[at-l] CPR Useless?

[thornel at attglobal.net (W F Thorneloe)]

Listen to Charles' story of valiant well trained scout
leaders who labored in vain for a fallen peer. They
were excellently trained, had plenty of hands to
rotate tasks of CPR, got messages out for assistance
pretty darned quickly, did not panic or abandon their
task as they maintained certain signs of benefit from
field resuscitation. 

Yet the golden hour of getting the victim on
telemetry, O2, IV fluids, drugs, cardioversion didn't
work out. 

I feel bad for the team of friends who attempted to
resuscitate. They felt "it didn't make a difference."
Bullfeathers! They and that troop learned some real
world lessons that are painful but essential. Those
boys know CPR and first aid aren't just a merit badge.


There have been a couple of other miracle stories on
the list of CPR after triage should have stopped
transfer to Big Medical Center. The process of
learning CPR and practice allows the opportunity for
those miracles to occur. 

Learn CPR, but learn how and when to determine that
your efforts are for naught. Know that the immediate
life and death result isn't the only outcome of the
event. Learn how to deal with the traumas of CPR, as
debriefing post crash is vital to avoid getting
"messed up." 

CPR in the backcountry is "useless" in the terms that
evacuation to an appropriate ER and telemetry unit
within the Golden Hour is rarely possible.
Resuscitation is probably most successful in witnessed
lightning strikes, choking, and drowning events. It is
worth learning, but other skills are of more daily
usefulness. I feel much more pain for the distress of
the CPR team than I do for the father who failed to
attend to his weakness and malaise.

Also, pay attention to the mess that a sudden death
leaves. The scout troop, the sons and the family have
a great deal of pain and mess to resolve. A boy scout
won't have a father at Eagle Scout presentation, high
school graduation or a wedding, because his father
didn't feel up to going to his doc or the ER with his
symptoms of "not up to it."

Don't be like that father. Don't do that to your kids
and family.

OrangeBug