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Old 11-18-2005, 12:02   #1
Eagle5US
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Unhappy Unofficial Observation-TRAUMA
Gents, I have come to a realization over the past 4 weeks...
I have been working on the Trauma Service here in Tacoma for the aformentioned time frame (30 on / 18 off) and have made a startling observation.
I have worked on people every shift from motor vehicle accidents...and EVERY ACCIDENT that someone has come in to the Trauma Service (meaning: really injured badly) there has been alcohol and or drugs in at least one of the drivers.

Pertaining to alcohol...it hasn't been just a little. The LOWEST reading thus far has been .19. Some have been as high as .41 .
Meth seems to be the drug de jour, but it is amazing to me that this commonality has been present in every MVA victim incident that I have worked on in the past month.

Folks...they are out there. Driving the WRONG WAY on the interstate in the middle of the night. Cooking their drugs and shooting while they are sitting in traffic. Having a good ole time without a care in the world...and once the majority of them hit someone else...they still don't care.

Be careful folks...it is a dangerous world after dark.

Eagle
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Ain't no one getting out of this world alive. All you can do is try to have some choice in the way you go. Prepare yourself (and your affairs), and when your number is up, die on your feet fighting rather than on your knees. And make the SOBs pay dearly."
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Old 11-18-2005, 12:53   #2
swatsurgeon
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Welcome to job security...they may cure heart disease and cancer but not stupidity and accidents...........
ah, the life in Trauma......
Need to nominate the newest Darwin award to one of these freaks.

ss
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Education is the anti-ignorance we all need to better treat our patients. ss, 2008.

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Old 11-18-2005, 14:15   #3
Bill Harsey
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Eagle5US,
Welcome to the great northwest.
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Old 11-18-2005, 14:32   #4
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Eagle5US: Welcome to every day EMS conditions in the USA!!!
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Old 11-18-2005, 14:39   #5
Eagle5US
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Quote:
Originally Posted by haztacmedic
Eagle5US: Welcome to every day EMS conditions in the USA!!!
Well, I had run EMS from 1981-1999. I would hardly call what I am seeing reminscent of my past experience.
Sad either way.

Eagle
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"I have hung out in dangerous places a lot over the years, from combat zones to biker bars, and it is the weak, the unaware, or those looking for it, that usually find trouble.

Ain't no one getting out of this world alive. All you can do is try to have some choice in the way you go. Prepare yourself (and your affairs), and when your number is up, die on your feet fighting rather than on your knees. And make the SOBs pay dearly."
The Reaper-3 Sep 04
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Old 11-18-2005, 15:56   #6
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My very first EMT run (1975!) was a head-on between a drunk and a family in a Pinto. The drunk walked away from it and the family was all killed. The only thing I was good for was burying the family dog by the side of the road.

We had two teens in town -- sober -- killed by a drunk this last week.

Terror for a parent is a doorbell after midnight.
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Old 12-03-2005, 20:16   #7
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From 9-13-2001 thru 01/ 2005 I was a vol. firefighter who responded to a few mva's that were alchol/meth related (including one that almost took a buddy's life helping me with a stalled vehicle).As time went by it seems like the mva's increased.
Sometimes it is hard to believe that people will allow this to happen then sometimes I figure as long as someone is getting paid then after they leave the bar who cares.

Oh h***l with it.It might change some day.
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Old 12-03-2005, 20:26   #8
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Another another forum I used to go to, a guy tried to convince me he really did drive better after taking meth. It "made his reactions quicker and so could drive faster." He was/is a fucking idiot.

Meth has exploded here in the last five years. Crystal meth is starting to come in from SE Asia. It's one reason I'm learning Chinese. Those motherfuckers piss me off.
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Old 12-03-2005, 21:10   #9
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Stop treating them...
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Somewhere a True Believer is training to kill you. He is training with minimal food or water, in austere conditions, training day and night. The only thing clean on him is his weapon and he made his web gear. He doesn't worry about what workout to do - his ruck weighs what it weighs, his runs end when the enemy stops chasing him. This True Believer is not concerned about 'how hard it is;' he knows either he wins or dies. He doesn't go home at 17:00, he is home.
He knows only The Cause.

Still want to quit?
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Old 12-03-2005, 22:05   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NousDefionsDoc
Stop treating them...
Concur. You folks can fill in your own conclusions.

Doc
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Old 12-06-2005, 08:28   #11
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I do believe that Oklahoma is the meth capital of the world. That is all our warrants are for. I run urban EMS here and the drug of choice is meth by far but only for the caucasians and mainly in the trailer parks. The sad thing is that I have worked EMS for 10 years and by far oklahoma has the worst drivers and some of the worst wrecks I have seen. It is not just because of meth or alcohol either. They just can't drive.
To answers some of the earlier comments. I wish I could stop treating them but for some reason they know my phone number and they keep calling.
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