"Let Go Of My Eye!"

Head injuries are interesting. I can do without the secondary projectile vomiting that comes with some of them, but watching people's change in behavior is a curious phenomenon. I guess it's just a primal fight or flight thing but the universal reaction seems to be violence and combativeness.

We were second in on an auto vs. bicyclist (I drive the "truck" in my district so we respond to all auto accidents). In this case it was actually a bicycle vs auto since the guy on the bike was riding against traffic and ran into the side of the car waiting to make a right turn. He went right over the hood of the car and onto the ground.

The accident occurred at the exit of a housing development with one way in and one way out. I parked just inside the entrance and as we left the rig the engine captain came over waving us off. He said they only had the one patient and that they could handle it. We were free to leave but the accident was blocking the way out and cop cars were blocking the way we came in. We were stuck on scene so we walked over to see if we could help anyway.

The bicyclist was sitting up in the street with a bystander holding c-spine and the engine crew trying to talk to him. I put on my medical gloves and took over c-spine from the civilian. I'm glad I did because it was at this point that he started fighting us. I'll say this: people who are altered or scared are STRONG. I once had to hold down a 7 year old in the hospital who was getting stitches right next to his eye and it took everything I had to keep him still. This healthy twenty-something male took all of us (ambulance crew included). We put a collar on his neck and I tried my best to keep his head still while he cursed and screamed at phantom women who had taken his money and of course at us. He only had a little road rash to the side of his face (no helmet) but he obviously got his bell rung because he was completely delusional. While the firemen held him down the ambulance crew put the leather restraints on him, securing his wrists and ankles to the backboard.

He kept yelling, "Let go of my eye!" I looked down at him and told him I was holding his head still because he got hit by a car and that no one was touching his eye. He raised his right hand the best he could, spread his fingers, and yelled at me, "This IS my eye! Pay attention!"
Okaaaay, I'll put that down as altered level of consciousness.

Once fully restrained we tried again to explain to him that he had been hit by a car to which he responded "No, I wasn't". With that we put him into the ambulance and got out of the way in case the vomiting was coming next. His ranting makes me wonder what his mental state was like before the accident. Was he already a little nuts or was this all purely head injury related?

Wear your helmets kids and be safe out there.