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YourHub.com \\ Vero Beach \\ Stories \\ Education \\ General Education

You never know when........

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Contributed by: Donna Roberts on 10/28/2009

On the evening of Friday September 25th as Brian Little was entering a local supermarket, a gentleman patron of the store collapsed to the floor and began convulsing. The victim was unresponsive and unconscious and was displaying textbook indications of a seizure: muscular twitching, rapid respiration and pulse, and drooling. There were many gawking bystanders, but everyone seemed hesitant to act or become involved. Brian requested that 911 be called and verified that the victim was breathing, placed him in the recovery position, monitored his vitals and requested something to place under his head while he was convulsing. A store employee called 911 and EMS was en route. The store manager and Brian continued to monitor the victim who ceased convulsing after 2-3 minutes and became conscious shortly thereafter. Despite Brian and the manager's protests, the victim, who was oriented enough to know who he was, but not where he was, wanted to leave. He was very unsteady and confused. The store manager and Brian convinced him to sit in a chair and wait for the EMTs who were by then pulling into the parking lot. When the EMTs arrived Brian gave them a brief account of what happened and left the gentleman in their care.

Thankfully, Brian was able to help because he had received excellent training through the North Treasure Coast Chapter of the American Red Cross. This gave him the confidence to not merely standby, but offer valuable assistance. Although this was a fairly minor incident it illustrates the importance of Red Cross training and the "you never know when..." aspect of how that training could come into play in our everyday lives.

Mr. Little lives in Fort Pierce, works as a full time lifeguard at John's Island Club in Vero Beach and is now a Red Cross instructor in First Aid, CPR and AED.

For more information on how you can be trained by your local American Red Cross call 562-2549 or 878-7077.

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