This kid was in so much pain, from the top of his head to the bottom of his legs. I bet being run over by a truck isn’t as much fun as the stunt professionals makes it out to be, but then I would have to ask the patient how he felt about that question.
It all began with a call to our ambulance. I didn’t really understand what the radio was saying when I was called to the scene of an accident, or so I thought.
When we got to the neighborhood on the north side of St. Louis City I clearly saw that it was an accident, but it wasn’t any regular accident. There was an injured teenager, about 16 or 17 years old, and no car.
Of course the first question that popped into my mind was “Where is the car?”
I was then quickly informed that a truck caused the accident, but was nowhere to be found because the driver ran this kid over and didn’t stop.
What could this kid have been doing to get ran over by another vehicle? Well, he was trying to steal another car in the alley. Not the best idea at night.
There was no bleeding on the outside. But I could see that there were many bruises that were shades of dark purple and red, which indicates internal bleeding. And there was also a collection of cuts .
Because of how painful it was for the kid to have me, the paramedic, and the other EMT to turn him on his back to be placed on the stretcher and into a neck brace, we realized that this kid might need surgery to fix problems that we couldn’t see.
I applied oxygen to the patient, which is a part in the procedure that is used for almost all patients to keep them from going into shock and becoming unresponsive.
I noticed that the patient was closing his eyes slowly and then struggling to keep them open, even after I kept telling him to keep his eyes on me and tried to hold a conversation to make sure that he wouldn’t fall asleep. This would be a sign of some kind of neurological injury, which we wouldn’t be able to help in the ambulance. Instead, the patient would have to get care from the neurological specialist, and until we got to a specialist all we could do was keep the patient alert and active. This task was not easy because I had to take vital signs and make sure that he wasn’t falling asleep.
Taking the patient to the hospital was an experience because I wanted to know more of what happened to him. However, as usual, we took the patient into the emergency room to be admitted and we were back on the road to another call. KiOnty Turner
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Sidebar: EMT vs Paramedic Have you ever been in the middle of an emergency and someone yelled, “Call the Paramedics!” Why not the EMT? There is a really close relation to the two and yet no one ever calls the EMT. EMTs are emergency medical technicians that assist the paramedic in the transport and care of sick or injured patients. The main focus of an EMT is the operation of the ambulance. According to St. Louis City EMT Monte Chambers, an EMT is responsible for driving and restocking supplies on the ambulance. There is also training and education to become an EMT. It takes close to six months to become certified, in classes offered in a community or trade colleges. EMT classes are also offered in some high schools. Students learn skills such as CPR, and various ways to give oxygen to patients. An EMT assists patients in taking prescribed epinephrine pens, spinal immobilization, and assisting the paramedic with IV setup and EKG monitoring. The role of a paramedic is to take charge of the medical emergency at hand, administer medicines through an IV and monitor EKG readings for each patient as needed. In order to get certified as a paramedic, one has to have be an EMT for at least one year. Paramedics have to learn about drugs and ways to administer them.–KT
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Another great story. I hope you continue your journalism career while away at college.
:good this story was cool very easy to listen too and sounded painful how the guy got hit by the truck
many teens steal cars and dont think about the consequences of this option and not knowing they could get hurt by doing this criminal activtiy..
.WOW.well first off the boy should have never been trying to steal a car in the first place,especially at night.now it was wrong for the an to do a hit and run.he shoulg think if that was him or a loved one.he wuld want the hitter to stop and see if the person is oaky.:sweat:sweat:wuwu:wuwu:wuwu
Well thats a good story thats what he get but i feel bad for him a lesson well learen not to steal a car at night
The guy driving the truck should have stopped.. But the boy should have never tried to steal the car in the first place.. This was a very well written article. It kept my attention through the whole thing.
he drove thats what he get im thinking that was a punishment for a sin he was about to commit and for prior sins
i know everybody have a slow moment at times but i beleave that was his slow monment! he was tryin to fit in with other and steel cars and he got his self messed up for life. Many teens steal cars and dont think about the consequences but this should make people think next time.:ak:ak:congrate:good:ak:ak:ak:ak
I believe that this was karma for him but this was a great story talking about this conflict
I liked this article.I think he got what he deserved because he tried to break into a car,which was someone elses property.
wooow! there are times when young teens dont think straight and do stupid things such as trying to steal a car or doing something else. however, the guy who hit him with his car should have stopped and help him out. i also think that the guy didnt stopped cause he got scared to what would happen to him if he called the police and told them he ran over some teenager on the street. i think he was really selfish for that. i really like how you can get chances like this at high school and help people out.