What! No Helmet ?

There is always additional adrenalin pumping through the blood stream when responding to a child hit by a vehicle. The tone sounded and dispatcher stated a child on a bicycle had been hit by a car in an area of town that is on far edge of our response district. I knew it would take extra time to arrive on scene. We respond to that area of town for fire alarms almost every shift rotation. Now a child is hurt and traffic is heavy. We can't get sloppy with our response and cause an additional accident, more injuries or worse. That will delay help for the child that's laying on the road now waiting for us. I know the child is frightened and if the parents are on scene time is dragging very slowly, it will seem like forever if the child is in serious condition.
We arrive to find a crying child laying on the edge of the street. I'm already relived...crying means mostly good things when it comes to children and trauma. After a quick glance over the patient my anxiety was mostly gone. I could see a probable fractured leg and a scared child reacting normally. 
The lead medic was talking to the child explaining what was being done and what would be done for him. I spoke to the mother and found out the child was not wearing a helmet, had no past medical history or allergies, was not taking any medications and the name of their family doctor. Information that is useful to the lead medic for good patient care. 
I grabbed the the vacuum splints while my firefighter held manual stabilization of the child's' leg. The lead medic was holding manual stabilization of the c-spine while his partner readied the ped immobilizer (a mini back board for children). I gently removed the child's shoe and sock on the affected leg. I then checked for capillary refill and a pulse before we wrapped the leg with the vacuum splint. Since the vacuum splint was introduced in pre-hospital care in 1993 it has proven to be a very effective tool for splinting and conforming to the body in a way that avoids impeding circulation or manipulating the bones unnecessarily. The child was then secured to the ped immobilizer and loaded onto the cot for transport. 
On the way to the hospital an IV was established and the child was calmed down. A lower tib/fib fracture and that was the extent of injuries. Hopefully a lesson learned by both the child and the mother. It happens fast so ware a helmet and remember cars can hurt, mam and kill.
It's always easier to sleep when you don't have to think about how a mother and/or father will deal with the loss of their child or how the driver of the vehicle that just killed a child is going to move on with their life. Both sides of the story are not the story book ending you see on TV or typically read in a book.