WMI Students in Action - letters from our files

Our students come from all walks of life. Many work in the outdoor education and guiding industries, still others are employed by governmental agencies including the National Park Service, the Forest Service and the Department of Defense. Regardless of how our graduates utilize their wilderness medicine training, they all share a profound passion for helping others.

Sean Burns WMI Special 1999

On the drive home from Pitkin after taking the WEMT course years ago, my climbing partner Dave, who had also taken the course, and I got to test our new medical skills.

Interstate 70 from Colorado to Missouri makes for a long drive. It was around 3:00 a.m. and the roads were relatively empty. We were driving 70 mph through what is called the “Flint Hills,” an area of Kansas that is know for its rolling hills and grassy knolls, when an eighteen-wheeler zoomed passed us in the left lane. In the distance we could see the same eighteen-wheeler bobbing up and down over the next hill and, ultimately, out-of-site, giving us a heads-up of the terrain to come. Suddenly we saw brake lights and a poof of smoke as the truck went off into the center median.

We immediately grabbed some medical supplies and proceeded to drive towards the accident. As we neared the Truck, we noticed a Ford Escort sitting on the shoulder with a group of three adults and three children standing outside the vehicle. We stopped and asked these people, "Are you O.K.?" They responded with, "Where's Dog?" I asked the lady to repeat herself and once again she said, "Where's Dog." It was still unclear to me what she was saying or what she meant. I then asked her, "Where's the Dog? Did you lose your dog?" And she said, "No, where's Doug? He was following us." After making sure there was no one injured (there were six people in this little Escort!) we immediately, headed over towards the truck in the median. Instantly we both knew something was terribly wrong.

As we approached the truck we could see that the front looked a bit suspicious. We realized that the trucker had hit a station wagon from behind and "rode" it into the median. Blankets and clothes were tossed everywhere. We could not tell if there was anyone in the station wagon. The trucker was still in the truck and we had a sick feeling in our stomachs.

Dave and I suited up for work. Gloves on, eyes searching the scene for any hazards first aid kit in hand, we headed over to the station wagon. As we approach we saw a person climbing out of the driver's window. We verbalized our presence and went in to provide first aid. We checked the area and vehicles for other persons, and the only other person involved (thank goodness) was the trucker. He would not get out of his truck. He was terrified that he might have killed an entire family.

After doing our assessment of the driver of the station wagon, we awaited the arrival of the local Paramedics. During the wait, we "did the routine" and attended to a few minor injuries (consisting of half a missing ear and a dislocated thumb). We also created a SOAP note. Once help arrived, we handed over the patient and stepped back for a breather.

By now the carload in the Escort had approached us and we asked them to paint a picture of what they had witnessed. It seems this young fellow in the station wagon had stopped to help this group in the Escort, who had car trouble. He was, at the time of the accident, driving behind the Escort to make sure they could get to the next town where there might be a mechanic. The problem was that they could not drive faster than 45 mph. So at this point we realized that the trucker, going over 70 mph, had come over a hill and could not stop before plowing in to the station wagon, dragging it and the driver a few hundred yards before stopping in the median.

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