Pedi Death

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EMT B

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I had my first pediatric death today, and I'm still in that phase of shock where I really am not quite sure what just happened. He did not die in my care, however he did die while getting a brain CT. I can't help but wonder if there was anything different that could have been done that would have saved him.

Does anybody here remember their first Pediatric loss?
 
EMT B said:
I had my first pediatric death today, and I'm still in that phase of shock where I really am not quite sure what just happened. He did not die in my care, however he did die while getting a brain CT. I can't help but wonder if there was anything different that could have been done that would have saved him.

Does anybody here remember their first Pediatric loss?
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First off, without knowing the entire story about what happened, it's pointless to say that something else done could have saved him. My gut feeling is that he was in an acute care facility, being attended to by physicians that needed information about what was going on in that black box we call a head, and were doing exactly that when the kid coded. Given that was probably a reasonably short time between their initial exam and getting him to CT, his death would probably have been unavoidable, given whatever went on prior to his entry to the EMS system and delivery to the hospital.

Yes, I do remember my 1st Pediatric death. I was there when he was formally declared dead. Knowing the totality of the circumstance of his death and what I, and the ED team, did to try to give him the best shot at life, it really doesn't bother me at all. Sure, it sucks that he died, but I don't own his injuries, his circumstances, or the fact that it was his emergency that I was called to.

Sure it sucks anytime someone that we worked on dies. We just have to remember that their emergency and circumstances aren't ours. We don't own it. Sure we try to help them out, but since we're not God, there's a great limit on what we can do.
 
it was a car vs tree. we flew the kid. skull fracture SAH and bilateral clavicle fractures. bilateral lines wide open to try and compensate for tanking pressure. capno and 12 lead en route to the lz
 
EMT B said:
it was a car vs tree. we flew the kid. skull fracture SAH and bilateral clavicle fractures. bilateral lines wide open to try and compensate for tanking pressure. capno and 12 lead en route to the lz
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Those are probably just the injuries that you probably knew of. It sounds to me like his injuries were unsurvivable. It was probably more a question of where he was going to be when his time was up. About the only thing I would consider is whether or not it would have been faster overall to fly than to drive the patient to the trauma center. Sometimes the alert, warmup, launch, flight to the scene, and their assessment/packaging/loading the patient eats so much time that you'd arrive at the Trauma Center before the helo actually would have. Since you know your area, you are probably in the best position to evaluate that. I was pretty good at figuring that stuff out when I was last in the field. There simply are places that, while rural or relatively distant from the trauma center, it makes no sense to fly the patient out.
 
Calls with kids suck. If your department offers a stress debriefing, do not pass it up. Go and talk about it with the other responders. And I also highly recommend talking with a counselor or psych therapist. Talking it out can be extremely worthwhile, and there is never any shame in seeking help. I've seen several peoples' careers end after stressful calls or poorly managed PTSD. Don't be a casualty of the job.
 
EMT B said:
it was a car vs tree. we flew the kid. skull fracture SAH and bilateral clavicle fractures. bilateral lines wide open to try and compensate for tanking pressure. capno and 12 lead en route to the lz
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He was dead before you got there, his body just didn't know it yet..

Kid deaths suck, no doubt about it. I implore you to look up your local CISD and get with them ASAP, especially if they are peer run by first responders in your area. Nothing compares to unloading what you're feeling to someone who has also been there. I used to be quite prideful and kept that stuff crammed deep down, until ultimately I realized how unhealthy it is and how it was affecting me emotionally and physically. I finally gave in and found that CISD is a really amazing tool if you allow it to be.
 
EMT B said:
I had my first pediatric death today, and I'm still in that phase of shock where I really am not quite sure what just happened. He did not die in my care, however he did die while getting a brain CT. I can't help but wonder if there was anything different that could have been done that would have saved him.

Does anybody here remember their first Pediatric loss?
Click to expand...

As Mike said, he was already dead. I, personally, cannot remember my first. HIPAA loves me. Providers tend to go the extea mile when caring for the sick and injured Pedi. Most get emotionally involved. As an EMT and a nursing student, I do hope you have to skills to help you separate emotionally from calls such as these so you can leave work at workand not bring it home.

Not trying to hijack this thread. Just making sure.
 
Learn to accept the inevitability that kids will have bad things happen to them and some may die and you could be working when they do.
 
TheLocalMedic said:
Calls with kids suck. If your department offers a stress debriefing, do not pass it up. Go and talk about it with the other responders. And I also highly recommend talking with a counselor or psych therapist. Talking it out can be extremely worthwhile, and there is never any shame in seeking help. I've seen several peoples' careers end after stressful calls or poorly managed PTSD. Don't be a casualty of the job.
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This. Do it.
 
If there is a debriefing you should definitely go. Like others have said there was probably nothing anyone could have done to save this child.
Talking and venting can be very therapeutic . It is always crappy going through things like this.
 
All I have to say is don't play to what if game. You will drive yourself crazy and you will never get over it. And really you probably won't ever "get over it". It it has to be in a memory where you look back and see it as a learning experience. You learn, move on, and try and save the next one.

We all have those calls that we will remember forever. Just don't let it change who you are as a person and a provider. If the docs at the hospital were unable to save him, then there isn't anything you could of done.
 
You know, after talking at the debrief today, it has kind of hit me- that no matter how hard we try, there are some people that we just cannot save. We are not invincible and we cannot cheat death. We may not be able to save everyone, but we can sure as hell try, and the fact that we tried and did our best is what counts.

Thank you all for encouraging me to go to the debrief and thank you all for your kind words of support.
 
EMT B said:
You know, after talking at the debrief today, it has kind of hit me- that no matter how hard we try, there are some people that we just cannot save. We are not invincible and we cannot cheat death. We may not be able to save everyone, but we can sure as hell try, and the fact that we tried and did our best is what counts.

Thank you all for encouraging me to go to the debrief and thank you all for your kind words of support.
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:beerchug: <--- and that's never the answer. Don't own their emergency and do your best. Never keep your emotions inside any longer than you need to. Talk it out, let it go, and move on.
 
Where's the "like" thingybob?
 
EMT B said:
You know, after talking at the debrief today, it has kind of hit me- that no matter how hard we try, there are some people that we just cannot save. We are not invincible and we cannot cheat death. We may not be able to save everyone, but we can sure as hell try, and the fact that we tried and did our best is what counts.

Thank you all for encouraging me to go to the debrief and thank you all for your kind words of support.
Click to expand...

that's what matters the most. You know that in this career you have limitations. that no matter what you do theres always the chance it may nor may not work.

When I was a young EMT I used to own it too. the oh if I would've been faster. More efficient, or did more what would the outcome be, Probably unfortunately the same,

My very first shift that I was to be on my own. I was a brand new EMT. I had three cardiac arrests in that shift. 2 of which crashed right in front of me. you wanna talk about really thinking your doing something wrong, I felt like the grim reaper. I really was at the point where I was like I am really thinking I shouldn't be doing this. Till an old medic pulled me to the side and said dude you just pulled some serious short straws and people die all the time you did your job and you did it well. But no matter what we do somethings we just can't change.
 
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