The Importance of CPR Training, it saved my husband’s life.
The dentists and clinical staff members are required to have a current and valid healthcare provider basic life support (BLS) certification. We have training every two years, so needless to say I have attended many of these training sessions. As an administrator I am not required to have a valid certification; but I am so glad that I was given an opportunity to partake and learn these skills.
Never ever did I think I would have to provide CPR on a real person; last fall my husband had a “Sudden Cardiac Arrest” in our home, thankfully I was home at the time and was able to start CPR & call 911; I didn’t have time to think or panic – the skills I had learned intuitively kicked in, the paramedics arrived after about 10 minutes and took over. My husband survived!!!!!
During his hospital stay many of the providers made comments to me stating that I had saved my husband’s life; at first, I was embarrassed, and thought wouldn’t any wife do that? They explained that brain death occurs in as little as 4 minutes after the heart stops and how important it is for CPR to be started right away and that often there are incidences where people do not survive or have some sort of brain damage as their spouse, family member, friend, or bystander panic, become confused, and lack the confidence to perform CPR.
It is my understanding that cardiac arrest is one of the leading causes of death in the United States and most heart attacks happen in the home. Being equipped to help those you love and be able to actually save their life is something everyone should be trained in because you never know or expect that this will happen to you or your loved one.
I am so very grateful for the opportunities I have been given over the years to be able to participate in these training classes and I cannot say enough as to how important CPR/BLS training is for everyone; I encourage you to learn CPR. You can find training through Thurston County Medic One, the Red Cross, as well as several other local training companies.
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