Medic 1 respond to 9234 Kelsey Street, report of a 22 year old male with multiple gunshot wounds. Police are on scene. Time out 2314. After a short response we arrive on scene. We find a young man lying on the ground bleeding heavily from a chest wound and a leg wound.
The young man was attempting to rob a gas station when the police arrived and engaged the suspect. A shoot out resulted and the young man was shot twice. No other injuries were found at the scene.
The young man was semiconscious. His blood pressure was 86/52, pulse 122, respirations 28. The chest wound was bleeding badly and pressure was applied in an attempt to control the bleeding.
Blood continued to flow in spite of the direct pressure. Next the the wound was packed with gauze, lots of gauze. The wound is packed with gauze until no more gauze can be packed. Pressure is then applied over the wound and it appears the bleeding is controlled.
My partner has been working on the leg wound. It appears the femoral artery has been severed. A tourniquet has been applied above the wound and tightened. The bleeding did not stop so a second tourniquet was applied above the first. The bleeding appears to be controlled.
The patient is placed in the medic unit and and we proceed to the hospital. On the way two IVs are started to help replace some of the lost fluid. We must monitor the fluid carefully because if we raise his pressure too high it could cause the clots in his chest to break loose and bleeding would start up again. If we can keep his systolic pressure in the 90s that should be sufficient.
At the hospital, the patient is taken directly to the operating room, after a short examination in the ER. He will survive his wounds and stand trial for his crime.
Gunshot wounds demand quick and effective treatment to stop bleeding. You may not have the equipment that we have but you can improvise. Instead of gauze use a clean cloth. A belt or a wide piece of cloth may be used instead of a tourniquet. In today’s society it is a skill everyone should learn.
Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Philippians 2:4
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