Sheldon's acciddent my thoughts and views

[customizedcreationz]

There is nothing scarier than seeing someone go down, and my first thought was he is going to pop up and be like "WTH", but as I ran over there and he was face down and not moving, I just kept thinking, this can't be happening.

I kept thinking he will wake up or at least open his eyes. But it didn't happen. When I felt for a pulse and couldn't find one, then I my heart really started racing. When he finally started to wheeze I had a slight relief, I just kept wanting to see his eyes open and make contact with us.

Guys, my heart sank through out all this, people said after that the ambulance got there quick. Honestly it seemed like 20 mins before they got there. But I don't know a real time frame. Everything was happening so fast. When the nurses started showing up ( there where at least 3 that I talked to ), I let them take over obviously. That is when it started to sink in that we need to contact people. Roger just started calling people trying to get a hold of someone. I only had one contact number of someone that wasn't with us ( Beekeeper Tom ) and I couldn't get a hold of him.

So my suggestion for next year and for all rides people put together. It wouldn't be a bad idea to have a master list of peoples numbers at the event with a couple of main contact people that would have their phones on them at all times. That way if something like this happens again ( I pray not ), everyone can have a hand out sheet and whoever is there, we can all start making calls.

Roger was right there the whole time, he told people what to do, we did what we could with Sheldon, he directed some traffic while being on the phone trying to make contact. I am glad Roger was with us. I know things were WAY better with him there.

Now that I am home away from the event, I am starting to realize more and remember more. I don't think Roger is a member on the board here, not even sure if he is a VMOA member. I just met him the night before. But what I can say, is member or not, buddy or friend or not, the dude just plain stepped in like it was his brother that was laying there. That is what the world should be about. I ve stayed in contact with Roger via text through out the next day and following day trying to give him updates. But unfortunately I don't have a direct communication with anyone other than what I am reading here and what I have had passed to my by other members.

I am rambling and not staying in order. But another thing I instantly thought last night... I am going to go and get re-certified in all my medical emergency areas, and see if I can't take anymore classes to help me out. I don't think I could have done much more, but what if I could have? I can't have this weigh on my conscience that I might have been able to make an extra step if I was only more proactive.

So if any Michigan Hooligans want to possibly take a class or instructional with me, let me know. I HAVE to do this, its bothering me now as I write this. Its not something one person should know, its something we all should know. Whether the life you save is a family, friend or complete stranger, its really our duty to watch out for all people.

And a quick recap because again I am out of order here, Roger and I were the first ones to Sheldon. We were both directly behind him when it happened. And it wasn't a bad spill at all from what I have witnessed in the past. But he wasn't wearing a helmet and that scared me. Especially when we saw the blood on his upper part of his head.

Anyways....

We were in town, on a major highway, LOTS of people stopped ( that was cool ). But earlier that day, I was WAY off the beaten path with 5 others. We were in spots that a chopper couldn't reach without us being moved a substantial distance. I can't imagine if this would have happened out there. I am afraid for what the outcome would have been right there on the spot.

So this week I am going to research what I can do to get further educated and re-certified in any area I can. Heck if just for the sake of the knowledge alone, the life I save may very well be MY OWN, just by typing this maybe someone of you others may become proactive and maybe you might be saving me.

My thoughts and prayers are with Sheldon and his family. If anyone needs anything from me, contact my shop 586 232 3422. Brian will answer the phone most likely. Just leave him your contact info and I ll get back to you asap.

God speed Sheldon!

Todd

 

[donnelly317]

I know your probably crunked with time with your business but I recommend joining your local volunteer fire department or ambulance service if there is one. I enjoy it and it is volunteer you don't have to go on every single call. I'm a firefighter and my girlfriend amanda who was at thunder with me is a medic. In that situation there's not much you can do without equipment. Even CPR yes we would all do it but if something happened to chest area you could make things worse but you would never know. I personally haven't been threw tragic events like this my by girlfriend definently has being a medic. If it keeps on bothering you talk to someone in the medic field about it and hopefully they will make you feel better.

PS I came in really late friday and didn't have much time to talk to everyone I wanted either. No worries man totally understandable

Matt

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

 

[maxcruiser]

Todd,

Thank you for the details on what happened with Sheldon's accident. It really helps to better understand what happened and that he had a great bunch of people right there the minute he needed it.

Thank you and Roger for stepping up and taking control of the situation and helping Sheldon at that critical time and thanks to the Nurses that stopped and also helped.

Mike

 

[Fire-medic]

I am 38 years an EMT, 37 since I first trained as a paramedic, and retired from fire/rescue. Now I teach EMT/paramedic students, we train hundreds of each a year. EMT in FL is one semester, PM is 4 semesters. It's worth-it to take the EMT training, it will cost ~$2K all-told, and will be one of the most-intensive learning experiences you will ever have, short-of boot camp. When you are done, you have an appreciation for what the men and women who do this for a living or as volunteers face each day they respond.

You can save lives by knowing what not to-do. For-instance, leaving an injured rider's helmet on is better than removing it out of ignorance, which can cause permanent quadriplegia if done incorrectly. Not every time, but it tragically happens. Someone in a bad accident is in shock, there are different types, and shock-alone can kill you. You can also have a brain bleed or internal solid organ hemorrhaging which can also kill you, and you might not lose a bit externally. Appearances are deceiving. head injuries bleed a lot, but may not be serious. There is an abundant vascular bed in the relatively thin skin and underlying tissue so bleeding can easily occur, but it's not necessarily serious, or indicative of serious injury. We are trained to have a high index of suspicion in certain types of presenting scenarios for potentially life threatening injuries, and ejection from a motor vehicle, which pretty-much describes a motorcycle accident in all cases, is one of them. Not wearing a helmet? You know what I think about that, I'm sure.

If you decide to take courses, there are different levels of proficiency to-which you can train. They all have similar content in-regards to safety in emergency situations, #1 is usually, is the scene safe for me to approach the victim(s)? I had a fellow firefighter who tried to help people trapped in their car after an accident on the expressway here in south FL, they ran into a light pole, which was across the car. When he tried to open the door he was fatally electrocuted. He was off-duty, and was being a 'Good Samaritan.' He paid with his life, and he was trained! As I said, the discipline you get is to know what not to do. If no-one is in a life-threatening situation, sometimes the best thing to do is to wait for the professionals to arrive, w/the proper equipment. They can get the power utility to shut-down a grid, if necessary, in minutes.

By all means, get some basic training, it my save someone's life, and isn't that a great thing to have on your life's resume when facing St. Peter? And, that 'someone's life' may just be yours.:worthy:

 

[DMAN999]

I agree Todd, Roger took control immediately and those local Nurses were a Godsend also.

 

[dannymax]

I am 38 years an EMT, 37 since I first trained as a paramedic, and retired from fire/rescue. Now I teach EMT/paramedic students, we train hundreds of each a year. EMT in FL is one semester, PM is 4 semesters. It's worth-it to take the EMT training, it will cost ~$2K all-told, and will be one of the most-intensive learning experiences you will ever have, short-of boot camp. When you are done, you have an appreciation for what the men and women who do this for a living or as volunteers face each day they respond.

You can save lives by knowing what not to-do. For-instance, leaving an injured rider's helmet on is better than removing it out of ignorance, which can cause permanent quadriplegia if done incorrectly. Not every time, but it tragically happens. Someone in a bad accident is in shock, there are different types, and shock-alone can kill you. You can also have a brain bleed or internal solid organ hemorrhaging which can also kill you, and you might not lose a bit externally. Appearances are deceiving. head injuries bleed a lot, but may not be serious. There is an abundant vascular bed in the relatively thin skin and underlying tissue so bleeding can easily occur, but it's not necessarily serious, or indicative of serious injury. We are trained to have a high index of suspicion in certain types of presenting scenarios for potentially life threatening injuries, and ejection from a motor vehicle, which pretty-much describes a motorcycle accident in all cases, is one of them. Not wearing a helmet? You know what I think about that, I'm sure.

If you decide to take courses, there are different levels of proficiency to-which you can train. They all have similar content in-regards to safety in emergency situations, #1 is usually, is the scene safe for me to approach the victim(s)? I had a fellow firefighter who tried to help people trapped in their car after an accident on the expressway here in south FL, they ran into a light pole, which was across the car. When he tried to open the door he was fatally electrocuted. He was off-duty, and was being a 'Good Samaritan.' He paid with his life, and he was trained! As I said, the discipline you get is to know what not to do. If no-one is in a life-threatening situation, sometimes the best thing to do is to wait for the professionals to arrive, w/the proper equipment. They can get the power utility to shut-down a grid, if necessary, in minutes.

By all means, get some basic training, it my save someone's life, and isn't that a great thing to have on your life's resume when facing St. Peter? And, that 'someone's life' may just be yours.:worthy:

This is critical....so many accident victims receive permanent injuries or die because of well meaning passer-bys...it's not their fault, these situations are not easy to evaluate.
Todd, you and Roger did a terrific job under extreme circumstances, well done my friend! :clapping: And as FM said, your choice to re-up your certs is a good one.

 

[customizedcreationz]

Great idea on what NOT to do. I didn't even think of that. I was really adament about not moving him. Not sure how many times I repeated that.

Yeah it was scary I am just glad God was giving us some helping hands that day.

Todd

 

[Fire-medic]

FYI, just holding the head in-line w/the body so he doesn't move around and cause spinal cord compression or severing nerves is the best thing to do. This may take more than one person, especially if he is not in a 'stable' position, very likely if he is lying in the road in a crumpled position. And, keeping well-meaning but ignorant people AWAY from the victim is very important for the prognosis of the patient, long-term. Motorcycle accidents often have these injuries: concussions, long-bone fractures, either open (exposed bones) or closed (broken but beneath the skin); altered consciousness, and multiple sites of 1st/2nd/& 3rd-degree burns, from sliding on asphalt, w/a "wife-beater" sleeveless top and a "do-rag" for 'protection.' Of course there often are more issues.

On fire-rescue calls, we got people coming on-scene, announcing, "I'm a physician," trying to tell us what to do, Rx to give, and I politely ignored them. You can be found guilty of negligence if you let them intervene and the patient deteriorates. Those people rarely are willing to accompany the patient in the ambulance to the hospital, which is what they are legally-required to do, if they assume responsibility for the patient' s care. Also, who-knows if they really are a MD or DO? I wouldn't! Concentrate on what's good for the patient, and concern yourself with acting to your level of training. See if your state has a 'Good Samaritan Law' and act to what you have trained to do. That is your legal responsibility if you choose to intervene. Acting beyond your training, or abandoning the patient by allowing someone to do God-knows-what will get you into a lawsuit quicker than you can say "ambulance-chaser," and cause you perhaps financial ruin. Just ask yourself, "what is in the best interests of the patient?"

 

[customizedcreationz]

Its sad to think that helping someone could hurt them. And than to think trying to help can get you sued, its no wonder people don't help more often.

 

[mckzx9]

Omg this must have been horrible. Does anyone have an update on his condition??

 

[Rollie]

How can we send our thanks to " Roger " ?

 

[Traumahawk]

FYI, just holding the head in-line w/the body so he doesn't move around and cause spinal cord compression or severing nerves is the best thing to do. This may take more than one person, especially if he is not in a 'stable' position, very likely if he is lying in the road in a crumpled position. And, keeping well-meaning but ignorant people AWAY from the victim is very important for the prognosis of the patient, long-term. Motorcycle accidents often have these injuries: concussions, long-bone fractures, either open (exposed bones) or closed (broken but beneath the skin); altered consciousness, and multiple sites of 1st/2nd/& 3rd-degree burns, from sliding on asphalt, w/a "wife-beater" sleeveless top and a "do-rag" for 'protection.' Of course there often are more issues.

On fire-rescue calls, we got people coming on-scene, announcing, "I'm a physician," trying to tell us what to do, Rx to give, and I politely ignored them. You can be found guilty of negligence if you let them intervene and the patient deteriorates. Those people rarely are willing to accompany the patient in the ambulance to the hospital, which is what they are legally-required to do, if they assume responsibility for the patient' s care. Also, who-knows if they really are a MD or DO? I wouldn't! Concentrate on what's good for the patient, and concern yourself with acting to your level of training. See if your state has a 'Good Samaritan Law' and act to what you have trained to do. That is your legal responsibility if you choose to intervene. Acting beyond your training, or abandoning the patient by allowing someone to do God-knows-what will get you into a lawsuit quicker than you can say "ambulance-chaser," and cause you perhaps financial ruin. Just ask yourself, "what is in the best interests of the patient?"

Great advice FM.

 

[Traumahawk]

Its sad to think that helping someone could hurt them. And than to think trying to help can get you sued, its no wonder people don't help more often.

Unfortunately in this country...you can get sued for ANYTHING...now if it sticks...thats another story. If you act, and treat the patient up to your level of knowledge and training, you are covered under the good samaritan laws. The more knowledge and training you have, the more that you have to act and treat accordingly.

I would suggest that people atleast get the DOT First Responder course. Its a 40 hr course...(5 days) and it gives you the basics and the knowledge to save someone's life.

 

[Redbone]

How can we send our thanks to " Roger " ?

I posted a message on Rogers Facebook page linking him to this thread. I'm sure he'll respond in due time.

Omg this must have been horrible. Does anyone have an update on his condition??

link here: http://162.210.36.140/showthread.php?t=29790

 

[customizedcreationz]

I talked with Roger today. I didn't know he had a facebook. When I go to pick up my Turbo bike I am going to try and swing by and have lunch or dinner with him.

Todd