Question for the EMTs…

 Note: I am NOT an EMT, nor a Doctor, and I am NOT trying to pass judgement on the below referenced professionals….I would assume (and hope!) that they know more about emergency care and transport than I do…..But I do have some questions:

Sunday, 10/23/11
05:25AM: I wake up hearing an unusual disturbance across the street. Look out and there are lots of emergency vehicles in a (more or less) circle around a field. I have seen this before: Someone is going to get a helicopter ride to a hospital.

05:43 AM: Helicopter wakes me up as it lands across the street: this has happened before as the field is convenient for Lifeflight copters to get into and out of.

06:10 AM: ambulance arrives (presumably) with patient.

06:54 AM: Lifeflight helicopter takes off.

Question: Does the 44 minutes on the ground loading the patient not negate the “Golden Hour” when you have at least a 20 minute flight time (even by air and with priority routing) to a Level One Trauma Center?

I mean, on a Sunday morning, I could have driven 3/4 of the way to the nearest Level One Trauma Center in the time they spent loading the patient before taking off (without lights and sirens and just driving normally) . Add in the flight time, and I could have the patient at the same place in the same amount of time. Possibly less.

Seriously. And that is assuming that they went to a Level One center. A Level Three center is much closer and likely faster by ground ambulance.

Generally the time between ambulance arrival and helicopter departure is like 10 minutes MAX. Not so this time.

As the ‘copters engines were shut down, I could hear the laughing and joking going on by the assorted crews. No real sense of urgency.

Now, while I really don’t want to criticize the emergency responders (and I must point out that I do not know the nature of the injury) I do have a few questions:

If the injury is serious enough to require a whirlybird ride to a trauma center, why no rush to get the patient there? Why spend all the time on the ground?  I was serious about being able to drive most of the distance in the time that they sat, with the patient, on the ground. I don’t know what the cost is for a helicopter ride, but it has to be HUGE. (I also need to point out that I don’t know the details of the incident, but it looks strange from here)

If there was no rush, then why the ‘copter? If the ‘copter was needed, then why the delay?

Enquiring minds want to know, and all that…..

Interestingly, Ambulance Driver has a comment on this subject as well

A bad day

at the range beats a good day at work…Hands down.

( we didn’t want to limit our options)

Spent a portion of the afternoon at the range. Tried out some different combinations of powder and bullet for the .380 loads for Midwest Chick’s Sig P238 (and, incidentally the TCP) and figured out that 3.15 grains of 231 with a 100 grain jacketed round nose closely duplicates the factory load from Winchester (white box bulk).

It would seem that I (and Para) have fixed the issues with the stainless LDA Carry. It shot BEAUTIFULLY, with no issues. Yet. We shall see.

My full size 1911 ran, as usual, flawlewssly.

All in all, I changed 350 rounds of reloads in .45 ACP to smoke, noise, and brass.

It Was Good.

I also re-shot the Traction Control postal match targets with the Ruger MK III…this time without the excess caffeine.  While the timing of my range trip made for a lot of sun in my eyes, I was able to shoot a slightly better score:

(Click to embiggenate)

 Yeah, 85. Not what it could have been, but then again, I have been lazy and have not been keeping my paper-punching skills as sharp as they could be…. Amazing what I can do when I am not overly-caffeinated and shaking like a chihuahua without a sweater on a -20F day.

 The weather was Perfect. 2 knot wind,  67 degrees….I sorta felt guilty ’cause I should have been doing more productive things in preparation for winter, but the range was calling and I REALLY needed some recoil therapy.

Sometimes ya gotta just say “fuckit”.

Fuckin’ A.

Ya know, I get excoriated when I suggest that it is time, perhaps, to consider the idea of voting from the rooftops….

But if you read this, and don’t think so, then perhaps it is too late for you.

If you don’t understand why I feel this way, then either you are a sheep (and therefore part of the problem), or you have the intelligence of a rutabaga.

While the government is slowly bringing up the heat, we are sitting in the water basking in the nice temperature….

And I really don’t know what to do besides taking real action. Going rogue.

WTF else do we do to stop this?

I’m open to suggestions. The aforementioned option is Not Good. There has to be something better.

Else someday, the history books will show the steady progression of the demise of the United States as we know it, just as the now show us the demise of Germany beginning in the thirties.

I hope that I am not around to remember when this nation was something to be proud of, rather than what it is turning into: The Socialist Peoples Republic of the United States of Amerikka.

More here.

I was right

It was the quiet before the storm.

Today sucked.

Karma balances, always.

On average though, the last two days balanced out to normal, so I guess it isn’t too bad.

Likely there are millions of people in this world who would take my place in a heartbeat and who would love to have my issues…

“it’s quiet….too quiet”

Today was one of those rare ones.

Everything (for me) went right…..

I fixed a piece of equipment: The part, which arrived today, was the right one, first time. The engineer who designed the machine actually had a clue as to what it takes to service equipment, and designed the part and how it fitted with others well. No cut fingers, no cursing, (except for “damn, that was easy”).

People have been (today at least) unfailingly polite. Held doors for me, did not cause me grief while driving (no cutt offs, no sudden stops, weaving, etc.). No one tried to kill me while we were  driving on the same roads.

I got compliments which I really did not deserve on the conduct of my employees…(they are good, but not great enough to deserve the effusive praise heaped upn them by two separate customers…I guess that we just excell compared to others?).

All in all, today was much better than the previous ones. Strange, but weird.

I am waiting for the axe to fall.

DUH

Apparently, even the children in the Obama Administration are learning about reality, and economics.

Read.  Follow the links.

Interesting. If this will fail, then the premise for ObamaCare cannot be far behind, can it?

It is sad that he lost his job

But, the way I see it, “Don’t want none? Don’t bring none”.

Watch the video. He retreats. They follow. He defends. Excessive force? Perhaps. But they attacked him and pursued EVEN WHEN HE RETREATS. His actions are, IMO, defensive. Self defense. He is guilty of no charges in this incident.

Bet they (the women who slapped, then pursued him) think twice now before jumping the counter ever again. As do all the folks in the restaurant. A lesson hard learned. But those are the ones that stick the best.

Why does this sort of shit always happen in the “hood?

Found HERE