How do you respond to a crisis?

 

What is your first reaction when you hear about something bad that has happened?  How do you respond?  Do you seem like a “deer in the headlights?” Lost. Confused. Not sure what to do.  Or can you be counted on?

I want to address a couple of groups of folks today that are faced with crisis situations on a regular basis.

Paramedics and EMT’s face horrific situations almost daily. Car wrecks. Shootings. Somebody’s worst day. I believe if that ambulance shows up at your crisis, those are people you can count on.

Their actions can often make the difference between life and death.  They must arrive calm, cool, and collected.  I happen to believe that they are very special people, smarter than most and possessing great emotional strength.

Most of them have been present at some time when someone drew their last breath. I’m sure it takes a toll, but they know they have a job to do. Oh, and they are definitely underpaid. WAY underpaid. Especially considering the gravity of the work they do.

Athletic Trainers face a lot of catastrophic situations, usually not on the scale of the Paramedics and EMT’s, but it still happens.  And when an athlete goes down, they have to react instantly, staying focused on what is front of them--doing what the situation calls for, making decisions that might not be life or death, but facing situations where their immediate actions have implications.

I’m an Athletic Trainer. Have been for 43+ years. Proud of it. Ask any experienced (older) Athletic Trainer about their experiences and you might get the story of a life saved or a catastrophe averted. 

Mine happened at a JV football game many years ago. We were playing a team not too far away and their quarterback got sandwiched between two big ol’ defensive linemen. He went down but didn’t get up.

They had medical personnel on their sideline but when those folks got the player up and tried to “walk it off,” I intervened.  From nearby, I could tell something wasn’t right. His legs were wobbly and they were mostly carrying him.

So, even though it was not my player and they had their own staff, I intervened.  I insisted they lay him back down and motioned for the folks on the ambulance crew in attendance to join us.

They flew him out on a medical helicopter. The kid spent 8 days in the Neuro-Intensive Care Unit at UT Hospital and was OK, but the outcome could have been much worse.

The decisions made in an instant can determine the outcome, good or bad.  We are trained to make those decisions.  And we don’t have the latitude to be wrong.

Sometimes, it is just whether an athlete can play on a sprained ankle or an injured knee.  We have to be good at that too. 

I can tell you that the most gratifying thing that can happen to any of us is when that person that is injured looks in your eyes and knows that they are safe—and maybe they are a little less frightened at that moment.

When a crisis happens, these are the folks that you want to see.