I have been doing my best, researching this subject, but there are limits to what Google-Fu and some of my favorite blogs can teach me. So I thought I'd come here, call upon the wisdom of esteemed gun nuts as well as people in the field of medicine, to see if any of y'all can help me out.
I know this scenario is something of a long shot, but I have a character that I want to get shot, but not die. I was leaning towards an injury akin to a tension pneumothorax, after reading so much about them on ScriptMedic's blog. Since this is a Post-Apocalyptic world, most of the physicians are self-taught, so I'm wondering if it's too big a leap that someone could treat my victim and save their life.
Again, I've been reading ScriptMedic's blog, so I have something of an idea as to how a tension pneumothorax is treated. I freely admit that I have only a layman's knowledge of both guns and medicine, but I know enough to know that unless you're absolutely sure as to what you're doing, you don't go rooting around for the bullet; you'll just introduce bacteria, increasing the odds of an infection, and tear up more tissue and organs.
I've also been considering having the victim possibly wearing a bulletproof vest that slows the bullet down. I know bulletproof vests aren't, well, as bulletproof as Superman (you're still screwed if it was a close-range shot), but would it be possible to induce the kinds of injury mentioned, even if the shooter isn't super-close to the victim. The shooter isn't like Sniper-on-a-rooftop distance from the victim, but he is some ways away from his victim.
If the injury I've suggested isn't at all practical, please suggest something I could use, something where the victim is hurt, but it isn't too unrealistic for them to survive it, taking into account whether or not the victim is wearing a bulletproof vest. I've been weighing out whether or not to ditch it, been weighing out a lot of things regarding this scene. Right now, I'm so confused, I can't picture the scene in my head. Hence why I'm here.
For the record, for any other writers who might need it, here are the URLs to some sources I've found useful.
ScriptMedic: https://scriptmedic.tumblr.com/
The Writer's Guide to Weapons: https://crimefictionbook.com/
I know this scenario is something of a long shot, but I have a character that I want to get shot, but not die. I was leaning towards an injury akin to a tension pneumothorax, after reading so much about them on ScriptMedic's blog. Since this is a Post-Apocalyptic world, most of the physicians are self-taught, so I'm wondering if it's too big a leap that someone could treat my victim and save their life.
Again, I've been reading ScriptMedic's blog, so I have something of an idea as to how a tension pneumothorax is treated. I freely admit that I have only a layman's knowledge of both guns and medicine, but I know enough to know that unless you're absolutely sure as to what you're doing, you don't go rooting around for the bullet; you'll just introduce bacteria, increasing the odds of an infection, and tear up more tissue and organs.
I've also been considering having the victim possibly wearing a bulletproof vest that slows the bullet down. I know bulletproof vests aren't, well, as bulletproof as Superman (you're still screwed if it was a close-range shot), but would it be possible to induce the kinds of injury mentioned, even if the shooter isn't super-close to the victim. The shooter isn't like Sniper-on-a-rooftop distance from the victim, but he is some ways away from his victim.
If the injury I've suggested isn't at all practical, please suggest something I could use, something where the victim is hurt, but it isn't too unrealistic for them to survive it, taking into account whether or not the victim is wearing a bulletproof vest. I've been weighing out whether or not to ditch it, been weighing out a lot of things regarding this scene. Right now, I'm so confused, I can't picture the scene in my head. Hence why I'm here.
For the record, for any other writers who might need it, here are the URLs to some sources I've found useful.
ScriptMedic: https://scriptmedic.tumblr.com/
The Writer's Guide to Weapons: https://crimefictionbook.com/