What Would You Do If...?

fmdog44

fmdog44

Well-known Member
Location
Houston, Texas
You are driving in a residential area 20 mph speed zone. Your young child stops breathing. You know there is a hospital three miles away.Would you stop and call 911? Speed up a try to make the hospital at XXmph?
 

I would keep going. Would get to the hospital faster than 911 could send help. I would speed up, but still keep eye out for traffic and people. If I see a cop I would flag him or her down and ask for escort
 
Even if you can get up to 60 mph with nothing to stop you within those three miles, that'll still take three minutes to get to the hospital. Three minutes is too long to stop breathing. Call 911, get that child out of the car and start on the emergency procedures. Scream for help. There may be someone around who can help you until the ambulance gets there.
 
Absolutely, I agree with Camper6. Call 911 immediately and get the first responders coming. 911 can send the ambulance and instruct the father in CPR and also send the police who are usually trained in emergency medicine, maybe quicker than the ambulance, although the hospital being only three miles away, the ambulance could probably get there more quickly than trying to speed there and possibly getting into an accident, which would be much, much worse. And how long would it take to get to the hospital even only three miles away? What about the traffic lights? You're going to plow through the red lights? If the child is truly not breathing, no oxygen to the brain for ten (that it would probably take) minutes or more can result in brain damage or death.
 
Marie5656 said:
I would keep going. Would get to the hospital faster than 911 could send help. I would speed up, but still keep eye out for traffic and people. If I see a cop I would flag him or her down and ask for escort
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What is the process of flagging down a cop? You wave your hands and he will think you are a nut case. You can't stop your car and approach him either. He will think you're a threat and shoot you dead. I say just keep on driving like a maniac. If a cop starts chasing you, just keep on going.
 
There is really not enough info in this hypothetical mind game. Is the parent and the child the only people in the car? Is the child legally strapped in, in the back seat? Then how does the parent know the child has stopped breathing? So, the child has become passed out in his child seat? So, then doesn't the parent have to get out of his seat to check it out? So he's already parked but instead of getting help from 911 and from someone in this residential area, he does nothing but jump back into his car and drives like a bat out of hell?

Too many possible variables to this hypothetical situation.
 
Olivia said:
There is really not enough info in this hypothetical mind game. Is the parent and the child the only people in the car? Is the child legally strapped in, in the back seat? Then how does the parent know the child has stopped breathing? So, the child has become passed out in his child seat? So, then doesn't the parent have to get out of his seat to check it out? So he's already parked but instead of getting help from 911 and from someone in this residential area, he does nothing but jump back into his car and drives like a bat out of hell?

Too many possible variables to this hypothetical situation.
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I was thinking the same way. Child's age? prior incidents? rural or city? city with high traffic? and other conditions, parent ability to render CPR? Only factor most likely is having a cell phone to make a call.
 
CAB: Not breathing? Pull over, put victim on ground. Call out to passersby to call 911. Call out to victim. Check for pulse. Not present, begin CPR compressions. Present. Check airway for obstruction. Present. Finger scoop and/or Heimlich. Not present. Begin rescue breathing. Three miles to drive, in tight city traffic, will result in possible brain damage to someone who is not getting oxygen to the brain. Take a CPR class, every two years, as I do. Next one is 12/5/18, 9-4 PM. Recommended procedures may have changed, so don't take the above as fact. Get certified!
 
I don't know exactly what I'd do, my first instinct may be to drive fast to the hospital. I don't know CPR either, but I understand that if the child isn't breathing, every minute counts before there's the possibility of severe brain damage. So If I'm calm enough, I would probably call 911 and attempt to resuscitate until help arrived.
 
Typically, people draw inquiries in to hypothetical questions. They are not designed for that rather, instant responses. You are not on trial.
 
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