I took EMT classes years ago, and even though I never worked on an ambulance, I've put those skills to good use. One of my kids has had febrile seizures, and the first time was when we were going to take a ferry ride, people called 911 and the cop who came out couldn't believe I was the Mom because I wasn't screaming or freaking out. Another time a chin got split open, stitch count:3. Minor surgey to remove a mole, I helped hold my child down. One child stabbed the other with a piece of bamboo, no stitches just on open wound to take care of - it was pretty small, though. There have been the usual splinters to remove, as well as the dime that got put up the younger one's nose. (He did it to himself). I didn't expect that training to come in handy today.
My older son had a field trip to a local region park's newt ponds. He asked if I would go, so I made arrangements for my younger son to be picked up from school. He wanted me to go so I could see where he'd gone on a walk with his Dad, and thought I'd like the newts. We took a 30 minute or so walk up the hill to the ponds.
We saw lots of newts, some were even mating. There were egg sacs all along the sides of the pond, and we put lots back in the water because the water level in the pond had gone down some. After that the kids and their teacher went up a hill on a hike, while the class aide, another parent, and I stayed at the bottom and watched.
The three of us caught up with the rest of the group, (it's a small class, with less than 10 students), at a tree on the other side of the hill. One of the kids was climbing in the tree and fell. When he got up, crying and making his way to the teacher, his forearm was bending where it shouldn't - several inches above his wrist. All I could think was that that arm needed to be kept still, how was I going to do that? I used my jacket for a sling and tied an Ace bandage around it and the child so it wouldn't flop around. We looked for a sling in the first-aid kit but there wasn't one. The class aide and I walked the child down the hill and out of the park to her car. My son came along, even though he really wanted to stay.
We got to the school and the child's parents were there waiting for us. The class aide explained what happened, and I told them I'd get my jacket next week, when the kids go back to school. I told my son on the way to the school how proud I was of him for not griping about leaving with us and about how supportive he was of his classmate. I also got him lunch from outside instead of having him eat the one I'd made for the trip.We've made plans to go back to the ponds, this time with little brother in tow.
My son's teacher called later in the day to say, "Thanks". He said he'd had some training, but nothing close to what I had. My son said he was glad I went with the class today and that I was "cool" because I didn't freak out, just wrapped up his classmate's arm and helped get him back to school. That's one of the nicest things I've heard in a while.
