Here We Go Again...

Here we go again, with first responders having no clue about spinal cord or head injuries.  The Baltimore PD now faces hot water, as they should, for the internal decapitation death of one of their citizens because of a total disregard or awareness of such a condition.  Frankly, even EMTs have a difficult time determining an internal decapitation, but the fact is, nothing was done to prevent such an injury and looking at the video, the officers on the scene don't seem to be aware of the possibility of such an injury.

I appreciate the difficulty of their job, but first responders need to have a healthy respect for the spine and brain.  They need to appreciate that injuries to these areas are potentially fatal or could be life altering.  Prevention is the only way to stop the kinds of life altering injuries that take someone from being able to pursue their dreams to someone who's dreams have to be altered to fit a 'new normal' that simply didn't have to happen.

I've seen accounts of two incidents in the last week alone where severe, closed head injury (TBI) has been ignored and first responders have only gone by someone's actions on the surface.  The man who was walking down a Texas highway naked (except for his cowboy hat) had been in a car accident.  It isn't unusual for someone with a traumatic brain injury, particularly a closed head injury, to do things like strip off their clothes.  Or, as apparently happened with the young man in Baltimore, he became agressive.  Both are not uncommon responses to a head injury.  Taking these actions as conscious decisions on the part of the victim(s) only shows how little these folks have, in terms of training.  Piling on top of someone with such an injury can also just make the injury worse.