emergency prepared

[rayea]

Hi!

I am in no way an emergency nurse - I am an RN and have lots of medical and i have a degree in psych. Yesterday as i was accelerating onto a freeway from another (50 - 60 mph) a motorcycle flipped right in front of me - his bike landed and then he flipped several times (no helmet). I absolutely do not know how he is alive but I stopped my car and hung out with him until an ambulance came which seemed like forever. Other folks called 911 and some people got his bike off the rode etc. He told me he was having chest pain and left arm felt funny etc. I asked his name, got a strong pulse and inquired about cardiac issues. He stated he had high blood pressure but not on meds and was 38 and smoked - he was a large guy but looked healthy other than his head which had a steady stream of blood coming from an abrasion (didn't look deeper). He kept asking me to get out of the rode and was sitting up with my help (also said he was short of breath). I told him we were blocked by a car and safe where we were and were not moving until the ambulance arrived (clearly hit his head since there was blood all over) and it was 97 degrees with very high humidity and we were sitting on the asphalt with rush hour traffic so breathing etc could have been related to that. I used my fone to call his gf while we waited and got stuff from his bike for him etc but found myself very ill-prepared to help him other than talking to him and trying to reassure him. Before I stopped he had tried to get himself up several times and kept falling. Some work men came and gave him some water. Sorry about the essay - my question is can someone help me prepare an emergency kit for my car and truly even an er nurse couldn't do much without some equipment. And - would I be a bad nurse because if I had had some aspirin I would have given them to him - PERIOD. His only allergy was iodine and he was able to take asa if we had had some. I am simply wondering the best action legally and otherwise (minnesota) if i did anything like asa (as a human being I don't care about the law if it would have saved him) ADVISE PLEASE. I felt completely helpless. He went off to the er so I hope he was fine. The were putting a collar on him when I left. Suggestions for car stuff? THANK YOU SO MUCH!

[vera4130]

I would not give him aspirin because of the risk of head injury. I know you're worried about MI but in that situation I wouldn't give it just because of the risk and liability.

And you did the best thing you could have done for him - stay with him until EMS got there! :) And EMS should be able to run an EKG and then you would have a basis if there were ST changes to give aspirin.

[rayea]

thank you vera4130 now i feel secure on that point :)

[Adenosine6]

Best to ask a Paramedic for an Emergency Bag in your car. They are one of the most prepared for first-responders for out-of-hospital cases.

But basics: Gauze, seat-belt cutter, trauma sheers, car window breaker, towels, road flares, blanket..... etc.

They main thing you did in this scenario above; was to make sure another human being was ok =)

[rayea]

thanks Adenosine6 :)

[Ciale]

Meh. I would have just assessed LOC and held c-spine while making small talk until medics showed up. That's IF I would have stopped. I know that sounds terrible, but I know of too many nurses that were injured or killed while tending to traffic accidents.

Future reference: walking, drinking and taking aspirin would all be contraindicated in the event you just described. Why did he crash? I feel no compassion for this guy...only irritation that he could have hurt someone. Does that mean I'm already a jaded er nurse?

[Sassy5d]

Yup. Goes back to basics. Head injuries that bleed can move and talk. You don't give Asa to that.

Anxiety and adrenaline can cause chest pain, shortness of breath. You did the right

[rayea]

hi Ciale

i think you are brilliant and experienced and i thank you - one time a car pulling a trailer flipped in front of me - i stopped and ran to it with other people - it made a noise like it was about to blow and i backed up and watched a bunch of men go forward and pull them to safety - i have felt like a wimp ever since - i thought about it and decided i would rather die helping someone than to already have a dead soul and walk away - that is just me; you are already hero being an er nurse - something i am neither smart enough for or have the stomach for so thank you :) and really - even the water was a bad thing?

[rayea]

THANKS Sassy5d

luckily i had no asa or i would have done it - now i know better :)

[StVitusDanceRN]

You did great stopping to help. However, with t a trauma such as this I would have had him lie still and held C-spine and applied pressure to the head wound. Giving aspirin could have been the wrong course of action because he could have a brain bleed due to the head trauma. Also NPO on fluids because of mechanism of injury and you wouldnt have known about internal damage. You did the best thing by just being there and available to him until EMS arrived.

[dleechpn]

One of the 1st rules of an emergency situation is secure the area. If you are killed or I injured you are of no help to others. We as nurses are not trained to care for trauma in the field. That is what the EMT's and Paramedic do. If we come up on an accident we can secure the area, keep the calm, put pressures on active bleeding, try to keep them immobile and report to the EMS when it arrives. Of course can always do CPR if needed. When EMS arrives let them take over and back out. Never give meds, may interfere with er assessment, mask symptoms, or cause bleeding.

[Altra, BSN, RN]

Agree with the above posts -- you don't need to and probably SHOULDN'T do anything other than be a supportive presence, keep the patient as immobile as possible, and please -- NPO.