Redid my first aid at work this week, it lapsed during the first lockdown.

Was riding along the river in Central Derby this morning and found a cyclist on the path in the classic “broken collar bone” position.

His mates had got him comfy and were sorting out transport to A&E, but I gave them the foil blanket I was carrying to keep him warmer till his lift arrived.

Very glad I’d have known what to do I I’d found him, and carry a small kit most rides. The most innocuous fall can cause a problem, so quite grateful my employer paid to train me.

If you get the chance, do it.

Good work.

Like you I did a refresher for my outdoor first aid in lockdown (did they get you doing covid specific resuscitation? For us is was feeling under clothing for breathing, no breaths and cloth over their face when doing the chest compressions).

A few weeks ago my wife, who has a back problem, passed out on the stairs and I found her unconscious, thankfully only for a short time. All the training came flooding back which was reassuring.

After the course my first aid bag expanded further, especially when leading groups. I carry a tourniquet now. I would seriously consider one of these newer handheld defibs if I was leading groups of older people more frequently.

Also, they reminded my about registering your phone number with 999 for text messages – definitely worth doing, especially in dodgy signal areas where texts get through with more reliability to phone calls.

Twice used my FA training. Once on my dad who fell from a ladder putting up Christmas lights outside their house. The top of his head looked like someone had taken it off like a boiled egg ( he hasn’t much hair) ambulance people wanted to lift him onto the stretcher but I insisted we did a controlled roll with neck brace. He had fallen over 2m and had hit the flower pot with his head. Nice scar from that one! Luckily no spine / neck damage!

Top work MCD.

I agree, the few times I have needed first aid skilz, it has been a real help to the situation. The very simple kit I carry has quite literally saved a friends life – a resuscitation aid.

I had my eldest do his first one with our company course. Three weeks later he and I had to break out the skilz on the side of Liathach.

For us is was feeling under clothing for breathing

Phwoooaaarrr… My sort of First Aid. This has reminded me, my Outdoor jobbie has expired and I’ll definitely renew if there’s mandatory fumbling involved 😀

🙂

No feeling under clothing for us, just a socially distanced check for response and breathing, then masked/covered for compressions.

Had to use it a couple of times over the years, usually with someone I find rather than someone I’m with. Thankfully nothing too serious.

Done FA training 3 times for work. So useful (essential) just for day to day life.
Need to redo soon.

I’ve been a First Aider since I was 17, a loooong time ago. I use the knowledge and skills pretty regularly at work (school) but the big incidents have been during ‘leisure time’. To date a broken pelvis when my wife crashed her bike on greasy rocks in Les Linderets/ Avoriaz, just after a mate had broken his back a day earlier on a red run up at Super Morzine. Another friend had a broken neck when going off piste in the woods on a night ride. He didn’t see the log. When X rayed it turned out that he had probably broken it three times previously. He knew about two of them. Same guy needed max-facs work from an absolute horror fall face plant down a steep rock strewn path dropping into a stream in the hills above Swansea. Same guy needed quite a bit of tending again when he sliced his forearm open on the slaty rocks on the GR5 above Chatel. Lots of blood on that one! I got a nice new first aid kit from him not long after. My youngest son took a monumental rag doll fall down a gully on the now closed route around the back of Mt Chery, watching him freefall onto rocks was sobering. Training really helped me deal with that one. He was OK miraculously, just ‘walking wounded’. Retrieving his bike took two days and a lot of rope.

The worst of the lot though was a choking incident with my eldest in Swansea city centre. He’d swallowed a sweet and it became stuck. Castle Square is a busy place on a summer Saturday lunchtime. I called for help and the place seemed to just empty itself. He was only three at the time. Back slaps failed;  an abdominal thrust was spectacularly successful. He’s 29 now. And refuses to come cycling in the Alps with me despite his Swiss girlfriend. I can’t say that I blame him.