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First Aid is an essential life skill in today’s time. With the world becoming increasingly fast paced by the day, being prepared for a life and death situation may open doors to unchartered avenues. Little birdies tell us tales about First Aid certifications helping people get selected for jobs that they were massively underqualified for as well. Having a First Aid certification can make life easier in more ways than one and we have compiled a few such stories for you to ponder over.
Debbie’s doorbell unexpectedly rang one day. Amy, 16, who lived next door, called out, “Help, my brother Dylan is bleeding.”
When Debbie and her sister Ellen arrived at their home, 8-year-old Dylan was badly bleeding from a large gash in his arm.
Dylan was being watched over by Amy while their mother went shopping. While running around the house, Dylan stumbled and unintentionally pushed his arm through a glass door panel.
Debbie knew what to do because she had recently completed a first aid course. “I knew I needed to apply pressure to stop the bleeding. I grabbed a towel from the bathroom and used it to press on the wound” she said.
Debbie comforted Dylan, who was shaking and screaming, and applied pressure to the wound to halt the blood flow. She knew Dylan would need medical attention for the cut, so she instructed Amy to call for an ambulance.
Dylan’s mother came home just as the ambulance was about to arrive. Despite her initial horror, she quickly embraced Dylan and clutched his arm before they went to the hospital together in the ambulance.
A few weeks later, the cut had healed, and Dylan was showing the neighborhood kids the scar.
The day after the incident, Dylan’s mother congratulated Debbie. “I’m so happy that I learned first aid,” Debbie said. “I never thought I’d need to use my first aid skills so soon, but I’m very glad I knew what to do. I didn’t need a first aid kit. The towel that was to hand did a great job in stopping the blood flow.”
Fortunately, Maia, an 18-month-old from Swindon, had her mother Leanne, who had completed a first aid course to help her.
The day Maia’s had the seizure, Leanne was in Evesham visiting her mother.
“Maia was feeling unwell and had a bit of a temperature but it wasn’t enough for me to be concerned about. She was playing and seemed perfectly fine otherwise,” Leanne said.
Shortly afterwards, Leanne noticed Maia in motion. However, something was wrong.
“I thought she was waking up but as I got closer I could see she was actually shaking.
“I touched her and could feel her temperature had spiked. When I saw her eyes roll back, I realized she was having a febrile seizure.”
Leanne’s knowledge from her first aid course helped her to ascertain what to do in the moment.
“I immediately took off the blanket to cool her down and moved her onto the floor to protect her from injuring herself.
“My mum was there with me so I told her to call an ambulance.”
“Once the seizure was over, Leanne took action to further reduce Maia’s temperature.
“I stripped her down to her vest and while waiting for the ambulance to arrive, turned her on her side with her head tilted back.”
When the paramedics finally got to the scene, they checked Maia’s temperature and recommended that she see her doctor the following day.
A fever or elevated body temperature is the cause of febrile seizures. Babies and toddlers between the ages of six months and three years’ experience the majority of febrile seizures. This is because the area of the brain responsible for controlling body temperature remains underdeveloped at this age.
While a febrile seizure may appear frightening, as Leanne’s tale demonstrates, there are easy things you may do to help.
An infant or child experiencing a febrile seizure may exhibit the following symptoms- they may tremble violently, arch their back, clench their fists, and be less responsive or nonresponsive. They can be sweaty, flushed, and hot to the touch. They might also hold their breath and roll their eyeballs inward.
Don’t put them in a restraint. Move any objects that can hurt the infant or toddler during a seizure. Protect their head with cushions or soft paddings like blankets or clothes.
Since fever is the primary cause of febrile seizures, it’s critical to lower the infant’s or child’s temperature. Open the windows and doors if the room is too hot to guarantee that fresh air is entering.
In case of emergency, dial 999. Their respiration will be assisted if you help them lie on their side with their head back. Observe and comfort them until assistance comes.
One evening after work, Diana went shopping in a bustling department store. Five minutes before the store closed, she overheard a staff member say, “someone’s having a seizure”.
Diana noticed another customer on the ground as she hurried over to speak to the employee. She was laying on the ground, writhing violently where she had landed. The woman was being assisted by a small group of individuals while a staff member called for an ambulance.
Diana knew she could also be of assistance by applying the knowledge she had gained from her first aid course.
“The seizure was very different to the way people usually move,” Diana said. “The woman’s movements were so powerful that her glasses flew off her face and a hearing aid fell out of her ear”.
One of the workers brought over a staff jacket, which they placed under the woman’s head to prevent her from hurting herself because they knew how vital it was to keep her safe.
“The seizure probably lasted only a few minutes, but it seemed much longer while it was going on,” Diana said. “When the jerking stopped, a man helped turn the woman on to her side. I then tilted her head back to help her keep breathing.
“After the seizure, the woman seemed not to be able to understand what we were saying and couldn’t speak. Luckily, I had learned that this can happen after a seizure and it may take some time for people to get back to feeling like their normal selves.
“It was such a relief when she very tentatively answered that she was OK.
“By this time, the ambulance was on its way, the store had closed for the night and the other shoppers who had helped at first had left.
“We all agreed that the woman was in safe hands with a first aider and a nurse who had stopped to help, so I started to make my way out of the store.
“As I was leaving, one of the store’s employees said, ‘thank you for your kindness’.
“I was very touched by her words, and I told her that I’d learned first aid in case something like this ever happened, and now it had. Even though the incident left me feeling very shaken, I was glad I knew what to do to help.”
Vicki saw someone who had been hurt in a car accident when she was traveling.
“I was driving and came across an accident where a very pregnant lady had spun her car upside down.
“I stopped to help but wasn’t the first one on the scene.
“She had a cut on her arm and hand which was bleeding quite a lot and the people helping her were scrabbling for something to put pressure on the wound.”
Vicki used her creativity to come up with a suitable object to apply pressure to the wound.
“I went to find something suitable in my boot and thought a clean nappy was probably the cleanest and most hygienic thing I had to hand.
“I handed them over and it worked perfectly!”
So that’s a wrap on our take on real life stories where First Aid saved the day. We at Bright Learning Centre pride ourselves in the quality of our First Aid courses, and apart from this we conduct a wide variety of other courses as well. In case you need any further information on the same, please feel free to contact us or walk right in through the door at our learning centers on Evington Road and Melton Road. where we are at your service all week (except Fridays).
