I want to add. If someone doesn’t want to lay down because it hurts. DO NOT EVER force them to lay down unless they are not wearing a helmet and have a very bad head wound. (You need to aire on the side of caution when dealing with someone who has sustained a very bad head injury) You need to just sit behind them and let them sit. You will notice that they will calm down and stop squirming a lot quicker then 5 people telling them to lay down. The person in pain is going to find the safest position. If you feel the person is injured, you should do your best to keep them sitting down.
If you can take charge, tell someone to sit behind the injured person. This way they don’t have to lay down, but they have the option to lay back. You also want to note the state of alertness that Bob here is in. Is Bob talking straight or is he mumbling? Is Bob trying to talk with his eyes closed?
Again if you can take charge here are some questions you want to ask the person.
What’s your name?
This is very basic, but is very crucial to keeping the person alert. For this example lets say the persons name is Bob. You want try to use this persons name in all the questions you ask to help promote awareness.
Bob are you seeing any stars?
This is the *Dazed and confused effect*. You want to ask them because if they are still seeing stars they may still be dazed from the impact.
Bob do you feel tired of thirsty?
This is a great one to establish. You can really kill two birds with one stone. Sometimes with broken or fractured bones and head and back injuries the person may feel tired and thirsty. This is can be a good sign of things to come.
Bob where do you feel pain?
If they can’t tell you, its for good reason. The adrenalin pumping through the body is preventing them from feeling the pain just yet. If they can, make sure you note it and continue with the questions.
Bob do you feel heat anywhere on your body?
When you scrape your knee, it can feel very warm. When you break a bone, you may also feel this heat. Adrenalin in some cases may not block this heat.
Bob do you feel wet on any part of your body?
The wet feeling can come from slight bleeding under the skin for instance when you break a bone.
If Bob here cannot provide information to the EMT’s you need to. However you also need to keep it short and sweet. Say Bob just got hit by a car while riding along at 20 miles per hour. Bob rolled on the ground a few times before coming to a stop. Bob says that his knee feels warm and wet and is experiencing pain. Bob feels tired and thirsty. Bob also expresses feeling of pain when he tries to lay down.
Talking to the EMT’s may go something like this.
This is Bob, Bob complained of feeling thirsty and tired and is having trouble keeping his eyes open. Bob is also complaining about pain is knee where it feels warm and wet. When I arrived on scene the scene Bob was sitting but having trouble keeping his eyes open. However Bob was talking to us.
Thats it, You told them his name, how he is feeling and his level of awareness to what is going on. You also just told them everything that Bob told you. They are going to ask these questions again because they need to find out what medical treatments to give Bob here.
Taking of Bobs Gear is something that I should share with you guys. There are limits to what you can do to help Bob take his gear off. For instance, if Bob wants to take his gloves off, you should more then help him take if gloves off. However if Bob wants to take his helmet off I highly suggest that you discourage that. If Bob wants to take off his helmet then let him do it. He is going to know when there is pain and when he should stop. You are not.If Bob wants to take his jacket off, let Bob take it off. However you can support this by helping him slowly roll his arms out.
Here is something you can do!
Sit on the ground with your riding jacket on. Try to remove it slowly and easily. Do it again until you can do it with ease and without thinking.
This is as much as I have experienced in this flesh. I was recently in a wreck myself and remember in very vivid detail the accident and the aftermath. I was turned into by a car which hit me off my bike. I rolled 10-20 feet in opposite lanes of traffic before coming to a stop.
This is where I want to share with you the type of emotions, feelings and things I had running through my head.
I got up and walked to the side of the road while removing my helmet, my eyes filled with stars so much that I couldn’t barely see. When I got to the side of the road I just hit the ground. A very kind lady in which I will never forget her words told me to lay down as she kneel in front of me. I started to lay back and felt a very strong warmness in my shoulder. She told me to lay back again to which I replied I could not. She sat behind me and I instantly fell back against her. I was barely able to keep my eyes open and talking I did not do. I mumbled She started asking me questions which kept me awake. I remember trying to keep my eyes open and seeing stars still. My eye lids felt very heavy.
She would constantly ask me questions. How do you feel? Can you tell me your name? As I lay against her I felt very secure and calm which is exactly what you want feel and convey. She had a very very calm voice and wasn’t talking like a panicked person.
After a few minutes I stood up to take my jacket off, I removed my left arm; As I went to remove my right arm pain shot through my body almost bringing me to my knees. I took of my jacket and instantly went right back to the arms of the person that had sat behind me.
During the first few minutes of the crash. I wasn’t able to think clearly. I had to much going on in my mind and i thank god for this person picking up the slack and keeping a cool head. After I had taken my jacket off I really began to understand what had happened. I was able to keep my eyes open, think a bit more clearly and start interacting with the people that were helping me. After I regained my thoughts I started checking for areas of pain. One of my first objectives where to get my boots off. I wanted to started checking for pain my feet and work my way up. I had also known that my right foot had been pined between the car and the bike.
Luckily there was a cop on scene when it happened so he was able to make sure I was getting care and was able to call for a ambulance.
Ride safe people. Please remember preparing for a accident goes beyond preparing for the worst. Prepare for the aftermath also. I was very lucky to walk away with a fractured clavicle and nothing more. I had full gear head to toe on. If you are involved in a crash, go to the hospital promptly. Not the next day, not two months from the time of the accident. Directly after is when you should go. If you have any doubt of your medical safety after the accident, take the ambulance ride. Money is not a issue when there is a chance they you may be injured.
Also please realize that I am not a expert on these things. I have seen very many crashes in the short twenty years I have been on this rock and have a bit of experience including my first in the flesh experience. Please use extreme caution when dealing with a motorcycle accident and car accident victim. Keep a cool head and try to stay calm.
Lastly, what you can tell the 911 dispatcher is just as important in what you can tell the EMT’s.
Yours only,
Kickprivate