I guess I was always destined to be in emergency medicine.
One of my earliest memories is from when I was about 3 or so. I remember being strapped into my car seat, with my uncle close by keeping an eye on me. There were red and blue lights everywhere. My parents (a nurse and a cop) had stumbled upon a serious MVC, and were providing care to the seriously injured occupants of the car. I guess since I grew up with parents that were always helping people, it came naturally to me. As I got older, I realized that I loved the lights and sirens. The adrenaline. The feeling that you have made a difference. The knowledge that you have made the worst moments of a person's life a little easier.
My first accident that I came upon by myself was when I was 16. I was driving down a rural road on my way to meet some friends when I witnessed the accident. A large SUV went off the road, up a small embankment, rolled a couple of times, and ended up back on the road upside down, spinning like a top on it's roof. There was debris everywhere. There was a green and red sleeping bag which had been thrown from the vehicle, which from a distance I could have sworn was an ejected, bloodied person. I parked my truck, and ran down to the vehicle. By the time I got there, the occupants had both self extricated themselves. It was a guy about 18 years old and his girlfriend. He didn't appear to have any injuries, but his girlfriend seemed to have had a momentary loss of consciousness, and had a large laceration and avulsion to her knee. It made me nervous when I realized that she had no idea where she was or what was happening. I started to care for her and hold C-spine, and then realized that people were driving their cars RIGHT next to where we were.
Rule #1 for the public: If there is a car upside down in the MIDDLE of the road, do not try to drive around it, and the associated injured people in the road. Even if you think you have enough space.
Lesson #1 learned: People are stupid.
The girl was lying on the ground, and I was keeping her still and stabilizing her spine. I had no training at all, so I was basically figuring it out as I went. Good thing I was a devoted Trauma: Life in the ER fan! She was very scared, and most of what I did was simply talk to her and try to calm her down. It was over 100 degrees on that day, and the asphalt was about the temperature of molten lava. Luckily there were some great bystanders who stopped to help also. I asked them to get the afore-mentioned sleeping bag and hold it over us for some shade. Another nice lady moved her SUV to block off traffic, so the crazy drivers wouldn't run us over. The ambulance finally came, and took the girl away. She was really freaking out, so the boyfriend went with her. Apparently the paramedics had to pretend to do everything (i.e. put in IV's, oxygen, etc.) to him so that she would calm down enough to let them do the same her.
Lesson #2 learned: Some patients act like children when they're sick/injured, no matter their age.
At church the next Sunday, an older gentleman began talking about how his day earlier in the week had been rudely interrupted while he was driving out that same road, due to an accident. I quickly realized it was the same accident, but decided not to say anything. He went on to say that since he was stuck in traffic, he sat on the hood of his car and watched the lights and sirens. Apparently he had witnessed the collision, but saw it more as an opportunity to watch EMS in action rather than an opportunity to help someone in need. I'll admit I was annoyed. I could have used his help. None of us there had any "official" training, but everyone made a difference. Even by simply holding a blanket to give us shade, those bystanders prevented the injured girl from getting any burns at all. I was wearing jeans, but I still had 2nd degree burns from the pavement on my knees. I still have faint scars. It was amazing that the patient did not get burned, and that can be attributed to those people who decided to serve someone else instead of wallow in their irritation over their plans for the day being delayed.
The girl ended up being a friend of a friend. I got in contact with her a few months later, and she thanked me profusely for my help. She said I was really calming and reassuring during the whole ordeal. It was a great reminder that sometimes the thing that makes the most difference is taking care of the whole person, mind body and soul, not just the problem.
Lesson #3 learned: Patients are people, not just a project. And they are probably scared to death.
