Horrible Thing Happened Late Saturday Afternoon

[manning]

Thank you. Yes, I had heard that about the mouth-to-mouth not really being necessary and that it was more important to do the compressions. I mentioned it but it had been years since we all learned CPR so the guys just did it on instinct.

I just wonder why the 9-1-1 dispatcher didn’t have me stay on the line so he could help us help the young man.

That is now the new procedure. You start compression to the beat of " staying alive" IE
Ah, ha, ha, ha,
Stayin' alive.
Stayin' alive.
Ah, ha, ha, ha,
Stayin' alive.

ETC.

 

[MIGrandma]

That is now the new procedure. You start compression to the beat of " staying alive" IE
Ah, ha, ha, ha,
Stayin' alive.
Stayin' alive.
Ah, ha, ha, ha,
Stayin' alive.

ETC.

We did use that song!

 

[nkereina]

I agree that it sounds like you did everything you could, so take solace in that. I've been through a traumatic situation like that as well, and as cliché as it sounds, time does heal all wounds. About three years ago, a co-worker didn't show up for work. Its a long story, but three of us made the decision to go to his house. When we walked in, he had attempted suicide in a gruesome way. He later died at the hospital. What helped us is having others who shared the experience to commiserate with, and eventually with time, we were able to move on from it. Best wishes to you!

 

[manning]

You did everything you could. I had to do CPR once. They got him to the hospital but he didn't make it. At least I gave him a chance to see doctors.

EVERYONE should know how to do CPR. I had cardiac arrest in a parking lot. Someone gave to me CPR PDQ. Kept me alive until the medics got to me. They had to shock me 3 times.

 

[dominiondad]

I've been going back and forth about posting this, as I know how a few posters can be and I really don't need any negativity towards me about this but, I've been really, really struggling with what happened and I need to talk about it, so you guys are it. I was in the kitchen getting ready to start supper. I heard a crash and stopped, wondering what THAT was. Listened. Nothing more. Looked out the kitchen window and something was in the field (we live in the country, farm country) kitty-corner across the road from our house. What WAS that?! Oh my gosh, it was a vehicle!!! I immediately turned the oven burner off (was getting ready to boil water for pasta), shoved my shoes on and grabbed my phone and went out the door walking as fast as I could (too overweight to run) to get over there.

Meanwhile a red SUV had gone by and turned around and went back, parked by the road and the driver ran out to the truck. He was DRAGGING the driver out of the truck, and across the field!!! He had his body in front of him, holding him up under his arms and pressing against the guy's chest. I yelled at him to stop, but he kept going. By this time my husband drove up, he had seen the truck go barrel-rolling across the field so hopped on the Ranger and came over. I called 9-1-1 while my DH was trying to get the guy to put the other guy down onto the ground. He finally did lay him down on the ground.

There was another guy there too. They were Mexican and I say this ONLY because of the language barrier. We have a factory farm just up the road from us and around 200 Mexican men work there. Most of them live right in the area. I have NO problems with them, they are PEOPLE just trying to make a living like the rest of us.

The ambulance was on the way. I was very surprised the dispatcher didn't want me to stay on the line, but he double checked the address I told him and that was that.

The poor man was still breathing, but barely. He had no scratches or anything on his face or arms, his jeans weren't torn, etc. It was all internal.

By this time another neighbor who was driving by in a tractor had stopped and come over to help. The young man in the red SUV and the other Mexican man were talking, in Spanish of course, to each other. We thought they BOTH had been in the red SUV. He was talking to someone on his phone too, and ended up handing the phone to me. He was talking to the translator that also works at the factory farm and I know her personally. So I was giving her information and she was telling it to the guy in Spanish, and that's when we found out he had also run over to the field when he had heard the crash. He lives in the next house just down the road from us, across from where our daughter and her family live, about a quarter mile from us.

I kept watching the man's chest, every few seconds he would gasp for a breath. He was unconscious of course. But. He stopped breathing. I said we have to do CPR. So my DH and the neighbor in the tractor started giving him CPR. By this time the poor man had blood coming out of his mouth, and when the neighbor tried to give him mouth-to-mouth you could hear the gurgle in his throat. He thought he was going to be sick so I took over compressions and DH gave mouth-to-mouth.

We tried so hard to keep him alive. The ambulance FINALLY got there (it was probably 10-15 minutes after I called 9-1-1) and the EMT's took over, bagging him and compressions. But they called his death right there in the field.

I feel so terrible that we couldn't do more. I regretted that I didn't hold his hand as he died. I feel terrible for his parents. For his girlfriend. For HIM.

His life was snuffed out in an instant. We have no idea what REALLY happened. The police said he was traveling at a high rate of speed. The only two people who KNEW what happened, one was dead, and the other one had LEFT THE SCENE when we started CPR. I heard him drive off and looked up to see the back of the vehicle, so told the police that it had two large black vertical stripes on the back. But I felt terrible I didn't get the license plate number.

Thankfully the translator knew who the guy was that left the scene, so she was able to say where he lived. Later that evening the police went there. The vehicle was there, with no damage to it, but the driver was gone. In hiding? Felt guilty? Illegal? Who knows. They are still looking for him. He had tried to get my husband to help him get the man into his truck. WHERE was he going to take him, we wonder. To the hospital? To his house?

The EMTs told my husband and neighbor they needed to get checked out and have blood drawn, since they'd had the young man's (he was 23) blood in their mouths so later we did go up to the hospital and he had blood drawn. The man's body was in the hospital's morgue and they were able to draw blood from him as well. But now we wait on that, hopefully the guy was healthy and no hepatitis or anything.

I have NEVER gone through ANYTHING like that in my life, and it has really shaken me up. We just don't know if both vehicles were drag racing, or if the guy driving the red vehicle was just driving slowly and the truck pulled out to pass him or what. We may never know.

We don't know if he was wearing his seatbelt. I felt he HAD to have been wearing it as the truck went end-over-end at first and then barrel-rolled several times. The driver door was gone and the whole truck was crushed up very bad. If he was NOT wearing a seatbelt it seems like he would have been thrown from the vehicle. I asked the guy in the red SUV if he was wearing his seatbelt and of course he didn't understand my question so I made the motion of seatbelt across my chest and he said "no."

I just keep thinking about it, and wishing we could have done MORE. And wondering what if the guy had NOT dragged the driver out of the truck. Would he have lived? Every time I look out the kitchen window my eyes are drawn to the spot where it happened. The EMT's said we might need to talk to someone, I don't want to do that but I just can't stop thinking about it. I know it has only been 2 days though, I'm going to give it some time and hopefully I can work through it. It has helped just typing it all out here.

But if there are any nurses (or doctor) here, could you tell me if there was anything more we could have done to save him? I just so wish he could have been saved.

Former firefighter/EMT and trauma medic here. There is nothing else you could have done. Nothing. His injuries were non survivable. The key to surviving a serious medical event is getting to the hospital within an hour. Anything done prior to that is generally just an effort to buy time until the patient makes it to the ER. The seriousness of the injuries and the time needed to get first responders on scene were working against you. When somebody's heart stops due to trauma, it is very difficult to get them back via CPR. You did everything, even more, than anybody would expect.

Regarding holding his hand - its a very nice thought, but very difficult to think of in the moment. The feelings you are experiencing are very normal. You might want to consider talking to somebody about them. Even people who see this stuff daily can have trouble working through this stuff. Back in 1991 I responded to a car vs. tree accident. Four teenagers. Three died immediately. We airlifted the fourth out. As we loaded her into the helicopter, I held her hand. She died a few minutes later. I still struggle with the guilt that I got to hold her hand and her parents didn't. My point is that no matter what you did or didn't do, you would be having these feelings. In a very tragic situation, you did a great job. Google "Critical Incident Stresss", that may give you some insight as to what your brain is going through.

Finally, thank you for being an active and involved member of your community. I hope if somebody in my family ever needs help, somebody like you is around.

 

[MIGrandma]

Former firefighter/EMT and trauma medic here. There is nothing else you could have done. Nothing. His injuries were non survivable. The key to surviving a serious medical event is getting to the hospital within an hour. Anything done prior to that is generally just an effort to buy time until the patient makes it to the ER. The seriousness of the injuries and the time needed to get first responders on scene were working against you. When somebody's heart stops due to trauma, it is very difficult to get them back via CPR. You did everything, even more, than anybody would expect.

Regarding holding his hand - its a very nice thought, but very difficult to think of in the moment. The feelings you are experiencing are very normal. You might want to consider talking to somebody about them. Even people who see this stuff daily can have trouble working through this stuff. Back in 1991 I responded to a car vs. tree accident. Four teenagers. Three died immediately. We airlifted the fourth out. As we loaded her into the helicopter, I held her hand. She died a few minutes later. I still struggle with the guilt that I got to hold her hand and her parents didn't. My point is that no matter what you did or didn't do, you would be having these feelings. In a very tragic situation, you did a great job. Google "Critical Incident Stresss", that may give you some insight as to what your brain is going through.

Finally, thank you for being an active and involved member of your community. I hope if somebody in my family ever needs help, somebody like you is around.

Thank you so much for your kind words, I appreciate it more than I can say (hug). This thread has given me so much support and encouragement, it has been the therapy I needed. I’m doing okay now, knowing we did everything we could to help him.

 

[ronandannette]

Thank you so much for your kind words, I appreciate it more than I can say (hug). This thread has given me so much support and encouragement, it has been the therapy I needed. I’m doing okay now, knowing we did everything we could to help him.

Very good to hear. It's clear you were still in shock when you originally posted about your experience. Things take a little time to process. Stay mindful about your feelings and don't hesitate to give this thread a little bump when you need a little more comfort and encouragement.

In the meantime, maybe occupy yourself by watching a little basketball. There's plenty of room for you on the Raptors bandwagon. WE THE NORTH welcome you!!

 

[MBurns]

I understand what you are going through, as a retired firefighter and first responder, I would suggest participating in a debriefing. It helps sort out many feelings and let's you know others are feeling the same way. I still have one that sticks in my head and certain smells trigger a memory. I hope you find peace in the fact you did the best you could.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]