First Aid

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I haven’t done a first aid course since high school but this week I have booked in for a red cross one later next month in the village. Last night Rob held a meeting in our hall showing a defib that the School has purchased to have on standby for the town. It’s so important as parents and grown ups that we know what to do…I am ashamed to say that it has been so long since I’ve done the course.

When we were overseas in Croatia earlier this year we had a life stopping moment. The kids were playing in the pool, like they had been for days coming down the hotel water slide into the water. It must have been the hundredth time we’d watched them, hours and hours of watching them come down and then one moment. One moment. And there was my beautiful niece at the bottom of the pool.  She had knocked her head on the way down and then in an instant she was at being pulled out and having CPR done to her. Just like that. I wasn’t there, I didn’t witness the horror and then the sweet relief when her uncle was able to bring her back. But there and then I swore that I would make sure I knew what to do in case of an emergency. It’s all it takes…just one moment. ONE INSTANT.

You can find out more about Red Cross First Aid Courses here.
Or St John Ambulance First Aid Courses here.

When was the last time you did a first aid course?
Saved any lives?

Comments

  1. You have reminded me that I MUST go back and do a refresher it’s been 4 or so years, shame on me. Great post and my son feel in pool and was face down long enough to have fluid in lungs and it’s VERY scary.

  2. I did a kid specific course when I had my first son. Cannot recommend it enough, I feel so much more in control when the kids hurt themselves and I remained calm and in control when my youngest had his first (of many) febrile seizure. Would make a good baby shower gift!

  3. ffhousemouse says

    Absolutely! I did mine in April, I have to do it every 3 years and CPR update annually. Plenty of opportunity to practice out here – with the nearest small hospital 450km away and at least a 4-6 hour wait for assistance! Haven’t saved any lives recently but will be removing some stitches for a Jackaroo on Sunday! Good work Beth!

  4. It’s very important for everyone to know the basic at least of first aids/CPR. Well done Beth for doing it. As for me I do the course every year and saved a life with CPR and medical intervention well last Saturday not just me but a whole team of health professionals as I work in a large metropolitan hospital

  5. I did it in primary school and high school, but it was fantastic to do a course when my Little Mister was a baby. It reassured me immensely as a new mum to know some basics like how to apply CPR and mouth to mouth to infants and what to do if they’re choking etc. I recommend it to all new parents – get your mothers’ groups onto it! 🙂

  6. Debs Sutton says

    I’m an ex-nurse Beth so yes I have saved a few!!! But last time I saved someone was a little boy whose mum had given him a hard boiled sweet whilst running out of school at home time…..suffice to say that Heimlichs came in very handy!!!! Weirdly the next day she gave him another bloody sweet….WTF is that about???!!!! xx

  7. Lisa Mckenzie says

    Very very important Beth!

  8. Why on earth isn’t it a part of the curriculum I wonder. Hands up anyone who wants to get in the governments ear about it.

  9. You never know when you’ll need first aid. I had to do CPR on our pet dog in the middle of our daughters 5th birthday party. Naughty dog, couldn’t resist the party food and choked on an entire block of wasabi cheese.
    No one wants a dead dog at a kids party!!!

  10. I MUST do this. Last Sunday I was driving to swimming and BAAMMM. A head on car crash happened right in front of me. Me and another guy were first on the scene and he was all over it, and I just froze. Luckily they were both okay minor injuries and shock only, but I really had no idea what to do. Thanks for reminding me to do this!

  11. This is so important. I highly recommend Kids First Aid. It is run by paramedics and very ‘kid’ focused. I’ve done it twice and learnt new things each time. They really concentrate on the top 10-12 things that are most common with children and give you sensible, practical advice on how what to do, choking, burns, drowning, recognising things like meningitis, etc. I think this should be a standard gift for all new parents! While it is scary to think about what could go wrong, it is great feeling like you can hello should the need arise.

  12. Make sure you know how to handle choking. My daughter choked on a grape when she was 4 years old. I was the only one with her and I panicked. I didn’t take control and do what I was supposed to do, I handled it really bad!! It was so awful that I will not go into detail, but I resorted to the Heimlich manoeuvre – exactly what we were taught not to do – and the grape popped out and she took a breath. I had PTSD for about a year after that. As a result I keep my first aid up to date and I am always warning people about not letting little kids eat grapes unsupervised or to cut them in half. I get lots of ‘you are crazy looks’ until I tell them my story, and the more ‘you are crazy’ the look the more detail they get!

  13. Thanks for blogging about this BabyMac – more needs to be done to bring first aid education to the forefront.

    I am so horrified about your niece, but relieved to hear it ended well.

    Hopefully this post encourages more people to look into and book into a first aid course. As an aside, my company can provide first aid training – right across Australia, anywhere, anytime.

    Again, thank you for raising awareness. All it takes is one split second to make a life change. Make that split second, the second you decide to take a first aid course and not the one where you’re standing idly by in an emergency.

  14. I did a First Aid course last year because we needed a new rep at work. I’m so glad I did. Such an eye opener. I’m also constantly quizzing myself in the shower… What does DRSABCD stand for? When doing CPR, how many compressions to breaths? I want to be ready if needed!

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