When people imagine offering someone First Aid, they usually imagine scenarios that involve strangers: coming across a car accident, a cyclist falling off his bike, a hiker or runner having chest pains, or they see a person choking in a restaurant. While this could happen, it is not the likely scenario. More probable is that you will have to perform First Aid on SOMEONE YOU LOVE. These are the people that you are surrounded by on a daily basis.
Look around you right now, at the people you spend the most time with…YOU are their First Responder. You will likely administer First Aid on your children, your spouse, your parents or yourself. This is why learning First Aid is critical and fundamental. A skill you should know and practice well. A skill that should be as basic as doing laundry, cooking a meal, or driving a car. The need for your First Aid skills will almost certainly happen over the course of your life and could be the difference between someone you care about being able to heal and recover or having a permanent disability. Not knowing First Aid could be the difference between life and death for someone who is important to you.
My first experience being a “First Responder” occurred when I was only about 13 years old. My youngest sister (who was 2 years old) was at the kitchen table, having breakfast while my other sister and I were getting ready for school. Unbeknownst to us, she had grabbed a whole hard boiled egg, still in its shell that was on the table, and tried to bite off a piece. I had somehow noticed that she had been crying, then gotten very silent. As I entered the kitchen, she was slumped forward in her high chair and when I lifted her up, her lips were blue!! I panicked and checked if she had hit her head or something had fallen on her. Then I noticed she was slightly struggling to reach her throat, but was very weak and disoriented from not being able to breathe. I took her out of her high-chair and slapped her on the back several times, dislodging a small piece of egg and shell that was stuck in her airway. I was able to sweep her mouth and find the dislodged food. She coughed and started to cry–but began breathing again and her coloring started to normalize. She didn’t know what had happened to her but was so scared and wanted to be held. Thank god I had noticed in time!
Maybe it seems boring– we all think we have seen enough TV shows or movies that we would know what to do in a First Aid situation, but there are changes in Basic First Aid that have occurred in the last few years that make it imperative that you keep yourself up to date. For many, taking the time to take a Basic First Aid class will alleviate much of the anxiety, stress and fear of knowing what to do. Understanding some of the principles of Basic Life Support (BLS) could keep someone alive the precious few minutes until medical help arrives. It is difficult to describe the absolute horror, the frustration, the feelings of inadequacy, that occur when a loved one is injured or ill and you do not have the knowledge and skills to offer First Aid. This is particularly troubling when you know, deep down inside, that there are actions you could have taken if you had just taken the time to learn them.
It is a simple investment of time and money to take a First Aid/CPR class. The knowledge, and more importantly the practiced skills you will learn, are well worth the investment for you and your family for years to come. It is still early in 2017, make the resolution to get certified and do it!