C3,4,5
Among the millions of mnemonics one learns in paramedic class, one I still remember is "C3,4,5, keep the diaphragm alive". This refers to three of the vertebrae in the neck which if intact, keep the phrenic nerve working and telling the diaphragm to move so that breathing occurs (among other complicated things that keep you breathing). But on a physically tangible level, it is the most simple. This tidbit of information is not an extremely useful thing to know as we don't have x-ray machines and if your not breathing we'll help you out regardless.
But sometimes, it just cool to know. And it allows me to say things like "Well it wasn't C3, 4, or 5, because he was still breathing." Unfortunately, our patient wasn't able to do much other than that. It was a real lesson for me in spinal shock. This patient had well, one way or another, broken a window with his head which (I now know) broke some of his cervical vertebra and because there is no light way of putting it, paralysed him.
It was the first time in years that I saw a KED board (here's a low budget explanation) actually being used. And a more appropriate time I haven't encountered. The patient looked, for a lack of concise clinical wordage, like crap. To me, he really looked like an MI patient about to leave this world. This freaked me out and we did our best and happily flew this patient to the nearest trauma center as soon as humanly possible. After asking several colleagues, that is what spinal shock looks like: bad.
It was an interesting call and one I'd rather not repeat because it was scary on many levels. One thing about this job that I don't like is how often it reminds us of how fragile we are.
But sometimes, it just cool to know. And it allows me to say things like "Well it wasn't C3, 4, or 5, because he was still breathing." Unfortunately, our patient wasn't able to do much other than that. It was a real lesson for me in spinal shock. This patient had well, one way or another, broken a window with his head which (I now know) broke some of his cervical vertebra and because there is no light way of putting it, paralysed him.
It was the first time in years that I saw a KED board (here's a low budget explanation) actually being used. And a more appropriate time I haven't encountered. The patient looked, for a lack of concise clinical wordage, like crap. To me, he really looked like an MI patient about to leave this world. This freaked me out and we did our best and happily flew this patient to the nearest trauma center as soon as humanly possible. After asking several colleagues, that is what spinal shock looks like: bad.
It was an interesting call and one I'd rather not repeat because it was scary on many levels. One thing about this job that I don't like is how often it reminds us of how fragile we are.
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