AN UNDERRATED SKILL

I still wonder why first aid isn’t a subject in secondary school, I never knew anything practical about first aid until I got into the higher institution. I remember during those years when I had to drop out of school, I had a work accident that was really bad. I was working on a roll up stand machine when the sharp coil drove into my skin, blood everywhere but I instinctively knew I needed to add pressure on the wound because blood was spilling out everywhere and I started feeling weak. I knew relying on the people there who didn’t look like they knew what to do was useless so I had to take matters into my own hand and figure out a way to control the bleeding. The first thing I did was to tell someone to tie a cloth around my arm while I placed a handkerchief on the wound with a bit of pressure. After a while I noticed that the blood coming from the wound reduced drastically, while my lower arm was beginning to weaken. But it gave me time to gather my strength as I was no longer losing blood and after it was controlled I was taken to the nearest hospital for treatment.

Photo by milan degraeve on Unsplash

Although I did not really know much about first aid then, I instinctively saved myself from blood loss which was how I survived that day. Another time I was at home when I fell from my room in our duplex to the sitting room downstairs because I came out around 2:00 am in the morning to help my pregnant mum get something. That day I literally thought I had died, because I completely blacked out and when I opened my eyes I could only see light for a few moments before I tried to turn only to realize how much it hurt. Again there was blood everywhere, but thankfully they were just cuts and bruises. My mum rushing downstairs saw me and instinctively rolled me slowly to my side that wasn’t injured and slowly examined the wound closely. Seeing it they weren’t that deep, Spirit, menthol and medical plasters did the job and after which a well prepared cat fish pepper soup to welcome me back to life properly.

To be honest I do not really know much about First aid treatment, I have never been professionally taught, but I understand the body's physiology somehow and instinctively know what to do when I see someone hurt. I have never performed CPR, I do not pray to ever be in a position where I have to perform it, but theoretically I know about it courtesy of where I work and the safety drills we have been theoretically taught in cases of emergencies. But First aid Swimming and Fire emergency drills are things I put in my bucket list last year, this year I have been able to learn the basic fire drills, at least it has helped me know what to do practically in a case of emergency, and I know I will be able to do it. But for first aid, I still hope to learn practically.

THIS IS MY RESPONSE TO HIVE LEARNER'S PROMPT FOR WEEK 180 EPISODE 2