Self-aid buddy care; a waste of time? I think not!

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Amelia Leonard
  • 349th Public Affairs
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  Just one day after completing the self-aid buddy care refresher course here at Travis, Senior Airman Anthony Cruz, 349th Aeromedical Staging Squadron, played an intricate role in saving a limb, if not life, of a complete stranger in Fresno, Calif. on February 1, 2011.

Airman Cruz had just finished up at school for the afternoon and was driving home when he came across a man lying in the middle of the street, surrounded by blood, he said.

After pulling over and parking his car, Airman Cruz dialed 911 and informed the operator that there was a man lying on the street, covered in blood, in need of immediate medical attention, he said. He proceeded to grab a few shirts out of the back of his car and get to work. There were two male bystanders alongside the victim when he arrived, and he enlisted them to help in his efforts, he said.

Using the techniques he learned through the self-aid buddy care course, Airman Cruz checked the victim to make sure he was breathing, had good circulation, and was conscious. He then applied his shirts as tourniquets to the victim's wounds to stop excessive bleeding, he said.

"This experience definitely made me more confident in my abilities," Cruz said. "I feel like I can handle the pressure."

There was a 5-6 inch laceration on the victim's left arm, and the victim's left leg had been partially amputated, according to Airman Cruz.

An ambulance and firefighters arrived shortly after, and Airman Cruz gave them all of the information he could, he said.

"I just did what I thought was right," Cruz said. "I didn't do anything firefighters and Emergency Medical Technicians don't do every day."

Although he does not know how the man ended up there that Tuesday afternoon, it would be safe to say that it is a good thing Airman Cruz was there to help. If it had not been for Airman Cruz and his quick thinking, the unknown man on the corner of Maple and Cornell might not have survived.