Fit to help?

 You never know when you might need it. That was the piece of wisdom I took away a few years ago from work on a winter’s evening one Friday. To cut a long story short, I ended up one afternoon with a few colleagues taking part in a defibrillation course. Sure it was another box ticked, wasn’t it? Doing first aid and dealing with minor causalities should be food and drink to a biology teacher?  As we left the room and made our way home, the instructor’s final words stuck in there.

When you work with over 600 boys and nobody older than 65 all healthy, the scope for assisting with an emergency is quite slim. But ar eagla na h-eagla, if there is an emergency, I’d rather have the practical experience than the theoretical knowledge how to cope with an emergency.

So there I was a few days ago, walking home from work on a bright afternoon. To the rear of Tesco there is a steps that leads out onto Mulgannon Road. Around the corner I came as I climbed the stairs. When I saw a man kneeling over another man, the first thing that crossed my mind was that I’d come across either a fight or a mugging. The man who was lying on the ground seemed unresponsive and his leg was shaking. It was clear that he was having an epileptic episode and that the man kneeling over him was trying to revive him.

I stopped and asked what had actually happened before I arrived. The victim had lost consciousness and fallen backward hitting his skull off the concrete as he fell to the lower landing on the stair case.  His leg shook uncontrollably as his eyes rolled. I had arrived within 2 minutes of this episode kicking off. So I rang the emergency services on 999.

I was put straight through to the operator who asked me my location and whether I could talk to the man and establish if my suspicion of epilepsy was correct. The nearest ambulance was in Enniscorthy and I was told it’d be here as soon as possible. I rested his head on my laptop while I checked his pulse was fine. Could I check the man’s breathing? To be fair to his companion he rang the man’s partner who was with us in 5 minutes and could confirm much of his medical history.

All the time that I was dealing with the situation, we were passed on at least 2 occasions by couples who were coming from the supermarket carrying shopping as they stepped quietly over us. Perhaps it was the case that they felt there was nothing they could do, maybe they felt threatened by what they came across.

The patient was at this stage gaining consciousness as he came out of his fit.  Within another 5 minutes we heard the sirens as the ambulance arrived.  2 paramedics stood at the top of the steps and came down to take over from me.

Boy was I glad to see them as by that stage. We manoeuvred the causality to sit up  and low and behold he could walk to the ambulance. We shook hands and I wished him well in hospital, he was going to an emergency ward that was brand new and high tech.

When I was returning home today from work, I used the same steps. Believe it or not I met the same 2 guys walking down. We shook hands again and chatted. He looked healthier although still pale.

I never reckoned that I’d have to use the skills I learnt during the course. I also thought that in one ear and out the other, but no. So if there is the opportunity the learn first aid. Please take it. You don’t know when you might need it.