This poster is stuck on the back of my toilet door. For real.

As  a personal trainer I am required to update my CPR (cardio pulmonary resuscitation) every year and also our full first aid every couple of years. When I first did the course I was interested but really didn’t want to be spending my whole weekend indoors, I had better things to do, or so I thought. Now slightly more mature I’ve taken a different attitude. I just recently updated my CPR (which was only half a day, yes!) and it has changed my outlook on things. I could potentially save somebody’s life, that’s huge!

This time round our instructor made us think of real life situations, it’s all well and good to know how many compressions and breaths to give (30 compressions, 2 breaths) but how would we react under pressure? I don’t know about you but if I saw a loved one collapse and stop breathing I’m not sure I would be talking as calmly as I was to the dunmy I was practising on. The instructor made us role play and visualise our loved ones, I tell you what it definately struck a chord.

When I came home I told anyone who would listen that it was 30 compressions and 2 breaths and how to locate the correct position on the chest. (there are many ways but the easiest is to put you hand under one of their armpits, their arms straight, then slide towards the middle). So eager to educate I got my boyfriend to practise ( i’m not being rude, just bossy).

I kept the information fresh in my head from that day, sometimes picturing situations and figuring out how I would deal with it. It also hit me… I knew that I knew what to do, but did anyone else? If I collapsed would anyone know how to help me? Thus the installation of the poster on the back of the toilet door for some good reading and memorising!

Just the other day I was babysitting my 5 month old nephew, giving him his bottle he started choking. My sister had told me he’d done it before, so somehow I was comforted by that. The poor baby, his face was tomato red, eyes watering and coughing with his little tongue out, trying super hard to clear it. At first I had a panicky sick feeling in my stomach, I love this little cutie, I even asked him if he was ok… yep I asked my 5 month old nephew for a verbal response. Then I told myself to relax, get him at a helpful angle and let his little body do the work. His body knew what to do, it was trying hard to clear the choking, and you know what, he did.

Of course the poster does not substitute the actual course. I recommend the course to anyone, you don’t just have to be in an industry that requires it, you are a person who could potentially save the life of another person; it’s a good skill to know!

Would you know what to do if your partner, mother, father, sister, brother, cousin, friend collapsed? If you passed a random person lying on the floor in a public place, would you help?

Whilst I hope I never have to use it, I feel confident that placed in a situation that required it, I could make a difference… could you?

For more information on courses (I use Reviva) click here

 

Please share this post to raise the awareness of CPR and how you can help a loved one or stranger. Life is prescious xo