Anthony Mayernik

Query: would the "something" that was mentioned to you happen to be the keys in the ignition, more specifically, in the "run" position? My unscientific wild guess is that he spit onto something energized (like, say, the alternator) and took a bolt of electricity to the back of the throat, but that doesn't make a whole lot of sense without some electrical burns around the mouth...and that's just too...CSI-y to make any real sense...please tell me I'm wrong, because that's just too "weird" to be true... The wrench being a few feet away implies it was thrown as a result of the trauma, so I want to say it's secondary...the hamburger-y appearance of the throat (boy is that a great visual prior to dinner) would be semi-consistent with blood soaked chewing tobacco (depending on how big of a user you are, there can be a lot of chewing tobacco in the mouth)...but would also become a non-issue with a little suction...and, I'm sorry, but that's just too "perfect" to be something shot off the engine under pressure (the chances of someone standing over the exact position of an AC valve or the like with their mouth wide open so as to avoid hitting teeth or anything else are so...out there...of course, I'm also guessing that he somehow took a few hundred amps to the back of the throat without getting any electrical burns, so I dunno. I'm not sure where the blueish purple skin would come from, but part of me says that taking a few hundred amps to a spot so close to the spinal column would probably do some damage to the spinal cord, but I also want to say that he would be entirely blueish purple if that were true... And wouldn't there be an electrical burn somewhere on his body denoting the "exit"... Anyway, now I'm really curious, because this sounds so very CSI-y...

I would suspect the two clicks are the "Zap 'em!" relays clicking closed then open again as a contact test...remember, this little sucker directs a good amount of energy through itself in an emergency, so the relays are probably fairly beefy...I imagine you'd hear the same clicks if you were using the AED, but in that scenario, you're probably too busy worrying about the pt to listen for the clicks...

The LifePak 500 manual indicates that every day at 0300, the AED will conduct a diagnostic self test. Is the AED off, normally, at 0300? If so, that's probably the self test (either the "routine" or "extended", depending on how many days it's been sitting). Not sure what the clicking actually is, but it's probably "normal" if it's always done it. Or you could run the full diagnostics on it... Alternatively, it's waiting for you to touch it when it does it, then it's curtains! Of course, this requires sentience on the part of the device.

Well, aside from the usual "Did the MVC cause any additional trauma?" check, I'd be looking at the delicately placed IV as well. If you had a lot of difficulty getting it placed, chances are good that it's not going to stay put in the jarring motion of the MVC... As for sodium bicarb, my concern would be the now high level of sodium in someone that's already dehydrated...and since we're not exactly having a lot of luck with fluid replacement...and the pH imbalance it could introduce...my pucker factor's already high enough...not sure if that's the rebound issue that reaper's bringing up, but it's the thing my chemistry mind says "Hey, wait a minute" on...I don't know the LR abbreviation (maybe I should)...

Wait, saying "They're all ----ing gone" is a crime? Wow. I should just go surrender myself to the authorities. Now, there are, of course, two sides to every story, but I can't say that citing someone (and cuffing them, apparently) for swearing is something that would cross my mind unless it were truly "disorderly": refusing to stop, continued, louder than normal conversation, etc. Reading the article, it looks like he was going to stick with the written citation. When she became belligerent, he decided that for his his protection, she needed to be handcuffed. I think there's a little gray area between being "handcuffed for the protection of law enforcement officers" and "being arrested", but the fundamental point is the same: why? There's more to this story than a woman saying the F-word to a relative about the inventory of the store. This should have been a "Ma'am, there are children present, can you please watch your language?" conversation and nothing more. A citation was a bit much, and the handcuffs were too much. And he had to take her out to the car to get the citation book? If you're prepared to handcuff someone, why aren't you carrying your citation book? Of course, how many people know that there are people with arrest authority that aren't cops? One supposes that fire marshals would have arrest authority (and the ability to issue citations) over things involving, you know, fire, but everything else? If you ask me who can arrest people, the only people that spring to mind are are police officers and deputy sheriffs...fire marshals don't even jump up and down in the back of the room waving their arms for my attention. On a related note, I think it's safe to say that I'd be a little belligerent if someone handcuffed me that I couldn't easily identify as a peace officer with that kind of authority. And, "I can do this" isn't sufficient. In this day and age, there are too many wackos out there with L&S on their car...