“There’s been an accident, we are on the way to the hospital.”
Those words heard through the earpiece of a telephone are enough to make any parent’s knees weak and their heart begin to pound in their chest.
Although we don’t like to think about it, any time we let our kids out of our sight, let them stay over at a friends house or ride in a car with a friend, we fear those dreaded words.
My wife and I have experienced those words.
They are usually followed by words of reassurance. “Billy is okay.” or “Suzy got hurt, but its not that bad.” Let’s face it, regardless of the words of reassurance, we cannot truly calm down until we get to the Emergency Room and see with our own eyes that our child is going to be alright.
In our case the car crash only resulted in very minor injuries to our then young daughter.
Close to Home
Could you treat a major would while waiting for the ambulance?
Recently a similar situation happened to a member of our Student of the Gun family. A dad got the phone call.
“There has been an accident, we are on our way to the hospital.”
Our friend’s teenage daughter was involved in an ATV crash. The father of the daughter’s friend reassured the injured girl’s dad.
“She has a cut on her leg, but it’s not that bad.”
The “cut” was gash in the girl’s inner thigh that severed the skin and fatty tissue down to the muscle.
On the ER table the wound was opened to be cleaned and stitched (20+ stitches) and our friend told us he could see the femoral artery pulsing just under the damaged area.
Fortunately, our friend’s daughter is young and healthy and strong. The doctors anticipate a full recover after the stitches are removed and she completes some physical therapy. For that news we are all grateful.
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Activist Mommies
The activist mommies of America, many of them on the payroll of Michael “Nanny” Bloomberg, love to admonish us and warn us of the danger of guns in American households.
One propaganda scare piece stated that there are guns in one of every three homes in the USA and that a large percentage of those are “unsecured”.
Actually…
There are numerous cookie-cutter Op Ed pieces that seem to run on a regularly scheduled basis advising parents to make inquiries before they allow they child to visit another home for a “play date” (gay — and not the good kind).
While the activist mommies disguise their left-wing progressivism (only the Government should have guns) as a child safety concern, how many advise of other safety inquires?
Do these Op Ed propaganda pieces tell parents to be sure they ask their play date’s parent these questions:
– Do you have a first aid kit in your home?
– Do you own a fire extinguisher?
– Do you know Child CPR and Heimlich?
– Is your electrical wiring in your house up to code?
The most these mommies will offer, aside from the gun inquisition, is “make sure they wear their seat belts.”
Reality vs. Scare Tactics
Of course we do not want loaded guns laying around for any Sam or Suzy to pick up and play with, that should be a given.
While the activist mommies point out that 1500 “children” are killed with guns each year, (“Children” include humans up to 20 years old, involved in gang related homicides, those who commit suicide, as well as negligent shootings) let us consider the actual statistics offered by the CDC.
According to the Center for Disease Control’s 2013 report of “Unintentional Injury Deaths” for children aged 10 to 14:
- 414 deaths occurred from Motor Vehicle Traffic
- 49 others were from “Other Land Transport” (ATV, etc.)
- 93 died from drowning
- 48 from fires/burns
- 24 died from firearms accidents.
I know math is hard, but even a public school graduate can see that nearly 500 children in the 10-14 category died in vehicle related crashes, almost 20 times the number from firearms accidents.
Keep in mind that the U.S. Census estimated nearly 75 million children living in the U.S.A.
One is left to wonder, given the actual statistics, whether the activist mommies are truly concerned with a child safety issue or are simply carrying the water for big government progressives like Nanny Bloomberg.
You can ponder that yourself.
You will want to help, but will you have the ability to help?
Real Questions and Solutions
Rather than conduct the accusatory anti-gun inquisition, I would suggest that a more valuable line of questioning would be that of a positive versus negative vein.
My question to the parent of my child’s friend would be:
“If my child is injured, regardless of the method of injury, who is going to provide first aid while you wait for the professionals to show up?”
“It’s okay, I have my mobile phone.” is not a valid answer.
The last time I checked there was not an App to stem a major bleeding injury, clear a blocked airway, or perform CPR on a drowning victim.
Mobile phones are used to summon help. What do you do until help arrives?
In all of the previous scenarios, waiting 10, 15, 20 minutes for paramedics and EMT’s is a death sentence to the victim. You cannot survive an arterial bleed for 10 minutes, neither can a choking or drowning victim live for 10 minutes waiting for “the professionals” to arrive.
“We won’t wait for an ambulance, we’ll drive to the hospital.” is not a viable answer either. Unless the hospital is across the street, again the patient will die before you get there.
The only true and realistic solution is for the people that are present when the injury occurs to have the training/ability and the material/gear to do something effective.
Let’s face it…
If a child is injured you will want to help, to do something useful. Wanting to do something and having the ability to do something are not the same.
Your feelings about the matter will have no bearing on the outcome.
Have you seen the 7 Training Tips That Could Save Your Life?
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Now for the hard, slap in the face reality; twenty years ago you had an excuse not to have training for traumatic life saving and equipment to stop gap a life threatening injury.
CPR and Heimlich were available and I’m guessing many of you took advantage of them. The American Red Cross offered “Family First Aid” training classes, but those did not deal with stopping a life-threatening traumatic injury.
CPR does no good for person who is bleeding to death.
Today the training and the gear needed to stop gap a life threatening traumatic injury is available to anyone with the will and desire to go out and get it.
The only reason for you to not have both training and gear is because you made a conscious decision to ignore reality and simply hope for the best.
Checklist for Preparedness
- Take a CPR/Heimlich Course
- Take a Traumatic Injury/Life Saving Course
- Purchase the Essential Gear needed to Stop Gap a Life-Threatening Injury until ambulance arrives.
- Encourage Every Parent you know to do the same.
Paul G. Markel – Student of the Gun
About the Author:
Paul G. Markel has worn many hats during his lifetime. He has been a U.S. Marine, Police Officer, Professional Bodyguard, and Small Arms and Tactics Instructor. Mr. Markel has been writing professionally for nearly twenty years with several #1 best-selling books and hundreds of articles in print. In addition to hosting Student of the Gun TV & Radio, Paul is a regular guest on nationally syndicated radio talk shows and subject matter expert in firearms training and use of force.
Mr. Markel has been teaching safe and effective firearms handling to students young and
old for decades and has worked actively with the 4H Shooting Sports program. Paul holds
numerous instructor certifications in multiple disciplines; nonetheless, he is and will remain a
dedicated Student of the Gun.
Below are some of the #1 Best-selling Books Paul has written:
“Team Honey Badger: Raising Fearless Kids is a Cowardly World”
“Faith and the Patriot: A Belief Worth Fighting for”
“The Patriot Fire Team: Preserving the Republic Four Men at a Time”
“Student of the Gun, a beginner once, a student for life”.
Paul Markel
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Great info. Thanks for educating and informing us!
How deep does a non-arterial laceration need to be for you to pack it with gauze before applying a pressure bandage?
Excellent article. I have had a PLS for over a year now and thankfully have never had to use it. The peace of mind I get from having it available to me as well as the knowledge to use it effectively are well worth the nominal price. Having been involved with law enforcement as well as in the military has shown me that bad things happen every day even to good people and also that if you don’t have your gear on you at the time of an incident it will be paid no use to you when seconds count.
Great informative article. Really makes you think about being ready to respond to a loved one in need of medical help. I’ve put together backpack kits “falling off a truck packs” for myself, wife and daughter which contain trauma kits. After reading this I’m reminded of how important it is to have these kits with us and to know how to use the stuff inside.
Thanks to your articles on EDC my edc now includes ,flashlight, knife, firearm and trauma kit plus a trauma kit in each vehicle first aid kit. Thanks again Paul