The Tourniquet

On an interstate highway in the northeast, a motorcycle patrolman was pursuing a truck that braked abruptly to make a turn. The patrolman slammed into the truck's tailgate and was seriously injured. A motorist who saw the accident stopped, pulled off his necktie, and quickly made a tourniquet, slowing, then stopping the bleeding. A paramedic who arrived a few minutes later said the tourniquet had saved the patrolman's life.

Now fast forward to five years later: The same motorist who saved the patrolman's life, driving in the same area, lost control of his car and crashed into a tree. His right leg was severely smashed and cut—blood was flowing profusely. The same patrolman, who was injured in the previous accident and now in a patrol car, arrived at the scene, applied a tourniquet that stemmed the flow until the paramedics arrived, saving the motorist's life.

While being interviewed by a newspaper reporter later in the day, the patrolman said, "It all goes to prove that one good tourniquet deserves another."

It all goes to prove that one good tourniquet deserves another.