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FEATURE

The

Good

Samaritans

By Robert Lemke, DDS, MD

All I wanted to do was leave the office and go to a church event
as it was Good Friday. I was to meet my family at noon for Stations
but as we know, there are detours in life. This was a detour to re-
member and learn from: a near death accident.
It all went down heading down Blanco. I was in the right of two
lanes heading North just before 1604. There was a car in front of
me and a motorcyclist in front of them. In the left Northbound
lane were a few cars with me in the right. The car in front of me
moved to the left lane as the motorcyclist was slowing down. After
this car changed lanes, the car in front of them, now in the left lane,
decided to take advantage of the “opening” in the right lane and
zoomed in – not seeing the motorcyclist who was but a few feet
ahead. We all know what will happen next. I saw it all in the prover-
bial slow motion sequence and was hoping to not see a body pum-
meled by the tires of a car.
The car hit the motorcyclist and then attempted to swerve out
of the way back into the left lane. The cyclist lost control and went The blood was pooling on the asphalt. His lower leg and foot was
down to the pavement. All I could do was to slam on my brakes so at ninety degrees to his pant’s leg. Even an oral surgeon, such as
as to not hit either of them who were about 100 feet in front. The myself, could diagnose a fracture.
car that hit the motorcyclist finished swerving into the left lane and I looked up and a wall of people began to approach the scene. I
stopped. I pushed on the emergency lights and got out, phone in had to blink several times as one person approached in scrubs with
hand. The body lay in the street. I saw the cyclist move and reach latex purple gloves on, hands in the air as if walking to an operating
into his pocket and attempt to grab a phone. Whew, it was not his room table. “Wow, Darn you are ready!” I said. She was a dental as-
day to die as the tires must have been only an inch away from his sistant and offered me gloves.
head when the driver swerved away. I said to the group that we needed to check and make sure that
As I approached, another man ran to the cyclist. He saw me with he was not going to bleed to death from his leg and did anyone have
my phone and said “YOU, call 911.” ‘Shoot’, I thought to myself, a knife? I was immediately handed... a wine bottle opening kit! Re-
‘that was going to be MY line.’ About two minutes later I got off ally? Well, it does have a ½” blade which proved to be worthless.
the phone after answering the multitude of questions including “was “Isn’t there a better knife?” I asked.
he wearing a helmet” which was asked three times. Performing a Amazingly a lady walked up and opened what must have been a
quick scan, both lanes were stopped, the area was safe and the cyclist two-foot-by-two-foot surgical emergency kit all in white with labels
appeared to be stable other than the bleeding out of his right leg. everywhere. I was handed the sharpest scissors I have ever seen

30 San Antonio Medicine • June 2018