Civil War Reenactment Gone Wrong Saved by Woman with Medical Knowledge from Online Courses
Civil War reenactments are supposed to be just that, reenactments. Sometimes groups will reenact the actual fighting, other times they will reenact important speeches or conversations held by important people, no matter what is being reenacted the point is it is fake and not real. That was what Pam O'Brien thought until a freak accident changed her mind.
"We were reenacting some historical battle from the Civil War", said Pam O'Brien, an avid actress and Civil War enthusiast. "We got to the part where we're supposed to use these blank shots in our guns to pretend to shoot each other, and the next time I know the person next to me is lying on the ground bleeding."
The guns used during these battle reenactments are supposed to use blank shots. Blank shots produce the smell and light of a real gunshot, but without the bullet. It appears as if one of the actors on the other side grabbed the wrong gun and fired a round into the other side, which hit the actor standing next to O'Brien.
"We suspect the person on the other side did this accidently", said police chief, Jason Rivers. "The person who was hit did not have any enemies and it appears to be random."
The man who wishes to remain anonymous fell to the ground with a bullet wound to the arm. Normally paramedics or first aid would be on the scene right away, but due to budget cuts the first aid team was replaced. That was when O'Brien jumped into action.
"I am studying to be a nurse at a well-known online healthcare school", explained O'Brien. "We just finished a course on what to do with serious injuries and wounds. It was like fate that I had the knowledge I needed to save the man. He could have bled to death waiting for the paramedics to arrive."
Event organizers are planning on launching an investigation into the decision to not have paramedics or first aid at these events.
"We were very lucky that we had someone who had the knowledge and ability to help out in this time of need", said event organizer, Sharron Pebble. "But what we need to look into is whether the cost saving technique of no first aid really is worth the loss of life we could have had."
O'Brien is scheduled to receive an award and medal for her heroics at a ceremony in July.
