Tips for writing a medical emergency

[RedHunter2296]

Hello

I was planning a bit about what to write in one of my next chapters and I came up with a good idea, the problem is that I don't have much knowledge on the subject and I thought if you could help me a little.

To give some context: I have a character who has spent a lot of time in the hospital, she is already healthy, but her background is that she was in the hospital for a long time. She is walking with one of her brothers and one of her cousins along a path with a few people in the mountains. Suddenly a person in front falls and has a medical problem. No one there has any idea what to do, but the girl who spent time in the hospital must manage to solve the problem and save that person, with limited resources, by remembering the time when she was a patient.

The idea is that this girl realizes that she wants to be a doctor in the future and starts studying to get it. That she is proud that the time she spent being a patient helped her prepare to be a good doctor.

But as I mentioned before, my knowledge of medicine is very limited, so I have no idea what to do to make a scene like that believable.

The problem could be anything, a serious injury, a snake bite, or a chronic health problem that the person already had. But something that can be fixed on the spot.

Thank you

 

[Anon2024]

If you want real world example... someone who spent time in a hospital as a patient wouldn't realistically know how to handle an emergency. Emergencies are usually handled in the emergency room in most countries and they go to inpatient (floor where they stay a long time) to stabilize. You could probably write a scene with people who don't know much about hospitals (which is the large majority of the population actually) without worrying about whether it's believable.

I say this because medical TV dramas like Scrubs, ER, House to me just seem so ridiculous after having first hand experience. Patients often don't see the other side of the hospital which is actually very political. If you'd like an exaggerated version of what goes on in hospitals the Manga "Team Medical Dragon" (it's a HUGE Exaggeration, but I was surprised at how seemingly accurate it felt) can give you an idea of what the medical team does/knows and what patients will often be oblivious too.

Now, since this is a fiction you don't have to worry about realism. That's just my two cents.

EDIT: Actually, if you have her ask a lot of questions to the doctors and staff that might make it a bit more realistic in terms of how much she learns if you're looking for realism. Inspiration from those who helped her before.

 

[LORD_SHAXX]

Student ODP here

the most likely cause of a person falling over would be some form of cardiac arrest. for your story, I would recommend using VF (ventricular fibrillation) as this is the most common. the odds of your character actually saving their life is really slim but the best she could do is perform CPR until paramedics arrive. if she does know how to perform CPR great if she doesn't you could have it so the emergency operator instructs her on how to do it.

she would be told
to check her surroundings first
check the patient try to wake them up by shouting at them
check for signs of breathing ie the sound of breathing or chest rises
if non of the above are happening she then commences CPR
the ratio for cpr is 30:2 30 chest compressions followed by 2 rescue breaths. keep in mind that response times vary if she's in the middle of no where she will have to do this for a long time. in a city probably a few minutes.

If you really want you MC to save this persons life make sure there is a AED (DEFIBRALTOR) they do save lives. the machine will walk the person there through how to use the machine. she could send for someone to get the AED whilst she does CPR.

more info here

CPR and defibrillators: how to save a life

Having CPR training in workplaces, schools and communities and knowing how to use a defibrillator means that more people will survive an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

www.bhf.org.uk

you should honestly read into this stuff it's an interesting topic.

if you have anything message me ill try help where i can

 

[ARedFox]

So if your looking for realism, its best to go with something your everyday person could theoretically deal with and is common enough that everyone has heard a story about it.

For potentially fatal stuff, CPR or abdominal thrusts are relatively common. If you call 911 they can and will walk you through that process. This allows you to have her do something she might not know how to do as well as get he feeling of saving someone (if thats what your looking for). The issue is life saving stuff is less common and can feel a little forced/overly convenient. Its worse in a wooded area as defibrillators are less likely to appear and cell service could be spotty, not to mention being in a hospital does not mean you have medical knowledge or that you remember it accurately.

A broken bone, bruise, cuts, sprains, heatstroke, asthma, allergies, sunburns, rashes, etc are more common. Maybe a friend slips down a muddy slope and breaks something in his leg. Then she creates a splint or something. Heck she could just feel regret she was unable to help and he had to just stumble down or wait for assistance to arrive. Maybe one has an allergy attack and they were all panicking and took forever to use an epi-pen. Lots of ways to play it. The downside here is it might not come off as life changing.

Then for your story in general, the best thing for realism is to not go with some obscure disease or super hard surgery (or whatever she ends up doing) for every case she deals with. Same with frequency of injuries appearing. If doctors had to stop and save people every time they were on the street, it'd be crazy.

 

[Anon2024]

Actually go with the AED Idea by @LORD_SHAXX
That's actually realistic, she could have seen an AED in the hospital and been fascinated by one enough to carry it and it just so happens a person with cardiac arrest fell down while doing exercise.

 

[KiraMinoru]

Why not just give them a kidney stone? It ends up being from dehydration from hiking out in the mountains so get the person to drink lots of water to see if it helps it pass.

“A major risk factor for kidney stones is constant low urine volume. Low urine volume may come from dehydration (loss of body fluids) from hard exercise, working or living in a hot place, or not drinking enough fluids. When urine volume is low, urine is concentrated and dark in color. Concentrated urine means there is less fluid to keep salts dissolved. Increasing fluid intake will dilute the salts in your urine. By doing this, you may reduce your risk of stones forming.

Adults who form stones should drink enough fluid to make at least 2.5 liters (⅔ gallon) of urine every day. On average, this will take about 3 liters (100 ounces) of fluid intake per day. While water is likely the best fluid to drink, what matters most is getting enough fluid.”

I’d say this is a pretty ideal scenario since the solution can be very simple and require very minimal technical ability. It can even be something she realistically saw or experienced herself while in the hospital. Maybe she overheard from doctors talking about why someone had developed a kidney stone and heard it was because of dehydration. She sees the person sweaty puts together that they’re out in a mountain and realizes the sweat isn’t just from the pain but because they’ve been out hiking a lot so she thinks to give them water, something you’d expect her to have a good amount of readily available on hand if she’s out hiking in a mountain.

 

[doravg]

Fundamentals of Paramedic Practice: A Systems Approach
There were a couple of other interesting books under the paramedic category in the library, but this one seems the most compact. You don't need to read it cover to cover. Just pick what is most interesting to you.

 

[RedHunter2296]

Thank you very much for your help, I will review the material, as well as share your opinions on what I should do

Student ODP here

the most likely cause of a person falling over would be some form of cardiac arrest. for your story, I would recommend using VF (ventricular fibrillation) as this is the most common. the odds of your character actually saving their life is really slim but the best she could do is perform CPR until paramedics arrive. if she does know how to perform CPR great if she doesn't you could have it so the emergency operator instructs her on how to do it.

she would be told
to check her surroundings first
check the patient try to wake them up by shouting at them
check for signs of breathing ie the sound of breathing or chest rises
if non of the above are happening she then commences CPR
the ratio for cpr is 30:2 30 chest compressions followed by 2 rescue breaths. keep in mind that response times vary if she's in the middle of no where she will have to do this for a long time. in a city probably a few minutes.

If you really want you MC to save this persons life make sure there is a AED (DEFIBRALTOR) they do save lives. the machine will walk the person there through how to use the machine. she could send for someone to get the AED whilst she does CPR.

more info here

CPR and defibrillators: how to save a life

Having CPR training in workplaces, schools and communities and knowing how to use a defibrillator means that more people will survive an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

www.bhf.org.uk

you should honestly read into this stuff it's an interesting topic.

if you have anything message me ill try help where i can

That could be a very interesting problem because it is something that we all understand could happen to anyone. The problem is the lack of challenge because of where it happens, but I think I can think of something that might work.

Actually go with the AED Idea by @LORD_SHAXX
That's actually realistic, she could have seen an AED in the hospital and been fascinated by one enough to carry it and it just so happens a person with cardiac arrest fell down while doing exercise.

In fact, it is quite useful and interesting, but once again the problem is the location, I don't see someone taking one of those hiking in the mountains unless maybe someone who had a medical history or someone who lived nearby has it, but i need to plan it well.

Why not just give them a kidney stone? It ends up being from dehydration from hiking out in the mountains so get the person to drink lots of water to see if it helps it pass.

“A major risk factor for kidney stones is constant low urine volume. Low urine volume may come from dehydration (loss of body fluids) from hard exercise, working or living in a hot place, or not drinking enough fluids. When urine volume is low, urine is concentrated and dark in color. Concentrated urine means there is less fluid to keep salts dissolved. Increasing fluid intake will dilute the salts in your urine. By doing this, you may reduce your risk of stones forming.

Adults who form stones should drink enough fluid to make at least 2.5 liters (⅔ gallon) of urine every day. On average, this will take about 3 liters (100 ounces) of fluid intake per day. While water is likely the best fluid to drink, what matters most is getting enough fluid.”

I’d say this is a pretty ideal scenario since the solution can be very simple and require very minimal technical ability. It can even be something she realistically saw or experienced herself while in the hospital. Maybe she overheard from doctors talking about why someone had developed a kidney stone and heard it was because of dehydration. She sees the person sweaty puts together that they’re out in a mountain and realizes the sweat isn’t just from the pain but because they’ve been out hiking a lot so she thinks to give them water, something you’d expect her to have a good amount of readily available on hand if she’s out hiking in a mountain.

This is quite interesting because my father suffered from it, so I also know a little about it. Although it is much less "glamorous" than someone having a heart attack, it is also much more realistic. Although on the negative side, it is usually not as urgent as the previous one (depending on the severity) but I think it is easier to solve it, like proposing that they lost the water and or something similar. Thank you for your advice

Fundamentals of Paramedic Practice: A Systems Approach
There were a couple of other interesting books under the paramedic category in the library, but this one seems the most compact. You don't need to read it cover to cover. Just pick what is most interesting to you.

Thank you very much, I will review the material to see what ideas I could get from it.

Once again, thank you very much for your advice because it has helped me a lot even though you may think that it has not.

 

[KiraMinoru]

This is quite interesting because my father suffered from it, so I also know a little about it. Although it is much less "glamorous" than someone having a heart attack, it is also much more realistic. Although on the negative side, it is usually not as urgent as the previous one (depending on the severity) but I think it is easier to solve it, like proposing that they lost the water and or something similar. Thank you for your advice

A kidney stone out in the mountains can very well be extremely life threatening, just as much as a heart attack. If they try to move around when they have it, they could easily trip and fall to their death in the mountains. It doesn’t even need to be a big fall off a cliff. Simply stumbling, losing their balance, lightheadedness, feinting from dehydration and pain, or a small lapse in judgement, and they could take a tumble and crack their skull on a rock or break their neck. Plus if they were heading straight down the mountain without stop after their kidney stone flared up, the change in atmospheric pressure would also likely result in their condition worsening due to vessels in their body constricting thanks to the increased atmospheric pressure.

Also it doesn’t even need to be the person losing their water. They could have been some amateur or young person who overestimated their abilities and thought hiking/climbing a mountain was no big deal. They just go into it blind not preparing enough food or water or just outright bringing nothing at all thinking they could climb a mountain with ease. Hell, if they went too high, the elevation and thin air would leave them gasping for breath due to being unaccustomed to it and their body not being given enough time to adjust.