Dealing with shock!

[GardenKit]

Sorry to see you had a rough time yesterday Rich, but it seems all is well and you did your family, and youself, proud.

 

I hope the lad is OK this morning and that you and you wife are feeling much better on this beautiful morning.

[Gary Prentice]

Obviously we've never met, but I'm not that surprised about your feelings after the event. All the rescue services undertake a great deal of training, part of which allows you to react calmly in stressful situations. Which you did.......

 

You triaged (sp?) the casualty, whilst dealing with and calming the anxious parent. This is where the training kicked in.

 

After the event, when you thought about and analysed the the situation, you were thinking more as a parent so the situation becomes much more emotional and close to home. I think this is why you felt the way you did last night, questioning yourself about your actions, rescuer v parent.

 

I believe from what you described that every choice was right, don't underestimate just how much the training you've undertaken has become second nature, that's what it's designed to do.

 

You did good:thumbup1::thumbup: and I hope your lad's well this morning.

[Andy Collins]

I agree with the sentiment here. As a parent, you did everything spot on. As trained rescue personell you will do the same for other parents. It's the way the brain ticks that's all. Not easy being a parent, toughest job in the world at times like this.

[Pat Ferrett]

I have been there many times and find Im cold calm and collected. been at my Dads side when his heart stopped and helped the doctors while they sedated my daughter to put her on a ventilator to name just a couple and tbh I would have done things just the way you did, also now things have returned to normal your doing the exact same thing as I do and working out if you did the right thing so next time and there will be a next time your you'll have experience and confidence to plough on through.

[Rich2484]

Many thanks for all the replies.

 

He is his usual bouncing self today, doesn't want to sit still.

 

Yes I didn't realize how much training can actually kick in at the time, and not even think about it.

 

Just sitting down last night with no one around I started thinking it through. But yes everyone is right. We did everything correctly and what should have been done got done.

 

Had a very rough night last night, images and the like. Will be like it for a couple of days I guess.

 

Anyway thank you all.

[normandylumberjack]

You did well. I have had first aid training from an early age and have dealt with lots of small injuries. However, when I was first on the scene after a car vs. mans head, after slipping off a pavement and into the path of a Taxi, I was the only one helping him, he was a mess, and I mean a mess! I did all I could to help him, stem the bleeding, and hold his bonce together. People around me were crying/ being ill, his wife went into majour shock, and once I had handed him to the paramedics felt it would be certain he would pass away.

I beat myself up something terrible after, what should I have done better to save him, what about his wife? During the time i was helping, i was cold and calm, giving orders to strangers like a sergeant major. After, I went to jelly, couldn't stop shaking.

 

Met the guy, 3 months later, alive and well. I could relax a bit then, and knew i had done ok. You did ok, your son is safe and well. well done to you

[TGB]

You did nothing wrong. You did not loose your head, your son was treated, and barring anything unforseen should make a complete recovery. Your Wife will as you said go on about it for some time to come and I would just let it work it's way out of her system...

Not so much shock as I see it, more a panick attack; a 'what if' scenario. I don't see that letting another qualified 1st Aider attend to you son's needs while you disrobed from what could have been a cumbersome costume, was in any way negligent. Accidents happen, you can't always be there to prevent it or to be the first and only one to help. Mishaps are part of growing up - try not to worry about your actions, when all has worked out for the best.

 

Worry gets you nowhere but a downward spiral or a plummet if you do a lot of it. If you're going to keep worrying about your son and 'what if' scenarios. You could always never let him out of your sight, never let him do anything in the slightest bit risky... oh, and never let him progress further than he has done so to this point.

 

Children get bumps, bruises and cuts. Often the experience is less for them that others around them. You're worrying now but he's thinking he'll be able to show is wound off to his mates in school. Plus growing-up a learning curve, not a straight line.

[Rich2484]

Yeah a steep curve at that.

 

I guess I'm just over protective as we very nearly lost him at 2 month old. And I was the first aider then. Giving CPR to him while on the phone to the ambulance.

 

This just makes me worry around him especially now. Wound has started leaking again a bit. Only on the corner of the cut. So he is bandaged again. Just keeping an eye on him now.

 

Slowly getting there.

I've been taught about the after thoughts that people can go through after an incident and the what ifs, so I guess this is one of them, as before when calling the ambulance I was like it for a week. Not so bad on this one.

 

Thanks again.

[Goaty]

Any accident/experience I have been involved in of this kind has a common denominator, your mind goes into super fast forward, you make many options available rapidly choose one, get on with it. Then later you review/rewind the scenario and critisice it, and re analyise it over and over again. I suppose its a way you compensate for the abnormally fast decision by not being convinced.

 

However you did well. I clearly remember loosing control of a fully loaded 6 wheeler concrete mixer due to sudden load slew, rapidly thought

1 keep going towards the deep ditch

2 aim for a bridge with railings diagonally take out the rails.

3 steer away from skid (not into as always recommended) and risk overturning into the ditch.

 

I chose 3 and it worked out ok, and never thought more of it. If it went wrong, Im sure I would've condemned myself.

[felixthelogchopper]

Don't beat yourself up. You didn't panic, you let somebody equally well-qualified and less emotionally involved than yourself deal with the situation which is often the better option. As you know, it's important to keep the casualty calm in such situations and seeing his Dad's naturally worried expression might not have been the best way to do this for your son. I think you did a good job. Besides which, how popular would you have been if you got claret all over your costume?