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.