Monday, April 22, 2013

Semper Paratus with a Pinch of Paranoia

15 comments:

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    1. Laci, can you elaborate why you believe a lawsuit would be likely?

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    2. Typical ambulance chaser's reply. How would Good Samaritan laws affect this?

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    3. I asked about this specifically in my CPR class ( wait... Am I laughably obsessive for learning CPR?). I I asked about the improper application of tourniquets leading to the unnecessary loss of a limb. She said it is very obvious when pressure will work, verses someone who is bleeding out. Huge amounts of blood that is unstoppable. Basically, you're "paranoid" if a lawsuit is a bigger concern than a life.

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  2. And your point is what Mikeb?

    I am an everyday, average person who has always lived in good neighborhoods or rural locations. I live a pretty quiet life and stay at home much of the time. The extent of my first aid training is what we covered in Boy Scouts, high school CPR class, and what I have learned myself.

    I have been the first responder to two auto accidents. Both times I intervened directly during the 10 or so minutes it took for EMS to arrive. I responded with a pry bar, towels, flashlight, and most importantly my brain. I directed additional people who stopped at the scene and had no idea what to do. I assessed the driver in the most serious accident and immobilized him. Beyond treating his injuries, I calmed him down and avoided shock or worsening his injuries. The kit that the man has in this video could have been very helpful had the driver's injuries been worse.

    I was also a witness in a violent crime case and helped law enforcement begin tracking the criminal. Further, I have been the victim of two violent assaults where deadly force was justifiable. All cases were just plain old bad luck.

    Again, I am an average person who stays home a lot and lives in nice areas. I don't go to "bad" areas. I don't engage in "risky" behaviors or have "bad" friends. That doesn't change the fact that I have been the first responder to two car accidents, a witness in a violent crime, and the victim of two violent assaults. You never know what you may stumble onto. If you don't want to be prepared, that is your choice. My life experience clearly shows it is a good idea to be prepared. Do a service to your fellow citizens and stop the paranoia comments.

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    1. The Boy Scout Motto: Be Prepared. Definitive proof, in Mike's eyes, that they're a bunch of paranoid kooks! Why, did you know, they even have rifle and shotgun shooting merit badges along with "First Aid" "Emergency Preparednes" "Lifesaving" and "Wilderness Survival"!

      What's that Laci? What are you barking about? Timmy fell in a well? No? Oh, I get it now! "Sue! Sue! Sue!"

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    2. Anonymous, did anyone die because you didn't have one of those nifty tourniquets? I guess you would have told us.

      No, for me, anyone who carries a tourniquet at all times in case they encounter someone with a severed limb is, you're right, paranoid is not exactly right, how about excessively and laughably obsessive.

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    3. Mikeb, why do you mock people who take the time to develop skills and be prepared? You seem to be saying that since some people are sheep, we all should be.

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    4. I would mock somebody who goes around with a 20-foot lightning rod attached to a homemade helmet. This guy is in that same category.

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    5. Impractical headgear that's likely to get you electrocuted, or severely burned, and a tiny baggie that could save someone's life.

      You're right, Mike. Totally the same category.

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    6. If you can't tell the difference between those two things, there's no hope for you.

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    7. It doesn't surprise me that you can't see the difference, Mikeb.

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  3. Mike,

    The only reason so few people died at the Boston Bombing was because so many people knew first aid--without the folks running around putting on tourniquets and tending to the wounded, there would have been many more dead people.

    You accuse this guy of paranoia because he is helping people make a small, emergency first aid kit that could be useful in saving lives if there is an bombing or mass shooting near them. Yes, it doesn't have bandaids, and stuff like that that you are more likely to need. Those can be carried in a vehicle first aid kit since you can take the person with cuts and scrapes to get fixed up.

    I don't get why you think this is a problem other than the context of this being a gun guy.

    Laci, though, descends to a whole new level. Laci doesn't want to curse the dark rather than light a candle. Laci wants to sue the person lighting a candle for violating the fire code.

    Could an untrained person do grievous injury with a tourniquet, decompression needle, or chest tube? Absolutely. That's why the guy says to get training before carrying such items. If someone didn't heed this warning and harmed someone by stabbing them with the needle when they shouldn't have, would there be proper grounds for a lawsuit? Yes.

    However, the very fact that while this guy was giving a good talk on making an emergency first aid kit for situations like Boston, and the first thing you thought of to say was "Lawsuit" shows that you are what is wrong with our legal system. If you are this keen on suing someone for rendering first aid, just because they're a gun person, or maybe just because, then frankly, I hope nobody is stupid enough to risk a lawsuit by helping you out if you are injured.

    After all, they might breach their duty of care, in your eyes, by using a belt for a tourniquet, or one of the tourniquets in this video, instead of the current, most advanced tourniquet available. If they'd used the better tourniquet, there's a 5% chance that your leg might have been saved, and that must be worth half a million dollars at LEAST!

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    1. I think it's a problem because the same thinking is what helps people make the mistaken decision to carry a gun at all times. This brings about more harm than good. The preaching of being prepared for the worst in these unreasonable and unrealistic ways is bad news.

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    2. So your problem isn't with what is being carried, but with the fact that the preparedness mindset might lead them to *gasp* carry a gun?

      I hardly know where to begin with that--Don't be prepared to render first aid: the mindset might make you a gun person. I guess women need to get rid of rape whistles and mace, because carrying these in case of worst case scenarios might make them gun people.

      The government recommends that people have extra food on hand in case of emergencies or terrorist attacks. Most people recommend having first aid kits on hand. DHS makes videos for offices to show employees to teach them how to respond to an office shooting (Three points to the video--Run out if you can, Hide if you can't run out of the building, and Fight with anything at hand if your hiding spot is found).

      Everyone should pick their own level of preparedness for worst case scenarios, but regardless of the level of preparation they find appropriate, the exercise of considering what could happen and having some sort of plan or training is a good thing that should be encouraged. It helps keep people alive because being prepared, in at least some way, helps break the inertia of shock so that they don't stand around like a deer in the headlights.

      If you don't want to carry a kit like this, Fine! I don't carry something exactly like this. I do carry some basic first aid items in a spare pouch in my briefcase, thought not an NP tube or decomp needle. You probably think I'm paranoid for this, but I've found that extra bandages and analgesics are handy things to have close to hand.

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