Chaper 3 Rescue Part II

Safety Tip:  Alternate Drivers If Necessary: Traffic accidents common to vacation travel can often be traced to fatigue and being in unfamiliar travel environments. Stay fresh, trade off driving, take breaks and get some circulation going. If you’re fresh and alert unexpected events or situations will be less likely to cause confusion or dangerous reactions.

Chapter 3 Rescue part II

My wife later informed me that she arrived at the accident scene just as they were putting me into the ambulance. Arriving from the opposite direction of the route we were traveling, she pulled her car to a stop on the far side of the six lane street. Not knowing what to expect, she worked her way through the crowd praying silently as the firemen were still working to get my son out of the car. Men using the “Jaws of Life” tool were at work sawing away at the crushed metal on the right side of car. At first the decision was made to cut-off the rear passenger-side door in order to free him, but the workers met with more resistance than expected.  Eventually, both passenger doors were removed and my son was lifted out of the wreckage.

At the same time, I lay bracing myself and listening to the siren blare as the ambulance rolled and bumped its way toward the hospital.  The emergency medical technician (EMT) asked me a series of questions and filled out a form as we road along, “What’s your name? Do you know what day it is? What happened? Where is the pain?”... I tried answering his questions as quickly and as calmly as possible when I realized that I was still holding my cell phone.

 It only had one power bar when I made the initial call home following the crash and I wondered if it still had any power left. I activated the phone and dialed my wife’s number. To my surprise it worked.

 “Hey dear, they are taking me to Fairfax hospital.” I said and I gave her the street address of the hospital as the EMT relayed it to me.

“OK,” she said.” They just got David out.”

“Is he alright?” I asked,

“I don’t know. They are putting him in the ambulance now.  They’re taking him to the same hospital. OK, I’ll see you at the hospital. I love you,” she said sounding as if she was out of breath.

I turned the phone off and relaxed as best I could.

“There’s some road construction going on up ahead so it’s going to get a little bumpy.  We will be there in a few minutes,” the EMT said.

I almost did not care. My wife had just given me the news I was looking for. My son was free and out of the car and though she was not clear on his condition I suddenly felt much better. 

Next week: ER Experience