paramedichopeful
Forum Lieutenant
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Hey guys, I'm back. I know I haven't been on in awhile, but there is good reason. A couple of weeks ago I had a slight accident while helping my dad work on his truck. Long story short, I ended up taking a ride in one of our local ambulances, but not a very pleasant one. Let me fill you in on the details so that you may better understand my good luck.
It happened on a Friday morning before I left for school. My dad had been having problems with his pickup for awhile now, and it wasn't unusual to see him out there with the hood up every morning. Now I have worked with my dad on things since I was a little kid, and diesel engines are my specialty, so I can usually help him out with whatever work he needs to do when it comes to working on cars, trucks, whatever needs fixing. So, when I saw him out there working on it that morning, it was instinct to go see if there was anything I could do.
I still had about 20 minutes before I had to leave for school, so I didn't see any problem with gettin my hands dirty. And as it turned out, one of the injectors was sticking, which it had been for awhile. Now for those of you who aren't gearheads, a diesel engine works by compressing air in the cylinder, thus heating it. A pump in the fuel tank pumps fuel to the injection pump up front, which in turn delivers a metered spray of fuel into the cylinder, where the hot air that is compressed ignites the fuel.
Now for those of you who are gearheads, you should know the pressure that can build in the fuel systems of diesel engines. Since this was a 5.9L Cummins, it usually runs about 5k PSI and specs out at a 23:1 compression ratio.
Anyway, my dad was trying to get the truck started, and when he finally got it going he told me to check the transmission fluid, which I proceeded to do. When I went to pull the dipstick, my hand bumped up against one of the high pressure lines going to the injectors. I felt it on my hand, so I moved my fingers over to get into the narrow space to get ahold of the dipstick. I grasped the dipstick and went to pull it out when I heard a pop and then something stung me. I pulled my hand out of there quickly, but it was too late. One of the lines sprung a leak and injected diesel fuel into my hand and up my arm at 5,000 PSI. I have heard of this happening to people before, but never seen it happen. And let me tell you what, it hurts like hell!! The slight sting was replaced by a hellish burning sensation and then progressed to a swelling, burning, torturous inflammation. My dad shut the truck off and came around around front to see what was going on. My mom had already left for work, so he had to make the decision of what to do.
I ended up riding to the ER in the SuperChief, and a couple of the guys I work with were the Medics that worked on me. If you have never been on the other side of the line where you are the patient instead of the caregiver, it is an enlightening experience. I really got another viewpoint of the "drama of trauma', and I think it has helped change how I see things.
So, an update on my current condition, I am home, getting ready to go back to school on Monday the 28 th, and I will be returning to EMT class on Wed. the 30th. Havign this time off would be nice for some people, but having an IV line in me for that long was horrendous. I am still bandaged from my elbow all the way to my fingertips, and probably will be for awhile. I have an appointment with my doctor this Friday, so hopefully he will renew my vicodin prescription. Tylenol does nothing for swelling, burning, irritated muscle. So, the lesson learned here: 1) be careful around diesel engines, and 2) treat your patients with the utmost care and respect; you just might be on yourself someday.
P.S. if I missed anything good while I was gone don't be afraid to tell me. As always, be safe out there and have fun every once in awhile. Cheers!
It happened on a Friday morning before I left for school. My dad had been having problems with his pickup for awhile now, and it wasn't unusual to see him out there with the hood up every morning. Now I have worked with my dad on things since I was a little kid, and diesel engines are my specialty, so I can usually help him out with whatever work he needs to do when it comes to working on cars, trucks, whatever needs fixing. So, when I saw him out there working on it that morning, it was instinct to go see if there was anything I could do.
I still had about 20 minutes before I had to leave for school, so I didn't see any problem with gettin my hands dirty. And as it turned out, one of the injectors was sticking, which it had been for awhile. Now for those of you who aren't gearheads, a diesel engine works by compressing air in the cylinder, thus heating it. A pump in the fuel tank pumps fuel to the injection pump up front, which in turn delivers a metered spray of fuel into the cylinder, where the hot air that is compressed ignites the fuel.
Now for those of you who are gearheads, you should know the pressure that can build in the fuel systems of diesel engines. Since this was a 5.9L Cummins, it usually runs about 5k PSI and specs out at a 23:1 compression ratio.
Anyway, my dad was trying to get the truck started, and when he finally got it going he told me to check the transmission fluid, which I proceeded to do. When I went to pull the dipstick, my hand bumped up against one of the high pressure lines going to the injectors. I felt it on my hand, so I moved my fingers over to get into the narrow space to get ahold of the dipstick. I grasped the dipstick and went to pull it out when I heard a pop and then something stung me. I pulled my hand out of there quickly, but it was too late. One of the lines sprung a leak and injected diesel fuel into my hand and up my arm at 5,000 PSI. I have heard of this happening to people before, but never seen it happen. And let me tell you what, it hurts like hell!! The slight sting was replaced by a hellish burning sensation and then progressed to a swelling, burning, torturous inflammation. My dad shut the truck off and came around around front to see what was going on. My mom had already left for work, so he had to make the decision of what to do.
I ended up riding to the ER in the SuperChief, and a couple of the guys I work with were the Medics that worked on me. If you have never been on the other side of the line where you are the patient instead of the caregiver, it is an enlightening experience. I really got another viewpoint of the "drama of trauma', and I think it has helped change how I see things.
So, an update on my current condition, I am home, getting ready to go back to school on Monday the 28 th, and I will be returning to EMT class on Wed. the 30th. Havign this time off would be nice for some people, but having an IV line in me for that long was horrendous. I am still bandaged from my elbow all the way to my fingertips, and probably will be for awhile. I have an appointment with my doctor this Friday, so hopefully he will renew my vicodin prescription. Tylenol does nothing for swelling, burning, irritated muscle. So, the lesson learned here: 1) be careful around diesel engines, and 2) treat your patients with the utmost care and respect; you just might be on yourself someday.
P.S. if I missed anything good while I was gone don't be afraid to tell me. As always, be safe out there and have fun every once in awhile. Cheers!
