I know how to save a life!

I've almost completed an eleven hour shift today (sounds loooooooong, right?) but the first eight hours of the class I spent at a First Aid class. As part of my "personal development plan" at work, my company is paying for me to get a first aid certificate. I work sole charge in the centre so it is definitely a positive for them if I can deal with emergency situations with some level of knowledge and clarity of mind.

The good:

I learnt how to fix people and save lives! I also met a bunch of awesome people that I get to hang out with all day tomorrow! And finding out what you are meant to do when you come across a massive MVA and there are limbs everywhere (bag 'em and tag 'em... name of owner if you know them, type of limb regardless) or people's guts are spilling out (don't shove them back in, cover with plastic and gently compress, or get them to compress if they can).

The bad:

Being the one who has done almost every form of injury to herself. Who's had bleeding open wounds? I have. Who's had strains and sprains? I have! Who's had concussion/blunt force trauma to the head? Oooooh pick me (and blame my cousin A for trying to "skip" a grapefruit sized rock). Who's been bitten by a poisonous spider and can explain the experience to the class? Ahhhh I'm guessing that would be me again? Yup, sure is. Understatement of the year at afternoon break - "You're a bit accident prone, aren't you?"

The ugly: Having to use these awful glad-wrap and gauze contraptions when practicing resuscitation... it's hard enough to get an air-tight seal on a mannequin face without your shield flopping round. I was joking with J, a guy on the course, that I was going to bring it home and stick in a scrap book. Fugly thing.

I'd been meaning to get first aid certified for YEARS and I'm so glad I finally will be. I probably will have left the company by the time I need to get re-certified but it's something I'm willing to keep up out of my own pocket - it's reassuring to know that come the worst situations, I'm one that can help rather than just observe.

My task to you, dear readers, is to look into getting certified if you aren't already. We can all be superheroes, saving lives. We just need to be taught.