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Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!harpo!ihnp4!drutx!druxv!neal
From: neal@druxv.UUCP (Neal D. McBurnett)
Newsgroups: net.med
Subject: Re: lay-people doing CPR
Message-ID: <1320@druxv.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 15-Feb-84 15:21:01 EST
Article-I.D.: druxv.1320
Posted: Wed Feb 15 15:21:01 1984
Date-Received: Thu, 16-Feb-84 02:47:39 EST
References: <1529@tekig1.UUCP>
Organization: AT&T Information Systems Laboratories, Denver
Lines: 20

After having taken one CPR course and a subsequent refresher course,
I happened to be on the Staten Island Ferry when a very overweight
man collapsed.  There was one other person on the scene who know
what he was doing and "took charge".  We did a 2-rescuer CPR on him,
with me doing the artificial respiration the whole time.
after only a few minutes, he came to, so we stopped, but then he stopped
breathing again, so we resumed the respiration.  This cycle repeated at least
once more before the crew located an artificial airway, which kept him breathing
until we pulled into port and the ambulance arrived.

I'm glad there was someone else there who had dealt with this stuff before.
There were lots of eager on-lookers who offered lots of advice, and the
main thing I learned was that I have to be prepared to make a fast decision
as to whether I do indeed feel competent to "take charge" and over-ride
what I percieve to be ill-informed advice from others.

So think about it NOW: are you prepared to assume the responsibility?
If not, I think you should intensify your training until you are,

-Neal McBurnett, AT&T IS, ihnp4!druxv!neal