in a closet at home so they refilled it temporarily. (Another lesson on having replacement stuff). I also ordered window breakers for each vehicle.
<div>The IFAK was way outgunned in what was needed but outta 50 people that stopped no one had anything out there.
I guess the lady didn’t live. I tried.</div>
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I get that “deer in the headlights” occasionally. As a student I was assisting in a movie shoot for class, and had just hung a 1000 watt movie lamp too close to the room’s suspended ceiling. About 5 minutes later I was walking under the light and happened to glance up – a blue sheet of flame was licking its way across the the flammable tiles. I stood there, dumbstruck, saying, “Uhm, uh , um”. The class instructor noticed my odd voice and jumped right into action, and nothing more serious than a broken liight and a burned ceiling tile resulted. I suppose my action response would have kicked in a few seconds later, but who’s to say?
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Wow, that’s a hell of a story. Thank you for doing what you could and for sharing it with us. A lot of lessons learned there.
I keep a small shrink-wrapped kit in my purse and a more thorough kit in the back of my Jeep.
I also keep a little kit in the center console to stop bleeding. One thing Selco taught us in Bosnia was that sometimes you are the only person who can save your life and you’d better have stuff close enough to reach. The little kit has an Israeli bandage, a tourniquet, shears, and a tool to cut the seatbelt and break the window.
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This is the glass breaker/seatbelt cutter I got
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Hmm…. 🙁 I think I spy a hole in my ever-evolving E-bags. Shoot, haven’t been around any accidents in decades, thankfully. But this was an eye-opener. Now I remember way back… I “donated” a blanket on a shocky injured guy on a cold dark morning.
If you hadn’t been prepared with some ‘tools of the trade’, Matt….I could see a whole lot of other folks going into panic cuz they couldn’t do this or that and …. Just supplying SOMEthing was quite valuable.
Even a surgeon wouldn’t be much help without some ‘tools’! And they have to be within reach…if you’re stuck… Thanks for that thot!
OldMtWoman ……Fixing that!
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Old mountain woman…. I have seen some weird stuff over my life and true owe God a spectacular last moment.
I have saw a doctor use a pen knife and fork to remove DIME damage from a kid in Beirut saving his leg even though it will never work properly. He should have bleed out or at very least close the leg.
I crashed s motor cycle on narrow road in Andes mountains had to lay down bike and yet next day at next village I run into a specialist for doctors without borders who skin graphs ne and gives me anti biotic. Surgery was done on the desk at the school.
3 months later ran into same doc and as gift for saving me had 10k worth of freeze dried anti biotics…. ended up saving village of I type of dysentery
I have been close to.mnay things I consider miracles when not your time it simply won’t happen
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One of the things I stress to folks is:
“you will only have what you have on you at the moment IT happens”
no matter what IT is. That SF A medical bag in the closet, the custom 1911 safe queen, the super doody F3005 BOV in the driveway while you drive a Prius daily all do ya no good when IT happens cause they aren’t there.
It’s a balancing act to have reasonable resources available
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barrenshomey capitalize on that. It’s an experience. Play the “what if” game in your head on these things. It’ll make it easy to react.
I’m not a freezer I’m a reactor but sometimes that’s just as bad because I’ve done stupid stuff when I was young.
None of us are perfect. -
in situations no matter how alike are different, I always pray before engaging ask for help and guidance.
Most times it is nothing special happens other than the training takes over. How ever a few times I have been able to go beyond my skills everything goes just right you feel as though something else was helping you leaving a “glow”that fades over a few days..
It’s like you are drawing on more info that what normally have access to a surity of skills and confidence in ways that defy normal explanations.
I know it’s not all in my head just asking has anyone else felt this type of thing before
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Yeah, I know what you’re talking about, Namelus. We’ve had doctor-boggling miracles…amazing, isn’t it? Usually He expects us to be wise and do the part we’re prepared and positioned to do… with Him beside us.
Quote Matt: It’s a balancing act to have reasonable resources available.
That’s my big project right now. Locate all my far-strewn and packed away “resources”. THEN figure which will be positioned where! I’ve got a lot of the medical stuff …but not enough in the Emergency Bags…as this scenario reminded me quick. Balanced with the fact that I can barely carry a tenth of basics I’d like to have with me. But some things are going in the center console of vehicle real quick!
I do What If any time I’m bored. I’ve made some interesting discoveries with my imagined scenarios.
OldMtWoman….great minds reminding others in this community! Thanks!
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We went through one of those commercial First Aid omits recently, looking for some Tylenol. Those commercial kits aren’t worth the plastic box they ship in. Is there a good DYI kit inventory you can recommend, either here or elsewhere on the net? I looked at PatriotNurse’s recommended kit but it was overwhelming, and the Bear IFAK is combat trauma oriented, beyond my knowledge base.
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Might look at the kits from Dr. Alton and Nurse Amy
I’d post a link but it says it’s spam. Dunno 🤷♂️
I like spam
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