GSW is a charting shortcut for gun shot wound.
Several years ago, while working midnights in a Detroit ER, one of the docs decided to join and go out to the ambulance bay to grab a quick smoke. [Yeah, I know, but everybody in the hospital smoked back then.]
It's 3 AM and quiet as a church, warm and balmy. We're talking, laughing, and letting off some steam after a particularly hairy several hours.
From the distance we hear a siren. Didn't worry about it too much, because we'd had no radio traffic concerning any units coming in. Kept smoking.
Then the siren was joined by another. And another. And they're getting closer.
Now we hear tires screeching. To our horror, around the corner comes a ratty old Buick, one headlight missing, barreling at high speed directly at us. And I mean right at us.
We had just a second to run behind some concrete pillars, as the driver slammed on the brakes, and skidded to a stop...but not until it made it over the curb to the point where we were just standing.
Next, five local PD units, sirens going, lights everywhere, pulled in all around the Buick. LEO sidearms drawn, everyone yelling, you pretty much get the picture. Four people in the car, all turned out to be knee-walking drunk.
Turns out they were trying to get a young guy to the ER. He'd "accidentally" shot himself in the neck with a muzzle loading deer rifle. He was soaked in blood, vomit and booze, and totally freaked out. As he jumped out of the car, he ran up to us before the PD officers could stop him, and knelt in front of us screaming that "I'm bleeding to death from this hole!" He pulled the t-shirt bandage away from a very superficial wound to the flesh of his neck.
He lived...actually was discharged to the able care of PD within a couple of hours.
Sad part of the story? Four people in the car. All equally drunk. The chase through the streets hit 110 mph at one point. And...the GSW victim was the driver. Three other people in the car. And the one least capable of driving was behind the wheel!
The collective IQ in the car was dismally low.
Later, as I did some "assertive" scrubbing of the flesh wound, without benefit of an anesthetic, [Hey, stupidity would not be as common if hurt a little more!], and after he admitted to a little "coke" with the booze, he started whining about how much the cleanup was hurting him.
I told him that normally I would've waited for the doc to come in and numb up the wound, but it was the price he was going to pay for scaring the hell out of me.
Turns out, there was a reason the local PD took issue with this "emergency transport situation."
The chase started when the car was seen leaving the local White Castle drive-through window.
Well, ok, then.
Len
Several years ago, while working midnights in a Detroit ER, one of the docs decided to join and go out to the ambulance bay to grab a quick smoke. [Yeah, I know, but everybody in the hospital smoked back then.]
It's 3 AM and quiet as a church, warm and balmy. We're talking, laughing, and letting off some steam after a particularly hairy several hours.
From the distance we hear a siren. Didn't worry about it too much, because we'd had no radio traffic concerning any units coming in. Kept smoking.
Then the siren was joined by another. And another. And they're getting closer.
Now we hear tires screeching. To our horror, around the corner comes a ratty old Buick, one headlight missing, barreling at high speed directly at us. And I mean right at us.
We had just a second to run behind some concrete pillars, as the driver slammed on the brakes, and skidded to a stop...but not until it made it over the curb to the point where we were just standing.
Next, five local PD units, sirens going, lights everywhere, pulled in all around the Buick. LEO sidearms drawn, everyone yelling, you pretty much get the picture. Four people in the car, all turned out to be knee-walking drunk.
Turns out they were trying to get a young guy to the ER. He'd "accidentally" shot himself in the neck with a muzzle loading deer rifle. He was soaked in blood, vomit and booze, and totally freaked out. As he jumped out of the car, he ran up to us before the PD officers could stop him, and knelt in front of us screaming that "I'm bleeding to death from this hole!" He pulled the t-shirt bandage away from a very superficial wound to the flesh of his neck.
He lived...actually was discharged to the able care of PD within a couple of hours.
Sad part of the story? Four people in the car. All equally drunk. The chase through the streets hit 110 mph at one point. And...the GSW victim was the driver. Three other people in the car. And the one least capable of driving was behind the wheel!
The collective IQ in the car was dismally low.
Later, as I did some "assertive" scrubbing of the flesh wound, without benefit of an anesthetic, [Hey, stupidity would not be as common if hurt a little more!], and after he admitted to a little "coke" with the booze, he started whining about how much the cleanup was hurting him.
I told him that normally I would've waited for the doc to come in and numb up the wound, but it was the price he was going to pay for scaring the hell out of me.
Turns out, there was a reason the local PD took issue with this "emergency transport situation."
The chase started when the car was seen leaving the local White Castle drive-through window.
Well, ok, then.
Len
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