Posted on 11/26/2011 1:51:02 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- A man collapsed while doing some Black Friday shopping in a crowded store, and people nearby continued to shop.
Witnesses tell WSAZ.com some shoppers walked around and even over the man's body.
Family members tell WSAZ.com that Walter Vance, of Logan County, W.Va., passed away after being taken to the hospital.
It happened at Target in the Southridge Shopping Center in South Charleston about 12:15 a.m. Friday.
Vance got sick and collapsed on the floor while shopping for Christmas decorations for his newly remodeled workplace.
Vance started working at the Aracoma Drug Company store in Logan when he was 16. He liked it so much, he went to pharmacy school at WVU and has worked there ever since.
He started a new Aracoma Drug Company store in Chapmanville and had co-owned it since the 70's.
Vance was 61 years old. Friends say he's has had heart problems for years and had open heart surgery in 2000, but his death came as a shock, and what happened in the final moments of his life only adds to the heartbreak.
"Where is the good Samaritan side of people?” Vance’s co-worker and friend Sue Compton said. “How could you not notice someone was in trouble? I just don't understand if people didn't help what their reason was, other than greed because of a sale."
One of the late night shoppers tells WSAZ.com what really disturbs her about the situation was the lack of concern by the rest of the shoppers.
An E.R. nurse happened to be one of the late night shoppers and tried to administer CPR. She and an off-duty paramedic who was also shopping did try to help Vance while he was on the floor.
An ambulance was called to the store. Vance was taken to the hospital, but later died.
WSAZ.com called Target Friday. So far, they haven't released a statement about what happened.
A few months back, I came across an older lady who had fallen in Wal-Mart. I looked at my mom, and went to help. No one had witnessed whether she had hit her head, and the assist managers who had came up wanted to put her into a chair. Oh heck no!
I stayed with her until the MFD EMT's and Paramedics got there where I could turn her over to them.
The funniest part of it all was that, when I was there trying to keep her from getting up - she was complaining just a little of her shoulder hurting, or how much it was going to cost for a doctor's visit, once those Paramedics got there, she was being slightly more melodramatic. She was most pleased to let them do anything they wanted - where lil ole me, she was being downright hostile. Go Figure.
I won't hesitate to stop and help, even if I don't have anything. I'm not concerned because I stay within the scope of my learning. I would also be willing to step back away from the scene if an ER Nurse and Paramedic was on scene, since they are more qualified than I am. I would offer to communicate to the Dispatchers her condition, or anything else they needed. I have done that before too.
In the grand scheme of things, having 100 people standing there "helping" probably would have been worse than 2 who knew what the heck they were doing.
To quote Moe Sizlack (after getting run over in a department store for a Funzo doll)
“OW, OW, OW!!!!! Who would wear golf cleats in a store!!!”
As an old retired nurse, doing nothing is sometimes the best. Keeping the patient down is also the best as you never know if there may be a broken bone that can cause major problems if the person gets up...stay with the person until medical help arrives and keep them comfortable as possible, but laying still. Fractured cervical bone can lead to paralysis..One of the first things paramedics usually do if put on a cervical collar before moving anyone...
The defib is only used on a specific type of heart problem..
A stopped heart. CPR will not restart a heart, it only acts to circulate blood. When taking Red Cross training at work we were informed where the defibs were located at several public places in town.We weren’t instructed in any way how to use them. I personally wouldn’t touch one . Chest compressions are the limit of mine and most others training. Everything else in that class ,I learned more about in the Boy Scouts
So one day I was driving to a chemo treatment when all of a sudden a motorcycle in front of me spun out on the highway. A woman was driving and went flying. Luckily people were able to block the highway while with their cars and the motorcyclist laid in a crumble in the middle of the highway.
Many - probably 30 people - stood around her calling 911 and caring for her, but no one went near to her. So I went to her and knelt down and talked to her. I told to to stay still, and ambulance was on the way and many people were around. I did not see any twisted limbs and told her that; told her about the excellent hospital nearby...I said a prayer out loud.
She could not talk, but I think I kept her from going to shock because she became more focused and present as I spoke to her. It was amazing that no one approached her, but then again, there was nothing they could do for her except verbally comfort her until the ambulance arrived. Many people were caring about her. Fortunately for me, there was no blood...or there would have been two on the highway waiting for the ambulance!
Boy scouts is a great organization...my youngest grandson is 2 badges from Eagle but is losing interest...I told him if he gets his eagle (has 2 years yet to get it) I would give him 500 dollars...a little incentive sometimes works..:O)
Even in a hospital setting, you cannot save them all and the response is usually quick...outside of the hospital setting the percent that survive is quite low. Some live but remain in a coma due to brain damage from lack of blood and oxygen....those are the sad one's...
And ambulance chasers are abundant in West Virginia.
Wrong, modern defibs are automatic administering shock as needed.
These people went to save a buck on a waffle iron, not tend to the sick.
Yes, if the heart problem is that it is fibrillating. A patient with CHF will not benefit from being defib...
You did good...keep someone focused and quiet is the best if they are conscious. And keep them laying down.. I think many people are just afraid of maybe seeing someone dead...its a fear to many. Some people like you respond, others are afraid. Its like a fireman runs to the the fire and everyone else runs from the fire...prayer never hurts either as my daddy use to say....:O)
We used to live in a very isolated community in the mountains with very few residents. We ended up being first responders in a lot of situations, mostly because people were stupid. One time, a man had wrecked his quad and ended up in our driveway. We rendered first aide and kept him as comfortable as possible while waiting for emergency services. We also prayed with him. He was scared. He didn’t have a face.
The sheriff’s showed up. They wanted us to keep doing what we were doing until the ambulance got there. When it finally did (at least a 1/2 hour to 45 minutes), they didn’t even bother getting out of the ambulance before they called air evac. They loaded him up, and took off. Had to go another 1/2 to 45 minutes back down to the highway. No place for the helicopter to land.
The cops kept thanking us for helping the guy. We were confused. Of course we would help him. If nothing else, he was blocking our driveway. The man had gone into a coma on the way down the mountain and was in a coma for 6 days. I am so glad he didn’t do it while we were with him. He had facial reconstruction and eventually ended up at our door, thanking us for helping him. Pretty handsome man with a face.
Michelle would have bent down, pulled his head up toward the cameras and calmly stated, "this is because he had a poor diet; one that lacked fresh fruit and vegetables. Let this be a lesson to you horrible parents who feed your kids hamburgers and French fries.........mmmmmmmm French fries.....gotta go!"
Wow. Thanks, fellow human, on behalf of all us humans!
They are very simple to use, just hit the on button and it instructs you step by step what to do.
I got a Red Cross class on the AED when I was a lifeguard. It was five minutes of instruction crammed into a four-hour course. It’s very self-explanatory.
The AED’s are about as simple to use as can be. There are pictures on the unit that show where the 2 pads go. The machine tells you when to push the buttons. Just do not touch the patient when it shocks and you will be fine.
There are only a few cardiac rhythms that are shockable.
As stated in the thread, do the chest thump, especially if you see them drop pulseless. Good effective chest compressions delivered soon after arrest is their best hope. Contrary to what you see on TV, the patient will not likely regain consciousness while you are working them. With drugs and electricity, they might.
Well, fellow human aka bvw, you’re welcome, but no thanks is necessary. It should be part of what people do for each other.
Shoppers unfazed. Media in a tizzy. What to do? Has no one else ever died on Black Friday while shopping? What are customers supposed to do? Scan the body through personal check out? “Sorry, no bar code on that unit.”
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