Planning for emergencies
by Brenda Porter
Late one day last January, I was hiking in the foothills west of Boulder with three friends. Suddenly Brock, one of my hiking companions, slipped on the icy trail, tumbled several feet downward, and fell on a sharp rock. It was immediately apparent that he had sustained a compound fracture in his fibula (lower leg). Bloody bone ends protruded through the skin, creating a painful, dangerous injury. Instantly our wonderful hike turned into an emergency situation. We were at least an hour from the nearest trailhead, while darkness and temperatures were falling fast. We needed to act quickly.
Lars did a complete patient assessment while I stabilized Brock’s head and spine. Kerrin quickly collected supplies from our daypacks—fortunately we each had the “CMC essentials.” One person had an ensolite foam sitting pad, another pulled the metal stay from her internal frame pack to use for the leg splint. We irrigated the wound and applied traction before fashioning a splint with the ensolite, padding from extra clothing, and duct tape. Makeshift shelter from a large heavy trash bag and an emergency bivy bag, extra food and cocoa provided some comfort and helped Brock to ward off shock as night descended.
Several hours later help finally arrived. Our instructors from the Wilderness Medical Institute/NOLS gave us positive feedback on our first aid efforts. Fortunately, this experience was a simulation in a Wilderness First Responder course; therefore, Brock was able to reach down and peel-off the fake fractured bone ends from his lower leg.
As we hiked back to the trailhead by headlamp, we talked about the challenges of responding to a first aide emergency in the backcountry, especially in the winter darkness. We all agreed that hands-on field practice was essential preparation, in addition to the classroom lecture and discussions. Our team of three rescuers worked well together—we listened to each other’s ideas and acted quickly together to help Brock. First aide emergencies are another situation where relationship skills, in addition to technical skills, are important to develop and practice.