You Carry a Gun, But Not a Tourniquet…

The Ankle Kit I Carry

So you carry a handgun for self defense…perfect so do I.  Let me ask you something:  how many gunfights have you or your close friends been in over the last 10 years while here on US soil?  The answer is probably none.  Now let me pose another question to you: how many vehicle accidents have you or your gun toting friends rolled up on or been next to over the span of the last 10 years where someone needed assistance / died etc? I would wager the answer is more than a few.  A few key takeaways from this article I want you to know:

• In almost every situation, car accident or whatever, you are the help until help arrives.  Paramedics could be 10, 20, 30 minutes out.  One can bleed out in roughly 3 minutes or so.
• The chances of one needing medical skills are far more probable than gunfighting skills, but even with that if you do carry a gun the need for medical skills (bullets poke holes in people) seem like they would also be relevant.
• You need training, “I was a medic 25 years ago” or “I took a CPR class once” might not cut it.  Times change, equipment changes, techniques change.
• I am not a Doctor, a Medic or a trauma professional.  I have derived many of my skills from the US Military (Tactical Combat Casualty Care aka TCCC) as well as taking follow on civilian courses (Stop the Bleed).  I also buy my trauma kit from approved sources or distributors, not from Amazon or similar.

Yesterday’s Car Crash

My girlfriend and  I were heading down out of the mountains into town, we just came through a stoplight and I saw a mess ahead of me.  One vehicle on its side on a guardrail, another with the front end basically missing in the middle of the road and debris everywhere.  Add to this a few stopped cars in both directions and one law enforcement vehicle on the scene with its lights on.  It’s usually a this point where, since traffic isn’t moving anyways, I observe to see if anyone needs help.  15 seconds in I knew they needed help.  I grabbed my kit and ran up to the scene and saw a woman who was bleeding in a few areas crunched up into her car (all airbags deployed), a LEO attempting to talk with her with a few folks standing around.  The woman was hysterical and in plenty of pain but before addressing her situation I took a glance at the other vehicle, the driver appeared to be outside of it but in shock (naturally).

I moved up to the car and observed what appeared to be not much action on anyone’s part.  I handed my trauma kit to the deputy and performed a MARCH assessment on the person in the vehicle,  while asking her probing questions to help me assess the situation further.  At this point it was probably 2 to 3 minutes in, no EMS on site.   I determined that it was probably best to remove her from the vehicle at this point and did so, moving her off the highway to a more comfortable spot to wait for EMS (5 minutes in, still not there yet).

I then turned my attention to the other vehicle and driver who was still in a state of shock.  He did not have any visible injuries but unfortunately his dog (pit bull) was ejected from the vehicle and laying in the grass with two women next to it, asking me if I could help.  I told them the dog was deceased and carried it to a better spot so it would not literally roll down the hill.   Then came the tough part, when the gentleman realized his dog was dead.  He was trying to shake the dog awake to which I softly replied that it was gone, just stay there and take all the time he needed.  He then got hysterical and (not a very large man) proceeded to try to drag this dog with its head flopping back up the hill to the road.  I’ve had plenty of dogs and they are family, I totally get his shock and grief.

EMS / LEO Arrival

It was over 10 minutes when the first ambulance and local deputies arrived on scene.  The EMS guys handled the accident victims and eventually one of the deputies made his way over to me after several people pointed me out.  I explained what happened and my actions to which he replied: “Where did you learn all that?  Thank you so much for your help.”

The Bottom Line

I’m not sure where you live but in the evening in my 2000 square mile county there are no deputies on duty.  During the day we could have 3 to 4, maybe.  The old saying “when seconds count the police are minutes away” totally applies here.  Had this accident been at night it could have been 45 minutes to an hour before help arrived and at that point, it’s really about what training you have and what equipment can you employ to help save a life or lives.  Personally I have trauma and first aid kits in both of my vehicles and they are ready to go at a moment’s notice.  I’ve had to break them out multiple times over the years but never once even felt a hint of needing to access the firearm in my waistband (although I do train with it consistently).  Remember:  Your are the help until help arrives.