Not so lucky man...

WARNING: NOT FOR THE FAINT HEARTED

I'd been busy all shift on the FRU, and it was beginning to look like I wouldn't get my rest-break. That could mean going home a little early for a change. It did, however, mean that I wasn't getting back to station for my food either... Finally, after calls as varied as an RTA with 6 people and only me to send (admittedly, and luckily, only two needed treatment) to an asthma attack, to a man vomiting blood (probably self inflicted due to alcohol abuse) and various others, I was allowed to have a break. I stopped, had something to eat, and waited...

Just when you thought that Jonah had left the building...

2 minutes after the end of my break, my phone goes, as does the station phone activating one of the ambulances. I yell "see you there" and go to see what the call is. The call is given as a stabbing. Police on scene. Maybe. Control calls me to say "hang back a little until we confirm that the police really are there, but just so you know, we've had reports that it's a lunatic with a machete". Nice... I hide around the corner, until the ambulance pulls along side and says that they've had confirmation that police are there. We arrive on scene together.

There are approximately 8 police cars. That's never a good sign. There are some pale looking police officers. Not a good omen either. There are some other officers making frantic windmill impressions. Definitely bad news. We arrive to find a man lying in the street, unresponsive. There's a bandage on his head and one on his arm. Both just placed on top, not tied down, which makes it a little easier for us to take a look.

Lunatic with a machete is long gone, but his "handiwork" is plain for all to see. There's a massive injury to the face, from the cheek to the temple. Sliced clean through to the bone, in the places where there is bone. And an arterial bleed. From the head. As there are three of us on scene things happen in a bit of blur of activity. There's bandaging to be done, we need to immobilise the patient as we have to suspect a spinal injury as well. We need to check for other injuries, especially to the front and back of his torso. We find none. He needs IV fluids, and he needs to be in hospital.

With trauma calls it's especially important to remember to do things in order. There's no point stopping the bleeding, which is what normally jumps out at you, if the patient can't breath. ABC. Airway, Breathing, Circulation. He was maintaining his own airway, and breathing on his own with no problems. So we could deal with the C problems. We had the head injury bandaged and moved to his arm as well. This also had a large laceration. All through all the skin, fat, muscle. The bone was again clearly visible, but at least no arterial bleed this time. We took him to the nearest trauma centre, and left him in the care of the staff there.

This man was clearly not as lucky as the soldier in Afghanistan. It does make me wonder once again though, which is the country with more problems...