A Tale of Two Gunshots

After receiving a call for shots fired, EMS responded to find a young male found lying in the street in a pool of blood.  Their early patch meant that the trauma team, ER docs, three nurses and two techs were waiting at the beside, the rapid infuser was primed, and X-ray and respiratory were standing by upon their arrival to the trauma bay.  Barely conscious, the patient was pale and had a last reported pressure in the 60s.  The mob descended on the guy before the medics had even transferred him to our stretcher, but it only took one quick look by the trauma attending to call everyone off and redline him upstairs.  I threw on a portable monitor while another tech held the elevator, and we rushed him up to the OR with a resident holding pressure on the leg.

Contrast that with the guy from last night: high out of his mind and status-post ass-kicking.  Several bruises and small lacs to the face drew everyone's attention while I cut off the guys jeans and discovered a through-and-through GSW to the thigh.  I tipped off the resident, who proceeded to ask the patient if he knew he had been shot.  The response: "Nah, dude, really?"