# How did you do this one? Dead spouse trapped with live one.



## mycrofft (Oct 25, 2008)

You roll up, MVA with two entrapped, one spouse is dead and the other is conscious and at the "What happened? Where's Mildred?" stage. (How about variants, suich as kids with dead parent, or people with dead family pet?).


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## Epi-do (Oct 25, 2008)

I haven't had the exact scenario you are presenting, but when on the scene of an MVC with mulitple patients, I have been asked about others in the vehicle.  I have always responded with, "I do not know how they are doing/where they are.  I am here to take care of you, and making sure you are ok is my priority right now."  If the patient pushes the issue, I may tell them that I will try to find something out for them before we leave, or that another medic is looking at Mildred.  I may not be able to find out anything about Mildred before leaving, but I do at least try to find something out.

I did have a cardiac arrest earlier this summer where the caller was blind and did not realize that his mother was having CPR done on her.  In that situation, the officer in charge asked if there was someone that could be called to be there with him because his mother was very sick and the medics were doing everything they could.  Once the family friend got there, the officer told the friend what was going on, and then broke the news to the patient's son.


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## mbcwgrl (Oct 25, 2008)

One of the toughest calls I have been on in my career has been a MVA with 3 dead children and 1 dead parent. In order to gain access to the one surviving victim we had to move a child first. The car was almost unrecognizable, and I have no idea how dad was still alive. He was awake but had a severe head wound and needed an O.R. ASAP! He understood what he was seeing and what he was living through. The car was so mangled and unsafe to really cut into without injuring the pt, and me being so little, I volunteered to go in. With all of my bunker gear on, and it being 100+ degrees I was sweating and near tears anyways... I had to pick up the limp body of a (later I found out) 4 year old boy and hand him to a FF who could not do anything for him. This was right in front of Dad. It was heartbreaking but I am happy to say that Dad has made a full recovery and is currently seeking counseling for the incident. He is doing great with lots of support from family and friends. He stops into the station every now and again just to say hi and talk... Sometimes he brings cookies so he is invited anytime he wants! He truely is an angel and has become my role model!


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## mycrofft (Oct 25, 2008)

*I said "She's stable" then we turned to getting him out.*

He didn't remember it later when we arrived at the ER. (This is the case where my partner cut the car carpet with his Buck knife instead of disassembling the car).


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## jochi1543 (Oct 26, 2008)

mbcwgrl said:


> One of the toughest calls I have been on in my career has been a MVA with 3 dead children and 1 dead parent. In order to gain access to the one surviving victim we had to move a child first. The car was almost unrecognizable, and I have no idea how dad was still alive. He was awake but had a severe head wound and needed an O.R. ASAP! He understood what he was seeing and what he was living through. The car was so mangled and unsafe to really cut into without injuring the pt, and me being so little, I volunteered to go in. With all of my bunker gear on, and it being 100+ degrees I was sweating and near tears anyways... I had to pick up the limp body of a (later I found out) 4 year old boy and hand him to a FF who could not do anything for him. This was right in front of Dad. It was heartbreaking but I am happy to say that Dad has made a full recovery and is currently seeking counseling for the incident. He is doing great with lots of support from family and friends. He stops into the station every now and again just to say hi and talk... Sometimes he brings cookies so he is invited anytime he wants! He truely is an angel and has become my role model!



Wow, it must've been such a difficult experience for him, and I've never been (and hope to never be) in your position, either.


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## Sasha (Oct 26, 2008)

mycrofft said:


> He didn't remember it later when we arrived at the ER. (This is the case where my partner cut the car carpet with his Buck knife instead of disassembling the car).



Well I guess you cant get anymore stable then dead...


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## mycrofft (Oct 26, 2008)

*Yes....*

Room temperature.:blush:


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## IrishEMT (Oct 30, 2008)

Actually, I've had this happen at the scene of a 6 pt rollover with entrapment.
My pt: Living, AMS.
Spouse and child: Trapped in car, but living
Friend and other child: Living, already transported
Other friend: Ejected and DOA.

Pt: Where's my friend? 
Me: He's already at the hospital.
Pt: No, his wife.
Me: She was already out of the car when we got here (true, she was just dead).
Pt: Can I talk to her?
Me: Right now we really need to get you in the ambulance.
Pt: Alright.

He then proceeded to call me a bunch of unprintable things.


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## stephenrb81 (Oct 30, 2008)

Had a roll-over with two female occupants.  Passenger ejected and arrived on scene with first responders doing CPR.  Driver alert, trapped, extrication in progress.

Worked the ejected female all the way to the hospital and for another 20 mins in the hospital (hospital based service) then the doc pronounced.  The driver was extricated and transported stable.  She kept asking about the other woman, the nurse explained that her friend's condition was "Serious" trying to postpone until a counselor could get there.  

Highway Patrol came in and question the patient (driver), Turns out he found a couple of different type of Rx narcs.  Patient admitted taking multiple narcs for anxiety and back pain immediately prior to driving.  The officer than advised her she was being charged with 3rd degree murder.  She had no idea her friend was dead until that moment.


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## mycrofft (Oct 31, 2008)

*Ouch!...........*

,,,,,,,,,,,


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## Jeffrey_169 (Nov 12, 2008)

*He is an example to us all*

I am a husband and a father of two myself, and I would only hope that I would have his strenth.


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## reaper (Nov 12, 2008)

Had one a few years ago. Roll over MVC with three Pt's. This was a small pickup. Driver was ejected and DOA. 15 year old F, was sitting in middle and 16 year old M sitting in passenger seat. When we arrived, witnesses stated that there was 3 people in truck prior to accident, but the could only find 2 of them. Driver was up against a tree. He had died on impact. Male passenger was dead and trapped on floor board of truck. The top of the truck was almost flat.

 When I was checking for a pulse on the male that was trapped, a hand grabbed my wrist! The female was trapped up under the dash board and being crushed by the dead male pt. She could barely talk, due to the male's body crushing against her. We had to work fast at extrication. The female was fading fast and to a point where she could not breath.

Once we cleared the roof and passenger door, we found the males arm was trapped in the dashboard and no way to move his body. I did manage to get a NRB on the female and wedge my arm between the two, enough to let her breath a little. We ended up having to call med control for permission to amputate the males arm, so we could remove the body.

We did get her out and into surgery. She spent 16 weeks in the ICU, before she went home. Her mom stopped me at the ED one night, to give me an update on her daughter. Came to find out that the male in the truck was the Pt's brother. She was having a hard time dealing with having to watch her brothers arm removed, just to get her out. Mom did say that hospital had provided her with a lot of help on the issue.

I explained to mom that I would have loved to sedate the girl, before having to do that. But, without being able to examine the pt, I could not risk giving her any thing. Mom fully understood and thanked all of us that were there that night.

That one was a hard one to manage and hope to never have to make that decision again!


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## Melanie77 (Nov 12, 2008)

YEA .. OUCH  ! :excl:


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