Why take CPR? I remember asking that question years ago myself. I mean, I took the customary infant CPR class when I was pregnant with my first child, but seriously, I’m not a medical professional or life guard so why on earth would I need this! I shuddered at the thought at ever having to actually use it! Then came the day when my precious little baby girl mysteriously stopped breathing, turned blue, and lost consciousness. I panicked! I couldn’t remember a thing I had been taught in that class 11 years earlier! I remember crying hysterically as my husband drove as fast as he could to the hospital on our little island as we do not have a 911 service here. I remember clinging to her little body and begging God to let her live. The hospital was 20 minutes…we got there in 8! Immediately the doctors took her from me and began to work on her…the seconds seemed like hours and those moments now are all a blur…I vaguely remember collapsing on the ER floor in the midst of the sound of machines whirring and beeping and doctors speaking rapidly in Tagalog. The following 24 hours still seem like another life to me even now as I look back and reflect, but miraculously, my baby girl survived! This was the week before Thanksgiving in 2011 and what a Thanksgiving we had after that, praising God for sparing her life! At that time we thought the crisis had passed; after all, she had eventually coughed up a small piece of plastic. But it was only the beginning. At first she seemed to just be choking again from time to time and of course I would panic again; but then the “episodes” became more traumatic and longer. Sometimes she would be playing and suddenly begin to turn blue and pass out. Other times, “something” would tell me to check on her while she was sleeping and I’d find her blue and unconscious. Kaylinn had more near death experiences before turning two than most people have in their entire life! Doctors checked everything they could think of but could come up with no explanation. To make a very long story somewhat shorter, we ended up in Hawaii at the Kapiolani Children’s Medical Center for an entire month. Kaylinn saw every pediatric specialist in Hawaii, was in the PICU for several days, and went through about every test imaginable. She’s quite the little trooper! No definite diagnosis was ever confirmed and they told us they could only hope she’d eventually grow out of the problems she had. While we returned home to our island exhausted, frustrated though relieved that she was at the time ok, broke, and thousands of dollars worth of medical bills in debt, one thing the hospital left us with that was invaluable was the private CPR classes. The question we kept asking each specialist had been, “what could or should we have done differently when she had these episodes?”. If only I had known all this from the beginning! Perhaps I could helped Kaylinn more? Our story is one of the rare ones with a happy ending. Kaylinn is now nearly 3 years old, happy and healthy, growing and thriving, with no signs whatsoever of her previous breathing issues. But how many families have a different ending to their story? How many could have changed the ending had they known CPR? Just recently we heard about a child at a beach park here on our island that was found drowned in the ocean. A police officer happened to be there at the time and was able to resuscitate her with CPR. What if he hadn’t been there and no one else knew CPR? Since taking our initial CPR classes in Hawaii, we have taken CPR refresher and certification classes here as well as had each one of our older children and a close friend who often watches our children take CPR. You never know when you will need it. A couple of days after taking the CPR certification class, I was outside of our home with my younger children when a car accident occurred right in front of our house! What are the odds! Out of all the bystanders, I was the ONLY one who knew CPR! I was the only one able to help the injured driver and wait with him till help arrived. What about you? You never know when you will be placed in a situation where someone is dying. Will you be ready to help?
Some TIPS on HOW to be ready:
- Check with hospitals or medical clinics in your area for CPR classes and get enrolled!
- Your local Red Cross also offers CPR classes
- Go to www.shopcpranytime.org for more info as well as to get home CPR kits that you can use to have your entire family learn CPR. These kits include a Bilingual (English and Spanish) CPR skills DVD, inflatable manikin with clicker (which was especially helpful for kids/smaller hands to see how hard the chest compressions need to be), CPR & AED reminder card, and directions. A special thank you to MAHI International for providing our family’s kit!
- Take regular refresher courses! Believe me, you will forget if you don’t review!
- Make sure all involved in child care with your family is trained in CPR.
Sharing our family’s story is often emotional for me, but I thank God daily for giving us back our precious little angel. Though emotional for me to go back and review the trauma of nearly losing a child, I hope and pray that our story and these tips will help YOU to be prepared for an emergency. While I sincerely hope you never have to use these skills, it’s always best to be ready so schedule a CPR course ASAP! God bless!
Photo: Kaylinn in the PICU in HI with Tucker, the hospital dog! She got to bring home a stuffed version of Tucker, which she still has and loves!