My first MCI

Multiple (more than one)
Casualty (injured person)
Incident

Went to LB's for the weekend. I know...I know...AGAIN!?!? but I just can't stay away from the man. Love him, love him, love him!
Don't know if I've mentioned it or not, but his Papa is very ill. I worry about him. Lots. Incredible man. I love him, too, in case you couldn't tell.
As I was leaving, I ducked into Papa's room to tell him goodbye. He opens his eyes, looks up at me and says "How's my girl?"

Wow! I don't know why but that just touched me to my very soul.
Squeezed his bony shoulders, kissed his forehead and hustled out before he could see me cry.
WOW!

Long trip home...about a five to six hour drive depending on how many times the kiddos have to go potty. Left my sweet darling man standing in the driveway sadly waving after me.
Feelin' lower than a snakes' belly cuz I miss him so much.

About an hour away from home, two major Interstates merging.
I'm in the hammer lane heading for a left hand exit when brake lights turn the sky red. I don't know if I can stop in time...
But I do. Narrowly missing a flare and about four other cars.
As we roll forward in the line of traffic, I see debris all over the road.
Accident - big one. Several cars and pieces of cars.
No emergency vehicles. Not one.

I roll down my window and holler at someone - "I'm an EMT! Does anyone need help?"
They say yes, there is a woman hurt.

That does it. I whip the van well off the road and out of danger. Kids and dog safe and locked in.
Bail out and run across four lane interstate.

No one else medically trained is on scene yet. I ask someone to make sure 911 has been called.
My brain is cranking.
I am the only EMT on scene with at least four patients on my hands.
This is Triage. Who is hurt the worst and needs me the most?
And which one of these multiple bystanders can I get to help me?

Check 20-something guy leaning against the cement barrier.
"Hi, I'm Janean and I'm an EMT. What hurts?"
Standing outside his car when he was hit by another car.
Awake and alert. Get him laid down and ask him NOT to move.

Run to 50-something woman. Blood everywhere.
Same deal. Standing outside her car when hit by another vehicle.
Multiple lacerations, her long hair matted with blood.
But she is awake and reasonably alert.
Get her laid down and Hero Boy comes out of nowhere.
"Do we need something for that wound?"

HECK YAH! He strips off his shirt and presses it to her head.
And he promises to stay with her until the ambulance arrives.
I could just KISS him!

Run to young couple. Standing up, holding eachother and crying.
I don't know where they came from, but she has an injured arm.
His leg is scraped up. She says they "jumped out of the way when they saw it coming".
I told her GOOD JOB, GIRL! Gave her instructions on self-splinting her arm.
Rolled his pants up away from the damaged leg. Asked them to lean against
the divider and wait for the fire and ambulance. Just relax and breathe...

Run back to 20-something guy.
He's getting shocky. Shaking like a leaf. Talking a mile a minute.
Pelvic injuries, knee, shoulder. Wants his mom. Scared...He says "just please, make sure they tell me what they are doing. If I know what's coming, I can handle it."
So I hold his head in line (C-spine) and talk to him.
He has so many questions...and I have no answers. I just try to be as honest with him as I can.

They are gonna come put you on a backboard and strap you down. It will probably hurt, but we'll do it as fast as we can. Yes, they'll give you something for the pain. I don't know if you will be able to go back to work in a week, dude. It all depends on what you have injured here. Yes, they will call your mom. No, don't move your head.

The fire and ambulances arrive. Entire four lane interstate shut down. They are discussing over his head whether or not to make him an "Entry". So I lean down and explain quietly in his ear that they are trying to decide if he is hurt badly enough to enter him in the trauma system. Turn him, backboard him, strap him down. I'm with him the whole way. As they get ready to lift his backboard on a gurney, the medic in charge says "thank you - we'll take over from here" and I stand to go.

Sweet kid is young enough to be my son. He reaches for me. Squeezes my hands.
I look into his eyes. "I'll be thinking of you."
Blonde fluffy hair disappearing toward the open ambulance doors.

Please, God, let them all be ok.
Thank you for letting me be there and know enough to help them. Thank you, Father, for using me. I release them into your hands.

The kids said a fireman had checked on them. They told him their mom was helping.
15 minutes after I clear the scene, I stop to get a drink and let a kid visit the bathroom. As I'm paying for my lemonade, the checker says, "Ummmmm, you have blood all over your arm."

I didn't even notice...