difficulty communicating

dealing with drunk and abusive people, foreign people, old people, young people, and even very young people can be very difficult...  but i have never dealt with a death and dumb person... today was my first encounter!!! 

i was on my afternoon break whilst working the late shift, and i had gone to a "well established" american coffee shop... (setting the scene) i had placed my order, paid, and was waiting for my drink when i heard one of the ladies in queue in front of me waiting for there drinks (whom i had noticed was deaf and dumb whilst i was queueing because i thought that they were arguing in sign... I'm not sure, things just looked pretty heated) let out a loud gasping sound... she had spilt her drink all over her abdomen... i got her sat down and i tried to explain to her that i was a first aider... i don't know if she understood me, but she seemed to trust what i was doing. one of the staff passed me a burns first aid kit that contained no gloves, luckily i had my own in my PPK. the skin had started to go red, and peel... i applied the burns dressings  and asked them if they would be able to sort something out about getting another first aider to take over (possibly one of the shopping center security) so they got on the phone then a gentleman in a red coat popped through the door... i handed over to him and he took it from there.

The staff were very grateful for my help and apologized that they did not have there own first aider to deal with the incident that because it was late night shopping the manager (who is first aid trained) was not in. They thanked me by giving me a free coffee. i should have tried pushing my luck too see if they would throw in a muffin too, but I'm not that cheeky.

this made me think that possibly learning another language, or sign language would be a good skill to have... ideas for the future.

(this was written a while ago, i just hadn't posted it)

stay safe

dealing with it

An FRU and Two ambulances had turned up. they came in a took over from me. i watched whilst they started to treat him. lying on the floor in the doorway of the kitchen, one of the paramedics took me outside. i cried... i broke down in tears and i cuddled my sister... we both cried but they didn't, his wife and daughter... they seemed lost and confused! The ambulance crews seemed to take forever in there. I'm not sure how long they took... but they done their jobs, and they done their jobs well! 

27th august 2006 was the first time i had to administer "proper" first aid... i was 17 years old. at the time i did not have any first aid experience so it was literally me jumping right in at the deep end.

his (i will call him james for his privacy) youngest daughter (i will call her sarah) a girl i have grown up with all my life, living opposite each other and playing games down our street when we were younger with the rest of the kids. she came knocking at my door asking my sister if my mum was in... i was upstairs playing my xbox. my sister told sarah that my mum was not in at the moment, sarah broke down in tears and said that her dad was unconscious in their house and that they needed help. the reason they called for my mum is because she used to be a nurse, and she is also a close friend.

 i heard everything that was said and immediately i threw on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt and ran across to their house in bare feet. (i don't remember what i was thinking... i think possibly it was adrenaline that was pushing me forward even though i had no formal first aid qualifications... just very basic first aid that i was taught at scouts "DR. ABC (now DRAB)" and basic life support "CPR") i got in there and Sarah's boyfriend was leaning over james trying to resuscitate him. i took over from him because he seemed unsure... i done my primary check (i remember not thinking about danger... possibly because its someone i have known my whole life or maybe is was ignorant to the fact and checking for danger is something you will learn to do after you have been caught out... who knows) there was no response i checked his breathing, he was not breathing so i commenced with CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) i gave 12 rounds of CPR (i used 15:2, not the 30:2 we are supposed to use now) when the FRU arrived. he came in and told me to carry on whilst he set up his equipment.i had given another 1 or 2 rounds when i was asked to move away. at this point another crew had turned up and were walking through the hallway towards him. 

the whole time i was treating james my sister was standing behind me pushing me along telling me i was doing a great job and to keep going... she was such a strong person for me!!! she helped me through the whole thing!!! 

in the ambulance they managed to revive james and and get him breathing again... it was later when he was in hospital in intensive care that he passed away. i remember getting the phone call from my mum. i had gone out with my friend, he took me to a scrap yard to get something for his car. i didn't cry or feel any more sad when my mum told me, think that maybe to my self i knew he wasn't going to pull through.

i didn't once feel that i could have done more.i done everything i knew how to do... the fact james died was very very sad, but i did not feel disheartened or think that i could never do that again! i think it was this happening that drove me to join my St john ambulance division. 

he had died after suffering a massive heart attack they later found out. 

The thing that made me write this was a similar account happening with one of my friends from my division. she sadly also lost someone that she was treating, and hearing about her brought back old memories that i have spilt out onto here.

i would just like to say well done to anyone who has to perform any kind of life saving or life support treatment, whether you are a health care professional, a member of a voluntary first aid organization, or even just a member of the public! 

i just pray that there will someone round like your selves if myself or any of my family and friends ever find themselves in a situation where they need immediate medical attention!!!

this blog is in memory of the person who's cover name is james.

the inevitable things in life

becoming "one of those old people"...

this is my second week back from holiday... since being back at work it has been rather quiet for me on the first aid front. i have had a few of the usual "im not feeling well and i think i need to go home" calls, but yesterday i had a call that got the old adrenalin flowing! 

the call came across as "two people fallen down escalator, unsure of casualty condition". it was not too far for me to get on scene, a short run through the jewelry department into cosmetics then up the escalator. 

when i arrived there were two members of the public assisting the elderly gentleman to stand up, my initial thought was "ohhh cr*p, what are they doing" so i alerted them i was there and the lady informed me that she was actually a doctor. this made me feel slightly more at ease. the gentleman was sat on a chair and seen to by a member of the security. his wife had come out slightly worse.

she had lost her footing and balance then fell forwards grabbing hold of her husband and pulling him over with her. he had fallen on top of his wife and had very minor injuries (a small abrasion to his right hand, he was abit shaken by the whole event and also very worried about his lifetime partner). 

i treated his wife, she was sat up on a step on the escalator (it had been stopped by the doctor). she had a laceration (about 2 inches) to the left side of her head just behind the ear, i applied a dressing and the bleeding had been controlled. she had also hurt her ankle. now from my experience of dealing with elderly patients, most of them never seem to moan about anything. they have such good pain thresholds and don't want to cause any fuss!!! but she was worried about trying to stand up, so this gave me an indication that she was in pain (there was bruising and swelling, but no other deformities). she did not have any pain anywhere else, and she was well within her own mind with great humor too!!! she remembered the whole thing unfolding without any confusion so there wasn't any signs of her loosing consciousness. i spoke with the doctor and we decided that an ambulance wasn't necessary so i booked them both a cab to A+E and also a return cab home. i wheeled them to the exit to meet the cab and left them in the capable and friendly hands of the driver.

the thing that hit me most was that what happened is again one of those inevitable things in life!!! if that would have been a couple in their 20's then it almost certainly wouldn't of happened, this is something we all have to look forward to!!! i have a great respect for the elderly, some of the most interesting people i know are OAP's!!! 

anyway, that is just about it.

duties

i started first aiding voluntarily about 1 and a half years ago. Since i started i have covered lots of different duties... i will try and list all those that i remember in this post. 

I try to cover what ever duties are going when ever i can, some of them can be really boring with no one to treat, and nothing to do apart from wait for the duty to end!!! some of them can be so busy and that again I'm just waiting for the duty to end!!!

here are some of the duties I have covered:

• my first duty was a school fair, we didn't treat anyone... but the suspense was killing me. (lasting 5hrs approx.) 
• my second duty was at a 5-aside football tournament... this is one of those boring duties where the guys playing footballs are in their 20s and all try and walk off their injuries, but you get the occasional one coming through asking for an ice pack for their groin strain. (last 6hrs approx.)
• third duty was at a james bond themed concert performed by the london symphony orchestra  at the crystal palace bowl. (lasting 8hrs approx inc. travel time)
  
• my fourth was at another 5- aside football tournament... again very boring. (lasting 6hr approx.)
• fifth was at the prince of whales theatre covering the mumma mia performance, treating nobody all night until on my way home on the train finding a drunk person and giving him a bottle of water. (the duty lasted about 3hrs... but i remember the travel home took about 4hrs)
• my sixth was at the Police (sting and co) concert at twickenham RFU. (lasting 10hrs approx.)
• after this i covered approx 8 Rugby duties at Twickenham RFU. (they each normally lasted approx 8-10hrs)

a dodgy pic of the stadium roof taken from my phone

• next was the Iron maiden concert at Twickenham RFU. (lasting approx 8hrs)
• then a high profile rugby match new castle falcons vs london wasps (lawrence delalios last game) so it was very busy! there was also a youths rugby tournament held there in the morning. (lasted 12 approx)
  
• more recently there was a middlesex 7's rugby tournament held at Twickenham RFU again... quite busy. and lots of fancy dress too!!! (lasted 10hrs approx.)
• last week i was at the REM concert again at Twickenham RFU. (lasted 10hrs approx.)

REM on stage... from the back of the stadium zooming in on my 2.0 mega pixel phone camera 

(unbelievably good quality pics!!! SARCASM??)

• and most recently i was at the phoenix theatre in leicester square providing cover for the blood brothers performance this was very quiet for first aid... although i gave out a plaster!!! (lasting 5hrs 30mins approx including travel time)

as you can probably see i cover lots of different types of duty, these are just the duties that i can remember off the top of my head and they might not be in the totally correct order... but i did try!!!

at the duties such as the ones at Twickenham RFU where alcohol is consumed, sometimes at high volumes... they tend to be busier, than say at a theatre duty where the nearest i have been to treating someone was giving a plaster to the lady sat next to me for the blister on her foot.

waiting round

Whilst I'm at work my primary job there is a sales assistant... but im also the store first aider. some days (most infact) i will be bored at work and just bumbling around doing not much apart from trying to look busy whenever someone important is about!!! i carry a mobile store phone with me so if a first aider is requested anywhere in the store then security can get in touch with me anywhere (and i mean anywhere, a couple of times i have been caught with my pants down!!! literally!!!). 

The majority of the calls i get in store are to people (generally female) feeling "unwell" (hung over). out of all the people i have treated that have been "unwell" feeling sick, i think i have only ever seen 2 or possibly 3 of them vomit. I have had a few people try forcing them selves to vomit by either sticking their fingers down their throats, or just trying to make them selves gag.

being just a first aider, there is not too much i can do for someone who is feeling unwell. on FAW courses they don't teach you how to look after someone who feels sick, so its more of a common sense kinda thing! the way i often rule out someone being unwell is by calling their bluff (taking a full set of obs (excluding BP and O2 levels))... first off take their temp (if its high/low then i'll stop there and send them home and advise they goto see their GP, if their temp is normal then i will move onto my next step of full on bullsh*t... take their pulse, check pupils, comment on their respiratory rate, just act as though what you are doing can actually tell if they are really feeling sick they always believe me (the first aider knows best)... my results from my "calling their bluff" obs have always shown up normal. i will then follow this up with "so if you want, you can pop out to the pharmacist and what they advise for you to take to settle that very upset tummy of yours. occasionally i get someone who says "oh... cant i just go home". If someone argues after this point then usually i would have to let them go, as the results i have taken from my "obs" don't really tell me that much, so i have to let them go advising them to go and see a healthcare professional i.e. their GP or goto hospital.

i occasionally get a decent call though... falls up/down escalators, seizure's, asthmatics, chest pains, faints etc...

i also occasionally get the strange a disgusting calls... coughing up a lump a thick green flem (aka a bogie), someone with severe diarrhea "SHARTING".

there will no doubt be other posts in the future about my different calls!

size 8 steel toe capped boots to the rescue!

My first proper post im going to dedicate to my magnums!

My duty "safety" boots deserve some recognition for the things they have been through with me!!! 

They have protected my toes from being crushed by crowds of people, things being dropped on them, and getting run over by wheelchairs whilst trying to hold doors open for them. They've many different fluids spilt/vomited over them.

They have kept my feet warm, dry and comfortable! I can't ever remember having any blisters caused by them! 

They are a one of a kind companion, and will never leave my side!

Recently they went above and beyond their call of duty...they protected me from a little hood rat!

I was walking home from a the train station in uniform just after finishing a duty, when a little spotty twat asked me for the time, then he asked me if i had a phone, then he told me to give him my phone or i was going to "get shanked". i hadn't seen any knifes or tools, so without even thinking i just kicked him in the shin.

He screamed, I ran!

i probably caused another job for the LAS coming through as an "assault" (but really it was self defense). i don't think i have ever broken someone else's bone... I'm not even sure if i broke his, i kind of hope i did!!! 

so... in recognition of your service with me, Thank you!!!

my first blog

hi there, my name's Steve. 

welcome to my blog "don't suppose you've gotta plaster". first off i'll start by explaining the name i chose for my blog... if you have read the "about me" part then you would have seen that i am a voluntary first aider. whilst on duty, one of the main questions i get asked is for a plaster... now we have a small rule that slightly bends the rest of the rules... for every patient we see there is supposed to be a PRF (patient report form) filled out which is 2 pages long!!! well if we filled out a PRF for everyone who requested a plaster we would be pilled under white, yellow, and green papers!!! so we go by the rule of "do you have or have you ever had any allergies to plasters?" "NO" "okay then... well if i give you a plaster and get you to apply it yourself then you wont have to wait around for ages whilst i fill out 2 pages worth or paper work" "thats fine... thank you". 

i got the idea to blog from reading "random acts of reality" and "life and death on the street - a paramedics diary" they are both very good books based on the blogs written by "Tom Reynolds" and "Stuart Gray" (they are both their blogging identities i think) since reading their books i have started reading their blogs, both of which are very well written and very addictive!!!

i love my role as a first aider... people have said to me in the past that there must be something "sadistic" about being a "voluntary first aider"... but there's not!!! i like to treat the inevitable!!! would you prefer me to be there when your at a concert and you drink slightly more alcohol than you first thought and you accidently lose your footing on the stairs and twist your ankle only for me and my crew member to have to get you into a carry chair and then take you the next 30 steps down then wheel you through the crowd's of fellow drunken IRON MAIDEN fans (i was lucky enough to get to first aid at IRON MAIDEN'S only UK stop of their current tour) then get you into the first aid post and treat you in there for that poorly ankle then oops... what's that??? you need to puke, well there's a lovely vomit bowl, some tissue, and a bottle of water. OR... would you rather get treated by a security guard who done his FAW but is a little rusty, then gets you to hobble down those 30 steps, sits down with some ice from the bar wrapped in breaking tissue around your swelling a bruised foot, letting you vomit all down yourself and not knowing what to do next??? do you still think what i do is sadistic, or do you think my gosh these people deserve a good pat on the back for their hard work they put into the community???