As instructors we always say that anyone can learn CPR and that everyone should. We’ve taught people of all ages and abilities, young and old, able bodied and in wheelchairs, folks with learning difficulties, those who struggled to reach the floor and plenty of other people who might have thought ‘can I do this?’ To us the answer is clear”  Yes you can.
It seems the news is backing us up this week as well. The first story tells of an 8th grader who has had enough training to save the life of someone choking. An essential skill included in every course. Choking practice seems to change regularly and is expected to be updated again soon. As current practice changes, it’s always good to keep up to date. The next ‘CPR saves a life’ story this week certainly shows that regular repetition of the skills really helps. After regular practice over many years, this rescuer had no problem doing CPR and saving a colleagues life.
The third story of the week just goes to emphasize the fact that even if your skills are a little rusty, you can skill save a life. We emphasize in class that doing anything you remember being taught is better than doing nothing at all. This time we find a 71 year old gentleman using training he received 35 years ago. That’s right, 35 years! We’re often asked in class ‘will I remember all this?‘ and now it seem clear that yes, people do remember their training years later. The added bonus with this story is that it was his own son he managed to save.