4 hours apart, 2 first aid cases, 1 first aider.
it was a friday evening and it was to be an eventful one. there was my company's first ice skating event earlier in the evening, and there was the 55km overnight training later in the night. in both events, i had the opportunity to apply my first aid knowledge.
at the fuji ice palace at jurong entertainment centre, most colleagues were holding on precariously to the handrails as they moved slowly along the rink. instruction classes were provided to teach colleagues basic moves such as balancing, recovery after a fall, walk on ice, glide, swivel and stop. slowly, more colleagues gained confidence and started to venture out into the centre of rink, practising their newly acquired moves.
suddenly, there was a commotion and colleague SM was lying face down on the ice, one hand holding against his back. it was apparent that Sm had a fall. someone said he sprained his back. there were many people surrounding him - instructors and colleagues, but after a while, it seems that nothing is being done. SM was conscious and he appeared to be trying to tell those around him something, his hands pointing here and there.
having trained in first aid, i thought perhaps i could be of help so i moved over and assessed the situation. so it turned out that SM was trying to give instructions to those around him. "i'm trained in first aid", SM told those around. "get something to support my leg", he said.
colleagues brought him jackets to place under his leg for insulation from the ice and he took it off. "that won't work", he said. a few others got some plastic sheets and that was wrong too. he wanted something "hard". so someone brought in a big piece of wooden plank. that got rejected as well. he refused to be moved into a more comfortable position too. what is happening? what does he wants?
my mind was taking in all these observations and analyzing the situation at the fastest speed possible. his posture, he wants support for his leg, something hard... i asked SM, "where are you in pain?" SM did not reply me, but someone nearby remarked, "i think his leg is broken, look at the funny angle..."
that is it! suddenly, i got the whole picture. he wanted a splint for his leg! silly me, i should have thought of that earlier.
immediately, i looked around to see what could be used to improvise a splint. nothing much in sight that's useful. i got the staff to look for some cardboard boxes and strings. he came back with shortly after with a cardboard box. he couldn't find any strings so he got some cellophane tape instead. another staff suggested, "can we use the laces from the skates?" brilliant idea.
without any delay, AT, MS, VC and myself, with the help of the staff, created a splint for SM and immobilized his leg. only then, SM cooperated with us to move him to a more comfortable position while waiting for the civil defence guys to fetch him to hospital.
*phew* we all heaved a sign of relief.
"someone who is first aid trained, is a difficult casualty", i thought...
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barely 4 hours later, another first aid case occurred. this time, the casualty is the first aider.
less than 2 hours into our 55km overnight run, i accidentally double tripped over uneven surface on the pavement and landed flat on the ground about a metre ahead.
as i slowly sat up, a concerned IN rushed over to check on my injuries. still recovering from shock, my immediate reaction was "don't touch me!" poor gal, she must have got a shock as well. i apologized to her after that, glad that she was very understanding and accepted my apologies.
status check:
right shoulder - slight abrasion with blood oozing
right wrist and fingers - cuts
right palm - cuts with blood oozing
right thigh - light cuts over the length of thigh
left knee - abrasion and cuts with bleeding at two areas
face - OK!!
i moved myself to somewhere there is light. good thing i packed my first aid kit for the run. never expected i'll need to use it though.
as i dressed my wounds, the rest looked on. SW poured water onto my bleeding knee, AL took out a dressing and SL opened it up. CS suggested i should tape the dressing... i wanted to use my own dressing, another remarked it wouldn't hold... finally, when i heard the advice, "listen to her, she's trained in first aid.", i replied, "i'm trained in first aid too.."
oops.. guessed trained first aiders are indeed difficult casualties! :P
