For 15 years, as a CPR, AED, First Aid, and youth Babysitting Safety instructor, people are used to hearing me say, “get trained” and “recognize an emergency” and “you’re most likely to give care to someone you love” and “4 out 5 cardiac arrests happen in the home“.
Yes, you bet, all that is true. I’m REALLY liking this article from the Health & Safety Institute (HSI) [I’m a certified Training Center with HSI] because it offers compassionate advice about how one might feel after the emergency incident is over, after the pressure is off.
Someone who has bravely stepped up to help certainly felt adrenalin rush through their body, certainly got themselves very laser-focused on contacting EMS and giving initial care, certainly mustered their training memories, quickly, from their memory bank. That’s a big deal! That’s what being a “first responder” is!
The key word here is COMPASSION. If you’ve assisted with a frightening emergency, be kind to yourself. Calm down, give yourself an “atta girl” pat on the back, do something nice for yourself (yeah, a massage), cry a bit to let it all out, eat chocolate! Yeah! If you can offer support to someone who is calming down after an incident, that’s great, too!
Please read this HSI article about “After The Emergency” – it offers supportive tips for helping children after an event, too.
In short – please Get Trained, Save a Life, and afterwards Be Nice To You!
