I've taken a break from pilfering song lyrics to raid TV instead. The mighty Richard Chamberlain as arguably the first and most famous of TV Docs. (Albeit one fading fast from public consciousness now, I suspect)
The reason he's on my mind is another abortive attempt of mine to play the medical hero. Deep in the back of my psyche lies a part of me that longs to run around in orange jumpsuits, shouting "stat" quite a lot. To slake this beast, I'm prone to stopping at accidents, if it seems I'd be able to help. In my mind, I will undoubtedly perform an heroic intervention, smooth my hair back into place, and stroll off into the sunset, adoring crowds swooning behind me. In practice, there's actually very little to be done in most cases. Which is generally good. If there is something I should be doing other than providing reassurance, the patient / victim is unwell, and probably needs proper equipment.
Frankly I should just stop.
Besides which the Paramedics never believe you, unless you're a recognised Out-Of-Hospital provider and driving a flash car with "Doctor" written on the side; and even then I suspect they feel you're just getting in the way.
Today, I was driving to the opticians, when I came across a young woman recumbent under a car. In actual fact she didn't seem to have sustained any serious injuries, and was conscious and talking throughout; the doubt seemed to be about how to get her out... I suspect she could have been slid out on a backboard, but didn't stick around once the Paramedics showed up. I guess I know just enough not to make things worse. I think all I really achieved was lending authority to the request for the massive crowd of rubber-neckers to bugger off.
I guess I should just leave the heroics to the experts, eh. And the TV Docs...
1 comment:
One of my most serious relationships was with a young man (years ago) who bore a striking resemblance to Richard Chamberlain. It was rather...uncomfortable (for lack of a better word) how both my mother and now-deceased grandmother would fawn over him. So no, he's alive and well in my consciousness--or at least my memory.
I have been fully trained in First Aid and CPR for several years. Just about as long as I can remember. Part of job requirements--for years.
I am an "accident junkie." I was also born with the "helper gene." I am very level headed and good in a crisis and will just jump in there.
I recently helped a woman on the way to work who had tripped, fallen and done *something* to her ankle. There really was no time to assess as we were in the middle of the road and traffic was blazing by but I knew that it was more serious than she thought. So after some discussion and ensuring her that I knew what I was talking about, off she went to the hospital.
I saw her a few days later. Sure enough, in a "soft cast." Yes, a trip to the hospital was required, indeed.
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