How are you in an emergency?

qo2cj1dsne8y4k

Recently I was alone with someone who had a pretty bad accident. I heard some screaming, and found the person laying on the ground, with limbs distorted into unnatural positions.

Now, when calm, I would know don't move the person and call an ambulance, but taking one look at her, I could not even think. I took one look at her and ran away from her. I actually had to talk myself into going back in because she was by herself. Though the second time I went to help her wasn't much more successful. She was still bent into a very odd shape.

I went and found a calmer adult who was amazing. She kept both of us calm, told me to call an ambulance and stayed with the injured person keeping her calm until the ambulance arrived.

It got me thinking though, what's the most gruesome thing you've witnessed, and how good at staying calm are you? Or are you like me, would you run away and hope it fixes itself?

sullivlo

I tend to be okay in an emergency. A girl collapsed outside of work one day and I helped put her in the recovery position and rang an ambulance. She started to fit so I put something soft under her head and supported her so she didn't damage herself.

However if there was blood involved, I'd probably pass out myself. I'm super squeamish.

But in general incidents, I tend to be quite practical in getting help/contacting the right people.

andekwarhola

Last emergency I was in (my kid choking), I was pretty mediocre. My wife was excellent and saved the day. She's really good at stuff like that. Hopefully I'll be better next time.

Shenshen

The one time that comes to mind would be when someone had a heart attack - and I was actually so calm it still freaks me out. I rang the ambulance, stayed on the phone with the operator while waiting for the first response team to arrive, followed instructions about giving aspirin, help the person into a semi-comfortable position and packed them a bag for hospital.

I don't know what my brain thought was happening, but it kept everything ticking over nicely as if I was just doing a bit of housework or something.
The person in question was someone very, very dear to me, but I felt no panic, I was calmly focused as if I'd done the exact same dozens of times.
Looking back, it's just weird.

livedadream

Grand i reckon, my Dad choked in a restaurant years ago, cue my sister brother and mother screaming somebody call a doctor, hes choking, around the place and trying to grab a waitress, (surprisingly all the staff disappeared very quickly, assholes)

i pushed pass my sister, grabbed him, pushed him over the back of the chair and he coughed it back up. i remember telling him to try to breathe though his nose, have no idea where the idea came from...

all was grand bar the glob of food now stuck to the chair and my dad looking ban.

my mother was amazed i was calm, im the least expected to be able to handle myself...

i tore the face off the manger as we left though, without paying, as we had been ignored totally by the staff, it was a total disgrace, we waited for 15 minutes to get a glass of water for him after it happened, a woman approached us as we were laving and told us she was a nurse and was on her way over when she saw me grabbing the chair, and knew we were grand, but to keep on eye on him for the rest of the night, apparently alot of people who have an incident like that and are older are prone to a heart attack later on due to the shock.

Tefral

Driving to Dublin one day from Limerick it was the old road before the motorway; was coming out of Moneygall when a car came around one of the bends but instead of turning flew straight across the road into a ditch. I genuinely didn't believe what i had just saw.

Autopilot took over. I pulled over and ran to the car. Found one of her kids face down knocked out in the passenger wheel well, the other baby upside down while still in his car seat.

I couldn't open the drivers door open so broke the back window and got the baby out first who was screaming his head off. The mam woke up and started screaming. No noise out of the bigger child in the passenger side. I got the two kids out and away from the car as there was smoke coming out of it. I managed to open the drivers door by reaching in and unlocking it, I asked the mother if she had any pain but all she kept doing was screaming about her babies. I told her i had them out of the car. I was conscious of the smoke so i decided i better try get the mother out. I got her out anyway and by that time a nurse had arrived off duty and then a Garda Car.

Honestly the whole thing was over with in my mind in a split second. An ambulance arrived and then i sat back in my car. The Garda asked me to wait for a statement so i waited. All of a sudden both my hands started shaking. I literally had to wait 15mins before I could drive off again they were shaking that much.

Your Face

I'm class in any situation.

Tilly

I'm very calm and together when it's something life or death or something serious (this has been pointed out to me too) but lose my shít if i cant find my phone or keys.

livedadream

Tilly wrote: »

I'm very calm and together when it's something life or death or something serious (this has been pointed out to me too) but lose my shít if i cant find my phone or keys.

+1

preach!

livedadream

Tefral wrote: »

All of a sudden both my hands started shaking. I literally had to wait 15mins before I could drive off again they were shaking that much.

im surprised they didnt have you checked out as well just to make sure you were okay, shock can be really serious especially if you were allowed drive off without being checked.

well done though, fast responses are key in a situation like that.

Tefral

livedadream wrote: »

im surprised they didnt have you checked out as well just to make sure you were okay, shock can be really serious especially if you were allowed drive off without being checked.

well done though, fast responses are key in a situation like that.

Someone said that to me afterward actually that they were surprised they left me drive away. Its the weirdest feeling to look back on it. I can remember everything clearly now, but at the time the whole thing was a blur. Thankfully I have never been in that situation since!

Letree

LexieOnRale wrote: »

Recently I was alone with someone who had a pretty bad accident. I heard some screaming, and found the person laying on the ground, with limbs distorted into unnatural positions.

Now, when calm, I would know don't move the person and call an ambulance, but taking one look at her, I could not even think. I took one look at her and ran away from her. I actually had to talk myself into going back in because she was by herself. Though the second time I went to help her wasn't much more successful. She was still bent into a very odd shape.

I went and found a calmer adult who was amazing. She kept both of us calm, told me to call an ambulance and stayed with the injured person keeping her calm until the ambulance arrived.

It got me thinking though, what's the most gruesome thing you've witnessed, and how good at staying calm are you? Or are you like me, would you run away and hope it fixes itself?

I don't know what to say about the bolded bit.

livedadream

Letree wrote: »

I don't know what to say about the bolded bit.

it pretty common,

not everyone in the world is good in an emergency, not everyone can come across a dead body or person after a horrific incident and know what to do.

same as people walk past people passed out on the street, the: its none of my business or, its just a junkie or someone else will help or i dont know what to do.

happens all the time that ambos or firemen have to keep witnesses calm as well as the victim.

seamus

I'm generally pretty good, I go into some hyper-focused mode where suddenly everything I ever learned about this kind of emergency becomes fresh in my brain. I appear outwardly calm even if my body is screaming at me.

That is, when I'm not struck by the bystander effect. I'm really bad for that. Loads of people standing around them? Ah shure, they're grand, they don't need my help. And I move on. I would like to think that now I'm aware of it I would consciously make an effort to break it, but in an emergency you never know what you'll do.

So, if you are going to have a heart attack, make sure you do it in front of me, in a quiet place. Do it on a busy street and I might end up leaving you to it.

qo2cj1dsne8y4k

Letree wrote: »

I don't know what to say about the bolded bit.

She had a pretty bad fall and was laying with limbs in positions I've never seen limbs in before. She wasn't moving. She wasn't even talking. I didn't know what to do. It was terrifying. I didn't know if she'd broke her neck or her back or something less serious. It was a horrible fright

robindch

LexieOnRale wrote: »

It got me thinking though, what's the most gruesome thing you've witnessed, and how good at staying calm are you?

A few months back, I saw a guy run (literally) into a low metal bar and bounce off it and back onto the ground, banging his head hard against concrete surface causing a head wound which bled heavily - spurting like something out of a Tarantino movie. I dropped my bike which I'd been locking to a bike rack and ran over and saw that he was conscious but not in any condition to move, so I got him to sit up (to reduce blood pressure to the head, and hence reduce bleeding), then got onto emergency services and kept him talking for the twenty minutes or so it took for them to arrive. As soon as he was sitting up and ES were on their way, I ran over to a nearby garage and got some clean cloths and he was able to press these against the back of his head to cut down on the bleeding, mostly successfully. Spoke with his wife and workplace to explain what happened, but otherwise kept him chatting and calm and regularly asking whether he was feeling light-headed, confused or having trouble seeing things (could indicate lack of blood, so it would have been necessary to put him into the recovery position and try harder to staunch the bleeding).

Anyhow, as soon as emergency services arrived, they wrapped his head up in an enormous bandage and carted him off to Vincent's and what I hope was more competent medical care than mine. No idea what happened after that - hope he's ok.

In all fairness, it wasn't all that gruesome, just lots and lots of blood everywhere - all over the ground, running down his hands, and all over the rest of him. Not sure what would have happened if he'd managed to knock himself out and I'd not seen him fall - he was well hidden from general view behind the bikes in the bike rack.

Letree

LexieOnRale wrote: »

She had a pretty bad fall and was laying with limbs in positions I've never seen limbs in before. She wasn't moving. She wasn't even talking. I didn't know what to do. It was terrifying. I didn't know if she'd broke her neck or her back or something less serious. It was a horrible fright

Sorry lexie i just had a vision of you sitting like del boy in only fools and horses when his wife was giving birth and the nurse said that you'd need a cup of tea after that (meaning the wife) and delboy thought it was for him. Meaning you were taking up valuable resources from the helper to calm you down sort of thing.

cajonlardo

People should download one of the first aid apps onto their phones if they are untrained or likely to panic.

BTW - a good habit is to review all your actions after an emergency.

Have a good think about what you did well and what you could do better next time - its one of the best ways to learn.

" You can't teach Experience "

qo2cj1dsne8y4k

Letree wrote: »

Sorry lexie i just had a vision of you sitting like del boy in only fools and horses when his wife was giving birth and the nurse said that you'd need a cup of tea after that (meaning the wife) and delboy thought it was for him. Meaning you were taking up valuable resources from the helper to calm you down sort of thing.

The real adult was only reassuring me no vital limbs would need to be amputated and nobody was going to die.

Winterlong

I am pretty useless in these situations. Luckily 'Adrenaline me' kicks in and saves the day.

Brakes failed in a classic car I was driving as it approached traffic at the lights. Real me would freeze and close my eyes. Thankfully Adrenaline me took over, navigated the car in to the oncoming lane and then thru the junction avoiding everything and used the handbrake to stop the car at the far side. Leaving real me to change my underwear.

Another time a baby was chocking on something, going blue in the face. The real me would consult the internet, figure out what to do and then try to do it. Adrenaline me grabbed the baby, inverted it and applied a wee smack in the right place saving the wee tiddler.

deisemum

I tend to be very calm and just deal with the situation but then when it's over I might start shaking though now always. I've been doing occupational first aid for over 30 years so I've had a few things to deal with but nothing major, I've had to deal with a choking child, woman having a grand mal epileptic fit while I had my hands in her mouth taking dental impressions, cuts, fractures, fainting and shock.

razorblunt

livedadream wrote: »

Grand i reckon, my Dad choked in a restaurant years ago, cue my sister brother and mother screaming somebody call a doctor, hes choking, around the place and trying to grab a waitress, (surprisingly all the staff disappeared very quickly, assholes)

i pushed pass my sister, grabbed him, pushed him over the back of the chair and he coughed it back up. i remember telling him to try to breathe though his nose, have no idea where the idea came from...

all was grand bar the glob of food now stuck to the chair and my dad looking ban.

my mother was amazed i was calm, im the least expected to be able to handle myself...

i tore the face off the manger as we left though, without paying, as we had been ignored totally by the staff, it was a total disgrace, we waited for 15 minutes to get a glass of water for him after it happened, a woman approached us as we were laving and told us she was a nurse and was on her way over when she saw me grabbing the chair, and knew we were grand, but to keep on eye on him for the rest of the night, apparently alot of people who have an incident like that and are older are prone to a heart attack later on due to the shock.

That's a hell of a risk she took. Looks to me like she's not great in an emergency herself!

Boom_Bap

I witnessed 2 childbirths. They were fairly gruesome!

Mrs. Bap was bringing her friend to hospital when her contraptions started, they didn't make it out of the apartment block and Mrs Bap ended up delivering the baby in the hallway. I'd say that was fairly horrible but she kept her cool.

Childbirth is some gory sh*t.

livedadream

razorblunt wrote: »

That's a hell of a risk she took. Looks to me like she's not great in an emergency herself!

i think she was saying she was ready to jump in but i reacted the right way so she didnt bother.

fair enough to her like my sister was near hysterical and my older brother was mute.

feckin no use they are.

qo2cj1dsne8y4k

Boom_Bap wrote: »

I witnessed 2 childbirths. They were fairly gruesome!

Mrs. Bap was bringing her friend to hospital when her contraptions started, they didn't make it out of the apartment block and Mrs Bap ended up delivering the baby in the hallway. I'd say that was fairly horrible but she kept her cool.

Childbirth is some gory sh*t.

I read something once that compared childbirth to being like someone burning his favourite pub to the ground

TerrorFirmer

Not as cool as I thought I would have been. Someone collapsed near me at work, I honestly was frozen, didn't know whether to run to their aid or immediately call an ambulance, took the latter option and when I got back someone else was tending to the person, who was unconscious and foaming at the mouth.

My boss immediately gave out to me for using the landline because we'd be billed for the ambulance and made a thing about it.

Don't mind the fact that a man was lying potentially dying on the floor....thankfully he was OK, he had suffered a paralyzing seizure.

livedadream

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

My boss immediately gave out to me for using the landline because we'd be billed for the ambulance and made a thing about it.

your boss is a prick.

Widdershins

Another angle to this is onlookers, rubber-neckers and have-a-go-heroes. Sometimes you can't help and you'd only be getting in the way.

Overheal

IvyTheTerrible

I'm grand if no blood is involved. Once blood is involved, I'm about as useful as a chocolate teapot.
(My son's nose started bleeding when I was driving the car and I'm lucky we didn't crash because I got faint when I saw the blood in the rearview mirror).

Turtyturd

I fell off a ladder once and blacked out, so not good.

pq0n1ct4ve8zf5

Tilly wrote: »

I'm very calm and together when it's something life or death or something serious (this has been pointed out to me too) but lose my shít if i cant find my phone or keys.

Yeah me too. Call an ambulance? Nooo problem. Call the bank/ESB/letting agent? Heart attack.

RobertKK

I was going to mass with my father 9 years ago, there was a car in front, it stopped and we stopped, we could see a man laid across the road and his bike between his legs.
The woman in the first car didn't want to deal with the situation, my father was too old too, so I knew I had to take control for the sake of the man.
Before then I would have believed I would be a poor choice for something like this, but I stayed calm, the ambulance was called, they could hear he was finding it hard to breathe and told told me what to do, which worked as his lungs kind of exploded as they worked as they should which covered me in specs of saliva and blood.
I didn't like moving the man and did my best in case of any neck or spinal injuries, but I had to move him for his breathing. He had head injuries but was wearing his helmet, also so grazes on his leg.
The ambulance people told me I did a good job, but they were great as they arrived about 11 minutes after calling them and I was out in the countryside about 6 miles away.
I know I am good in an emergency as I stay calm.
The following day the gardai on local radio were looking for witnesses to the incident.
I rang them and they came out and I gave them a statement as did my father.
About six months later they came out looking for another statement, and asked why did I move the bike.
All I did was try and help a person, and I was not going to leave a bike tangled between his legs when he needed help, or leave it on the road in the way of traffic when he was gone.
I think that was more stressful for me than dealing with the accident the man had, don't know why they needed two statements and why they thought I should not have moved the bike, given I had to so I could help him.

seamus

RobertKK wrote: »

The woman in the first car didn't want to deal with the situation, my father was too old too, so I knew I had to take control for the sake of the man.

I always assumed that this "freezing on the spot" thing was more just bystander effect thing rather than someone actually freezing.
But then I saw it with my own eyes - I was cycling at the front of a group when a motorbike overtook us and then lost control of his bike and went tumbling down the road no more than 4 metres in front us.

We were cycling two abreast and while the guy beside me did manage to stop his bike, he just just stood there and looked straight ahead, literally couldn't move. It was myself and the two guys behind who jumped off and went to the guy's aid.

(He was fine, there happened to be a St. John's ambulance 30 seconds behind us).

robindch

Boom_Bap wrote: »

I witnessed 2 childbirths. They were fairly gruesome!

You should try watching a caesarian performed a few inches from your face - definitely not for the faint of heart - but a little bit intruiging all the same

I had two occasions that were life and death and handled them calmly at the time - afterwards I shook like a leaf, when the crisis was over. I'm good under pressure, but reserve the right to become a basket case when everythings resolved.

PowerToWait

Not going in to details as it'd just take way too long, but I've been involved in several serious accidents myself, have had to help seriously injured people 3 times, rescued one from a fiery end, and witnessed 2 road deaths in separate incidents.

I've been properly calm on each occasion. I also consider myself fūcking lucky.

byhookorbycrook

I'd be pretty good, not squeamish about blood as a rule. I've been trained in 1st aid and CPR and using a defib. Where other people have fainted or panicked, I'm the one who rolls up the sleeves and gets on with it. I'm not good on kids vomiting though,the smell makes me want to throw up. Pee and Pooh, no problem(I'm a primary teacher so see lots of both!!)

I'm the one who would be able to use an epipen without fear of "pushing the button" as I had to self inject for years.

HS3

With the kids I'm grand. I'm the calm one the husband will call in an emergency and I'll generally deal well with it.

With others, I wouldn't rely on me to react well, but I'd hope since becoming a mum I'd be able to be some help to someone who needs me.

wakka12

livedadream wrote: »

Grand i reckon, my Dad choked in a restaurant years ago, cue my sister brother and mother screaming somebody call a doctor, hes choking, around the place and trying to grab a waitress, (surprisingly all the staff disappeared very quickly, assholes)

i pushed pass my sister, grabbed him, pushed him over the back of the chair and he coughed it back up. i remember telling him to try to breathe though his nose, have no idea where the idea came from...

all was grand bar the glob of food now stuck to the chair and my dad looking ban.

my mother was amazed i was calm, im the least expected to be able to handle myself...

i tore the face off the manger as we left though, without paying, as we had been ignored totally by the staff, it was a total disgrace, we waited for 15 minutes to get a glass of water for him after it happened, a woman approached us as we were laving and told us she was a nurse and was on her way over when she saw me grabbing the chair, and knew we were grand, but to keep on eye on him for the rest of the night, apparently alot of people who have an incident like that and are older are prone to a heart attack later on due to the shock.

Good job. But why is a waiter an asshole for not being able to help? Theres only one thing you can do when somebody chokes, and you need to be able to do it well. I would be absolutely terrified if some family placed the life of a man in my hands just because I was staff there. Most waiters don't know any more about saving a choking person than the average person, nor are they expected to!

livedadream

There's a difference between offering to help and completely ignoring the situation.

And they pretended it wasn't even happening even when we asked for water after it saying he had had an accident it was like they didn't give a ****.

Asked for the bill three times told them my dad had choked on something and we wanted to leave ASAP and they said nothing and never came back with the bill.

Spoke to the manager on the way out and he didn't give a **** either
If someone was choking in my restaurant id be making sure they were okay.

corner of hells

Boom_Bap wrote: »

I witnessed 2 childbirths. They were fairly gruesome!

Mrs. Bap was bringing her friend to hospital when her contraptions started, they didn't make it out of the apartment block and Mrs Bap ended up delivering the baby in the hallway. I'd say that was fairly horrible but she kept her cool.

Childbirth is some gory sh*t.

Mrs Corner wasn't happy having one eCeasarian emergency , she wanted a second one too.
I didn't have to explain it twice to the barman.He knew how to deal with an emergency.

Dr Turk Turkelton

PowerToWait wrote: »

Not going in to details as it'd just take way too long, but I've been involved in several serious accidents myself, have had to help seriously injured people 3 times, rescued one from a fiery end, and witnessed 2 road deaths in separate incidents.

I've been properly calm on each occasion. I also consider myself fūcking lucky.

Whilst you may consider yourself lucky I'd say the people around you,consider you,the way a sailor would an albatross!

hairyslug

Small to medium problem, I'm a mess, as much use as a plank of wood.
The few times there has been a proper emergency, I think I have handled it calmly.

Wanderer78

performed cpr before on a friend, scary experience but she survived. thankfully im a trained lifeguard but these skills should be thought to all in our schools. vital life skills, far more important than a lot of the nonsense thought in our schools.

Miss Demeanour

I have remained calm with someone with a fork in their eye, a tic tac up a nose and dislodged one of those manky frankfurter things from someone's throat(not all at the same time ).....just don't give me broken bones....I can't do them!

corner of hells

Miss Demeanour wrote: »

I have remained calm with someone with a fork in their eye, a tic tac up a nose and dislodged one of those manky frankfurter things from someone's throat(not all at the same time ).....just don't give me broken bones....I can't do them!

I have to ask. . A tic tac up a nose ?

Gen.Zhukov

Boom_Bap wrote: »

I witnessed 2 childbirths. They were fairly gruesome!

Mrs. Bap was bringing her friend to hospital when her contraptions started, they didn't make it out of the apartment block and Mrs Bap ended up delivering the baby in the hallway. I'd say that was fairly horrible but she kept her cool.

Childbirth is some gory sh*t.

In fairness, she shouldn't be muckin about with any sort of machinery when heavily pregnant.








Sorry, couldn't resist

Miss Demeanour

corner of hells wrote: »

I have to ask. . A tic tac up a nose ?

I work with kids......they think it's a great idea to put things in their nose....ears.....mouth.....

byhookorbycrook

I'd be pretty good, not squeamish about blood as a rule. I've been trained in 1st aid and CPR and using a defib. Where other people have fainted or panicked, I'm the one who rolls up the sleeves and gets on with it. I'm not good on kids vomiting though,the smell makes me want to throw up. Pee and Pooh, no problem(I'm a primary teacher so see lots of both!!)

I'm the one who would be able to use an epipen without fear of "pushing the button" as I had to self inject for years.

FizzleSticks

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