Diary of a Trauma Nurse

Friday, June 30, 2006

HAPPY 4th of July - BE CAREFUL!

We are leaving for a much anticipated trip to Current River in the morning and I have a lot to do. I have been contemplating which story to share next. There are so many. The one thing I will leave you with, ESPECIALLY if you are a bike enthusiast. You can be the very best and most careful motor cyclist in the world but remember that 40% of fatalities involve alcohol and those people drive everyday. (It increases on the weekends to scary numbers!) We all know people that do it, we've done it and have seen the havoc it wreaks in our lives. I went to work on Father's Day a year or so ago and had a patient who was an avid motorcyclist. He had ridden for years. He was hit by an intoxicated driver on his way home at 4:00 in the afternoon. The man was not expected to live (intoxicated driver was fine) so we continued his care with high hopes, he was only 37. Within 2 hours of my shift starting, I was told his family was coming in to see him and get an update. What I didn't expect was for "his family" to be a young wife and two little children and that I would be expected to tell them that hope was slim.. Our policy is not to let children into the Trauma Unit because it can be very intimidating and even scarring, but on that particular Father's Day, his family came to say goodbye. He passed away by midnight. Be careful people, ESPECIALLY during this holiday weekend!!! Use your DD's and watch out for those who choose not to!

CoryTraumaRN posted today at 11:16 AM

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