What's with scouting in Utah? It seems like a couple of times a year, they make the news, mainly due to carelessness and stupidity.

It isn't bad enough that they seem to lose kids a little too frequently, but they seem to get hurt when they manage to keep them around.

Utah... wasn't that the place where the lost kid was dodging the SAR units who were looking for him for four days, because his parents told him never to talk to strangers?

Well, here's another one. One of the Scout leaders throws a knife away to catch a stumbling kid... right into another kid's head. Just DROP it, for pete's sake, stupid!

http://kutv.com/topstories/local_story_356200328.html#bestspot

Sue

I read another article that said they were raking leaves (likely a service project) and the leader was using the knife to cut cord (I would assume they were using the cord to tie off leaf bags). It said that the leader did drop the knife, but it was caught on the leader's glove as he reached for the boy and that catapulted the knife toward the boy.

ROTFL!!!!

That almost qualifies for the Darwin award, only it wasn't self inflicted, and the kid didn't die.

I can't believe what they did to that kid to extract the knife. It looks like they opened his skull up from the top. Why not just pull it straight out the way it came? I understand 2mm ain't much, but if you don't wiggle it around, then it shouldn't get any closer. I guess that'd be just too simple. It makes me think of splitting my finger open from top to bottom to get at a splinter???!!!

Sure was a tough kid, though. I dunno if I could sit still with a knife sticking outta my eye socket. That'd just be too freaky. Judging by the x-rays, the guy that flicked the knife at him musta been built like a 450 lb gorilla for it to lodge so deep.

Looks like a leatherman tool that was stuck in his head. He's a lucky kid....

The reason why we never pull any penetrating foreign body out just like that is that we don't know what vessels, organs may have been penetrated in the puncture wound. The foreign body may have cut a major vessel and keeping it in place may be just enough to stem any catastrophic/ fatal bleeding.

The key word is ACCESS. You need access to the area to be able to stop any bleeding or repair any damage before you are able to extract a foreign body safely.

A splinter in your skin, no major vessels or organs there. You can safely extract it with uncle bill's tweezers. A needle in your eye? Better get to the ER.....Any removal may cause herniation of aqueous or vitreous humour and you could lose that eye....

Just for your info... <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />