Photo By Alun Thomas | Staff Sgt. Jeremy Frame, recruiter, Superstition Recruiting Station, Tempe Recruiting...... read more read more
PHOENIX – It had been a long Sunday for Staff Sgt. Jeremy Frame. He had finished dropping off a group of Future Soldiers at the Phoenix Military Entrance Processing Station and was heading home for some well-deserved rest.
However Frame’s day was just beginning.
He would be put to the test with his background as an Army medic when he chanced upon a car accident containing a severely injured driver.
Fortunately Frame’s experience was crucial in providing critical first-aid to the driver before emergency services reached the scene.
Frame, recruiter, Superstition Recruiting Station, Tempe Recruiting Company, said it was around 4 p.m. on June 13, when he noticed a car that was apparently being pushed out of an oncoming intersection.
“As I approached the intersection I noticed the car was not being pushed and that it had just been hit and was rolling to a stop. The car’s front quarter panel was severely damaged and the air bags had been deployed,” Frame said. “I immediately pulled off to the side of the road and ran into the intersection where the car was located. I wanted to make sure whoever was in the vehicle was okay and removed for further safety.”
Upon reaching the damaged vehicle Frame heard screams for help coming from inside the car.
“I opened the driver side door and witnessed a man laying over the center console and onto the passenger seat,” Frame continued. “I grabbed his shoulders and explained we had to get out of the car and off the road so we didn’t get hit.”
It was at this moment Frame saw blood flowing profusely from the man’s left forearm, with a large pool of blood in his car seat.
“His left forearm had been snapped a few inches above his wrist and the bone was protruding through his skin. I instructed the man to push his arm against his chest and use his uninjured arm to support it,” Frame recalled. “As I assisted him from the car I informed the patient that I was a medic in the Army and I was here to help him.”
Once Frame had the man safely removed from the vehicle he was better able to assess his injury and witness the severity of it.
“As he lowered his arm it continued to spurt blood over his body and onto the sidewalk. At this point I recognized this as an arterial bleed at either his ulnar or radial artery,” Frame said. “I pulled my belt off and began to wrap it as tight as I possibly could around his brachial artery on his upper left arm.”
Frame then realized he didn’t have anything to keep the belt tight so was forced to improvise.
“I took my shirt off and decided to use it as a tourniquet instead, tying it high and tight as medics are always taught,” he added. “After tightening the improvised tourniquet and knotting it down I checked his injury to see if the bleeding had stopped. At this point the bleeding had gone from bright red spurting to a continuous slower dark drip.”
Several bystanders stopped to assist Frame and helped prop up the victim’s head in case he passed out and struck his head on the sidewalk. This allowed Frame to gather medical supplies from his own car.
“I grabbed whatever I could find and ran back to the patient. I applied Kerlix gauze and cravats to the patients’ injury that helped slow the bleeding but did not stop it,” Frame said. “As I was finishing up with dressing his wound the firefighters arrived and began to dismount.”
Frame quickly informed the firefighters on the driver’s injury and the arterial bleeding that was still occurring. From there they were able to secure the victim who was evacuated to Maricopa County Trauma Center.
“The firefighters treating the patient thanked me for what I had done,” Frame said. “This was the most serious patient I have treated in a non-combat environment and I am thankful to have been in a position to help him.”
Frame said he checked on the injured man several days after the accident to to see how he was recovering and was eventually able to make contact with him.
“A few days after the incident I was curious to know how this man was doing, so I called the Trauma Center and spoke to a patient advocate,” he said. “Ironically the lady I spoke to was working the afternoon this patient was brought in. Due to HIPAA laws she could not give me any information on him but took my personal information down.”
“A few days later I got a phone call from a man named Trey. He introduced himself and explained that he was the guy I helped after the crash that day and thanked me for helping save his life,” Frame continued. “I explained that I wasn’t looking for gratitude but was interested to know he was okay.”
“He laughed and stated “My mom said I had an angel looking out for me that day and that angel was you”. We talked for a few minutes as he explained he was moved out of the ICU after his first surgery and was planned for a second surgery the following day.”
Frame is appreciative of the skills the Army taught him as a medic and is grateful for the chance to serve and assist his community any way he can.
“I chose to be an Army medic because I like to help people no matter the situation. Being able to perform my duties as a medic and help members of my community at the same time is an awesome feeling,” Frame said. “It’s yet another way I can show support to the members of my community that have continuously supported me.”
| Date Taken: | 07.19.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 07.19.2021 14:53 |
| Story ID: | 401209 |
| Location: | PHOENIX, ARIZONA, US |
| Web Views: | 436 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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