Life Savers by Lexie Buchholz

            I love to babysit and I work with kids at church. I think it's important to know the proper thing to do in case of an emergency, so I decided to take a CPR class.

My previous mentor at youth group, Jen, usually teaches CPR classes at community colleges, but the time I went, she held the class in her basement.  After meeting everyone in the class and hearing the introduction for CPR training, I started using the CPR mannequin to learn compressions.  I put one hand over the other, and while keeping my arms straight, I quickly and forcefully push down in between the victim's chest. I first attempted to do one hundred compressions in a minute. I only got to eighty-five. After only fifteen compressions, my arms and wrists throbbed.

Next, Jen acted out actual CPR. I learned what to say when we called the police, which includes getting an AED.  Then Jen taught us how to start the CPR procedure. For an adult, we learned that we would only do thirty compressions, and then we tilt the mannequin's head up and give two breaths. For an infant, we would use only three fingers for compressions and give two quick breaths. If I'd done it right, I should have seen the victim's chest rise.

When the AED has arrived and the victim is still unconscious, then I was instructed on how to use the AED. AED stands for automated external defibrillator. An AED looks like a box with two thin, sticky pads attached to the other end. What it does is it sends a shock to the victim's heart to restart it after the electrical activity in the heart is not having a normal rhythm. An AED has an electrical voice that walks you through the steps if you forget what to do.

After our instruction about the AED, we finished the class by learning how to save a choking adult and child. To save a choking adult, the Heimlich maneuver is used. When a young infant is choking, you turn them over face down and support their head. You repeatedly hit in between their shoulder blades until they stop choking.  I was afraid that I would hurt the infant, but Jen said that where I was hitting was one of the strongest areas of a child.

At the end of the class, I proudly received my CPR certification card. I thought

the class was fun and informative. It was difficult and trying too, but I'm glad I now know

what do if an emergency occurs when I'm babysitting.

First Autobiographical Incident