N.B. man saves N.S. man by pinching his artery for 45 minutes to stop massive blood loss
CBC
A Nova Scotia man who was hit by a car and nearly died says a volunteer firefighter from New Brunswick saved his life in August when he pinched his artery for 45 minutes while waiting to be taken to hospital.
"I was on my way to the sister's wedding [on a motorcycle] with the groom just around the corner from my house. The groom took the wrong turn ... and as we were coming back, this lady ran a stop sign on the same road ... she just hammered me," Brandon Maloney of Stewiacke, N.S., told CBC's As It Happens in an interview on Tuesday.
Maloney said he knew immediately he had lost part of his leg and was in deep trouble.
"The blood was just kind of pouring out, it wasn't squirting. It was literally just like a faucet. Me and the first guy tried to put a belt on there and a few towels and stuff to get it to stop but it kind of kept pouring," Maloney said.
"There was a little time where I laid back and thought to myself, 'Damn, I'm going to end up dying on the side of the road here in a minute.' I took a couple of deep breaths, but Troy popped up at just the right time."
Troy Burke, of Shediac River, N.B., told As It Happens he pulled over to help after seeing all the blood gushing out of Maloney. He was on his way back to New Brunswick, but had decided to take the scenic route. He didn't know at the time it would be a life-or-death decision.
LISTEN | Brandon Maloney and Troy Burke's interview on As It Happens
"I looked at Brandon and said, 'I'm going to try something here, I'm going to put my hand down your leg.' We looked at each other and I found that artery and pinched it as hard as I could," Burke said.
"And put my other hand down his leg and found the piece of the artery that was severed and was able to hold that and I held that until he went into the helicopter."
As a volunteer firefighter, Burke said he's had training for situations like this. But he said this is the sort of situation was a first.
"Brandon is the strongest man I've ever met in my life," Burke said.
That was for 45 minutes. During that time, Burke said the focus was just trying to keep Maloney's spirits up.
"I remember trying to give Brandon some hope and saying, 'Medical stuff is crazy, let's not worry about the leg.' I remember him propping up and looking at me saying, 'Bro, my leg is gone. Don't let me die here.' So I just continued, tried to keep him as calm as he could," Burke said.
Maloney said he got an above-knee amputation and is waiting for a prosthetic leg so he can get back to walking. He said he wanted to get in touch with Burke to let him know he's OK, but lost his business card. So Maloney turned to social media to find him.
Winter can be tough to bear. Even more so if you’re homeless.
Two future national First Nations leaders, a deputy premier and a city councillor are among the prominent Manitobans who appear in declassified intelligence files from years of RCMP spying on the Indigenous rights movement in the Cold War era.
Saskatoon city hall administration is planning to "refresh" the funding strategy for the proposed $1.2-billion downtown arena district amid a lack of commitments from higher levels of government.
A report of fraud tied to a walleye derby is under investigation after Montreal Lake Cree Nation said a participant allegedly violated derby rules and was asked to leave the fishing area.
An Edmonton architectural firm says it is in talks with the provincial government to potentially redevelop the former Royal Alberta Museum.
Does junior football have a future in Prince George?
People are descending upon the city for the dozens of events and live music performances this week as the Juno Awards are set to take place Sunday at Hamilton's TD Coliseum.
For nearly two decades, Amanda Loewen's world ended where the pavement did.
The notion that home ownership guarantees financial security in old age is being challenged by a recent survey.
The family of Nash Prystie has identified him as the man who died in an Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) shooting earlier this month north of Kenora, and is calling for more and quicker help for people with mental health challenges.
Playoff action in the Ontario Hockey League gets underway Thursday night for Guelph and Friday in Kitchener.
UPEI wants its faculty to sign on to an updated version of its sexual assault and discrimination policy, but the union that represents the school's academic staff says it wants the policies to be part of its collective agreement.
In Texas this week for a global energy conference, the federal natural resources minister is proclaiming "Canada is back" and ready to bolster its energy sector and grow exports.