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Last weekend at Bear Lake, a woman in her mid-30s was tubing when the propeller of the boat towing her struck her and severed both of her legs. It is hard to even type that sentence.
A man named Dan Taylor and his family happened to be right there, just getting out onto the water. When the boat came to shore with people screaming for help, his wife looked at him and said four words: "Go get your tourniquet."
He had one in his van. He and his family got it on one leg, used a strap on the other, and kept her conscious and alive for the 10 to 15 minutes it took medics to arrive. The Bear Lake County Sheriff's Office said it plainly: those actions saved her life.
Here is the part that stuck with me. Just three weeks earlier, Dan had sat through a first-aid class where they passed around a pool noodle and practiced applying a tourniquet. In his words, it was "really, really front of mind." The gear was in reach, and the training was fresh. Both of those things had to be true.
There are three lessons in this for the rest of us.
1. The gear has to be close. Not at home in a closet. Not out in the garage. Within about 30 seconds of your hands. Dan's tourniquet was in his van within quick access.
2. The training has to be recent. Trauma care is a perishable skill. Dan did not freeze, because he had physically rehearsed it weeks before. When was the last time you actually put hands on a tourniquet?
3. It happens anywhere. A lake. A trail. A highway. To ordinary people on an ordinary Saturday. Nobody on that beach woke up expecting to save a life.
So here is the honest question. If you were the closest person to a bleeding emergency today, are you ready?
Getting ready comes down to two things. First, put good trauma gear where you actually spend your time. We build kits for exactly this, and the right one depends on where you are:
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The Yellowstone goes in each vehicle and in your range bag. If you only do one thing after reading this, stage one of these in every car.
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The Wind River is built for the folks who spend serious time outdoors, on the water, on the trail, or off the grid.
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The Green IFAK is sized to stuff into the backpack or bag you carry everywhere, so it goes where you go.
All three are in stock and shipping right now.
Second, freshen up the skill. Owning a tourniquet you have never used is a lot like owning a fire extinguisher you have never picked up. Our Emergency Trauma Response course walks you through it step by step, and you can start watching in the next five minutes. An hour of your time now is what turns a bystander into the person who saves a life.
And finally, to every one of you who is already prepared and has stepped up this summer, on a beach, on a trail, or on the highways of America: thank you. You are the reason strangers get to go home to their families. Keep it up.
Stay safe,
Jacob Paulsen
President | ConcealedCarry.com
P.S. You never know when you are going to need this gear, and when you do, you do not want it more than about 30 seconds from your grasp. Pick the kit that fits your life and get it staged this week, not someday.
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