just thought I'd Share

[Rae1889]

So on December 27th Me and Chad witnessed a pedestrian being hit by a van at an intersection. The guy was trying to cross when he shouldnt have (traffic had the green light) and its an 80km/h zone. So it was a terrible thunk noise and he was thrown right into the middle of the intersection.

I made Chad stop the car as I knew we had a blanket in the car so I grabbed it from the trunk and went running over. Some lady was standing over this man calling 911 and was kept being put on hold. Another young girl was kneeling in front of the man who was face down having a massive seizure and his face was directly in a puddle of vomit. not sure if he barfed while seizing or before he started but either way his face is in the vomit and he is seizing.

I ask her to help me move him on his side and she says no that we could hurt him more. I told her at this point the seizure is hurting him more than we could and if we leave him he'll drown in his puke. so I take his neck and she takes his lower half and roll him slightly to his side. It doesnt last too long and he wakes up almost instantly and tries to fight us off. Well the problem is that he could very well have spinal or neck injuries and we try to kepe him down. His ankle is deffinetly broken as while he was face down, his ankle was face up.

((off work, will post the rest while driving home...))

[ColmanMac]

Sounds as if you've done exactly the right thing, Rae - Well done you!
Col

[occb]

Yowza! You'll have to let us know how it went from there. I don't know if I'd have had the presence of mind to do what you did.

[Rae1889]

So all these people start standing around and in the way as me and this young girl try to keep this man calm. He doesn't speak english, he speaks arabic. So he's mumbling, and not making sense what does come out in english. The lady finally gets through to 911, and it takes them a whole 15 minutes to get there!

I checked his wrists for a med alert bracelt and checked his wallet. He had major road rash but other than that he wasn't bleeding. Poor guy was so cold too. But several people flocked to watch and only me and this other young girl started first aid and situation control for the man and I made the lady who called 911 to stand with the driver who was hysterical and useless.

This is the second time where I have helped during a sitatution like this and the second time where I have been utterly dissappointed by the human race. How is it that 2 20-something females know more first aid and have more compassion than the 40-60 year olds standing around gawking?! With the lady I helped last time, people acted scared to do anything. This time it just seemed like they wanted to look at a dead body! *doesnt help that we currently have a cadavar exhibit here*

But I just got a phone call from the man himself saying that he is on his way home! I knew he was okay as the cops called me to tell me he was upgraded to stable and the newspaper said so as well. But it wa so nice to here from this man who thanked me profusely. *he spoke better english than when he was out of it* I left my number with hospital staff incase he wanted to talk.

It just made me all the more scared to have a public seizure if that's the way people are going to act

[Nakamova]

Good on you and Chad for doing the right thing. I can't wait until you are a doctor...

So nice that you got to hear back from the fellow.

[Endless]

Rae,

Thank you. You are one of the wonderful "strangers" in this world that notices other people, steps up, and keep everyone else safe.

[BuckeyeFan]

Rae,

I was an EMT for 20 years. It sounds like you did the right things. Always remember the ABC rule - Airway, Breathing, Circulation in that order. You must have a clear airway which is what you did first. The breathing is second once you have a clear airway, then the pulse.

Without the ABCs, the rest doesn't matter.

Another rule of thumb is Life, Limb, Function also in that order. Save the life, then save the limb, than save the function. You would be amazed how low bleeding (unless very severe) comes in the order of treatment.

Good for you young lady.

[Rae1889]

I remember you saying you were an EMT when you commented on my facebook status. I think that everyone should have an up to date first aid course.

That every school should provide it in detail starting from kindergarten the very basics (like how to put on a bandaid and little things) to highschool where you can have your CPR, automatic external defibrilator, and emergency + basic first aid. Then when you are at work you must have your FULL first aid

[sbncmo]

Rae,

That was absolutely wonderful what you & the other young lady did! And what idiots the other people were.

A few months ago, my husband & I were driving to Oregon & were in Utah when we saw a car slightly ahead of us just drive right under a tractor-trailer. It completely chopped off the front end of the car & she went off the shoulder & dropped straight down to the bottom of the embankment, which happened to be an on-ramp. The trailer driver didn't know what happened, just felt a little bump & pulled over to check his rig. A pickup in front of us & we stopped. There was debris all over the road, but nobody else stopped. My husband & the guy from the truck ran down the embankment while I dialed 911, but I didn't know where I was, except the Highway number & a sign saying the mileage to different cities. Anyway, the police did get there. When they got down to the woman, she didn't really know what happened. She said she hit the gas, but that was impossible because she slowed down & ended up under the truck. Her speech was slurred & she was confused. But otherwise okay. Anyway, I'm surprised that more didn't stop to help either. So good for you!

Shelia

[stephk]

Rae

You and Chad are absolutely awesome. It is people like you two that still give me hope for civilization.. I am not saying this to blow smoke... I do mean it. Where i live.. my husband has been told not to help and not to touch, and he can get into trouble for doing so. Me on the other hand.. sorry I am helping. I think that it boils down to people who are worried about getting sued. People forget that good samaritain laws are around to protect us.

My hubby gets mad when i do get involved, usually it involves people at the store (he won't stop if we are driving), I hate people that just stand around and stare... My fav saying is "if your looking for a sideshow your not gonna find it here... move along please".

Again... you two are awesome and thank you for having the heart that you both do.

[sbncmo]

Steph, you hit the nail on the head. People are afraid to help for fear of being sued. And even with the good samaritan law, people do still get sued. I watched a court case where a woman & her friend were in a car wreck. The woman tried to help her friend & got her out of the car because she was afraid the car would catch fire. It didn't happen & unfortuantely the friends injuries were compounded by being moved. So the "friend" sued the woman. The woman pleaded the good samaritan law, but the judge said it didn't apply in that case, so she had to pay her "friend".

When cases like this happen, it makes people even more reluctant to assist someone who is injured. Missouri is like Texas - don't touch an injured person unless their life is threatened, such as a car being on fire.

I like your saying. My mom's saying, which all of us adopted, is "Take a picture. It'll last longer." We've always hated people who stop & stare but won't do anything to help. I'm glad my husband & son are ones that will step in to help if they are the first ones on the scene, but at the same time they are very cautious of what help they render - again because of fear of being sued, because quite frankly, the good samaritan law doesn't always protect us. Society is too sue-happy. Even EMT's face being sued over their services. Now that's pathetic!

Again, praise goes to you, Rae, for acting quickly & in the proper manner. You protected his neck during moving him, got him out of his vomit which was a serious danger to him, & you kept him from moving around. Normally first aid rules for seizures is not to hold the person down, but there are exceptions & you made the right decision.

I hope more people will be willing to help & I wish more people would accept that help gratefully, not turn to a law suit against those that care enough to help.

Shelia