Code Three - Lights and Siren. Unique Experience!

Ray D said:

I had a ?significant event,? yesterday. It was a ?wake up? call! My whole family knew about it, within minutes, as did the neighbors and a lot of friends.

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Ray.
A very valuable  story and warning for all of us to heed. Glad you are OK!

On October 4,2006  I also had an "opportunity " to use the 911 system.  Each month I make a trip to Mesa to care for my 73 year old aunt.  She had a stroke in 1998 that left her with significant language  expression  deficits so I make her phone calls and do bills for her.  She had not been feeling well and was more easily confused so I took her to  primary care physician where she was weighed, blood pressure monitored , labs done and an ex ray done for a bruised rib.  I  took notes during her exam.  At 5 pm that evening we were enjoying a glass of wine when she went stiff  and rolled her upper body over onto a table.  Her eyes were open but  only a glassy stare existed. While I know the three questions to ask if someone is having a stroke, this was clearly a problem so without hesitation I picked up phone and called 911.  Paramedics were there within 4 minutes.  It was a good call as she had a TIA (trans aschemic attack) or small stroke.  She is home now and we have home health caregivers coming into her home daily.

Here are some things that worked well in this emergency.

I knew her address to confirm with  911 operator.
I knew her birthday and age.
I knew her social security number.
I knew what she had last eaten and when.
I knew her weight and blood pressure as of that morning.
I handed the paramedics a list of her current medications and dosage.
I knew the name of her primary care physician and phone number.
I knew she had a DNR order on file with her physician.
I had the  phone numbers of family I needed to contact programmed into my phone so I did not have to search for numbers in my panic and stress.
My cell phone was fully charged.

Things that did not work so well were

I was glad that I only had had only one glass of wine becaue I never ever drive when drinking and I wanted to have my independence with my own car.  Otherwise I would have ridden with her in the ambulance.
I was not prepared for the anger she expressed toward me for her  hospitalization.  It was as if her illness had become my fault.  I was not prepared for the  resistance she still gives toward any efforts to help her. It is terrible thing to lose your health but I was fortunate to have felt so very prepared with the 911 issues.

I encourage everyone to get a little organized as you never know.....
Betty Brewer

This subject brings to mind an email I received a couple years ago.

It was an email recommending that people enter into their cell phones, the name ICE (In Case of Emergency)+ Persons Name.
This would include the names and phone numbers of the people to contact in case of an emergency. As the email stated, if you have multiple people that should be called, you would prioritize them by using the name ICE1-Persons Name, ICE2-Persons Name, ICE3-Persons Name etc along with their appropriate phone number.

I had to spend some time trying to figure out how to do this on my cell phone and I'm sure every cell phone is different.
I hope this is clear enough.

The "truth or fiction" web address which explains this in more detail is listed below.
http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/i/ice.htm

Oops, almost forgot to mention that Keith's comments are now in the library here. Thanks again Keith.

One other thing to think about... can you traveling companion drive your RV if you have a medical emergency on the highway? It would be nice if someone else besides the normal driver would have the ability to be able to move your rig off the highway to a safe place, or be able to drive on to the next exit to meet a responding ambulance.  Just a thought.  Not absolutely necessary, but not a bad idea if all that is need is some training and practice time.

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Gottasmilealot,

THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH for raising the important issue of co-pilots being able to drive.  I cannot begin to tell you how many other women I've talked with who absolutely refuse to even try driving their motorhomes.  During these discussions I always bring up the medical emergency issue and you would not believe some of the dumb comments I've heard in response.  The worst one to my way of thinking is "I'll just get on the cell phone and call for help."  Sure you will IF you're in an area that even has cell service!  If you're not and no one else is around, what do you think you are you going to do?  Sit and watch while your loved one dies?

Please, please, please - Gentlemen, insist that your wife at least knows the rudiments of driving your rig so she can drive you someplace to get help if you're the one who's having the medical emergency.  I've heard too many women say their husbands don't want them to drive the rig or they themselves think it's too big for them to handle.  These are just excuses for everyone involved and they are not realistic.  Ladies, go take that RV driving course or practice in a big parking lot so you know you can at the minimum start the darned thing and drive it to a hospital or at least to another location where a 911 operator has told you to meet an ambulance.  This may be the only thing that saves your husband's life!

ArdraF

Great message Ardra,

I have to beg, plead and do whatever I can for Chris to allow me to drive; She does most of the driving of our coach, as I know a number of ladies here do (yourself included).

For folks following along, there are various opportunities to get help in learning to drive your RV. One of our prior forum members used to be an instructor for RV School. Some manufacturers also run a "ladies driving class' at their factory service centers. I just noticed that Monaco is offering such a class at an upcoming rally.

In the boating world, the U.S. Power Sqaudrons runs what they call a "Skipper Saver" class. It's intended for the very situation you described i.e. the captain is unable to take the helm because of a medical emergency and the spouse needs to get them to shore safely. Chris and I attended that class 11 or 12 years ago, and she's been the primary helmsperson ever since. I periodically take over to re-acquaint myself with the controls and the feel of the vessel so that, in the event Chris is taken ill, I can immediately take over. (This has happened on more than one occasion while we were at sea).

Like Tom, the only time I get to drive is when Lorna is sick (only happened once) or out of town and the coach has to be moved.  I actually enjoy NOT driving and get to see the scenery and do the navigation.

Tom and Ned, now don't go whining.  We let you drive sometimes!    More seriously, though, the point is that you guys can and do drive when necessary.  Too many ladies can't, won't, and don't.  But I do everything in my power to change that.  ;D

ArdraF

Another thing to think about is for the navigator or a passenger to have the ability to determine your present location using your GPS unit, if you have one, should the driver suddenly become incapacitated.  Someone should be able to push the buttons on the GPS unit to display their present location so the coordinates can be relayed by phone to the 911 dispatcher, if you unit has that ability.  It would be a shame for emergency responders to be wandering around a remote area looking for you when you have your exact location within several feet inside the unit on your dashboard.

If you are one of the folks who absolutely feels as if they can't drive a large rig, at least be shown how to secure the vehicle by setting the brakes, etc.. so you can safely sit on the side of the road until help arrives in case you should have to do CPR  instead of drive. The only thing worse than having a loved one slumped over the steering wheel is having them slumped over as you start coast somewhere because the brakes never got set. It's nothing any one of us really wants to deal with, but we should be able to if the situation arises.

It's all in the preparation.

Question on Vial of Life. How come the FAQ states to put it IN the refrigerator? The VOL website says to put it ON the outside with the stickers. Makes more sense to me. The EMS folks could see it.

We found from experience that some people don't like things stuck on the outside of their refrigerator, so we just tell them to put it inside on the door.? A call to you local medical emergency response agency might provide you with guidance in your area.? Some municipalities don't promote any program.? You won't go wrong putting it on the outside where it's obvious.? In an RV, something stuck on the outside doesn't do well with the movement of traveling.

I also have a little sticker on my door glass of the RV that says "Emergency Information in Refrigerator", hoping that someone coming in will see it.? I'm not one that takes many medications, has allergies, or is a particular medical risk, but I also put my family's emergency contact information in it in case I'm incapacitated while traveling alone and someone from my family has to be contacted in the event of emergency.? ?I also have my cell phone number on the door sticker in case the RV is vandalized and I'm not there.? That way the police have a way of getting a hold of me.? Most of the time I travel alone, so I want information readily available available if needed and I can't provide it.

Gottasmilealot, you sure have a lot of GREAT ideas!  Thank you for sharing them.

Most of the time I travel alone, so I want information readily available if needed and I can't provide it.

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We do something else too.  Years ago a little boy in San Francisco was hit by a car when out riding his bicycle and he was seriously injured.  He was not carrying any identification so they had his picture on TV trying to locate his family.  By then Jerry was running every morning and I said what if he were injured while running, so he started always carrying identification.  That was fine when we were at home, but what if something like that happened when we were out in the motorhome?  Even if he had his wallet and they found his driver's license, that still wouldn't help emergency workers find me.  That prodded us to make special identification tags that we wear around our necks with our motorhome key.  It includes our name, address, home telephone, spouse's name, spouse's cell phone number, medical insurance provider and number, the phrase "Traveling in:" followed by the motorhome make, year, color, and license plate, and the toad's make, year, color, and license plate.  This is all on the size of a business card.  On the reverse side is a photo of the motorhome.  It's laminated and put on a chain or shoelace to wear around our necks.  I feel a whole lot better knowing that, if Jerry got hurt on his morning walk and couldn't talk, someone could either call me or look for the RV or car.  At the very least they would know he was not a "local" and they'd know to look in RV parks.  I've heard some people even put the name of the RV park on their ID, but we haven't done this because it's different almost every day.  By the way, this is something that also is good for boaters who go out alone.

ArdraF