Thursday, July 10, 2008

Just in case

Tuesday I took an infant/child CPR and first aid class at the Red Cross. I have two fears regarding Caroline's safety -- choking and falling/injuring her head. Before this class I would have only had a vague idea what to do -- now I know exactly what to do.

I write this because I want to encourage everyone I know (and don't know) to take this class.

I not only learned rescue breathing and CPR, but also how to assist a choking victim, recognize signs of stroke, stop bleeding, treat a snakebite, help a seizure victim, etc. And none of the recommendations included applying a tourniquet, sucking out poison or shoving something into someone's mouth.

As I sat in the 5-hour class, I recalled many situations when these skills would have helped me, but I didn't know enough to step forward. Now I do. You should too.