Randy Cassingham's Blog

That is a horrid wreck -- the SUV is not a big one at all. It must have been hit with tremendous force.

The road is similar to where I lived in the Virginia countryside and a place I have down in SC. A 35 MPH speed limit seems generous for it. The SUV driver was indeed fortunate to not be injured much worse and also that qualified help was so readily at hand. He is clearly blessed or something -- at least I consider him to be. [I've no comment whatsoever about the other vehicle's operator.]

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You can sort-of see the tow truck beyond me, too. It's one of those really big flatbed types. Yet, it wasn't drivable afterward -- something ruptured and it dumped all of its oil on the road. -rc

Thank God it was not worse than it was. The pic looks really bad, but I've seen some horrid wrecks where folks walked away (used to do victim advocacy.) Thanks to you and your wife for the work you do... it's a tough job, but it can definitely be rewarding when a precious life is saved.

Thanks for that!

This is one very lucky man. It could have been so much worse. The area looks like a beautiful area, I can see why you have set your roots there! :)

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You should see the view! -rc

I know what you mean about the impatience. We're experiencing incredible population growth in our area and the infrastructure can't keep up with the traffic demand. So, often, someone needs to make a left turn on a busy two-lane road to get home, and people try to go around on the right, which is a direct drop-off at the road surface to a ditch 4 feet below. Much better to lose your whole car than wait for that long 60-second, or 90-second delay.

I second the thanks to you and Kit for what you do.

My guess is that the SUV driver was wearing his lap/shoulder belt, and that his air bag fired. Thus the damage to his left ear (from the shoulder portion of the belt when he was thrown forward) and the broken jaw (from the air bag). BUT he's alive, due to belt and bag - I bet he would not want to trade outcomes.

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He indeed was wearing his lap/shoulder belt, but the airbag didn't blow. (In fact, I put the tow truck driver to work by asking him to disconnect the battery to ensure it wouldn't go off when the extrication team started work on cutting him out of the car. :-) -rc

I believe most airbags will only go off on a frontal collision, not rear-enders.

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Correct -- nor (as in this case) an angled t-bone. There are, however, now side airbags in many cars which will pop in such collisions.

But that's not the point of mentioning airbags in this entry. Rather, it's that when you start cutting on cars with huge power tools, you can set off the airbags and not only scare the crap out of everyone, but perhaps injure the patient or the rescuers. So it's proper procedure to disable the airbags before you start making radical changes to the car's body with the jaws. That's done by disconnecting the battery. -rc

It's great that someone is there in rural areas in case of accident or illness. It's an awesome part of small town life that there are volunteers at the ready.

But what I really want to comment on is the main part of your post: that you're bringing in help, which I hope will reduce the number of hours you spend keeping us entertained (and most of us for free!). I'm proud to be a Premium subscriber, so I know that part of the measly $24 a year I give you for 52 fantastic newsletters is going toward paying your new people, and that next time I order some GOOHF cards or something, I'll get them that much faster because you've got help in there. I really appreciate your attention to customer service, and letting us know what you're doing to keep it up to the high standard I've enjoyed for years. Thank you.

P.S.: Just how many hours do you work, anyway?

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Thanks for noticing, Travis. Even though I have had help with the order entry and fulfillment for several years now, it does take a lot of work to keep things running -- both on the administrative side and the creative side. By getting admin help, I'm freed up to do more creative stuff.

On average I work about 70 hours/week -- 10 hours/day, 7 days/week. While some days it's less, and I still enjoy long lunches out and such, other days make up for it!

My short-term goal is to get that down to 50/week; I don't know what my long-term goal is, since it will be pretty weird getting used to 50 after 13 years of this, but once I get used to that, I'll make more plans. -rc

Just a quick "thanks" for being the kind of caring people you are. Quiet heroes....you remind me of the quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson who said...

"To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a good child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded."

I'd say you have succeeded very well.

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Another Katie?! Sheesh! ;-)

I'd be hard pressed to call anything I've done "heroic", but I've put a lot of time and sweat in. But yes, I agree that I have "success" -- at least in the way I measure it, which in part means mostly living my life the way I want to. That includes living in a rural area where people tend to know their neighbors, and working at jobs that I love -- both for my profession and for my volunteer work. You can't do a whole lot better than that, so clearly "success" rings true for me, even if "hero" doesn't. -rc

Looks like you were all doing a great job Randy. I'm an EMT Specialist, one of about 32 EMT volunteers in our area. We cover most of our county and do intercepts with services that aren't ALS. To have that happen practically in your yard was most beneficial for your patient. Happy to hear the outcome was good for your patient.

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Yeah, that was certainly the closest call I've ever been to! And indeed lucky for the patient, since the closest ambulance is about 25 minutes away.... -rc

I wanted to say thanks also, for all the work and many hours you put in on this and your other online endeavors. I appreciate hearing about your life adventures and how fortunate that you are both emergency responders.

I also thought it was a special considerate touch that you blotted out the victims license plate number in the photo. Just another one of the thoughtful and caring things about you.

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Yeah, the license plate was so front and center, someone probably would have had a way to look it up -- and I wanted to keep the victim's name private. Who he was isn't important to the story. -rc