Sunday, November 2, 2014

Could've Been a Hero

This post has the potential to come across the completely wrong way. I honestly hope you hear my heart the way I intend it to.

Here goes:

Both of my brothers have had first aid training, including CPR through their prospective jobs. Each of them have subsequently put those skills to the test shortly thereafter. As in, my brothers are bonafide heroes, y'all. Lifesavers. They stepped up to the plate and saved another life. It brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it.

I halfway joke with my mom that I'm afraid to get my own CPR certification for fear that someone close to me will then NEED it shortly after. On the one hand I know it's something I should do. For one thing, I am a fitness instructor and it's just smart to have that skill. Plus, it's just a good life skill to have cuz "Ya just never know..."

Take both my brother's situations, for example: My oldest brother was a bird dog event when a friend "hit the dirt," as my brother says. He immediately administered CPR and continued to do so, I believe, all the way to the hospital. I'm a little foggy on the details because I wasn't there. Brother #2 was driving when he saw a vehicle in front of him veer off an embankment and roll over. Another driver had determined the driver of the vehicle was a "goner," but my brother wasn't so easily convinced.

Well, just yesterday "Ya just never know" may have happened to me. I had taken my daughter shopping for some much needed new clothes.  We were headed back home when I drove past what appeared to be an ugly motorcycle accident. I wanted to stop. I started to stop, but then realized: What could I do? Absolutely nothing. There were others on the scene who appeared to know what they were doing. I saw a few onlookers with cell phones, hopefully calling 911. I prayed and posted a prayer request on Facebook at the next stop light. That's it. That was all I could do.

I felt so helpless. Completely useless. Yeah, yeah, yeah, power of prayer and all that. I'm not discounting or minimizing that in anyway. I'm just saying this incident was a major eye opener for me. A huge call to action. I WILL research and enroll in a local first aid/CPR certification class this week. You have my permission to call me on it. Seriously. Ask me a week from now if I've done it.

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