Trauma

In the surgical/trauma ICU, we see all the worst case scenarios. A motorcycle accident leads to massive bleeding from the liver requiring transfusion of over a hundred units of blood. A fall off a ladder leads to a severe brain bleed. A man playing casual football breaks six ribs and his breastbone. A horseback riding accident leads to multiple orthopedic injuries requiring repeat surgeries. It is heartbreaking to see these accidents. Families are stunned at how much can be lost by an uncontrolled car, too much alcohol, a miscalculation. These patients spend months in rehabilitation and only regain some of what they had before.

I write about this because seeing these patients makes me very wary of these activities, even though for the most part, they are safe. After just a few weeks on the service, I've vowed not to get on a motorcycle, bungee jump, ride a horse, or even drink. I've seen too many bad outcomes. It seems to me that the trauma surgeons are the same as well; despite doing middle-of-the-night surgeries to remove a knife or bullets, they live pretty sedate lives. On the other hand, I find it interesting that emergency physicians who see the same injuries, are a much more daredevil crowd. Perhaps it is because emergency medicine, like ziplining or jumping off cliffs or driving fast cars, has that adrenaline component.