how do ye get your head back together after an incident ?

canadian exile

I live in Edmonton Canada and tonight on the way home from work the car in front of the bus in which i was travelling was involved in a serious crash and its engine compartment caught fire. I have basic first aid training so when the bus stopped i got the first aid kit from the driver and ran to the car to see if i could help in any way. The bus driver managed to partially control the fire and i got into the back of the car to check on the driver as i couldnt open the front on my own. The drivers eyes were fixed and open, he was not breathing and i could find no pulse. With the help of the driver i got the door open and myself, himself and a nurse who had been in the queue of cars behind got him out of the car and to a safe distance where the nurse and i preformed cpr until the arrival of the paramedics.
My problem is I cant get his face out of my head and I can still feel the sensation of giving him chest compressions, I'd just like to know from those of you who have to deal with this every day is there any easy way to get your head around it, its only really hit me in the last hour or so as the adrenaline has worn off anyway thanks for any advice that ye can give.

Locust

Talk to someone about it - i.e. a close friend/relative/counsellor - keep sharing and talking (with the right people) Talk about the images and describe share write journal express and have an outward vent/discussion about it and how you feel with someone - as opposed to bottling it all up and keeping it in.

canadian exile

Thanks mate my head has just been all over the place here tonight its currently one in the morning and it doesn't look like I'll be sleeping tonight thanks for the advice

Pigeon Reaper

First of all well done for reacting in a good way in a stressful stiuation. As Locust suggested talk to someone else about the incident. We have the advantage of never going through an incident alone so we always have someone else we can talk to. Give yourself time and the worst of it will pass but please talk to someone else close to you about it.

Goonerdee

canadian exile wrote: »

I live in Edmonton Canada and tonight on the way home from work the car in front of the bus in which i was travelling was involved in a serious crash and its engine compartment caught fire. I have basic first aid training so when the bus stopped i got the first aid kit from the driver and ran to the car to see if i could help in any way. The bus driver managed to partially control the fire and i got into the back of the car to check on the driver as i couldnt open the front on my own. The drivers eyes were fixed and open, he was not breathing and i could find no pulse. With the help of the driver i got the door open and myself, himself and a nurse who had been in the queue of cars behind got him out of the car and to a safe distance where the nurse and i preformed cpr until the arrival of the paramedics.
My problem is I cant get his face out of my head and I can still feel the sensation of giving him chest compressions, I'd just like to know from those of you who have to deal with this every day is there any easy way to get your head around it, its only really hit me in the last hour or so as the adrenaline has worn off anyway thanks for any advice that ye can give.

Well done mate. The key is to talk to someone, a family member, one of the other people who was at the scene or even a member of the emergency services. Talking about it helps, I have no experience of what happened to you, but that is what I was told by those who have been through it and they say it does work. A family member is probably the best, one of those I know who has dealt with several issues similar to yours said what she does after a difficult call out was to go to her parent's, have a cup of tea and tell them about it. It gets her through it.

civdef

Just to echo the earlier post, first off well done for helping out. Plenty of people are content to continue on past these incidents. By the sounds of it your actions were what needed to be done and ye gave the man the best possible chance.
You'll probably be keen to know how he fared out (if you don't already), but try not to dwell too much on that part of it. You did the best job possible in the circumstances.

The advise given about talking with someone is bang on, taking the time to talk the incident over with someone who'll listen gives you a chance to go over things and helps settle them in your mind.

It's absolutely normal for an incident like this to stick in your mind for a while, but as time goes on if you feel it's starting to impact negatively on you don't hesitate to have a chat with your GP about it. There's nothing unusual in needing to have a chat with someone who's familiar with these sorts of situations.

canadian exile

Thanks for the advice lads the police called this morning on a follow up and they hung around a while to have a chat with me, they were actually brilliant. Unfortunatly the driver didn't make it they think he died instantly on impact, the police gave me a number to call of a service they use to deal with serious incidents so I think I'll give them a call tomorrow the way I see it and from what ye have told me it wouldn't do any harm to have a chat with them. Thanks for the feedback from everyone it really helped as I don't have any family over here to sit down with.

searescue

Goonerdee wrote: »

Well done mate. The key is to talk to someone, a family member, one of the other people who was at the scene or even a member of the emergency services. Talking about it helps, I have no experience of what happened to you, but that is what I was told by those who have been through it and they say it does work. A family member is probably the best, one of those I know who has dealt with several issues similar to yours said what she does after a difficult call out was to go to her parent's, have a cup of tea and tell them about it. It gets her through it.

Couldn't agree more. Even us in the emergency services have to talk to someone every now and then when we get a tough shout (callout). It might only be a chat for 5 minutes but it really pays off.

Muas Tenek

Even after 20+ years dealing with critical incidents I still analyze every incident and argue whether my decisions were correct - and that is as a professional - OP everything you did was in the best interest of the casualty -well done for trying to help, most people stand aside and wait for help, but you stood up to the mark and you have been counted = major respect from the professionals on here

Great stuff man

"Creates Salute Smiley"

Muas