i was driving along fort bonfacio (the camp, not bonifacio global city), it was already around 2:30 AM. i had just come from the interns' acquaintance party, and i must admit i've had enough of my fair share of liquor. although a bit buzzed, i still had complete control of my faculties.
the road i was driving on had some sections blocked off for repairs, so cars had to swerve to avoid the problem spots. as i was near the end of the road and almost at nichol's bridge, i saw a spot where cars were trying to avoid something in the middle of the road. thinking that it was just another repair spot, i slowed down so that i'd have enough time to maneuver my car away from the repairs. as i was passing by the spot i found out what the others were trying to avoid. right there in the middle of the street were two motorcycles that crashed head-on. and right there were the drivers of the said motorcycles, lying bloodied in the middle of the road.
i quickly parked my car on the side of the road and immediately went to assess both drivers. i came up to the one closest to me. he had several lacerations on his face and arms, but was conscious and seemed stable enough. after doing a quick initial survey, i told him to just stay still and assured him that additional help was on the way.
i immediately went to the next driver, and oh boy was i in trouble. first look at the guy and i knew we had to transport him out of here and bring him to the nearest hospital asap. he had a big contusion hematoma on his right maxilla and zygoma, he had deep lacerations all over his face, he was spluttering blood. initial survey also showed a fractured right leg. he was unstable and he kept on moving. i asked a bystander to hold his head in neutral as i assessed him further. i was asking for some first aide materials as the crash happened just a few meters from a police station. the disappointing thing is, the police station did not have any. i asked if they could get me some planks of wood that i can use as a splint for the fractured leg. while all this was happening, i kept on shouting to all to call an ambulance. my frustrations were mounting as i saw that the people were all just standing there while i tried to help out these two accident victims. i had to hold the patient down as he kept on moving his fractured right leg. after making a makeshift splint i personally called for an ambulance. in less than 10 minutes one came. imagine my disappointment when the paramedics told me that they did not have any cervical collars because apparently they already used up their supplies on the last call.
after performing some first aide, i asked the paramedics to transport both patients to the nearest hospital. at first they told me they were going to bring them to this one hospital. to my assessment it was too far. i told them to bring both patients to the hospital where i do my residency as it was just a few minutes away. i told them i'd drive behind them. to my surprise they brought the patients to another hospital.
at the said hospital, the paramedics didn't even endorse the patients properly. i was the one who did. after making sure that both patients were taken cared of, i left them in the capable hands of the physicians at the ER.
blood-soaked and tired, i drove my way home. it was around 4:30 AM when i got home. needless to say, the adrenaline rush washed away all the effects of all the alcohol i drank hours prior.
it just pissed me off that the witnesses to the accident did not show any initiative to help. all i heard them say was,"buti na lang may dumaan na doktor" or "buti na lang nandyan si doc!" had the people there showed some initiative and some sympathy, we would have transported both patients to the hospital a lot faster.
(events happened June 12, 2011 at around 2:30AM at fort bonifacio)
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