Logging accident

[wlamoreemtb]

Last night I responded to a call. One of the worst i have ever been to. We were dispatched to a man down at a logging operation. We arrive on scene woth our 4wd rig. A man got pinned when a tree fell the wrong way and landed on top of him. I was the senior crew member at the time. He was still alive with this 20" sugar maple on top of his torso. We cut the from around him to free the trapped man. The medic arrived and the man died shortly after. Today I came to find out i was my friends father. Its hard to see that kind of thing especially going to school for forestry and it being a friends father. So i just thought i would share this with you guys.

 

[rescuepoppy]

Last night I responded to a call. One of the worst i have ever been to. We were dispatched to a man down at a logging operation. We arrive on scene woth our 4wd rig. A man got pinned when a tree fell the wrong way and landed on top of him. I was the senior crew member at the time. He was still alive with this 20" sugar maple on top of his torso. We cut the from around him to free the trapped man. The medic arrived and the man died shortly after. Today I came to find out i was my friends father. Its hard to see that kind of thing especially going to school for forestry and it being a friends father. So i just thought i would share this with you guys.

Yes it is tough when you know the person. In the area I work we tend to know a good deal of the people we respond to so through the years I have had to deal with several people I know. The best way for me to cope with this has been to understand thataregardless of whether I am there or not the incident is still going to happen all I can do is provide the best care I can and then when that is not enough make sure that the remainder of the call is handled in a dignified and respectful manner. After we have done all we can for the patient then we have to think of the way we do things for the family As for going into the forestry industry. If the youth in emergency services were to let the things they will see in this business keep them from following their goals then they would get nowhere because we see people injured or killed in every type of job. My advice to you is to keep on with your dreams if that is what you want I am sure your friends father would tell you the same thing.

 

[paramedix]

Hang in there...

Unfortunately we are the first call in an emergency and the chance of you arriving on a scene and know the patient might be very good. Especially when you live in a small town.

I also attended to a call once where I knew the person. I arrived on the scene and for some reason recognized the car. Worst fears...it was!

My advice to you is to keep on with your dreams if that is what you want I am sure your friends father would tell you the same thing.

...follow your dream!

 

[firetender]

First of all, sorry that you had to go through that call, and thank you! for doing so. Lending a hand does not mean success. Lending a hand means being completely there and available so if there's a chance, the person will get it.

Not as a comment about the original post but as a reflection: We, in the midst of EMS are just as insulated from the debility and death of our own as the regular populace.

We, like everyone else, take for granted the system that, as soon as someone gets ill or injured they get scooped up by professionals and carted away from one form of institutionalization to the next until they are returned home "fixed" or moved deeper into the institution, like Rehab, Nursing Home, or Funeral Home.

I can say that because surprise often pops up when the medics here basically stumble upon the Emergency of a loved one.

It's not a part of our culture anymore to participate in the full life/death cycle of those we are close to. It's institutionalized and we are insulated from it, even though we're part of the institution!

In what ways would our jobs be easier if everyone more equally cared for the needs of the sick, injured and debilitated?