Scenario Description: Chuck has just been involved in a car accident. He fell asleep at the wheel doing 75 mph and went off the road. He hit a ditch and his car flipped over several times. He was knocked unconscious and has blood running profusely down the side of his face. Several cars pull over to the side of the road and dial 9-1-1 to report the accident. Some passers-by pull him from the wreckage just as the car bursts into flames. Within 15 minutes, an ambulance arrives and begins transporting him to the nearest hospital. Chester is the ambulance driver and Jim is the paramedic riding in the back of the ambulance. Jim inserts an intravenous (IV) liquid drip into Chuck’s arm.
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| Role | Dialog |
| Narrator | Chuck has just been involved in a car accident. He fell asleep at the wheel doing 75 mph and went off the road. He hit a ditch and his car flipped over several times. He was knocked unconscious and has blood running profusely down the side of his face. Several cars pull over to the side of the road and dial 9-1-1 to report the accident. Some passers-by pull him from the wreckage just as the car bursts into flames. Within 15 minutes, an ambulance arrives and begins transporting him to the nearest hospital. Chester is the ambulance driver and Jim is the paramedic riding in the back of the ambulance. Jim inserts an intravenous (IV) liquid drip into Chuck’s arm. |
| Chester | How are you doing back there, Jim? |
| Jim | Everything’s good. The patient is stable. I have him on an IV. He’s still unconscious but his condition is stable. |
| Chester | Good. ETA to Largo General Hospital is 10 minutes. |
| Jim | Roger that. |
| Narrator | At about that time, Chuck rouses awake, dizzy and disoriented. |
| Chuck | Huh? What? Where am I? What happened? |
| Jim | Take it easy, friend. You’re in an ambulance. You’ve had an accident. We’re taking you to Largo General Hospital. |
| Chuck | The last thing I remember was going off the road and flipping over, then everything went black. |
| Jim | You sustained some significant injuries. We’ll be at the hospital in about ten minutes. Then we’ll get you checked into a room and stabilize you. This hospital has pretty nurses; you’ll like it. |
| Narrator | Chuck starts to laugh out loud but it hurts so badly that he stops immediately. Within ten minutes, they arrive at the hospital, check Chuck in, put him into a roller-bed and roll him up to his assigned room, Room 407. A nurse comes in, cuts his clothes off with scissors, and changes him into an open-backed, hospital gown. Then the paramedics transfer him from the roller-bed to a normal hospital bed, transfer his IV bottle to the bed’s IV stand, and leave the room. A nurse walks into the room. |
| Nurse Betty | Hello, sir. I’m Nurse Betty. We’ll have a doctor in here in a few minutes to check out your condition. In the meantime, try to hold still and not move. I’ll be back shortly with the doctor. |
| Dr. Jones | Hello, Mr. Norris. We got your name from your driver’s license. How do you feel? |
| Chuck | I’m in pain, Doctor. My whole body hurts, especially my back and neck. |
| Dr. Jones | That’s understandable. Your car hit a ditch at high speed. The impact banged you up pretty good. I’m going to check you over to assess the extent of your injuries. Tell me if anything I do causes you excessive pain. |
| Narrator | Dr. Jones proceeds to check Chuck’s eyes with a penlight, take his pulse and blood pressure, listen to his heartbeat, and listen to the air flow through his lungs as he breathes deeply. Then he gingerly moves his hands along his arms and legs, squeezing gently to check for broken bones. Suddenly, Chuck winces and gasps. |
| Chuck | Ow! That spot really hurts! |
| Dr. Jones | Hm, looks like you have a broken tibia bone, a mild head concussion, and various cuts and bruises all over your body, Mr. Norris. You’re not the prettiest sight I’ve ever seen but I think we can fix you up. (The doctor smiles slightly.) Nurse, you can get him cleaned up now. I’ll be back shortly with some painkiller medicine. |
| Nurse Betty | Right away, doctor. |
| Narrator | The nurse proceeds to clean the blood from his head and face and to soap down his body, being especially gentle around his broken leg. She adjusts his IV drip rate slightly and adjusts his bed to make him more comfortable. The doctor returns with a small glass of water and a small paper cup with some pills in it. |
| Dr. Jones | Here, Mr. Norris. Please, take these pills with some water. They’ll relieve much of your general, whole-body pain. Then we’ll be wheeling you into the operating room so we can set and splint your broken leg. For that, we’ll be putting you under general anesthesia. |
| Chuck | Whatever you say, Doc. You’re the expert here. Just make the pain go away. |
| Dr. Jones | We’re working on it, Mr. Norris. |
| Narrator | The next time Chuck wakes up, he is back in his bed, clean, gowned, and with his leg in a metal splint. His overall pain level is very manageable now, and the pain in his leg has subsided due to a morphine shot to deal with the worst of the pain. He starts to relax. |
| Nurse Betty | Do you feel up to some questions now, Mr. Norris? |
| Chuck | Yes, I’m feeling much better now. Can you call my wife and let her know I’m okay? |
| Nurse Betty | Yes, we’d be happy to. |
| Narrator | She asks him many questions about his address, insurance, medical history, what he remembers before the accident, and a host of other questions. |
| Nurse Betty | Okay, that should be enough for now. I’ll let you rest. Are you hungry? |
| Chuck | Starving! |
| Nurse Betty | Okay, I’ll have a dinner meal brought to you in about 30 minutes. |
| Chuck | Sounds good. |
| Narrator | Thirty minutes later, Chuck is ravenously diving into his dinner meal when his wife walks into his room with a worried look on her face. |
| Julie | Chuck, are you okay? Oh my God, you look terrible! What happened? |
| Chuck | Oh, I was driving back from my business trip in Alabama, and I must’ve fallen asleep. (It was) Stupid of me. But it looks like I’m going to live. Just a concussion, broken leg, and some bumps and bruises. I’m feeling a little drowsy with all the painkillers they’ve given me, but overall I’m feeling much better than when they first brought me in. |
| Julie | Oh, I’m so glad to hear that. Is there anything I can get you? |
| Chuck | Well, if you could go down to the gift shop and get me a paperback novel to read, um, perhaps one by David Weber. I like his stuff. |
| Julie | Okay. I’ll be right back. |
| Narrator | Several days later, Chuck is discharged from the hospital on crutches and is driven home by his wife. He tells her that he will never fall asleep at the wheel again, he swears. |
