Thoughts about bleeding to death.

As a nurse, I have been involved in major traumas.
I remember one in particular. A young woman was involved in a motor vehicle accident.
Her sports car went under the back of an 18-wheeler. It took the top of her head off, as well as many other injuries...but that was the most spectacular.
She came in with large bore IV's...we literally were squeezing the blood in by hand while it was running out holes everywhere else. We were literally ankle deep in it. She was losing it so fast that we couldn't keep up with the volume.
After slamming in 15+ units of blood...and still not able to get a viable blood count, we had to let her go.
All of the blood in the world couldn't replace what was lost.
We tried, but there was literally nothing we could do.
This is how I feel about Iraq. It is analogous to a country bleeding to death and our troops are the transfusion.
However, we simply cannot transfuse fast enough, because when we stop one bleeder, there are 20 to take it's place.
It's time to pronounce the patient Mr. Bush.
Our resources can be conserved to utilize when it can make a difference.
Now, it simply does not.

Exactly.

:hug:

I hope you are doing well.:hug:

From someone who gets faint if she has to have a blood draw....

Goodness knows why...

In peace,

Radio_Lady in Oregon

I could build a house if I had to, yet, I envy those who can sew.
We all have our talents.
If I had to be on the radio...they would call and say "Get that kid off the air".
I'm 44 years old and I sound like I am 12.
:)

You, too, my friend.

:hug:

:hug:Thank you.

I trained to be an EMT, but then I joined the Army before I got chance to ride.

in the ankle deep blood. That is a perfect analogy.

Sometimes all you got just aint enough.

Brings me back to some deeply buried fire-medic images.....sometimes you just have to let it go....

Everyone working as a team, trying their hearts out....sometimes there is a good outcome. A young man (he looked very old to me at the time) who died of traumatic asphyxia as a result of a tractor rolling over onto his chest comes to mind..bad outcome...I was still in paramedic school. It made me question a lot of things. Another time a lady had stopped breathing a minute or so before we arrived - she was having an asthma attack....after several failed attempts at intubation, my partner wanted to give up on her...for some reason I said let me try one more time...it worked...we gave her oxygen. She started waking up and pulled her tube out just as we arrived at the hospital....she was yelling hoarsely as we passed her son who was waiting by the ER entrance. "Hi mom! - she gets so wound up sometimes" , he said as we passed by...if he only knew....

I don't remember the names of the babies I sent home last week...but I can tell you the names of the lives I helped save 20 years ago.
It is a rich and rewarding career...spotted with triumph and of tragedy.
There is always the one that you could have saved if only...
Those are the ones that keep me up at night.:(

"It's time to pronounce the patient Mr. Bush."
It sure is!

Thank you for your 'take' on it. Excellent analogy!

If only those in power would realize it.