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ON i am (From page 14) Many think they can go it on their own, and end up asking to speak to the social work . Often the family goes into shock, and needs special help and instruction to function, like being told to eat and sleep. The hospital has two hostels for families from out of town to use, but eventually all have to real- te tas opto stilla te pros- for the patient and fami] , ut the activity and the confi- dentiality are necessary to help the trauma victim back onto the réad to health. The Social Work Staff will liason with the health care professionals and the amily » tokeep everyone in- formed of what is going on. If the patients' family un- derstands the system, the world doesn't seem so out of control and confusing. Above all else, the family is instructed that a return to normalcy will take a great deal of time, often months or years, patience is critical. : - Some few patients, with years of hard work and rehabil- tation, manage to return to a lifestyle similar to the one they had known prior to their acci- dent. 34 year old Willy MacLe- od was unhappily coming to terms with the unlikelyhood of returning to work as an auto- mobile mechanic at his shop in Welland. He hopes to return to work on bookkeeping or something related to assist his wife with administering the operation. He spoke to us, although there was pain flashing across his face, use, "If my message can stop someone else from do- ing what I did, it will be worth By the end of the day, all ten reporters were physically drained, and mentally rejoicing to be leading a normal, healthy life. Anxious to avoid experi- encing the suffering and spirit crushing changes which can re- sult from preventable acci- dents, | oo Every year, hundreds of Canadians suffer death and permanent disability from careless accidents. Often these problems occur when young people are enjoying them- selves. Frequently alcohol is involved. The most common trauma cases are male, 15 to 30 years old, with either poor judgement or with alcohol impairment. Many incidents of injury are caused by shallow diving and motor vehicle accidents (Unlike the U.S.A., Canadians suffer from blunt injuries far more than from being Qudiared by knives or ullets). Whatever the cause, the re- sult is often a severed spinal column, brain damage or multi- plesysteminjuries. At the Sunnybrook Trau- ma Unit, the staf is often frus- trated to see so many patients like Willy going through so much avoidable suffering. They actively promote respon- sible inking and warn against diving in shallow or un- known waters. Dr. Barry McLellan, Emer- gency Services Director, ex- 4 3 = Ros 2 ? nearly 60 per cent of all trauma cases. Many like Willy MacLeod seem to have had their 'normal' lives tragically altered. As Wil- ly sadly said, "I used to be con- sidered strong, now I cannot even pick up a pencil to sign my name, For Willy and many others, "it happened so easily," After 12 days in Intensive Care, all strong Willy can look forward to is being allowed to begin his therapy soon, to gain the use of the three good fingers left on his hands. Inside the Trauma Assessment Room aesthesiology, radiology and general, and nurses are on hand to assist. T. (Emergency Operating Room), specialists In an- neuro and orthopedic surgeons wait. Technicians he Team Leader will consult with the paramedics re- garding the patients' condition, his Injuries and treatment to this point. The room is equipped with every possible modern plece of medical ray unit, and it can be used for In the first 'golden' hour, then chances of survivai are surgery If necessary. If t the emphasis is on speed and precision operations. equipment including a portable x- he patient receives treatment with- greatly Increased, so at all stages, | York. nearest hospital. | tonville Ai | cialized doctors and surgeons 88 per cent of phone call away. injured from Port Perry to Sunnybrook quickly If someone sustains life-threatening injuries in Scu Township it seems a long way to getting the specialized an ever ready trauma help at Sunybrook Hospital in North In fact, after officials are notified the first team to ar- | rive will determine the exact nature of the injuries, stabilize | the patient and take them by the fastest transportation to the At Community Memorial, the referring physician can | call a single dedicated number to contact the Integrated | Trauma Frogrem Triage Centre and receive immediate as- | sistance in determining which Trauma or Burn Centre can best accommodate the patients' needs at the time. In ten minutes Bandage One can be launched from But- and be on the helicopter pad outside of the | Hospital in Port Perry. Thirteen minutes later it will touch down at Sunnybrook and the patient willimmediately be tak- | en into the Emergency Operating room where a team of spe- ining them and preparing further tests or surgery. | trauma patients at Sunnybrook survive if their condition is stabilized quickly. Help is always but a be waiting to begin exam- plained that 65 per cent of the patients come from outside Me- tro Toronto, mostly referrals from other hospitals or re- sponse to serious accidents in the Greater Toronto Area. Of the total number of ad- missions, the majority are from car accidents, followed by div- ing injuries. 95 per cent of pa- tients are poly trauma - mean- ing that more than one body system (respiratory, circulato- ry, etc.)is involved. Over 75 per cent have some degree of head injury. . McLellan said that al- though the centre has only been actively collecting data for two years, the results were disturb- ing. 30 per cent of trauma pa- tients had been drinking. Of those, 90 Jer cent were impaired above the legal limit at the time of the accident, Relate this to the provin- cial average of 650 per cent of motor vehicle deaths are acci- dent related and you have a frightening picture, At Sunnybrook, the largest age group in the trauma ward is between 16 and 24. Those be- tween 156 and 34 account for Around Scugog Township, eople comment that if you get into an accident and go to Com- munity Memorial it must be bad. If they take you to Oshawa General, there is a serious prob- lem. But if you have to go to Sunnybrook, then you must be really broken up. unnybrook Medical Cen- tre has long been renowned as one of the best trauma hospi- talsin Ontario. Since the Trau- ma Unit has opened in 1976, they have treated over 3500 pa- tients, over 450 last year. The ITP (Integrated Trau- ma Program) is a concept whose time has come. It pro- vides a 24 hour, seven day a week emergency service for On- tario physicians to refer severe- ly injured patients to appropri- ate centres. With a single number to call, the referring doctor does not need to waste precious time calling around to determine where the best treatment for his patient can be found. The ITP incorporates the "burn and trauma resources of the Hospital for Sick Children, St. Michael's Hospital, Sunny- brook Medical Centre, the To- ronto Hospital and The Welles- ley Hospital, The centralized system ensures appropriate and rapid access totrauma and burn care resources. ITP provides direct contact with the receiving Trauma Team Leader during patient re- ferral process. Transport ar- rangements include the use of the air ambulance Bandage One and other land based am- bulances. } In all serous cases there is a golden hour where the high- est chances of survival and re- covery exist. ITP saves those valuable minutes which can mean the difference between life and death. Once a patient is admitted to the trauma ward, they go through a series of steps until 'they are finally discharged. Once they have been resus- citated in the Trauma Room by the Trauma Team, depending on their injuries, they are moved to a CT scan, surgery or an intensive care unit for spe- cial monitoring. As their condition im- proves, they are moved to nurs- ing units specializing in trau- ma care. The bottom line is that 88 per cent survive. oS HG 25 After Sunnybrook has pro- vided as much for the patient as they are able, they are dis- charged. It was explained that approximately 45 per cent of trauma patients return home, 15 per cent go back to the refer- ral hospital. 26 per cent contin- ue to a rehabilitation facility like Linhurst Rehabilitation Centre, and 2 per cent go to a long term care facility. ~ Most patients require some assistance for the rest of their lives. Many require coun- selling for personal and family problems, 50 per cent have marital problems. Many of the nurses and other staff admitted to being annoyed with the number of drinking related injuries they see. It seems that people hav- ing a good time act irresponsi- bly and consequently put them- selves in situations where injuries can easily occur. There is an active promo- tion of alcohol awareness through many educational pro- grams at the hospital. There is a special PARTY program which owes its creation to Port Perry High School Students. Prevent Alcohol and Risk- Related Trauma in Youth de- veloped out of the insistence of some Port Perry students that they wanted to tour through the trauma ward to gain a first hand experience of the results of drinking and driving. Sunn k eventually granted their request and the concept has spread to St. Mikes Hospital who will begin a simi- lar program this year. With 17 referrals from Ux- bridge Hospital and 2 from Port Perry last year, people have to realize that it will not just hap- pen to the other guy. As Condi- tion Critical anizer Jana Dzeletovic said, "Please be care- ful taking risks, because it may happen to you." SE S--