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Friday, April 12, 2013

April 11. Day 101. Sprains, strains and anaphylaxis

I was lying on the floor with a man I barely knew tying me up. I was bound by the ankles, at the knees and at the upper thighs - I know. How 50 Shades of Grey of me. Not so. My femur was broken.
A little later it was my forearm being bandaged and later still I was applying a defibrillator to the chest of a dummy.
First aid refresher day. Eight hours of reminders of all the things that can go wrong.
Not that I need much reminding. At the start of the course our trainer Bruce was working his way through the first aid responses to a series of common illness.
"Right, heart disease. Who has someone in the family with heart disease?" I raise my hand. Over the next hour or so he continued "Epilepsy". Tick "Asthma?" Tick "Diabetes?" Tick. "Febrile convulsions?" Tick, Tick Tick. Three members in my household and a veritable bingo card of chronic illnesses.
Which is precisely why my hand shot up when some years ago my employer was looking for volunteers to be first aid trained. And it is why I always agree to attend the refresher courses.
I was never a scout, but I will be prepared. I will also be more prepared for the course next time. Note to self. Wear a shirt that keeps you nice when you are leaning forward over a dummy delivering CPR. The idea is to treat heart attacks not cause them. And if there is a possibility of a stranger binding your legs, try to make sure you have waxed. It is only nice.

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