Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Tucson Bloggers' CPR Meet Up

Let me start by reminding you that the entire concept of social media is beyond me these days. I've never tweeted nor read a tweet and I only know about them because they make the news. Something I was doing was a good idea for a flash mob and that began to creep me out .... my behavior is mob-like? I'm not the mayor of any of my favorite haunts and I only joined Facebook so that I could see the pictures of the kids' vacations. The fact that I attended a Meet Up thrills me no end

Then, of course, there's Becca,

mother of 2, owner of a brand new fancy camera, and guiding light behind these Tucson events. The last one was painting Ben's Bells and I carried the glow with me for weeks. This one was another way to improve our community and ourselves and Amster and Elizabeth and a few other friends and I were in, $10 for the certification card included.

Our instructors were connected to Save a Life and they were perfect.
This retired fire fighter is showing us how to brace an infant and then use two fingers to gently move the lungs. They are so little, my mouth fit over the doll's mouth and nose at once.
If I were ever inclined to turn my back on a child near a pool, that thought is now banished from my mind.

 CPR has some fun parts.  First you give orders
which is right up my alley.
You send someone to call 911 and someone to find the AED.
Those boxes are on the walls of malls and museums and the instructions are written so that a 6 year old can follow them... and they have done so successfully.  Don't be afraid to help with one.

Next come the chest compressions.  Considering how I feel about skinny white boys in hoodies since January 8th, I'm fairly proud of myself for getting up close and personal to the training dummy.
It's 50 compressions in just the right place on the chest (you have to take the course... this post will not teach you!) with elbows locked out and a fast and steady rhythm.  Then you take a breath and begin again.  After 4 sets of compressing and breathing you've done about as much as you can do with the air that was in the body before the patient stopped inhaling. That's the goal of the Carver Method - to utilize the oxygen already present to maintain a healthy brain.  The compressions move the aerated blood through the body, simulating the beating of the heart.  It feels very cool.

At this point you put your ear to the patient's mouth and listen, hoping to hear him breathing on his own.
Despite what we wish for, that rarely happens.
So, you place the face mask
or pull up the patient's t-shirt and cover the mouth.
You don't do this to protect yourself from disease.
You do this so that if the patient vomits you don't inhale gunk.
(Sorry if you are eating breakfast right now.....)

And then you breathe - sending your life force into another person's lungs.  .
You exhale until his lungs expand and then you do it again and then you become his heart again as you start all over.

I didn't expect it to be a spiritual experience,
especially after I shook the baby and its head exploded
oh, please, don't ask......
but it was.


9 comments:

  1. Can I tell you how proud I was of you for choosing the manequin with the hoodie? Maybe proud isn't the word I am looking for. Impressed? No, not quite. I'll think of it.
    I can't think of a better thing that has come of of my blog than the friends I have met, you included.
    Thank you for coming, and for bringing friends :)

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  2. A quick tip from a girl who has been re-certified THRICE in both infant and adult CPR, first aid, and AED:

    If you remember one thing, and one thing only, do your compressions to the beat of "stayin' alive" by the Beegees. If breathing in a stranger's mouth is too skeevy to handle, simply keeing their blood flowing increases their survival rate exponentially. Plus the irony of the song title is too good to pass up :)

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  3. I was kinda proud of myself, too, Becca. Like you, I don't think it's the right word, but it's as close as I can get.

    We tried to sing "Stayin' Alive", Little Cuter, but I couldn't sing and press and count and stay upright all at the same time :(
    a/b

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  4. When I took CPR training, they said to do ABC. Airway, Breathing, Circulation. I have children now and need to be re-certified. It's one of those things that's so important to know how to do. You have reminded me to sign-up for another class.

    We have AED boxes in our building here at work and I walk by one every morning. They look simple to use, but hopefully, I will not panic if I ever have to use one.

    Whether proud is the word or not, I'm proud of you and anyone else that learns CPR. It's like giving blood. It takes little effort to learn or do it, but it could save a life.


    Megan xxx

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  5. It was so incredible to finally meet you. I'm so pleased you were there. Thank you Becca for arranging this. As a cardiac arrest survivor I was particularly pleased to see everyone learning CPR which is the reason I'm alive today, because someone did CPR on me.

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  6. MS - the instructions are said aloud. Loudly. Slowly. YES, you could do it.
    So glad to hug you, too, Tepary... and so glad you are a survivor.
    a/b

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  7. There are way too many child drownings here in AZ...I would love to be invited to the next blogger meet-up in Tucson, if that's OK. Are Phoenix people welcomed?

    DH and I will visit there in August for the Tucson Baby Fair, at which I am hosting the Discovery Toys booth. Will also visit good friends Pam and Bruce Simon, whom you might have met.

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