Glassing

Even though I haven't learnt much from the trauma team in terms of medicine/surgery and how to manage patients peri-0peratively, I have gotten to know about many facets of human behaviour and attitudes from the mechanism of trauma that the patients have. It's a cruel world out there.

One of the patients is an 18 year old girl who now has post tramautic amnesia and acts like a child. She was the victim of "glassing".

Glassing is a physical attack using a glass as a weapon. Glassing can occur at bars or pubs where alcohol is served, and a drinking glass or bottle is available as a weapon. The most common method of glassing involves the attacker smashing an intact glass in the face of the victim. However the glass may be smashed prior to the attack, and then gripped by the remaining base of the glass or neck of the bottle with the broken shards protruding outwards.

Common injuries resulting from glassings are heavy blood loss, permanent scarring, disfigurement and loss of sight through eye injury.

Gambar hiasan

But then, if one is under the influence of alcohol, then you'd expect all these acts of violence. A drunken guy was thrown out of a window in a party and fell to the ground. His girlfriend (also drunk) drove him to the hospital and on the way, the car hit a pole!! Why didn't they just call an ambulance at the house!?!? Drunk driving is always stupid.

Another patient is an 81 year old man (OLD OKAY!) and he was fixing his roof and fell through the roof onto his kitchen floor. I know Australians are DIY people but 81 year olds should act their age and call for professional help!?! He broke multiple bones in his body because the bones were already weak by being invaded by metastatic prostate cancer.

Another 20 year old patient was riding her horse when her horse threw her off. She ruptured her spleen. Because of that, the surgeon said she wasn't to ride her horse again for at least 3 months because if she fell again while the spleen was healing, she'd bleed to death profusely. She cried. My friends and I were quite annoyed with this type of behaviour. My friend whispered to me "It just 3 months. At least she's still alive!"

But it's really weird. The patients in trauma aren't the least bit concerned about the severity of their injuries and how close they were to actually not making it. This mother of 4 has multiple rib fractures, pelvic fracture and ruptured spleen but she's annoyed that they are keeping her in hospital for so long sebab menyusahkan mak dia kene jaga anak-anak dia at home. The surgeon said, "Well, that's what family is for, isn't it" and I agree. She couldn't help it that she had the accident (a motorbike ran into her, she was a pedestrian) and isn't she grateful that she is still alive to be around for her kids instead of bleeding to death from the splenic rupture?

This is the same as the teenager with multiple vertebral factures, skull fracture and pelvic fracture (motor vehicle accident and not wearing seatbelts) whose main concern is that can he play the trumpet again. Hello buddy... maybe you should be more concerned if you can walk again.

Anyway. Main lessons from trauma:
1. Please wear your seatbelts.
2. Do not ride motorbikes.
3. Wear helmets when riding horses, bikes and motorbikes.
4. And for God's sake, stop drinking alcohol!