I've hung onto this story for about a week, not sure if I would post it - but I'll relate it here because it highlights how vulnerable our elderly can be. I think its just about the worst ambulance story I have ever heard. By that I mean the most tragic, horrible and ultimately sad.
I got this story directly from the crew who attended this case last week, so I hope I can keep to the basic facts.
An elderly woman spills something from her stove (probably oil) onto her legs and is engulfed in flames from the thighs down. She attempts to put the flames out with her hands but is unable to. She knows that she is supposed to push the button on the medi-alert pendant round her neck if "something happens", so she pushes it and sits down in a chair. The alert company contacts her on speaker phone and hear her desperately crying out for help. They call for an ambulance. Another nearby person (who I think was a council worker, but I may be wrong) is also notified. He arrives at the house after about 5 minutes, gains entry and finds the woman still on fire. He extinguishes the flames and shortly after this the first ambulance arrives. The crew apply burns dressings to her legs, but there is little point. The woman has effectively burned all the soft tissue away from her legs from the thigh to the ankles. Not much more than bone remains. She is still conscious. A MICA unit is soon on scene and the woman is conveyed to hospital.
The crew later told me they believed she would die in the few days after arriving at hospital.
Many elderly people will stubbornly (and quite understandably) fight to stay living at home, preferring their independence, often long after it is safe for them to do so. Please if you have elderly neighbours, keep an eye on them and maybe drop in and make sure they are ok every now and then.
5 comments:
effectively burned all the soft tissue away from her legs from the thigh to the ankles. Not much more than bone remains. She is still conscious.
Fuck.
Is it common for someone stay conscious with that much pain?
Oh how horrible. I can't imagine how the poor woman remained conscious throughout that.
I would rather live at home then be put in a nursing home here in the states. The level of care is horrible, and you'd be better off living by yourself. Too many times I've responded to nursing homes where a patient is clearly having major problems but the nurses have done absolutely nothing. These people have a higher level of training yet they don't know how to operate in an emergency situation. They won't do basic things like do CPR even when there is no DNR on record. They'll fail to notice the warning signs of heart attacks and diabetic emergencies until it is too late. We've had patients who have fallen and busted their head open on the floor and have laid there for 4 hours bleeding out before anyone finds them. I don't know how it is done in Australia, but here in the states, the nursing homes are a massive scam.
Spike
Often with severe burns it burns away the nerves so there is no pain
Anonymous #2, thanks. The thought of that poor old thing going through all that pain nearly brought my lunch up.
Anonymous #1, I'd rather die at home as well. My grandmother died in a comfortable hospital after a stroke at home. Much better than a nursing home.
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