EMS Took 9 Minutes. You Took 0.

So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. - Psalm 90:12

More than any other part of your life, time with your kids seems to slip through your fingers. So today, you’re trying to seize the moment, and at this moment, the fair is in town. The boys—quite young, spirited, eager-for-anything boys—had never been to it. It’s about time they tried a rollercoaster and felt a bite of cotton candy disintegrate in their mouths. It’s age-old culture. 

And also, if lines are long and legs are tired, this will also be a great time to build some endurance. Some character, as the dad is apt to say in Calvin and Hobbes comics.

Character, you think, is a precious metal nowadays. Sadly rare. And a fair can display that fact like no other place as you pass by countless strangers.

Nearing the end of the trip, your oldest wants to try a ride that his younger brother’s slightly too short for. Tough providence, son. Next time for sure. Your wife joins the older while you stay with the younger and distract him with peanuts and a cool drink.

As he’s chowing down, an altercation breaks out in front of you. It’s about something very important. Just kidding—probably the opposite. But they’re furious nonetheless. Now here are some people who could use some character. As it is, their life decisions have led them to this point: throwing punches at a stranger at the fair. 

This fight, clearly involving less stable folk than your average hooligan, is not over. It quickly becomes an on-the-ground struggle. There are others around, but they’re just watching. There’s not much to do about it.

At this point, one of the hooligans is in a headlock, but quickly turns the fight around when he fetches a pocket knife and soon makes his opponent rather desperate to get away. A security guard arrives and takes the knife man away from the scene. 

Now there’s just an injured guy, and he’s losing blood fast. He may be a hooligan, but he’s a person, and you’re equipped to be his first responder.

Your wife and son have just joined you from the ride. In case anything else happens, your armored backpack is with them. While your wife notifies second responders of the incident, you grab your IFAK and approach the now-safe situation. The nitrile gloves are on.

Looks like there are two injuries needing immediate attention; Knife Man apparently threw two big stabs at Headlock Man and landed a deep cut in the thigh and a shallower one in the arm. The leg, with the way it’s spurting blood, clearly has an arterial injury and is the biggest risk at the moment for blood loss.

Applying pressure to the leg first, you have a few options for greater control: packing the wound, wrapping it, or wrapping and then applying a tourniquet. You opt to pack the wound first, as the wider gap created by the knife leaves a clear space to fill. You start filling the gap with your hemostatic gauze and pushing it in. 

The hooligan expresses his deep discomfort but you assure him this will only improve his situation. As the packing fills the hemorrhage, you apply more pressure to encourage clotting in the wound. This effectively stops the bleeding, and you wrap the leg with the compressed gauze also found in your kit.

Afterward, you apply an emergency bandage to the more minor arm injury, and the paramedics arrive. It took them about nine minutes to get there and find you.

***

A prepared everyman, like character itself, is rare. Because preparation is so rare, people often must wait before they can get lifesaving treatment. It may be only a few minutes of waiting, but in the world of injuries like blood loss, that’s too much.

According to one NIH study, EMS personnel in the United States respond to an estimated 37 million 911 calls annually.

That’s a lot of cases where you could be on the scene before EMS is. If you’re prepared, that’s often an opportunity to save someone from either death or life-changing harm.

With that said, an IFAK is the most likely part of your toolkit to come into use in the near future. Do you have one you can rely on?

The AR IFAK V2 was built and optimized so that no part of it is defined by compromise. This kit is made to be used. This kit is something a first responder would be thankful to have.

Recently, we also upgraded the gauze. Right now, you can get the IFAK V2 with a 17.76% discount using code LIBERTY.

Be a Good Samaritan. Help your neighbor. Prepare to do so well.