Amazing story. Unimaginable by us civilians. In awe. Was hoping got find the link that was mentioned re: donations. I never would consider donations to individuals (versus organizations) but his life must be a daily struggle that deserves some relief. Again, in awe of all involved.
Thank you for the interest. The Leadthewayfund is an organization founded in the memory of a fallen Army Ranger, SGT James Regan, by his parents as a way to support other Rangers in need. The Leadthewayfund has helped this patient and his family in more ways than I could list. Any donation to this organization goes to support a number of wounded veterans and Gold Star families. It does would not go directly to this individual patient though. They are a tremendous asset and work closely with this patient and his family with his many ongoing needs as he continues his rehabilitation and begins his new life.
If you are interested - https://www.leadthewayfund.org/donate/
Again, thank you for even considering and for the thoughts.
So much admiration for what these soldiers do and especially under such conditions they do their jobs. Humbly going to Leadthewayfund.org to donate. Thank you for your service
Thanks for your donation and also for caring for these Soldiers for so many years. You may not have served in the Active force but you certainly care for and serve countless Soldiers and their families. Thank you.
That was a great case and excellent job done by their team. Bravo Zulu.
I was curious as to what sort of procedural sedation/analgesia was done for the patient needing the cric. Since he was ambulatory, did they perform with minimal sedation so they could continue to aid in the evac themselves, or did they ketamine and then have to carry two patients?
The medics performed an emergent cricothyroidotomy without any sedation. The apnea occurred too quickly to be prepared in that chaotic environment. After the procedure he did require manual restraint until his ketamine and midazolam sedation began working. Due to the overwhelming number of tasks throughout the casualty care scenario the medics had to intermittently physically restrain him while redosing sedation medications. Ideally the could have done this by drip instead of the bolus technique but they never had the opportunity to prepare the drip and could not count drops in the drip chamber due to the environment - no pumps make drips difficult and inaccurate. In the end, they did have to carry two patients. They did receive assistance from other Ranger litter bearers and all casualties are quickly placed on a Talon Litter with a warming blanket. I would have to retrieve their documentation to see how frequently and what dose they used for their boluses. Yes, during this stressful situation they still documented their care, interventions, and vital signs on the DD 1380 Casualty Card for all four of their patients.
Thanks for the reply, that makes sense. I didn't realize the patient was actually apneic from the hematoma, makes the process have to move a lot faster. Sounds like they had their hands full. I was trying to picture what would be the best call in that scenario where maybe the airway closure was pending but the patient was still awake and cooperative. Definitely would be near impossible in that setting to do much other than PRN pushes of meds.
Again great work by the team, thanks for sharing.
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brendan c. - November 9, 2021 10:29 AM
Amazing story. Unimaginable by us civilians. In awe. Was hoping got find the link that was mentioned re: donations. I never would consider donations to individuals (versus organizations) but his life must be a daily struggle that deserves some relief. Again, in awe of all involved.
Ryan K. - November 9, 2021 4:41 PM
brendanC,
Thank you for the interest. The Leadthewayfund is an organization founded in the memory of a fallen Army Ranger, SGT James Regan, by his parents as a way to support other Rangers in need. The Leadthewayfund has helped this patient and his family in more ways than I could list. Any donation to this organization goes to support a number of wounded veterans and Gold Star families. It does would not go directly to this individual patient though. They are a tremendous asset and work closely with this patient and his family with his many ongoing needs as he continues his rehabilitation and begins his new life.
If you are interested - https://www.leadthewayfund.org/donate/
Again, thank you for even considering and for the thoughts.
Ryan
Bonnie M. - November 13, 2021 5:23 PM
So much admiration for what these soldiers do and especially under such conditions they do their jobs. Humbly going to Leadthewayfund.org to donate.
Thank you for your service
Ryan K. - November 13, 2021 5:52 PM
Bonnie,
Thanks for your donation and also for caring for these Soldiers for so many years. You may not have served in the Active force but you certainly care for and serve countless Soldiers and their families. Thank you.
Ryan
Nicholas L. - November 18, 2021 3:40 PM
This is so humbling. Is there a way to share just this segment? I would like to send it to my family and work colleagues.
Eric S. - November 19, 2021 7:19 PM
That was a great case and excellent job done by their team. Bravo Zulu.
I was curious as to what sort of procedural sedation/analgesia was done for the patient needing the cric. Since he was ambulatory, did they perform with minimal sedation so they could continue to aid in the evac themselves, or did they ketamine and then have to carry two patients?
Ryan K. - November 19, 2021 7:32 PM
Eric,
The medics performed an emergent cricothyroidotomy without any sedation. The apnea occurred too quickly to be prepared in that chaotic environment. After the procedure he did require manual restraint until his ketamine and midazolam sedation began working. Due to the overwhelming number of tasks throughout the casualty care scenario the medics had to intermittently physically restrain him while redosing sedation medications. Ideally the could have done this by drip instead of the bolus technique but they never had the opportunity to prepare the drip and could not count drops in the drip chamber due to the environment - no pumps make drips difficult and inaccurate. In the end, they did have to carry two patients. They did receive assistance from other Ranger litter bearers and all casualties are quickly placed on a Talon Litter with a warming blanket. I would have to retrieve their documentation to see how frequently and what dose they used for their boluses. Yes, during this stressful situation they still documented their care, interventions, and vital signs on the DD 1380 Casualty Card for all four of their patients.
Ryan
Eric S. - November 21, 2021 11:05 PM
Ryan,
Thanks for the reply, that makes sense. I didn't realize the patient was actually apneic from the hematoma, makes the process have to move a lot faster. Sounds like they had their hands full. I was trying to picture what would be the best call in that scenario where maybe the airway closure was pending but the patient was still awake and cooperative. Definitely would be near impossible in that setting to do much other than PRN pushes of meds.
Again great work by the team, thanks for sharing.