A thankful heart

I can't remember if I blogged about it back in January when our staff had Red Cross training to be certified to perform CPR, but today was a continuation course on using the AED (defibrillator--or shock machine) if someone's heart stops. They divided us into groups so that we could take turns doing "hands on" exercises on the test dummies.

Suddenly I became nervous and fidgety as the first two groups got down to practice and none of the four people could remember anything they had learned only 3 short months ago--rescue breathing, CPR, nada. These people were carrying around certification cards to perform this stuff and they didn't know what they heck they were doing?! Now, I know that in times of stress and emergency it might be common to forget what you have learned, but this was just practice--no pressure, no real emergencies, just calm, layed back scenarios the instructor had made up. It was obvious to her that these people needed refresher instructions on the basics of saving lives.

When we finally got back to the AED machines and doing the hands on exercises again, it was mine and my partner's turn to do the exercise with the dummy. I got into my little zone and completed the exercise, trying to stay focused. I overheard one of my co-workers say, "Man, if I'm dying I want Amy to save me, she's fast," but all I could think about was how I hope I never have to use this machine on anyone--ever.

This sort of thing just gets to me. I admit that I even teared up some as I watched the training video and the actors went through "an emergency scene." This incident was not real--it was a completely made up scenario, but here I found myself having to look away from the TV to keep from crying. I think what bothered me the most was that I realize that this actually happens to real people. People go into cardiac arrest everyday and these procedures are done to save their lives.

Today I am thankful. I am thankful for many things, but today I am truly thankful for the paramedics that do this for a living. They save people's lives everday.

I am thankful for the miracles.