Jedi First Responder – First Aid for the Jedi bystander

Well a interesting topic. Now I must start off with My first aid, aed, and cpr certification has slipped and at the moment I am not in the postion to have it renewed anytime soon.

The last time I went through the course we were told some of the most foolish things. The first beign that if I stumbled across War Beauty who was laying in the street and wanted to offer her aid by law if she was conscious I would need to ask her if she needed assistance and if so may I prefer first aid on her. If she said no then I would have to walk away. If she was unconscious and I performed chest compressions and cracked her sternum or ribs(which is not uncommon or difficult to do) depending on the state I could be fine, however in some states she could sue me for assult and battery. Now at this point since my certification has expired if I did CPR, or performed any form of first aid on her I can be sued for a few other things.

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An example of being a first responder. A number of years Jennifer (my now exwife) and I were driving from walmart to home in the early morning hours. As we were driving down passed the Y I worked at we noticed something very large in the middle of the road. (thankfully not that busy of a road but still in the middle of the road) As we got closer I noticed it was infact a body. As soon as I saw this 2 things popped into my mind. The first was telling Jennifer to pull about 20 yards away and turn on high beams and hassart lights. The second was to call 911 and relate everything I was saying to her to them. I was unsure of the scene. I did not feel danger, or a trap so I was good enough with it, however I still wanted some safty for my ex wife should something go down.

As I approached the body I was talking loudly for both the body to hear me as well as my ex wife. When I got within 10 feet of the body it finally responded with the worse drunken slur I had heard in my life. My first response was well at least they are alive, however there was still some danger in what i was doing. It took a few moments to convince this person that they were laying in the middle of the road and not all Wichita KS drivers were as careful as my ex wife and that it would be wise to move to the side walk and that perhaps it would be a great idea not to lay on the side walk during winter months so he did not lose all his heat and die. For the next 30 minutes the person finally become more and more aware of what was going on and I was growing less and less patient waiting for local law enforcement to get to the scene to deal with this individual.

By this point I had the persons story, why they were so intoxicated, their name and most importantly where they lived. We called 911 on last time and asked them if they were sending someone and if not what legal ramifications we would face should we put this person in our car and drive them up the road to their apartment. After the 911 operater told us that odds are no one will be there for a while and we should just leave the scene we decided to act as jedi should. I stuffed this person in the back passanger side of the car and we took him home. I left myself behind Jennifer since if something would have gone done I would have been able to restrain this individual. Upon getting this person to their home, making sure that if they got sick they would not drawn in their own vomit we went home and slept. The next day on my way to work we checked up on this individual and almost laughed when he opened the door having no clue who we were.....

The point of the story? As a first responder such things can come up and you need to know right now what you are prepared to do to help others. You can end up placing yourself in a semi potential situation to assist others as we did with the drunk guy laying in the middle of the road, or you may face something as easy as legal bs for assisting a person. Is it worth it and are you willing to take the risks are things that you need to consider in your head.

Disclaimer I do not suggust that others stop on very dark roads to help others for many bad things can happen with that, however should you do such a thing I strongly recommand that you truly are feeling everything about the situation and if you get that bad feeling get out asap.

I apologize for the bad language, but this video is worth it.

Burns Part 1

Burns Part 2


Burns Part 3

Burns Part 4

Burns Part 5

Hypothermia


Frostbite

I think this is a great thread with a lot of really good information.

Thank you for starting it.

I agree with you very much! In the military I was a Combat Lifesaver (CLS) where I would assist medics or help the person as much as I can until proper medics arrived. I was also a first responder and had to be certified because being a cop met that you were almost always the first one on scene. I work for a major security firm right now and we are all certified in ADD/CPR and basic first aid. I would be happy to send a copy of my books to the Masters so they can download it (with proper permission) and present itto the other Jedi. But as it was stated please take the time and go to a CPR class and get certified. The cost is minimal and you can save a life, maybe even your own.

On a personal note My first born son was brought home on Nov 1, 2008 and he was only home for about 9 hours when he quit breathing. My wife in shock and panic (like anyone else in that situation) could not do anything and I did infant cpr on my son until the paramedics arrived (25 minutes later and we only live 5 blocks from the hospital) but they got our son to breathe again but only if he was on a machine. So two days later on November 5, 2008 we decided to pull the plug and hold our son in our arms while he died. Point of the story is if you can be certified Do it!!!!!!!!! you never know who you will save or use it. Because I learned it we at least got to have our son with us for an extra couple of days and that was worth it.

This is a great subject. But I do stress one thing for all to remember. Being a retired Nurse and my Daughter an EMT, and others in the medical/Fire/Police fields...

Make sure to check your state or local areas for what is Called "The Good Samaritan" Laws.

Here in the U.S., states have varying degrees of protection for "Joe Blow" helping in an emergency. There is Laws protecting you of being sued for injury. I don't know about the UK and Europe, etc., but there are folks here that are sue happy and there is protection out there legally.

First Aid, First Responders, CPR courses, etc. I do recommend to anyone.... Online courses are available for CPR. Looking for other courses recommended...

Neaj Pa Bol wrote: First Aid, First Responders, CPR courses, etc. I do recommend to anyone.... Online courses are available for CPR. Looking for other courses recommended...

Get trained it's a great confidence builder knowing how to act in an emergence. Not just what you ca do medically for a victim but emotionally as well. The vast amount of First Aid I've given has been minor, thank the powers.

Last time there was a car crash right in front of me in a busy intersection. A lady T Boned a left turning car. One guy was Ok but shook up. Not bad since his car was knocked 180 degrees around.

In the other car was an older lady, whose air bag deploied, who was in shock and complaining of cheast pains. O Boy! She was talking, breathing and had a pulse. All I had to do wass talk to her, comfort her and hold he hand. A RN stopped her car and took over until the ambulance arrived. My job was done. I drove home.

Get trained!

As a Medical Assistant, First Repsonder, and former American Heart Association trainer (AED / CPR / F-A), I obviously have to go along with everyone promoting getting trained in basic first aid. Keep a basic First Aid kit in your car at all times (5$ at your cheap-o stores). And if you want to know about the "Good Samaritan" laws in any of the 50 states, I do have copies of the laws for all 50 (I was required to hand them out in each class); feel free to ask me for a copy.

To clarify for those not familiar: a "Good Samaritan" was the N/T biblical story of someone who came to the aid of a stranger in distress (there were other circumstances that made this story significant but I'll spare you the cruft). The term generically means: one who helps other just to be helpful (while not looking for reward).

In the USA, anyone who =IS TRAINED= in F-A and CPR/AED can NOT be sued for performance of these skills IFF (if and only if): (1) they completed a[ny] training course, (2) stayed within the scope of their training [didn't try something they "saw on TV once"], and (3) were in the intent of rendering legitimate aid to the victim. There are small variances from state-to-state; generally, "untrained" persons are not protected legally [again, some states allow variances]. As instructors, we are subject to be called into court to defend any suit. In my 5 years of training others, only 1 case actually got filed; one of my trainees did CPR in a work place, broke the person's rib, but the victim survived. Once I testified (in deposition) that, that is quite normal; we teach "life over limb," the suit was tossed. (That's why our names are on the back of your little F-A / CPR card.) As of 2006 [when I stopped monitoring it], not one suit ever survived through the court system. According to friends who still teaches, that record remains in effect (Nov 2012).

In the USA, please contact:

American Heart Association
http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/CPRAndECC/FindaCourse/Find-a-Course_UCM_303220_SubHomePage.jsp

or the American Red Cross
http://www.redcross.org/templates/render/renderCanonical.jsp?pageCan=/take-a-class/program-highlights/cpr-first-aid

Get trained!