9781422279939

A Patient I Will Never Forget A respiratory therapist working in the field told this story about one patient whose story will stay with him forever: “The hospital where I was working at the time was a level one trauma facility. That meant we got the people in the worst shape—those who could not be handled at other nearby hospi- tals. One night we had a patient who had been involved in a car accident after a high-speed chase with the police. “When he arrived, he had been breathing on his own but you could tell by the bruising on his body that had not been wearing a seat belt. I was set up with an intubation tray and took over administering oxygen while the trauma team started assessing him. He was unconscious and I was by his head when suddenly he woke up and started trying to fight the doctors and nurses who were helping him. He didn’t know what was happening and he was scared. I tried to keep oxygen on him and he kept try- ing to push the mask away from his face while swinging at any- one who was around him. Then, just as suddenly as he started swinging he was uncon- scious again and stopped breathing. I assisted the doctor with the intubation and then kept bagging him while they tried to get his pulse back. He ended up not making it, because his injuries were too severe. I found out later that he was running from the police because he had run a red light. The police tried to pull him over, but he had almost five pounds of meth in his backseat.”

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Respiratory Therapist