Greetings, all.
As my user name implies, I am not an EMT, firefighter or other emergency personnel. In the early '90s, I was a volunteer fireman for a few years, working along I-40 in Tijeras, New Mexico. But, I've always felt compelled to become involved when I run across a crisis. A recent incident has left me with some concerns of my own.
About a week ago, a 14 year-old boy attempted to run across I-30. Unfortunately, he did not survive his attempt. I happened to be just a few seconds behind the vehicle that struck him. I did what I could for him, which was virtually nothing. I couldn't think; I think the pain meds the doctor has me taking numbed my brain. The thought that something more could have been done for him bothers me every day.
I've gone over the facts as best I know them. The boy was struck in the passing lane in a 65 mph zone by an SUV. My brief examination of him revealed a large lump on his left arm (which would have been on the side facing the SUV; I took it to be a sign that his arm was broken). His eyes were shut. A pool of blood extended about 18 inches from under his head when I arrived; by the time I left, his blood extended 2 lanes to the shoulder of the road. When I attempted to feel for a pulse, his muscles felt stiff, even in his neck. Most of his arm and neck felt cold to my touch. Logically, I think he was too badly injured for anyone to save him, at least too badly injured for me to save him. Doubt nags at me a little bit.
It bugs me that I did not start CPR on him. I didn't do it because I was afraid to do it. I was afraid of angering people for making the attempt on him and doing it wrong, maybe even hurting him worse. I tried to think of what else to do. It did not even occur to me to attempt to use pressure to stop his bleeding. I never even looked for where he was bleeding. I was afraid of handling his body, partly because I was afraid of making someone angry and partly because I would probably ruin my clothes performing what would likely be a futile attempt to save him.
There were several other people at the scene, including a police officer who had witnessed the accident. I did not see anyone else make any effort to provide the boy with medical attention until I asked the officer how carefully she had checked his vital signs. She told me that she had not. I told her that I would like to make another check of his vital signs, which I did. As we knelt next to his body, I told her that I could attempt to administer CPR, but I did not know if it would do any good. She did not answer me. I think she was not medically prepared to deal with this situation, and wanted to concentrate on controlling the scene until other personnel arrived.
I've seen injuries like this boy's at an accident scene. My first accident, before I was even a firefighter, involved a man who was ejected from his vehicle on I-40. We did not find him for 3 hours after the accident, but when we did, a paramedic who was with us began immediate and vigorous CPR on him. At the EMT's request, I held that victim's head immobile. I'm thinking that I should have done that for this accident, too. I learned after the first accident that the man's head injuries meant that he would not have survived. I think this boy had similar head injuries. I think that's the reason his eyes were shut. I think he went into rigor mortis within seconds of being hit. I don't think anyone could have saved him.
I don't have anyone with whom I can talk about this. The civilians who were at the scene certainly wouldn't understand. They had already given up all hope and simply assumed he was gone, even while I was checking for his pulse. I probably made some of them upset at me because I dared to touch the man's body (his neck). They don't understand, and I can't tell them, especially because I failed to do any better than they did.
When medical help finally arrived, 5 or 10 minutes after I arrived, they examined the boy. I don't know what they did. I held the boy's best friend away from the boy's body (again, probably earning his resentment for doing that), and I was also facing away, so I don't know what the paramedics did. They didn't work for long before they gave up and covered him with a tarp. I was at the scene for only a half-hour.
I would like to know, at least, what procedures I might have attempted? Would CPR have simply caused him more blood loss? What should I have done, at least as a formality?
As my user name implies, I am not an EMT, firefighter or other emergency personnel. In the early '90s, I was a volunteer fireman for a few years, working along I-40 in Tijeras, New Mexico. But, I've always felt compelled to become involved when I run across a crisis. A recent incident has left me with some concerns of my own.
About a week ago, a 14 year-old boy attempted to run across I-30. Unfortunately, he did not survive his attempt. I happened to be just a few seconds behind the vehicle that struck him. I did what I could for him, which was virtually nothing. I couldn't think; I think the pain meds the doctor has me taking numbed my brain. The thought that something more could have been done for him bothers me every day.
I've gone over the facts as best I know them. The boy was struck in the passing lane in a 65 mph zone by an SUV. My brief examination of him revealed a large lump on his left arm (which would have been on the side facing the SUV; I took it to be a sign that his arm was broken). His eyes were shut. A pool of blood extended about 18 inches from under his head when I arrived; by the time I left, his blood extended 2 lanes to the shoulder of the road. When I attempted to feel for a pulse, his muscles felt stiff, even in his neck. Most of his arm and neck felt cold to my touch. Logically, I think he was too badly injured for anyone to save him, at least too badly injured for me to save him. Doubt nags at me a little bit.
It bugs me that I did not start CPR on him. I didn't do it because I was afraid to do it. I was afraid of angering people for making the attempt on him and doing it wrong, maybe even hurting him worse. I tried to think of what else to do. It did not even occur to me to attempt to use pressure to stop his bleeding. I never even looked for where he was bleeding. I was afraid of handling his body, partly because I was afraid of making someone angry and partly because I would probably ruin my clothes performing what would likely be a futile attempt to save him.
There were several other people at the scene, including a police officer who had witnessed the accident. I did not see anyone else make any effort to provide the boy with medical attention until I asked the officer how carefully she had checked his vital signs. She told me that she had not. I told her that I would like to make another check of his vital signs, which I did. As we knelt next to his body, I told her that I could attempt to administer CPR, but I did not know if it would do any good. She did not answer me. I think she was not medically prepared to deal with this situation, and wanted to concentrate on controlling the scene until other personnel arrived.
I've seen injuries like this boy's at an accident scene. My first accident, before I was even a firefighter, involved a man who was ejected from his vehicle on I-40. We did not find him for 3 hours after the accident, but when we did, a paramedic who was with us began immediate and vigorous CPR on him. At the EMT's request, I held that victim's head immobile. I'm thinking that I should have done that for this accident, too. I learned after the first accident that the man's head injuries meant that he would not have survived. I think this boy had similar head injuries. I think that's the reason his eyes were shut. I think he went into rigor mortis within seconds of being hit. I don't think anyone could have saved him.
I don't have anyone with whom I can talk about this. The civilians who were at the scene certainly wouldn't understand. They had already given up all hope and simply assumed he was gone, even while I was checking for his pulse. I probably made some of them upset at me because I dared to touch the man's body (his neck). They don't understand, and I can't tell them, especially because I failed to do any better than they did.
When medical help finally arrived, 5 or 10 minutes after I arrived, they examined the boy. I don't know what they did. I held the boy's best friend away from the boy's body (again, probably earning his resentment for doing that), and I was also facing away, so I don't know what the paramedics did. They didn't work for long before they gave up and covered him with a tarp. I was at the scene for only a half-hour.
I would like to know, at least, what procedures I might have attempted? Would CPR have simply caused him more blood loss? What should I have done, at least as a formality?
