Teamwork

Teamwork. You might be looking at this photo and wondering two things. 1) What does this have to do with teamwork? 2) What does this have to do with travel?

Well, you are very lucky because it just so happens I am going to explain these two very things.

This photo was taken a few seconds before the person in the picture would crash their bike and alter the course of their next few months of existence. When I saw the person go down and not get up right away, I rode on down the hill on a less steep trail to get to him.

It took a few minutes, but he got up. As he got up I walked along side him asking him questions. By this time the group leader and some others had come over. We were all helping him out in some way. Teamwork. The man used his bike to help himself walk along to his vehicle, saying he didn’t really need help. Then, that he’d take himself over to the hospital.

As we got to the car and he let go of the bike, he seemed to short circuit and stutter mid-sentence. I saw his eyes change and he started falling. I caught him on one side. Our group leader, Rich, caught him on the other. Teamwork. He had fainted. We prevented him from falling directly down on his face. By the time he was sitting down he had regained consciousness.

He definitely was not driving himself to the ER. I asked for his car keys. I took off the man’s back pack. He told me the pocket his keys were in. I and another began to load the bike. Teamwork.

By this time the man had gotten into his car. I planned to drive him over in his car, but I would need a ride back to mine. Rich knew where the ER was and said he would lead us over and drive me back. We were thinking the same way. We had the same plan in mind. Teamwork

I played “follow the leader” to the ER, but couldn’t drive very fast because any shift in the car was now proving painful to the injured man. He would groan with each turn — the adrenaline was wearing off. Rich kept a close eye on us in case we had to pull over. Teamwork.

We checked him in with a collar bone break and concussion. Teamwork. Rich drove me back to my car. Teamwork.

We exchanged stories about such times we had been part of over the years–several of them had been in situations when we were traveling. I’ve helped with broken wrists, altitude sickness, dehydration, over exertion, dislocated shoulder, claustrophobic induced panic, lost folks, food poisoning, low blood sugar, when on group activities away from home, for example.

It’s interesting what you learn about folks in emergency situations. Some folks panic. Some get hostile and selfish. Others remove themselves from the situation–they run away. Others step up to help. Others take charge. Bottom line — to get the man to proper care, it took Teamwork.

We weren’t far from home, but traveling was involved. Whether traveling or not, when in a group, be sure to have a team mindset. It means some give and take, sometimes a little sacrifice, but the end result is worth it. I hope that answered both of the questions for you.

What experiences have you been part of in travel that required teamwork?