Wednesday, April 8, 2009

I'm not a fan of freak accidents

A friend of mine got a call the other night that we all dread.

His dad had been out with some friends, building a hunting shelter.

He fell about ten feet, landing on his head and injuring his back.

It turns out that he has a complete spinal cord injury from T3 down, meaning that he'll be paralyzed form the chest down - and that's a best case scenario. He's still fighting in intensive care, and I'm praying for him.

I get stupid patients all the time. Young guys who are surfing on the hood of fast moving cars, drunk drivers, or the "tough guys" who punch their girlfriends in the face and get a raging case of cellulitis and some broken fingers.

It's unfair to see a father of two being responsible and having fun with friends end up in the wheelchair, while these other people walk out with a few bumps and a broken ankle.
I wonder where the justice is sometimes....

This is another part of the job that I don't particularly like.

Sorry to bring everybody down, this has just been weighing on my mind.

3 comments:

Rock Chef said...

Yep, there is no justice when it comes to things like this.

I see ass holes all the time, abusing their bodies with drink and drugs, taking stupid risks, and often find myself thinking "Why are you still here when my daughter isn't?"

Chris said...

It's a tough pill to swallow sometimes.

Reggie Hunnicutt said...

Sorry to hear this. This is tragic.

Yesterday I was driving past a wreck that just happened. On van was on its side and a car was in the ditch smoking from under the hood.

A dozen people were standing around looking lost as to what to do.

I didn't stop but called emergency and they already had someone on the way.

I felt like I could have helped but didn't as I think back.