chances of more than one person with
CPR familiarity being involved in an
emergency. You and your children will
learn this life-saving technique together.
The;cardiologist;found;severe;block-ages;during;the;cardiac;catheterization.
After receiving a balloon pump (his
heart was too weak to pump on its
own),;my;dad;was;flown;to;Washington
Adventist Hospital for quadruple bypass
heart surgery. The surgery was a suc-cess.;Praise;the;Lord!;Dad;had;only;mi-nor surgical complications and is now
on the road to recovery.
We;are;a;thankful;and;blessed;fam-ily. It is obvious to us that the Lord had
His hand in this outcome for my dad. It
is a miracle that my dad even survived.
Statistically he is an anomaly. The cardiologist on call at the hospital even verbal-ized;to;our;family;that;his;outcome;was
miraculous. In his years of experience,
he has only seen one other patient with
these;types;of;blockages;survive;a;heart
attack. Even this man of science gave
credit;to;prompt;CPR;and;a;Divine;hand.
Life-saving Lesson 4: God uses prompt
CPR to save lives.
After;my;dad’s;cardiac;arrest,;our;family
understands deeply and personally how
important;CPR;knowledge;is.;We;also;un-derstand how important it is to teach the
next generation. I have already started educating my children in an age-appropriate
manner.;Early;exposure;will;make;them
more;comfortable;and;more;likely;to;be
ready to help when the need arises. With
my;two;young;children;(aged;2;and;6),;we
discuss;how;to;get;help;and;call;911.;They
may not be strong enough to do the com-pressions;correctly,;but;they;know;when
something is wrong, how to get help, and
what;to;say;to;the;911;operator.
With;my;two;oldest;(aged;9;and;11),
I;include;instruction;about;proper;CPR
techniques. To help them remember the
rhythm;of;the;compressions;( 100;beats
per;minute),;we;use;the;songs;“Twinkle,
Twinkle;Little;Star”;and;the;“ABC”;song.
Being a 70s fan already, I even intro-duced;them;to;the;Bee;Gees’;song;“Stay-in’;Alive”;(along;with;the;requisite;dance
moves and bell bottoms).
We;will;continue;to;discuss;CPR;fre-quently and then review our technique
on a monthly basis. When my children
are;older,;I;plan;to;have;them;take;a;cer-tified;class;in;Conventional;CPR,;but;for
now I plan to train them at home with
Hands-Only;CPR.;I;also;hope;to;purchase
the;Friends;and;Family®;CPR;Anytime
program offered through the American
Heart Association (which comes with its
own mannequin to practice on).
Life-saving Lesson 5: Remember the
five P’s: Proper Planning Prevents Poor
Performance. Planning for the unexpected now will prevent poor performance when every second counts.
Resources and Recommendations
The American Heart Association (AHA)
states;that;“almost;80%;of;Cardiac;Ar-
rests occur at home.” 1 This statistic
alone;makes;it;critical;that;at;least;one
individual;in;every;home;knows;how;to
administer;CPR.;Learning;proper;CPR
techniques is not as hard as it once was.
Though being trained face-to-face by a
certified trainer in Conventional CPR
(with mouth-to-mouth assisted breathing) is ideal, there are other options.
In March of 2008 the Red Cross
modified its CPR criteria to include
something called Hands-Only CPR. 2
This method is intended for untrained
or previously trained individuals who
are not current or confident in their
CPR;skills.;The;idea;is;to;take;out;the
“mouth-to-mouth”;component;and;just
do hand compressions.
Hands-Only CPR is recommended
for witnessed cardiac arrest in a teen or
adult;victim.;Conventional;CPR;is;still
recommended for infants, pre-pubertal
children, anyone found already unconscious, victims of drowning, victims with
irregular breathing, or drug overdose
cases. This may sound confusing, but al-ways;remember;that;any;attempt;at;CPR
is;always;better;than;no;CPR;at;all.;Ac-cording;to;the;AHA,;Hands-Only;CPR
has been shown to be just as effective as
Conventional;CPR;in;the;first;few;min-utes of a sudden cardiac arrest. 3
The American Heart Association pro-
vides resources in Hands-Only CPR
through a program titled Friends and
Family® CPR Anytime. This program
provides;CPR;training;for;the;home;and
costs approximately $35 per kit. 4 This
program does not result in CPR card
certification,;but;it;does;provide;training
and;knowledge;in;the;use;of;Hands-Only
CPR.Vi sit their website at www.heart
.org;and;search;for;“Hands-Only;CPR.”
The American Red Cross is also a great
website to investigate. You can visit www
. redcross.org and search for “Hands-Only
CPR.”;According;to;the;Red;Cross,;one
in four people will be in a situation that
requires;CPR;during;their;lifetime.
Another free option is a Hands-
Only;CPR;video;produced;by;medical
students at Northwestern University
Feinberg School of Medicine and the
Chicago CardiacArrest Resuscitation
Education Service (CCARES). This is a
free and informative six-minute video. 5
There are many ways to incorporate
CPR;education;into;our;homeschools.
Your options include free videos, pur-
chasing;a;home;training;kit,;or;taking
a;class;to;become;certified;in;CPR.;The
main point is to understand the impor-
tance of CPR, discuss it openly with
your children, and be prepared.
Prompt CPR saves lives. My Dad is
living proof.
Stacey Swart, along with her husband
James, homeschool their four precious gifts
from God (aged 2, 6, 9, and 11). Stacey
knows that homeschooling and teaching
her children about Jesus are her true callings. She also enjoys traveling, the beach,
healthy eating, and reading classics. Stacey has homeschooled in Maryland, Ohio,
and Hawaii and is preparing for an international move to Abu Dhabi, U.A.E.
Endnotes:
1.;www.heart.org/idc/groups/heart-public/@
wcm/@ecc/documents/downloadable/ucm
_441302.pdf
2.;newsroom.heart.org/news/hands-only-cpr
-simplifies-saving-228211
3.;www.heart.org/HEARTORG/CPRAndECC
/HandsOnlyCPR/LearnMore/Learn-More
_UCM_440810_FAQ.jsp
4. commerce.workflowoneaccess.com/UI
/ Customer.aspx?autologonid=31922b3b-138f-
408b-9413-c11452e589b8
5.;www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player
_embedded&v=GyuURBOrgrE
www.TheOldSchoolhouse.com
According to the
Red Cross, one in
four people will
be in a situation
that;requires;CPR
during their lifetime.
