WFP Hospitalized after course held for hour

[patterson]

[QUOTE=findeight;8364753]
I read the “sedation” as “medically induced coma” as well.[/QUOTE]

I’m not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV, but a very good friend of mine was “intubated and sedated” following an broken jaw sustained in a fall. The way it seems to work is that if intubation is required , the patient will be sedated (into unconsciousness, the medically induced coma) , otherwise said patient would tear the tube out. The range of injuries that could require intubation is pretty broad–in my friend’s case, injuries to the mouth area that risked impacting breathing. Of course out here in the nonmedical world, we hear “intubation” and “ventilator” and think the worst–but that’s not necessarily warranted.

[bornfreenowexpensive]

[QUOTE=frugalannie;8364710]
Wow. Quite a course. I think I would’ve been overfaced even with my prelim horses back in the day! Very clear why the Europeans routinely beat us. Or maybe I’m looking from the perspective of an older, more cautious rider.

In any event, jingles for WFP.[/QUOTE]

It’s a CCI 2* level so yes…tougher than a prelim.

[JER]

[QUOTE=patterson;8364788]
The way it seems to work is that if intubation is required , the patient will be sedated (into unconsciousness, the medically induced coma) , otherwise said patient would tear the tube out. [/QUOTE]

You can’t intubate a patient who has a gag reflex. :eek: So you kill the gag reflex with drugs in order to keep the patient intubated.

[patterson]

[QUOTE=JER;8364817]
You can’t intubate a patient who has a gag reflex. :eek: So you kill the gag reflex with drugs in order to keep the patient intubated.[/QUOTE]

Thanks JER, I wondered about the “ripping the tube out” part. “Killing the gag reflex” makes much more sense. Looked mighty unpleasant, but did its job and helped him heal. He’s fine now.

[Sticky_Situation]

[QUOTE=patterson;8364788]
The range of injuries that could require intubation is pretty broad–in my friend’s case, injuries to the mouth area that risked impacting breathing. Of course out here in the nonmedical world, we hear “intubation” and “ventilator” and think the worst–but that’s not necessarily warranted.[/QUOTE]

When it comes to head injuries, intubation typically occurs when a patient’s level of consciousness is decreased to the point that they can’t protect their own airway. The person is kept sedated to keep them calm and prevent them from “fighting” the ventilator or gagging on the tube, which can increase the pressure inside their head and make the situation worse.

[riderboy]

[QUOTE=patterson;8364788]
I’m not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV, but a very good friend of mine was “intubated and sedated” following an broken jaw sustained in a fall. The way it seems to work is that if intubation is required , the patient will be sedated (into unconsciousness, the medically induced coma) , otherwise said patient would tear the tube out. The range of injuries that could require intubation is pretty broad–in my friend’s case, injuries to the mouth area that risked impacting breathing. Of course out here in the nonmedical world, we hear “intubation” and “ventilator” and think the worst–but that’s not necessarily warranted.[/QUOTE]
Yes, one has to be pretty well snockered to have an ETT in place without struggling, or have an adequate upper airway local anesthetic block. Seems like they bled off a lot of the “golden hour” in the field, hard to know what the medics were doing or why since I was not invited to the party. Obviously situations needing immediate surgical intervention of some type are better off with a scoop and run, but even that sometimes isn’t known until the patient arrives at the hospital.

[riderboy]

[QUOTE=JER;8364817]
You can’t intubate a patient who has a gag reflex. :eek: So you kill the gag reflex with drugs in order to keep the patient intubated.[/QUOTE]

You can, but it’s not much fun for anyone.

[Gestalt]

[QUOTE=weixiao;8364303]
HighFlyer beat me to it. Here is a direct link to the owl photo on the FB page as well.

https://m.facebook.com/mondialdulion/photos/pb.221963864531557.-2207520000.1445261279./1037580909636511/?type=3&source=42

I haven’t seen any details about the fall.

Still no change other than the last update said he had a “good night.”[/QUOTE]

Gosh I hope he will have a quick and full recovery. Such a tough break.

The picture of the fence is exactly the type of jump that I dislike. Looks ridiculous. But obviously many people like them.

[JER]

[QUOTE=riderboy;8365412]
You can, but it’s not much fun for anyone.[/QUOTE]

Unless the patient is a sword swallower. They learn how to suppress the gag reflex, which might make intubation enjoyable.

[Manahmanah]

[QUOTE=patterson;8364788]
I’m not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV, but a very good friend of mine was “intubated and sedated” following an broken jaw sustained in a fall. The way it seems to work is that if intubation is required , the patient will be sedated (into unconsciousness, the medically induced coma) , otherwise said patient would tear the tube out. The range of injuries that could require intubation is pretty broad–in my friend’s case, injuries to the mouth area that risked impacting breathing. Of course out here in the nonmedical world, we hear “intubation” and “ventilator” and think the worst–but that’s not necessarily warranted.[/QUOTE]

When it goes in, yes. After that not necessarily. My dad was intubated following his open heart surgery and they let him wake up. He was never without supervision. … I was there when he woke up and we all made it very clear to him that if he started trying to pull tubes we would tie his hands down. He compiled.

[Jealoushe]

Jingles for WFP. You can do this Will! I wish they would call it like it is - medically induced coma is it not? That sounds pretty serious.

[Madison]

Really hated to hear this over the weekend, very concerning that there hasn’t been any more news. Hoping for a positive update soon! Has anyone seen a description of what actually happened with the fall?

[weixiao]

Latest FB update today is still “no change”

[JER]

[QUOTE=Madison;8365938]
Has anyone seen a description of what actually happened with the fall?[/QUOTE]

I have heard that he was thrown clear – horse hung a leg but did not fall – but was catapulted head-first into the ground.

But please, this is just what I heard when I asked various eventers about it. I really don’t know. That said, the fact that he is said to be ‘otherwise fine’ would indicate that his head took the impact of the fall and that the forces did not travel down the neck/spine, etc.

I’m sure someone has better information, but I’m simply reporting what I heard.

[bornfreenowexpensive]

continued thoughts and prayers for him and his family. 4 young kids…I cannot imagine the stress for his wife and family. It really has been a rough year for injuries.

BE really squashes discussions of falls. But it is obviously a bad head injury and with an uninjured horse, most of us know the type of fall…and how unlucky it is (it means he really hit wrong). And honestly…that is more than I personally care to know. I just hope to see the status soon that says he is improving…or better yet…heading home. And hope that his family feels the support and energy coming from the eventing community.

[Ambitious_Kate]

With head injuries you aren’t sedated only for intubation, although you do have to be sedated for the intubation procedure. Afterwards, an intubated pt can be allowed to wake up with the tube in, if all other things add up.

However, with head injuries, sedation is often the goal - under sedation the brain can heal, swelling can go down, and critically, blood pressure and intercranial pressure can be monitored and controlled. Because the patient is sedated for the brain injury to heal or to be assessed, the patient cannot breathe on his own and must be intubated.

I personally cannot fathom why any medical personnel would spend any time in the field with a brain injury patient. One has no way to assess internal bleeding in the field; the extend of this can only be deterimined at hospital with tests; a patient can be up talking and walking around and be bleeding on the brain, so there is no question of trying to make any assessment in the field.

I am certain the phrase “The course was held for an hour” was referring to getting the course back on track for competition again, not a description of how long W was on the ground being assessed before transport.

[subk]

So while I’m sending up prayers for William and waiting for good news I’ll share a story.

In 2014 at Rolex a friend who is local to Lexington brought her elderly mother who had been a little under the weather and a bit blue to one of the luncheons in a tent on the final day to cheer her up and get her a little engaged. Our friend had many demands on her time and asked us if her mom could join us for lunch while she took care of some other responsibilities. We were delighted to have her join us as she is a lovely lady who I remember being a force in the eventing community going back to my Pony Club days. Shortly after we had all settled in with our plates in walks William Fox Pitt and he pulls up a chair to sit with our elderly friend. She had known him in the years she had lived in the UK. For about 15 minutes they chatted and caught up like old friends do and he was one of the most gracious gentleman I think I have ever witnessed. Here he was at the top of the leader board with probably a thousand things and people who wanted a piece of him in the couple hours before the competition begins and he behaves as if there is no place he’d rather be or no one with whom he’d rather be spending his time. He made this woman’s day if not her month.

Of course, I was sitting there gobsmacked trying to pretend I was cool when inside my brain I was going a thousand miles and hour in complete fan girl mode. Seriously, I was a fan of his riding before, but since then I’ve come to believe that there aren’t enough WFP’s in the eventing community much less the the rest of the world.

[bornfreenowexpensive]

[QUOTE=subk;8366127]
So while I’m sending up prayers for William and waiting for good news I’ll share a story.

In 2014 at Rolex a friend who is local to Lexington brought her elderly mother who had been a little under the weather and a bit blue to one of the luncheons in a tent on the final day to cheer her up and get her a little engaged. Our friend had many demands on her time and asked us if her mom could join us for lunch while she took care of some other responsibilities. We were delighted to have her join us as she is a lovely lady who I remember being a force in the eventing community going back to my Pony Club days. Shortly after we had all settled in with our plates in walks William Fox Pitt and he pulls up a chair to sit with our elderly friend. She had known him in the years she had lived in the UK. For about 15 minutes they chatted and caught up like old friends do and he was one of the most gracious gentleman I think I have ever witnessed. Here he was at the top of the leader board with probably a thousand things and people who wanted a piece of him in the couple hours before the competition begins and he behaves as if there is no place he’d rather be or no one with whom he’d rather be spending his time. He made this woman’s day if not her month.

Of course, I was sitting there gobsmacked trying to pretend I was cool when inside my brain I was going a thousand miles and hour in complete fan girl mode. Seriously, I was a fan of his riding before, but since then I’ve come to believe that there aren’t enough WFP’s in the eventing community much less the the rest of the world.[/QUOTE]

Well said…we need more people like that in the world…not just eventing.

[pheasantknoll]

What subk said . . . .

he stopped after his Rolex first place dressage ride on Chili Morning to sign an autograph for my ten year old pony clubber at her first Rolex. As a mom, I will never forget that!

praying for you, WFP and family!

[BAC]

I have a similar story, I think it was William’s first time at Rolex and I approached him before the SJ as he was just hanging out for a bit. We had such a nice chat about Moon Man, his father’s business, etc., in fact I was running out of things to discuss, since I was in such awe of just talking to him. He couldn’t have been nicer to me, just a nobody spectator. BFNE is right, the world needs more of these people, not just eventing.