What I miss so Very Much

                                                 

 I remember waking up at about 4:45 am on Thursday morning. It was Thanksgiving in November and I realized this would be just another Holiday I would spend away from my family.  I had just become a police officer in July and I had just been released from my FTO program.  I was now a full-fledged officer with my own vehicle and no in-car partner.  So having to celebrate holidays on a different day was not a big deal and the thought that I would be able to serve people while they enjoyed their holidays was a comfort. 

I had to be a work by 5:45 am and knew there was a little weather in Truckee so I had to rush to get ready.  I took a quick shower and was careful to not make too much noise so I wouldn’t wake my sleeping wife.  I kissed her goodbye and slipped out into the brisk morning.  The car was frosted but quickly warmed up as I started down my street.  The ground was wet and as I headed to Truckee the bridges were icy.  I drove a little slower than normal but because of the early time the traffic was light to none.  As I left Reno I glanced up at the surrounding mountains and noticed there was a slight dusting of snow.  The slight drizzle that had fallen the in the valley when I went to bed had turned into an early morning snow.  It was still high enough in the mountains that I knew it would not impact my drive, but I also knew the higher elevations in Truckee would be covered and I would have a busy morning dealing with the normal spinouts and fender benders.  I hurried along and drove the canyon marveling at its beauty. 

The sky was still dark and the clouds hovered close to the mountaintops.  As the sun began to rise the temperature dropped slightly and I noticed the roads were becoming a little slicker.  I winded up the canyon until I reached the large bridge just before Farad. I first noticed cars slowing then a few coming to a stop.  I looked up ahead about 100 yards and saw flashing taillights and people running across the roadway.  I turned on my flashers and pulled off to the side and exited my vehicle.  People were everywhere but because of the low clouds and fog hovering above the scene there was also an unsettling silence.  Pushed against the center median was a big rig and trailer.  Under the trailer was a dark sedan.  The top was wedged under the trailer and the roof was smashed down to the lower portion of the door. Next the guardrail was a large vehicle half off the roadway, but mostly undamaged.  The guardrail had a large hole ripped into the middle section of it and 75 yards away down the embankment; a vehicle was lying next to the river.  A woman was screaming for help and holding her husband who was hanging out of the passenger door.  He had been sleeping when the vehicle crashed and was not wearing his seatbelt.  I scurried down the embankment, and remember thinking this was going to ruin my shoes.  I was not in uniform and knew I was not properly prepared for what I was dealing with.  The man was stable, but obviously injured.  I had his wife, who was shaken but uninjured, hold c-spine and I moved back up to the crash scene. 

When I made my way back up to the freeway I was confronted by a woman was holding a crying infant.  She realized I was an officer and told me she didn’t know what to do with the baby and she didn’t know whom it belonged to.  I asked her where she found the baby and she said it was in the front seat of the semi-truck.  I asked her to hold the baby until I could sort out who was with what vehicle.  I then moved up the roadway and noticed there was an older tan minivan.  It had obviously been in an accident and the back window was smashed and the back door was pushed in two feet.  There was nobody near this vehicle so I moved on to the next crash.  There was an extremely large burly man lying in the middle of the road.  He was unconscious and breathing with great difficulty.  He was lying on the cold pavement of the ice covered bridge and had been covered with a jacket.  A man was standing over him with a blank look on his face.  I asked him if he knew what happened and all he said was that he “could not stop.”  I asked him what happened again and he said, “I was driving and I could not stop.”  Next to the roadway was a silver VW bug.  The window, hood, roof, and entire front of the vehicle was destroyed.  I asked the man if he was driving the vehicle and he just starred at the man on the ground.  I asked him to keep talking to the man and let me know if his condition changed.  The driver told me he was a CHP officer and he needed to call for help.  I grabbed the man by his shoulders and told him to look at me.  He did and I told him I needed his help.  He looked at me, but just starred.  I knew he was not going to be able to do anything to help me and just told him to keep taking to the man on the ground. 

I began to search for more injured and found several with minor scratches.  In all there were five victims, two of them were in critical condition.  Everything that happened was within 2 or 3 minutes.  I had a better idea of what I needed for resources and called my dispatch.  I asked for five ambulances, a care flight helicopter, two fire companies, a full CHP crew, and asked for the roadway to be shut down at the Nevada Stateline.  I then focused on the man who was hit by the car. I stood by and made sure his airway was open.  I was ready to perform CPR if needed, but mostly stood by feeling helpless. 

            I had been an EMT 6 years before, but this was really the first time I would be tested.  I was able to keep my cool, take control of a scene.  Everyone left that crash alive that day.  The man who was struck by the vehicle passed away a week later but I like to think I was able to keep him alive and this gave his family a chance to say goodbye.  So I tell this long story about just one of my experiences to explain why I want to continue my journey into EMS.  Most people will say they want to be in this field because they have a desire to help people.  Of course this has to be part of the reason for me, but there is a lot more to it.  I enjoyed my career in law enforcement more than anything else I have ever done in my life.  The main reason for this was not because I wanted to help people but I wanted to be able to control chaos.  For me it was a rush to go into messy situations and bring order and calm.  With the training I am receiving now, I feel that with that order and calm, I can bring knowledge that may save more lives, and make some differences that will have positive effects in mine and the people I treat.