My mom gave me a call this morning and said that her neighbor had burst through the front door screaming that her husband, "Tom", needed help. My mom went across the street and found Tom laying face down on the ground with no pulse. He was also cool to the touch. His was a big guy, so she had to have his wife help her turn him over. Once they got him on his back, my mom said his nose had been shattered and he had bitten his tongue. The blood from his nose and mouth had already coagulated some. My mom tried to listen for any breath sounds, but there were none. He was apparently a black ashy color from about the neck up. An ambulance came and got him I think, but Tom didn't make it.
My mom was upset and said she'd wished I was there. I'm just a pre-nursing student, so about the only thing I would've known to do would be talk to the 911 operator or try to provide some comfort to the wife and Mom. Of course, my mom feels really bad.. like there was more that she should have done to save him. To me, it sounds like he was already dead by the time she got to him so there wasn't much she could have done.
I have a few questions regarding the situation, since I haven't made it that far in school and would actually like to know what a trained nurse would do.
Do you think this he was dead already? Would you still have performed CPR or done anything else under the circumstances? If someone is obviously dead, what do you do? They suspect a heart attack, but what would've made him turn a black color? Is that common in heart attacks, or did it have to do with him being face down?
If any of my questions are inappropriate or violate TOS, I apologize in advance.
