This was a first for me.
The bullet entered his leg at about front midlevel on the tibia. The entrance wound was about 1/4 inch but the exit wound was far worse.
The bullet shattered the bone and broke the tibia. The exit wound was on the lateral side (outside). It was about 6 inches in diameter. When we were holding the leg to wash it, we had to hold it at the ankle and the calf because it was jiggling from being broken. It was like a piece of rubber. If we let go of either half, it would have completely severed itself!
When they say never move a broken bone without supprt, they mean it. You cause more damage. We ended up opening up a vessel and blood started oozing out. We set the leg back down and waited for extra help. During that time, the patient, who was already under anesthesia, started to bottom out. One nurse said he "was circling the drain", meaning he was on the verge of death. Blood pressure dropped to 58/23 (normal pressure is 120/80)! Not good!
I'll spare you all the gore but we put an external fixator on the leg to repair it, which is just a bar placed on the outside of the leg held by pins inserted into the bone. He woke up fighting. It took six of us to hold him down! I was knocked in the jaw from his flailing legs!
But all night that case weighed on me. I walked out of that room covered in blood. My mind couldn't stop thinking about the site of his leg, the verge of death, the blood soaked shoes I was wearing, the blood splatter on my eye shields and the way I walked down the hall to change (my arms hung in front and to the side of me to avoid anymore blood splattering, my legs hardly moving from fear).
All this made me thankful that I don't use guns or keep guns in the house, I don't live near gun violence and I try to shelter myself from it as much as I can by not going to those areas of town (or country). I know some will say guns don't kill people, people kill people. But until you've seen what can happen, I suggest you rethink. Because while you can turn the tv station or look away, I'm the one who helps repair it and there are many others who care for the wound, the psyche, and the spirit of those shot.
ninibud92 posted on Sep 16, 2006
| views: 433
Comments
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hotaka said on Sep 16, 2006....
I wouldn't want to be the stick in the mud that tells sport gunmen that they can't enjoy their hobby anymore, but honestly I dislike guns very much at all. Because of their ability, their power, people get carried away with using them. If someone comes at you with a knife you can run away, hold up a garbage can lid, or use martial arts, and have some hope of escaping unscathed. Against a gun you have no chance, just like that sword-weilding Arab in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Worse however, is the number of innocent people who are injured by guns in the hands of gangs and miscreants. Last year in Toronto on Boxing Day a 15 year-old girl who was shopping with her mother was killed when a gang member fired on another gang member and in a shopping mall and missed. Last year a woman in Vancouver was watching TV in her apartment when a gang member fired at a rival, missed and the bullet struck the woman in the head. She survived but suffered some brain damage. And then there are those people who pick up guns and go to schools, like in Montreal recently, and just start shooting people because they think they are the Angel of Death ordained to kill. And four RCMP officers were gunned down last year outside of Edmonton by a crazy recluse when he saw the police coming.
Violence will still be around without guns (in Japan a guy entered an elementary school and started killing children with a knife). But guns make it easier to do harm and the consequences of missing are greater for innocent people who have the misfortune of catching a stray bullet.
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ninibud92 said on Sep 16, 2006....
Excellent point! I do not intend to deny people the right to bear arms (American), only to bring attention to the violence. You can fatally injure someone with a ballpoint pen. But there are certain precautions you can take to divert the violence... like not be there in there first place (a conversation my husband and I had last night).
In the case of harsher violence, for some, it may not be a choice but for many there are options you can take.
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hotaka said on Sep 16, 2006....
Sadly for some people, the violence comes to them, like that girl in the shopping mall, the woman in her apartment, and the kids in the school.
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Frlncwrtr said on Sep 16, 2006....
ninibud92:
Wow! Very interesting story, interesting job!
Some very fine points were made by Hotaka, which I agree with, except for one. This one I partially disagree with.
He said, “If someone comes at you with a knife you can run away, hold up a garbage can lid, or use martial arts, and have some hope of escaping unscathed.”
I would say the percentage of people with martial arts skills is low. Running away works, if you are physically able AND fast enough, especially if the assailant has the jump on you.
Several years of training has taught me that when a person comes at you with a knife, if there are within 21 feet, a police officer (or any other person, has no chance of drawing his weapon to defend himself). By then it’s just too late.
Nice story, keep writing please.
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ninibud92 said on Sep 16, 2006....
hotaka: thats why I try to not be around the situation to begin with. It isn't foolproof but it has worked so far (hopefully I didn't just jinx myself)
Frlncwrtr: thanks for the enouragment. I have many stories but I wonder how far I can go before I just start turning people off!
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Frlncwrtr said on Sep 16, 2006....
ninibud92:
You are welcome!
I understand what you mean. I’m kind of in the same situation myself. I’m trying to think of other things to write about, just to alternate with.
Good luck and be safe!
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Frlncwrtr said on Sep 16, 2006....
ninibud92:
I’m curious, how long have you been working in the O.R?
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ninibud92 said on Sep 16, 2006....
Frlncwrtr: I just noticed you are a retired police officer. We worked on the same side! I'll bet you have some interesting stories too!
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ninibud92 said on Sep 16, 2006....
I've been in the OR since January 2005. I'm still a youngster in the OR. I have alot to learn!
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Frlncwrtr said on Sep 16, 2006....
ninibud92:
And you will! I hope you enjoy the journey.
Btw, I noticed that you don't have any ads on your page. Are you going to put some on there?
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ninibud92 said on Sep 16, 2006....
Ads? Not sure how to do that. I look around and find out.
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Frlncwrtr said on Sep 16, 2006....
ninibud92:
I just noticed your 2nd from last comment that appeared just before my last one, sorry about that.
Yes, it’s great to meet someone on here with whom you’ve worked on the same side!
I do have some very interesting stories too, but I haven’t figured out how to post some of the better ones without jeopardizing my anonymity. Do you have that problem too?
As far as the ads go, go to adsense. After you sign up they will email you an approval in a day or two. It will contain an adsense code. Copy the code, then go to your page at Soulcast, and click view, then source, then paste it into the page. I think they will give you better instructions. If not, just let me know.
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Frlncwrtr said on Sep 16, 2006....
I'm sorry, that should have been google.com/adsense.
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ninibud92 said on Sep 16, 2006....
Yes, the anonymity is hard to maintain. I have to choose my words very carefully and sometimes it takes me a day or two to construct them and proof read them.
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Frlncwrtr said on Sep 16, 2006....
ninibud:
I know exactly what you mean!
I just subscribed to you, so I have a lot of catching up to do. I just noticed that the ads are there all of a sudden. I'll do 'my part.'
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secretlife said on Sep 16, 2006....
my husband is a machinist; his company makes those fixators....
Do you ever find out how the patient got shot?
Was it an accident? gang related?
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hotaka said on Sep 19, 2006....
Frlncwrtr - I only meant that the possibilities of doing something are better against a knife than a gun. I didn't mean that most people do actually do something. Unless you are used to that kind of life you probably would freeze and not know what to do. I would probably try to defend myself and end up getting stabbed anyway.
I know that when someone approaches an officer of the law with a knife there comes a point where the warnings to the weilder stop and the guns are fired. You just can't let a looney with a knife get too close to you. I have read two cases in the Vancouver papers.
Yes, ninibud92, I have enjoyed at least two of your posts so far. Keep it up. You to Frlncwrtr!
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ninibud92 said on Sep 27, 2006....
secretlife: I rarely find out how things like this happen. I suppose it was gang related or a lover with a vengence. That is pretty common around here. Sad, but common.
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