Being a first aider is a huge burden to shoulder. You will ask me what the burden of an emergency responder. There are so many emergency responser like the firefighters, first aiders, police, ambulance men and so on. Some might think firefighters are wishful thoughts are for fire so they can act like heroes. I heard a lady once say doctors always wish there were sick people so they could treat them and make money. NO! That’s not true.
That’s a very wrong way to think, I’ll let you know today that firefighters wishes are “if there is a fire outbreak, there shouldn’t be any causality and they should be able to stop the fire from spreading” and all doctor’s wishes are “every patient they treat should survive and be healthy” we are human which means we are not perfect, there will always be sick people and there will always be a fire outbreaks. Let’s get that right.
I was able to understand the wishes of an emergency responder because I happen to be one.
- that me in 2017
I’m sure many of you have seen the Red Cross logo in many places like hospitals and pharmacies. There is also the Red Crescent. These people are emergency responders, and they're mostly in the medical field, but that doesn’t restrict their capability to just the medical field alone. The areas in which first aiders specialize in are many. The aim of a first aider is to
- Preserve life.
- Prevent further injury.
- Promote Quick Recovery
- provide comfort and assurance.
- Summon professional help
There are days when my team and I go camping in villages to train them about first aid and ways to respond to emergency situations.
- That’s me in the red T-shirt.
With the knowledge I gained from the Nigeria Red Cross Society, I was able to get my basic first aid certificate, practical first aid certificate, and emergency response management certificate.
One thing I have come to understand is that emergency situations can happen at any time.
I remember a day when I was in a taxi on my way home. I sat in between a lady and a man. While we were in motion, the driver started bleeding from his nose, mouth, and ear. That was the first time I have seen such a thing happen before. The person sitting in the front seat with the driver started screaming "blood, blood, blood.”
We were on high speed, and the driver couldn’t see well because his eyes were covered with blood. The lady beside me opened the car door and was ready to get out of the car, which was still in motion.
I held her back and asked her to close the door. I told the man in front to assist the driver by giving him direction so we could pack the taxi, and I asked everyone not to panic. The truth is that I was also scared, but I had to make sure I didn’t panic; if I had, we might have had an accident. After we parked, I made sure the driver was seated, while his back was slightly slanted and his chin was raised up a bit. He covered his nose, and in a short while, the bleeding stopped. I already asked the man seated beside me to call an ambulance. When they came, they took the man to the hospital, and the rest of the people in the taxi had to get another taxi. Meanwhile, I followed the driver to the hospital and made sure he was okay.
That wasn’t fiction. It happened in real life, and I was glad I had all the knowledge needed for such a situation.
I would advise you today to learn all the basic first aid skills, not because you want to become a first aider but because you might need the knowledge to save the life of a dear one. Thanks for reading.
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