I was just cleaning out my junk drawer and found my mouth shield in there🤦🏼♀️ A lotta good that would do me if I ever needed it and not only didn’t have it, but had no idea where it was.
But really in all my years of being certified & re-certified, I’ve NEVER encountered anyone in need of rescue.
If we all carried around everything we could possibly need at every given moment for any possible unforeseen need, we’d all be hauling 20 ft long trailers 😆
I’m a minimalist and everywhere I go I bring as little as possible. Sometimes I bring nothing at all with me places I go. I really prefer to travel lightly.
My certification expired a while back. I have some of those keychain sized shields in most of my backpacks and travel bags. And a large shield in my actual first aid bag.
The one time I did have to do CPR was at a house party and an elderly man collapsed and fell into the pool. I went from very black out drunk to doing compressions until EMS arrived. I will never forget the gurgling of the water in the back of his throat when I gave rescue breaths. I didn’t have a mask, and it didn’t matter because trying to save his life overrode any concerns of him coughing or vomiting.
While waiting for EMS and performing CPR, one drunk guy literally pulled me off him and said “give him some air!” And all I could think was “that’s literally what I was doing.” When EMS arrived, they took over CPR and I took on keeping the man’s daughter away while they tried to resuscitate him. The other people there kept saying things like “he’ll be okay” and I kept having to physically hold her back as her dad died right in front of her. I was telling her that we had to let the paramedics do their job and “they’re doing everything they can for him.” I knew not to say anything that would give her false hope.
Sadly, he passed away. I remember hearing he died the next day, after the family was able to say good bye. So I don’t know if they were able to restart his heart or not or get him on life support.
After the paramedics took him away, I overheard the guy that pulled me off him was going to take CPR classes so he’d know what to do in that situation. Well, first of all, don’t fuck with the guy that does.
Anyway, I hope you never do have to perform CPR, but it’s great that you took the time to get certified and recertified. If you do need it, it’s reassuring to know that you’ll be prepared. I was prepared for breaking ribs, but not for the gurgling sound during breathes. It’s the one thing that’s really stuck with me. And even though the man I assisted passed, I never felt any guilt or regret because I knew that I had the knowledge of what to do and that I did everything that I was able to do to give him the best chance at surviving.
Yeah, the thing most people don’t get about cpr is that cpr mostly doesnt work. Iirc, there is about a 90% chance that if you have to start cpr, the person is going to die. It really is a last ditch effort.
Fortunately, I did know that statistic. It’s even less for those to recover from CPR alone. It gives first responders more time to get there. That’s primarily what it’s good at. Give time for more advanced life saving care to be given.
It’s not super great odds to begin with but part of the issue is people not being mentally/physically prepared for it. This paper says only 46% of bystander cpr was performed effectively. Still almost always better than nothing, but optimal cpr should leave at least one broken rib and you exhausted.
He had water in his lungs! Did you not think to roll him to his side? Get that water out of his lungs.
But you did the right thing, initiating emergency protocol. Sorry he didn’t make it.
I was… Blackout drunk. Training really took over. My memory was getting into a hot tub with the girl I was seeing, then nothing, then doing compressions. It sobered me up quick, but I was still not 100%
He was dragged out of the pool, and there is only so much water you can get out by rolling him over. There was always going to be some water, and some O2 + circulation is probably more important than trying to get all the water out. The gurgling tells me that air was going in and out of his lungs though, so it’s not like they were completely filled. Probably only just enough to make noise.