I've kept this to myself for weeks now.

If your company/department doesn't have one close by, force them to get one even if it's to your detriment. Don't be a coward.

When I worked for the school system, we were required to learn and get certified in both. Had to go to update classes once every two years. I know what to do without having to think.

Things have been very difficult here at the Marzy household for months now. With Tabs' cancer, then my friend at work dying from pancreatic cancer and I had to make his memorial plaque.

I am NOT ok. I have only so much more I can compartmentalize.

Well, last month a fellow supervisor had a cardiac event wile we were discussing the morning's production and just fell straight back onto the floor. Habib, her husband runs over and starts trying to talk to her. He is absolutely panicked. The shipping people are stunned and just stand there. The shipping supervisor just stands there and watches. The screen printing guys run away.

She has lacerated her head severely and I can't get a pulse, she isn't breathing.

I didn't even miss a beat. I start breathing for her and and come up and just yell out as loud as I can, "GET ME THE GODDAMMED DEFIB!!!!!!!"

One of the Vietnamese runs upstairs to HR where it is and tells HR I need the machine NOW!!!! He is just telling her Hasiba is not breathing.

HR brings me the defib and calls 911 as she kicks it over.

I get her ready for the machine, stick the electrodes on and push the button for it to sense. It goes green (means needing to shock) and decides it needs to hit her. It does its job and she comes to and blood starts gushing from her head wound. She is fighting to get up and Habib helps me keep her on the floor.

By this time my Vietnamese friend has made a pillow from bubble wrap. I have been holding her head in my hands and lap. Habib is trying to get her licid. He has no idea what to do.

HR is now with me talking to first responders and I ask for the trauma bandage and rip it open and hold it to her head.

It's been several minutes when I feel a hand start patting my shoulder and and EMT says good job, we got this.

I get up, covered in blood and see the company owner watching me work and HR takes my arm and pulls me away to talk to me. She says we need to get you to the has-mat kit and I need to make a statement.

I told her I can't do this anymore and just go to my office and close the door. I can't watch another friend die. She just cleans me up in my chair.

This is on a Friday. I hear nothing all weekend. Habib calls HR around 3:00PM and said she had a heart attack and they are installing a pacemaker/defibrillator. She will be OK. HR calls me up to the office and said in no uncertain terms I saved her life.

Monday rolls around and I am in at my usual 4:30AM and Habib gets there at 7:00. He blindside almost tackles me in my department, he is in tears saying he owes me everything. I told him family owes family nothing, I'm happy Hasiba is going to be OK.

I am NOT OK at all. I can't take this. Especially being called some sort of hero. I pushed a button. My stress level is at 11. I can't vent it especially at home.

A week later Hasiba comes back to work and well, you guessed it, blindside tackles me thanking me and crying that she owes me her life. I just hug her and tell her that she's my favorite person and I'm happy she's still here.

Have I mentioned I am not ok yet? I can't sleep. I relive it all night long. This is just as bad as the fire, except this time I was able to save someone.

I get an email with a room reservation at the DoubleTree in Orlando. I have a registration at the ISA show and three other employees are being sent with me. They are to cater to my every whim and are ordered to have me blow off some steam. Yeah, I took FULL advantage and they benefitted. Charlie's Steakhouse and non stop alcohol for three days. We all had a good time and stayed out of trouble.

Boss still hasn't spoken to me about it, everyone else at work has said nothing. It's just plain weird.

I am required by HR to see a counselor. I have one I am already required to speak to as a cancer support partner. They accept this one. He's just a good listener, but says I have to work through it. He congratulated me on a job well done, but I remind him it could have gone badly. He said but it didn't. It's just something else on my plate I have to eat.


I don't want sympathy, I don't want praise. I want you to get trained to save a life and don't be a coward if the opportunity presents itself.

I know I could not live with myself without Hasiba not coming in every morning and bugging me about parts inventory and me acting like I forgot to get production on it.

This is WAY longer than it should be. Go get trained to save a life.

Sounds like you did and are continuing to do the right thing. Hang in there, it will get better. The counseling will help. And your company supporting you is stellar.

Good on you for taking action & doing what needed to be done.
Cheers, Mars, you're one of the good ones.

Good job and good points.

My company has a 1st responder program. Volunteers are trained in advanced 1st aid and respond to calls as needed. The purpose is to bridge the time for EMS to get there. We have 30 some 1st aid bags each with an AED staged around the buildings on campus. I have my required annual refresher training next week.

Training leads to confidence.
Confidence leads to action.
Action can save someone's life.
GET TRAINING!

Coincidentally, I just got certified a few hours ago from work.

 
Do the classes teach the special electrode placement and reduced voltage necessary for someone with pacemaker?

quote:

Originally posted by henryaz:
 
Do the classes teach the special electrode placement and reduced voltage necessary for someone with pacemaker?

They just taught us electrode placement. You just have to keep it an inch away from the device on our AED.

It's automatic. If the light turns green, push the button and it will do the rest.


I didn't trust that it would work, but it damn sure did.

Events like that really take a long time to process. Fortunately you had a good outcome. Even for someone that does this everyday in a hospital setting, incidents in a public setting away from that team and resources can have a huge impact on a person.

I was certified at my last employer. We put a defib in my parents house when my mother was having cardiac issues and I trained both my parents on its use. I’m glad you were there and capable of handling the situation. Post traumatic stress from things like this manifest in many ways and differently for most people. It may be worthwhile for you to find someone who deals with first responders and post traumatic stress to talk to.

Have you thought about attending an AED/CPR instructor course? It sounds to me like your company would benefit from having someone like you training the other employees on how to respond to cardiac emergencies and avoid freezing or panicking.

As an added benefit, you can work your story into the training to show others why this is so important. Sharing your experience will help you work through it while adding realism to the training that your students can relate to.

With your instructor certification, you can put yourself out there to be contracted with other employers to deliver their AED/CPR training classes giving you extra opportunity to share your experience and develop a side (or retirement) gig.

Timely reminder, and thanks. We have been meaning to put one in our lake cabin which is pretty far away from volunteer EMT help.

You done good.

Wow, you did good!

I just don't understand why the world is not COVERED in AED's at this point, like why can't they be everywhere now? They are a lifesaver for certain and need to be more widespread.

This may sound silly but if you do have one at home or work or church...CHECK IT DAILY. We carried them in our patrol vehicles when I was on the Security Patrol at my work years back and it was a daily shift SOP to check for that blinking green light because they are useless if the battery runs out. So check them EVERY DAY!

From the OED:

quote:

Hero: a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.

Marzy, I don't care if you think you aren't a hero.

Because no matter what you think, you are a HERO!

I was a paramedic. Do you want to know how many people in cardiac arrest I saved?

Zero.
Zip.
Nada.

I had a bunch of people in cardiac arrest die while I did CPR, or gave meds, or defibrillated. But saved? Not a one. Both in the field and in hospital settings.

And for you to take the initiative to tell folks to learn CPR and how to use an AED, speaks for your intelligence and compassion at the same time. I'd add at least learn basic first aid too, even if its just a TCCC class.

Dude, you are a hero, whether you like it or not.

You are also far stronger than you think. I say this because you instantly acted (and acted perfectly) in a moment of incredible stress. Only people with internal fortitude of the first order can pull that off.

Marzy:: Just remember all heros DO NOT WEAR CAPES all the time....... You done good... Yes about everyone should learn CPR because you never know if and when you might be able to help someone be it a family member / co worker / total stranger..... I had a incident at home concerning our 16 yr old
in Dec 1995 but the CPR was not sucessfull.. Later it was determined that even if she had been in the Emergency Room of a trauma hospital the outcome would have been the same ...... Please Seek help in talking to a trained professional.. Am still dealing with the trauma....... drill sgt.

All management here just went through CPR class a few weeks ago. Last week we had a guy drop dead in the plumbing department. I was at lunch when it happened. Guy didn’t make it. When I got back, the paramedics had been working on the guy for several minutes. Nearly 80, overweight and I’m sure prior cardiac issues. I knew from looking at him that he was gone. Well the manager that was first on the scene acted like a seasoned pro from what I’m told. Over the course of an hour he went from “I’m fine” to the 1000 yard stare. He took a few days off. It replays in your head on a loop for a while.

quote:

good job, we got this

Marzy, I'm really sorry that you're feeling this way. It's clearly not this most recent episode with its very good outcome; it's the PTSD of reliving the deaths of others close to you.

I think you will benefit from counseling.

Marzy glad to here your talking to someone about this.

I would say it's shocking how many people don't know how to react in such situations but I've seen it myself.

Many years ago I used to teach CPR, AED's, O2 and other life saving classes. Definitely something I wish more people took and where willing to step up when needed.

Good job, Mars. A lot of people don't pay much attention in those training courses but there are at least a few people at your site that are glad you did. Also glad you are venting here... gotta vent somewhere!

A quick suggestion: maybe suggest to HR that the defib be stored in dedicated wall cabinet on the production floor? It sounds like that is the more likely place it will be needed.

We have a lot of them throughout my workplace (a large-ish jail) and they see frequent use. My area responsibility sees the most use of all, due to the nature of housing assignments. Nobody be should intimidated by the AED, they are easy to use, even absent training. We use them frequently enough that I am on a first name basis with the fellow at the county CEO office whose job it is to come out and service the unit after every deployment. He once told me that my facility is, by far, the most used AED maintained in county buildings.

Thank you for posting this, it has me looking at adult/pediatric cpr, first aid and defibrillator classes in the area. A couple weeks ago while waiting for a customer outside of a restaurant for lunch I witnessed cpr being used on an individual in the restaurant parking lot. It appeared this person had a medical emergency as the passenger in a vehicle, the driver obviously called 911 and pulled into the parking lot. I had no idea there was any kind of problem until sheriff’s deputies and then paramedics arrived. One deputy pulled the person out and started cpr.

My oldest is a nurse, my youngest graduates nursing school next month and as my wife and I get older I realize that I should have done this years ago.

Everyone is different, post event.
It took me three years to get what ever my "normal" is.

The more you talk about it , the better.

Good listeners are sort of hard to come by.

The term hero can seem like a perjoiritive when you are on the receiving end.
Best wishes with fondest regards for these difficult days ahead.