We are only here once!!!!!!

blackskygtr · Post by **blackskygtr** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 10:26 am

I recently attended a basic first aid course arranged by Desira group in Norwich.
Unfortunately last night I had to put into practise what I had learnt.

I was one of 3 people who were involved in the resuscitation of a 43 year old man at Ellough park raceway.
He collapsed after suffering a heart attack. The senior member of staff there had also attended a practical first aid course only some 4 weeks ago.

Between us we arranged a link between the 999 operator and CPR applied by the senior staff. Helped by a nurse swapping positions when she became exhausted. Sian decided to start CPR once pulse and breathing had stopped This was cariied out for some 10-12 mins whilst awaiting the paramedics.

Upon their arrival the chest compressions continued for a further 5 mins whilst the various medication and drips etc were applied. The man in question was shocked once which did not start his heart. The chest compressions continued for a further 2 mins and they shocked him again. This produced a faint heart beat and over the following 10 mins he regained a stable enough position to be transported to Norwich hospital for further treatment. I have called the hospital to enquire after his health this morning however not being a relative they were not able to confirm if he had survived. He has a wife and 2 kids.
If he has survived it will be down to Sian at Ellough park who IMHO saved this guys life One awesome lady :notworthy:

My reason for this post is two fold really Without doubt I would have been one of the worried bystanders had I not been able to put into practise what I had learnt. Whilst I did not do everything I had been told to in the order I should have, one thing that sticks in my mind was a statement that was made during the training

BigFil · Post by **BigFil** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 11:34 am

Fair play to you all, lets hope he is Ok. I know of someone who is a trained nurse and tried to help a guy in the supermarket that had a heart attack, no pulse etc, administered CPR although unfortunatly he died. There was talk of prosecution as they were trying to establish whether the people that had tried to help had made the situation worse!!

I must admit I would think twice before helping out now as in todays twisted society you are liable to be exposed to a claim.

If you saw a little girl trip over and graze her knee would you pick her up and see if she is OK or leave her be in case you get branded a pervert and arrested?

It's all wrong nowadays I wish someone had the balls to stand up in parliament and say it as it is.

Anyway Happy Xmas to one and all

RX7 · Post by **RX7** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 11:34 am

Last year I was waiting at the traffic lights near the Bell with a load of people and watched a woman walk straight out and get hit by a bus (which must have been doing 20-30mph). She started on the right of me and finished on the left on the side of the road. Luckily the paramedic that rides on the bike was around but I didnt have the knowledge to do anything.

I think a first aid talk is a good idea at one of the meets and it gets my vote.

On a lighter note....I wouldnt mind having mouth to mouth with Sian

blackskygtr · Post by **blackskygtr** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 12:20 pm

Phil I 100% agree with you in that the possibility of that type of repercussion is becoming more prevalent but the human instinct takes over. I can honestly say that i never thought of that (even though it was mentioned in the training) Seeing someone in that position and knowing i could possibly help was all that i needed to make the decision to do so. I have to admit to feeling a bit odd today though. The could i have done more / this / that? keeps running through my head.
Its making it worse not knowing if the guy is still alive or not.

As for Sian she was the most composed and competent person this bloke could ever have wished for.
I thought it may have been a bit bad form to roll the guy out the way and take his place :lol:
Anyways Suz was there and she is all i need

Jay

lsop · Post by **lsop** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 1:39 pm

Firstly well done for taking a step forward and helping! It's great to hear when someone who has even a basic level of first aid training actually steps forward to use it! A lot of people wouldn't have..

blackskygtr wrote:I have to admit to feeling a bit odd today though. The could i have done more / this / that? keeps running through my head.
Its making it worse not knowing if the guy is still alive or not.

I would try not to dwell on it.. The main thing is that you and the other people tried their hardest to help this man. Take that away with you! Do not think about the what if scenarios, sometimes even with all the equipment, there is nothing you can do. You can only do, what you're trained to do with the instruments you have available at the time. I think you would have felt even worse if you didn't do anything, in hindsight!

Mr Fletcher · Post by **Mr Fletcher** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 5:00 pm

well done jay top effort . i will be up for doing something as the law of averages says my " it will never happen to me " attitude is going to bite me in the arse one day. we'll have to look into whether to seperate it from a meet as we may not have enough time in an evening.

cheers

jason

stockcar · Post by **stockcar** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 5:25 pm

brilliant effort and hope that we all would do the "right" thing in any given situation..............

the claim culture is a mockery of common decency and i have no hesitation in stopping and trying to help out peeps left in a vulnerable position, so many people simply avert there eyes and drive by - no way i could live with myself after doing something like that

a number of things spring to mind that could easily have been worse but for some action that i have seen or been involved in......

one of the most poignant was being a young lad at shows in Blackpool (i think??) on a family outing - lots of people ignoring and pushing out of the way a young bloke (who was obviously in some distress) intimating a "drunk low life", etc......my father (trained medic for the factory he worked in at the time) new that this chap was more than drunk and stepped in to pick him up and try and help out / turns out the guy was diabetic and have vivid memories of my Daqd shouting at a local donut cabin for more trays of sugar as he literally fought with this lad to egt it into him, whilst more feckers stepped past or continued to make abusive comnments - Ambulance teams reckoned my Dad almost defiantely stopped any more serious issues

how the feck would you live with yourself if this was you walking past???

RobCallow · Post by **RobCallow** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 7:50 pm

Well done chap good to know there are people out there willing to step up when others just stand thee looking or filming on a camera phone!!!

As for the first aid course I think it's a great idea.

Gerry H · Post by **Gerry H** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 11:11 pm

Good for you Jay. There's too many bystanders and feckin' rubbernecks in this world.

I think it best to look at it that you helped to keep him going until professional help arrived. If you hadn't, he'd surely be a gonner.

blackskygtr · Post by **blackskygtr** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 8:47 pm

Update time
Shaun had a rocky couple of days in and out of coma both involuntarily and forced by the team looking after him.
Having tried to bring him out of coma he was constantly sick ( a sign that the brain does not really know what it is supposed to be doing) they induced the coma again to encourage repair.
Last i heard he is awake and moving around but there are some signs of brain damage ( caused by the extreme amount of time his brain was short of oxygen) I have not yet heard the full extent but i dare say i will over the next few weeks.
This if i am honest is one of the scenarios i had hoped i would not hear. Being brought back from the edge is great but to possibly have disabilties resulting from it cant be easy to take. However i do know the family are thankfull to have him back.
That counts for something i suppose.
Will update some more as and when i get news.

Jay