When I was 12 my grandpa took me hunting in the remote Idaho backcountry. To get there you had to ride a horse for four or five days or could land at a ranger’s strip, and that was still a long flight. We met two brothers and a buddy of theirs on their way out of camp early the first morning, decided we’d take a different trail. Maybe ten minutes later we hear a shot, and then screaming. My grandpa rushed over and we found that one brother had not made sure of his target and blown a hole in his brother’s leg. The wounded man was already in shock and the other two were beyond panic.
My grandpa told them to step away, sent the friend back to camp to radio for help. He had me help him cut the guy’s pant leg off, then instructed me on how to elevate and hold the tourniquet while he inspected the wound. It was bad but had missed the artery, but I’d also never seen a man with his leg blown open or that much human blood before. My grandpa (WW2 vet) was cool a cucumber and that helped me stay calm. Got him bandaged as best we could and grandpa decided we should move him, get back to the strip, and that he’d fly him to the nearest town with a hospital and landing strip. I crammed in the back and held the tourniquet. We ended up only flying for about half an hour before landing at a different ranger’s strip because LifeFlight came up to take over.
A couple of weeks later the brothers came to my grandpa’s house to say thank you and that the victim was on his way to recovering. So not a solo life save, but a joint effort. Taught me how to remain calm and functional in traumatic situations. I’ve been in a few others over the years and while I don’t know if the people who lived did so specifically because of my actions, I think my presence helped.
When I was 12 my grandpa took me hunting in the remote Idaho backcountry. To get there you had to ride a horse for four or five days or could land at a ranger’s strip, and that was still a long flight. We met two brothers and a buddy of theirs on their way out of camp early the first morning, decided we’d take a different trail. Maybe ten minutes later we hear a shot, and then screaming. My grandpa rushed over and we found that one brother had not made sure of his target and blown a hole in his brother’s leg. The wounded man was already in shock and the other two were beyond panic.
My grandpa told them to step away, sent the friend back to camp to radio for help. He had me help him cut the guy’s pant leg off, then instructed me on how to elevate and hold the tourniquet while he inspected the wound. It was bad but had missed the artery, but I’d also never seen a man with his leg blown open or that much human blood before. My grandpa (WW2 vet) was cool a cucumber and that helped me stay calm. Got him bandaged as best we could and grandpa decided we should move him, get back to the strip, and that he’d fly him to the nearest town with a hospital and landing strip. I crammed in the back and held the tourniquet. We ended up only flying for about half an hour before landing at a different ranger’s strip because LifeFlight came up to take over.
A couple of weeks later the brothers came to my grandpa’s house to say thank you and that the victim was on his way to recovering. So not a solo life save, but a joint effort. Taught me how to remain calm and functional in traumatic situations. I’ve been in a few others over the years and while I don’t know if the people who lived did so specifically because of my actions, I think my presence helped.