About two weeks ago, my crew and I responded to an accident on the freeway. A 42 year old male had just left the dentist office after he had some work done. The dentist had given him Novacane, a numbing agent, for the procedure. He left the office to head home. As he exited the freeway, he fell asleep and rolled his car into the ditch right off the road. He told us that the Novacane had made him drowsy. He was ejected out of the passenger window, and the car rolled over top of him. His legs were crushed underneath the car. When we arrived, we had to get creative in order to get him out, but we were successful. The entire time the man was conscious and complaining that he couldn't feel his legs. My captain and I yanked, scratched and pinched at his legs and feet, there was no painful response out of him. We called to have AirMed fly him out because of his condition. As we turned him on his side to slide the backboard underneath him, we palpated up and down his spine. About mid shaft, he had a lump the size of a grapefruit. He couldn't feel anything below it.
Later, I spoke to one of the nurses who had cared for him in the ICU and she said his spinal cord had not only sheared, but it had severed completely. This man will NEVER walk again. Had he chosen to buckle up, he would have walked away with minor injuries, of that I am convinced. Word to the wise: ALWAYS WEAR YOUR SEATBELT.
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