Help Me with a Scene Where a Character Gets Shot

Emermouse

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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/
 

James D. Macdonald

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Rather than start with injury and ask how to treat it, how about starting with the result you want your character to have and find a wound that matches? Rather than a tension pneumo how about simple pneumo? That's pretty debilitating, but not usually fatal-without-treatment.

A self-taught doctor is one who's never performed a given procedure, doesn't know anyone who has, and post apocalypse is likely missing some tools that a modern doctor could expect to have. Is a Pleurevac easily available? If not, that tension pneumo can be ... difficult to treat. Does the doctor have a chest tube? Or is he going to have to jury-rig something?

Post-apocalyptic means no antibiotics and no anesthesia, I'd guess. Look at wounds and their treatment during the 19th century, find a historical account of some specified individual, and use that person's experiences.

Even today, even a through-and-through bullet shot to a limb can result in grotesque, long-lasting results.

Try Googling on Civil War Wounds to start your research.
 

Emermouse

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I should probably clarify. I will use few, if any, technical terminology in my story. As a general rule, I usually wind up using one-tenth of the stuff I've researched. The reason I ask all these questions is because I was having trouble working it all out in my head. While I may only use a little bit of what I've learned, the research still helps me pin things down and picture it in my head a little.
 

WeaselFire

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You still need to start with the result you need for your story. Complete recovery or partial disability? Recovery in a day, week, month, year? Does he need to be mobile after being shot? Since there are firearms in your world, has anybody treated a gunshot wound? How detailed do you need your wound and how close to current or past reality is the firearm technology?

Lots of factors determine what you need, figure those out first.

Jeff
 

Bren McDonnall

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What the character is shot with will also have considerable influence in how much damage there will be and how it should be treated.