Would you get involved in a situation with someone in trouble?

1. 89

   suzzycueposted 12 years ago

   Would you get involved in a situation with someone in trouble?
   
   If you walked near a person lying on the sidewalk, stabbed with a knife, would you walk on by or phone 911?

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2. 66

   cruelkindnessposted 12 years ago

   Never would I avoid someone who is in need by the pure sight of it. 
   
   Cruelkindness (Subliminally Thoughtless)

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3. 0

   Starmom41posted 12 years ago

   I'd call 911, and also see if there was anything I could do myself to help them

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4. 0

   TrinityCatposted 12 years ago

   I would call 911 and approach the victim if there is no danger around him/her that would want to hurt me as well. It's a selfish act considered by some, but for me, it's just me not wanting to act heroic.

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5. 34

   edhanposted 12 years ago

   In such situation, my first instinct will be getting help by calling for ambulance and then the police station.
   
   In the meantime, I will ask people around me to give a helping hand to see if there is anything that we can assist to prevent the person from bleeding to death until the ambulance arrives.

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6. 94

   jpcmcposted 12 years ago

   There are places where there is no Good Samaritan Law.  This makes people scared to help.  If iwere in this situation I'd call 911 and do whatever I can to help. 
   
   If you do find yourself in the situation remember not to pull the knife out.  Also, you need to immobilize the knife so it won't move and do more damage. 
   
   If there's no knife stuck, just put pressure to control the bleeding.
   
   In Basic life support and first aid training we are always reminded to ask permission before we help the person.  Of course there's implied consent when the victim is unconscious

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7. 57

   jeanniedoeposted 12 years ago

   If someone is in trouble, its difficult to get involved. For me, I might call  a policeman or person with authority to intervene or assist the concerned individual.

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8. 60

   DeanCashposted 12 years ago

   I am trained for that - my advice, don't touch anything just call the authorities immediately.
   
   I remember I got this kid, wounded and dragging himself to no where. Immediately thinking that it was just a kid I offer help and show him my medical kit from my car. At a blink of an eye he attempted to stab me twice with two knifes. If I haven't trained for that situation it could be me or him.
   
   Helping others is a good idea, knowing how to help is even better.

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9. 60

   nightwork4posted 12 years ago

   to anyone who would walk away i just want to say, i hope you're next. i guess that answers your question.

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10. 61

    Dave Mathewsposted 12 years ago

    I would attend to the person but since I do not have a cell I could call nobody but I could ask another to call.

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11. 56

    Squirrelgonzoposted 12 years ago

    Having been trained as a combat lifesaver(Its a fancy word for moderate first aid on the battlefield. Basically I could help to stabilize someone until the medic got there, so, not too fancy.)-I would like to think that I would act first and think about negative repercussions later. Let them sue me for a few bruises associated with saving their life-at least I'd be able to sleep at night instead of being gutted by the guilt of a dead person that I was able yet unwilling to help.
    
    However-part of my training involves talking to the person to see if they are conscious first. This is crucial because the person might be in shock and that can contribute to violence to try and defend themselves. So prior to beginning any basic first aid, I would establish the mental condition and I would put the emergency dispatcher on speaker to alert them to the emergency.
    
    If the person were conscious-I would introduce myself, ask if I could help, tell them they were going to be fine-even if it looked as though they might not make it. This prevents the person from freaking out and damaging themselves further and helps me maintain control of the situation. I would put pressure on the wound if the knife was not present. If it was, I would not attempt to pull it out-but if it was bleeding-I would put pressure around the knife to stop the bleeding.
    
    If the person was unconscious, I'd still talk to them-I would let them know exactly what was happening and what I was doing, that help was on the way, etc. I would check for breathing, bleeding, any broken bones sustained from falling over wrong, etc. and prep them for evac.  Above all-I would listen to the dispatcher unless the situation dictated otherwise.
    
    If the person had an open chest wound I would try to dress it and place them on their side with the wounded side pointed down. (placing them on their unwounded side could hinder breathing.)
    
    If the person needed a tourniquet (say they got stabbed in the bicep or thigh,) and I was able to make one-I would write down the time I applied the tourniquet on his forehead in pen or marker, as well as any time when I needed to tighten it. (tightening is less likely as the individual would be picked up fairly quick.)
    
    If anyone else was there to help, I would have one willing person keeping an eye out for anyone shady-to prevent any more attacks, as well as looking for the ambulance so that we could get help for the individual as soon as possible without a lot of hiccups.
    
    I am no health professional...but this is what I would do, having been trained to do so.

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12. 63

    Lisa HWposted 12 years ago

    I haven't run into any situations that "dramatic", but my practice/policy has always been to call authorities immediately (and in my case, sometimes for things a lot less serious than that).  For the most part, I don't know anything about saving anyone anyway; so I'm not even sure I'd know what to do in a lot of situations.
    
    Having said that, though, I've learned that in an adrenalin-boosted situation, I'm someone who is prone to ignoring my own practice/policies and just going on instinct.  An example is that I've always said if anyone tried to take my pocketbook I'd "just give it to them".  Well, years ago someone did; and my instinct was to get ready to a) fight them for it and b) make sure I had a good look at the person in order to give info to the police.  It worked out because when I tightened my grasp on the shoulder strap and tried to turn to get a good look at the guy, he just seemed to disappear "into nowhere".  There have also been medical situations in which I've acted instinctively.  I was shocked, though, to see that, when in a crunch, I'd just forgotten all my own good (and ordinarily really good) sense and acted instinctively.  Having run into more than one of these situations, I've learned that even the most sensible among us can forget good sense and just act on instinct.  Whether it's good instinct or bad instinct can be another thing.
    
    So, although I know I'd never just walk on by; I'm not sure I'd stay away from the person who was bleeding profusely and not at least try to do something about that.  With non-bleeding injuries it would be whole lot easier for me to stick with my policy of calling 911 immediately.

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13. 75

    SidKempposted 12 years ago

    I do what I can do, and get help for the person.

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