Scouts snatch friend from the jaws of death

After an accident on Mount Hood, three Boy Scouts from Tigard let their first aid training kick into gear

By Geoff Pursinger

The Times, Mar 18, 2010

Never been to hospital

Alex didn’t want to take a guess at what might have happened to Mohanad if they hadn’t been trained in what to do, but he knows what would have happened to himself.

“I wouldn’t have been as calm as I was,” he said. “Looking back on it I wasn’t paying too much attention to my emotions, I was just very calm and I would have freaked out a lot more. I probably wouldn’t have done anything and just panic.”

On the way to the hospital, Jeremy used his father’s cell phone to call Mohanad’s host family Dave and Maureen Wright, to tell them what happened.

They didn’t answer, the message began: “First the good news, Mohanad’s alive.”

Then Jim’s cell phone died.

Jim’s wife was able to get a hold of the Wright’s and tell them where to go.

This was Mohanad’s first trip to a hospital in his life.

CT scans showed no damage to the artery or serious muscle damage, which was good news to hear, Jim said, because paramedics had been concerned that the wound might require a skin graft.

“It was not pretty,” he said.

Scouting taught skills

But where did they learn the medical knowledge that may have helped to save Mohanad’s life?

Scouting, Alex said.

“That’s all pretty much in the First Aid Merit Badge. It was what taught me most of that stuff,” he said. “It had been pounded into me so many times, I just kinda went into auto pilot and started going through the motions that I’d been taught.”

Jeremy’s father, an assistant Scout leader with the troop, said he’s proud of how the boys reacted to the situation.

“Alex made a comment to me on the way back from the hospital, he said, ‘You know what, now I know why you make us go through that first aid training,’ ” Jim said. “And we do – the boys do first aid scenarios once a year since they’re about 10 years old.”

The Boy Scouts of America is celebrating its 100th birthday this year, and Jim said he can’t think of a more fitting way to show the importance of scouting and what it teaches children.

“Even though it’s 100 years old, it’s still relevant today,” he said. “The things that we teach these kids does matter, you never know which one of them is going to need to use (their training), or when.”

No serious damage

The Wrights drove to the Gresham hospital, and spent what host mother Maureen described as a “frightening” night in the waiting room.

“There he was in this exam room with a tennis ball sized hole in his arm,” she said.

Fourteen stitches later, Mohanad was back on his feet and was able to return home early the next morning.

“He didn’t miss any school, either,” Wright said. “But they sent him home with some serious pain killers and some antibiotics.”

Without a contact number for Mohanad’s family overseas, the Wrights called his program coordinator, who was able to relay a message to Jordan.

“His mother was worried before he left for America that he was going to get swine flu,” Maureen joked. “Little did she know that her son was getting a nice scar on his arm from a branch.”

Now back in Jordan, Mohanad hasn’t had any problems with his arm, Maureen said. And the family stays in frequent contact with him.

“(The accident) definitely cemented his sense of friendship with those boys,” she said. “He had liked them before, when he first met them, but now they’re definitely lifelong pals.”

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