Opinion:
"28, 29, 30, breathe, breathe ..."
And so ends my first round of CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) on a legless mannequin inside the Red Cross building in Greerton.
The CPR task is one of several I'm learning with a room full of others taking part in the first aid course. Burns, broken bones, allergic reactions - the whole shebang. And for that, I'm grateful.
The course, held two weeks ago now, means I'm now armed with the knowledge of what to do in a medical emergency. This gem of information is simple enough but the impact of what it could result in is immense. This was crystallised to me even more so when cardiac arrest survivor Peter Hall shared his story last week.
Hall, 53, was on a run at Pāpāmoa when the cardiac arrest struck, rendering him unresponsive on the ground. Bystanders Brian Rickey and Dunia Mouneimne started CPR immediately. Paramedic Reuben Merrett, who arrived a short time later, said Hall was kept alive because of Rickey and Mouneimne's swift actions. After six months, all parties reunited with Hall virtually good as new.
Similar tales of survival have surfaced in Rotorua too. In 2015, Rotorua VTNZ Fenton Park station supervisor Nagesh Nair used CPR to save the life of customer Max Burgess after Burgess collapsed in the carpark with no signs of life.
Back in the room at the Red Cross, our instructor offers examples of people being kept alive with CPR for more than an hour before ambulances arrive.
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Yet, in my view, too few of us would know what to do if we found Hall collapsed on the ground in front of us not breathing. Over the years there certainly has been confusion over which method is appropriate. (For the record, the accepted compression-to-breath ratio these days is 30:2.)
If I had been in Rickey or Mouneimne's shoes prior to the course, I'm not confident I would have known what to do other than call 111 and try to wake Hall up somehow.
A national survey commissioned by Westpac last year found 71 per cent of Kiwis say they know CPR but only 18 per cent would be "very confident" if called upon in an emergency.
I believe more people need to learn CPR and courses put on by the Red Cross and St John are invaluable. I signed up as part of work and believe more workplaces should get on board to train their teams in basic first aid.
Yes, times are tough for businesses, particularly in what has become a Covid-afflicted world, but medical emergencies don't discriminate on what someone's financial outgoings might be.
CPR training is worth every investment a business or person can make.
The difference it could make is absolutely life and death.
