The patient who spoke didn’t die. A young woman in her mid 20s. She was trapped in a car after colliding with a semi hauling lumber. There was a person sitting next to her in the front passenger seat. The passenger was “pancaked” with their legs twisted backwards and upside down, half through the windshield. I tried checking for a distal pulse but she was definitely dead on impact. Couldn’t even move her body to do cpr since she was nonresponsive. I knew she was a woman because her legs were cleanly shaven and slimey with moisturizer. 

I moved onto the woman who was still alive. Her c spine was being held so she couldn’t even turn her head to see the passenger sitting next to her. I remember her blue eyes. She was screaming so loud because she was in shock. She screamed “is my sister was alive??” Then she asked “is my mom alive??” My heart sunk. I thought there was another person who was in the now obliterated back seat. Turns out it was her mom sitting next to her who died. Nobody was in the back seat. 

I think it stuck with me because she was in shock and confused and didn’t even know who exactly was in the car with her, but she knew someone she loved, whoever it was, was not ok.