SLC21/WK1: Empowering Life-Saving Skills: A Guide to First Response and Basic First Aid

It was one sunny Saturday morning when I was still a teenager, and I joined my friends for a casual run in the field. We were having a lot of fun, laughing and enjoying the moment when suddenly, I noticed one of our friends, Alice, gasping for air, she stumbled and collapsed on the ground. I was panicked as I saw her lying unresponsive and pale. My heart raced.

I never had such an experience before, and we were helpless; my mind raced with fear and uncertainty. I tried to gently shake her, calling her name, but there was no response. I told my other friends to look around for help, someone who would know what to do while I continued tapping her and asking if she was okay, that moment I felt completely alone.

I remembered hearing about basic first aid skills, but the truth was that I never learned any myself. My friends were shouting for help and thank goodness a jogger approached and quickly assessed the situation. He checked Alice's pulse and began performing first aid.

I was watching the jogger take charge, and we felt relief, but then it was a blow to my confidence. That was the day I learned the importance of being prepared. That day I promised myself to learn the basic first aid skills to ensure that I could help in emergency cases like this next time.

In this scenario, I would just apply the DRABC protocol as follows:

First of all, I will ensure that the scene is safe for me, the victim and even the onlookers. I will look for any ongoing traffic or hazards that could pose a risk. I would even clear some broken glasses and mirrors.

After that, I will approach the motorcyclist and gently shake his shoulders while asking him if he's ok, and I will also check for any signs of consciousness; signs like movement, response to my question etc.

The next thing I will do is to check if the motorcyclist is unconscious, I will carefully position him well to maintain an open airway. I would even tilt his head when necessary and look for any obstructions.

Fourthly, what I will do is to check his breathing; I would look, listen, and feel for signs of breathing for at least up to 15 seconds. If I don't feel anything, or if the motorcyclist is gasping for air, I will prepare to perform CPR.

Another important thing I would do is to check his circulation by looking for any signs of severe bleeding, and in this case, the motorcyclist was bleeding on the leg. So I'll apply direct pressure with a clean cloth or bandage to control the bleeding. If possible I can even raise the limb while maintaining pressure.

The sixth thing I will do is to call for help, while I still manage the situation I would ask someone nearby to dial the ambulance emergency service number when they take the call I will speak to them by myself and provide details about the accident and the condition of the motorcyclist, so that they will know what to come with.

I would continue to monitor the motorcyclist and check his breathing and responsiveness. I will be ready to give further assistance like CPR if need be until professional help arrives.

Lastly I will provide information to the emergency responders when they arrive, I would give them all the necessary information about the incident and the condition of the victim.

I believe that by following the DRABC protocol I would be prioritizing keeping the scene safe for all, assessing the victim's condition and giving the needed care until professional help arrives.

I used canva app to create the above beautiful DRABC protocol flowchart, to serve as an emergency response guide. The first in the chart is Danger, seconded by response, airway, breathing and circulation according, I've stated what needed to be done in each steps and added some picture illustrations.

As first aiders, it is important we know some emergency services numbers off-hand and even store them in our phones. Thanks for this class because I got to have some of my state's hotlines in case you of emergencies, and below are some:

Thank you for the lesson teachers, I'm in for this course! Hi @iddy, @eliany and @ngoenyi I believe you will love this course, just join.