CPR story

Triathlon Forum
1

Been wondering how to post this for a little while, but figure that I will just put it out there as a PSA.

First thing though, the guy died.

About a month ago, Wife and I were at the local greenway finishing up a evening walk. As we got back to the car, the teens and young adults at the basket ball court were calling for us. I was a little hesitant at first because the were asking for help, but did not seem to be in any urgency. Just asking for the address. I walked up to the court and they point to their friend and said that he collapsed a few minutes ago and was turning blue. I thought, oh shit, and start feeling for a pulse and breathing. Nothing.

So I start the CPR thing.

Now, I have had almost continuous CPR training for the last 20 years, starting with the boy scouts, and then in the Marines, and now where I work its a requirement for every 2 years. But i have never had to apply it on a person.

It’s completely different. The was a bigger guy, so finding the proper area to apply chest compressions was difficult, so was staying on the area, as he was very sweaty. Every breath was hard because he was bigger and his mouth was full of foam. Also, teeth. I’ll never forget the feeling of scraping teeth.

Well, I did that for about 3 minutes until the ambulance came. They loaded him up and took him up the road.

Afterwards, Wife and I decided to head to the ER and check on him. A few minutes later, his brother came running out and we heard the screams. I went out and stayed with his brother until his family got there and Wife and I headed home.

Moral of the story: CPR does not always work and its very different from the cpr dummy. Also, this guy was 22 I think (i did not know him), so make every day count.

2

Good for you for pitching in and trying…most people wouldn’t.

Few years ago an older gentlemen collapsed at my father’s b-day party. I did the compressions while my cousin did mouth-to-mouth. We got him back at one point and was breathing on his own, but it was only temporary. Resumed CPR until the ambulance got there but he didn’t make it. IN reality, it was probably just his time…he was 80+ and not in great health form what I understand.

Worst part for me was when I started compressions and I cracked his rib cage…can still remember how that felt. "Oh SCHITT!! I just broke his ribs!!’ Ugh… I was later told that probably meant I was doing the compressions “right”, at least in terms of the amount of pressure.

3

Good on you dude. Every CPR class I’ve been in the instructor has always started off with the disclaimer that CPR isn’t a guarantee, only a chance for survival.

You did the right thing. Many people wouldn’t or couldn’t have.

4

This is a PSA that needs to be brought up from time to time. Good job doing it.

5

And updated with current practice and standards. The recent change is to compressions only. Apparently the experts believe the compressions, when done right (ie cracking ribs) provides sufficient air exchange and therefore mouth-to-mouth is no longer recommended. I still carry a mask anyway. You still need to clear the airway first.

I should wait and see if it will change again in 2013.

6

really as of when? I just re-did my cert 2 weeks back and it was 30 compressions for 2 rescue breathes.

and yes, CPR is a “preservation” practice, without an AED resuming normal heart functions are tough.

7

Y’know - it probably depends on the agency. American Heart will say one thing, Red Cross another and so on. Either one is acceptable for a good samaritan, as you were trained, etc.

8

ah, right. I did Red Cross, btw.

9

Yes they changed it about 8 months to a year plus ago. http://phys.org/news/2010-10-cpr-c-a-b.html
They did a study and saw that in large cities 83% of more people would get down and start CPR if they did not have to do BReathing first. The initial “HEll im not putting my mouth on this stranger guy”. And realized also that you need to pump out the heart of CO2 b4 you breath back in , or something like that.

10

Just so you know and don’t feel too bad, CPR almost never works, especially in the circumstances you found yourself in. I would say less than 5% when it is surly a heart attack issue like what you came upon. And giving mouth to mouth without a barrier is a no no, and now a days as someone pointed out, pretty much just compressions. Even with a d-fib machine, he would be less than 30% to survive long enough to make it to the ER…

Good you did something, but you have to protect yourself first in those situations…

11

As a career firefighter I have done more CPR than you could imagine. And, yes, it is VERY different than any class type setting.

The first few times I did CPR I thought it felt very weird having the sensation of breaking somebodys rib and sternum. But, I would rather be alive with a couple broken bones than dead without them

12

Good for you for reacting quickly and using your training to help try and save a life. I had a CPR experience many years ago when I was working as a lifeguard at Rockaway Beach in NY. Unfortunately that man also did not survive.

It was an extremely hot day, and pretty much out of nowhere, the sky went dark and freak storm rolled in.
We started clearing the beach of people, and then all of a sudden -BOOM- one of the loudest lightening cracks I ever heard.
Not knowing just how close the strike was, I quickly hurried my pace to get the hell off the beach.
But, within less than a minute, I heard the lifeguard emergency whistle from the next beach down.

I sprinted down to the next beach. A man in his 20s was down on the sand unconscious. He had been stuck by lightening and had no pulse and was not breathing. Chest compressions were already being started by the other lifeguard. I was in position to perform rescue breathing. Damn! I left my mask at my tower. Do I give mouth to mouth without any protective mask? I knew Oxygen was on its way from a few towers down, but how long would that be? If I waited, I knew his chances of survival would diminish. I couldn’t wait, so I went ahead and gave mouth to mouth without a mask.

To this day, I still vividly remember the slimy, frothy saltiness.
Eventually the paramedics arrived and took the guy away in the ambulance, and we all left the beach safe and sound.
I found out the next day that he didn’t survive.

A lot of people told me it was dumb to give mouth to mouth without using a mask, and perhaps they are right.
But reflecting back on the experience, if I had decided to wait for the oxygen unit to arrive, I would have probably have an enormous amount of regret knowing that I could have done more to save him.

I’ll agree with your moral that CPR doesn’t always work, and add that it is also nothing like it is in the movies, or Baywatch.

13

Two things: 1. CPR mainly keeps blood flowing to the brain while you wait for somebody with paddles. 2. Breaking ribs very common.

Need to keep compressions going very fast. If you remember the great song “Another one bites the dust” and sing that in your head, then use that beat to do the compressions. Or if you prefer, use the song “Staying Alive” which is more appropriate.

I was running on trails one day this past summer, older man was down. I did CPR for 20 minutes while we waited for help since we were in remote area and on trails. I broke guy’s ribs and felt horrible at the time it happened. When help came they took over CPR, but gave rounds of shocks, that still didn’t get him back breathing or moving. He had probably died before I got to him on the trail.

Ironically I met with heart doc later that day for work and told him what had happened, and he gave me the two things above that I listed as well as the two songs. Good to know CPR nevertheless because I was the first on the scene willing to start it. A few others there before me had no idea what to do. Might have saved his life.

14

Just so you know and don’t feel too bad, CPR almost never works, especially in the circumstances you found yourself in. I would say less than 5% when it is surly a heart attack issue like what you came upon.

This was my understanding. While the rate of success is relatively low, it’s still high enough to warrant the practice. I re-certified over the summer through the Red Cross, and it was still 30+2.

15

Yup, my wife just recertified. No breaths and get John Travolta in your mind and compress to “staying alive”.

The only time I did CPR was to take over from another person, in an ambulance. Loooooooong ride, very tiring. Person was pronounced dead as soon as the Doc at the ER saw him. I still remember the stench of beer and kielbasa which the victim threw up. Yuck.

16

If it helps, even in the hospital when they do CPR with defib, they might get the person back to “alive” but they are generally a vegetable or brain dead.

17

I have probably worked 500 plus CPR/Codes in the field and hospital setting. It is always a long shot, but sometimes just maybe it will work. Without CPR the chances of ever walking/talking again is 0% so what do you have to lose? The early defibrillation (AED) in airports, stores, and at your house are wonderful, but still if you need them, you are dead. No pulse, no breathing = dead.
There are exceptions like being cold and dead may still be alive. But if you think the person needs CPR, get busy and get a 911 call out there. I first learned CPR when they were on the chest pressure arm lift style and CPR has come a long way, but even an event in a hospital with an IV in place and defib pads in place is still a long shot. Do not feel bad if CPR fails, you did your best. It fails the vast majority of the time. But just that once, could mean a lot to some family.

CPR is very hard to do for log periods (like 10 minutes for a 200 lb man], so factor in getting help is way up there on the 1 2 3s of CPR in the field.

I always avoided working on Christmas for that reason. Every year grandma or grandpa just couldn’t take the excitement and what a bad deal doing CPR in the ER and they still died. That is always a tough one on Christmas. I am glad this post comes up from time to time, we all need a reminder. Have a good Holiday Season.

18

Just so you know and don’t feel too bad, CPR almost never works, especially in the circumstances you found yourself in. I would say less than 5% when it is surly a heart attack issue like what you came upon.

This was my understanding. While the rate of success is relatively low, it’s still high enough to warrant the practice. I re-certified over the summer through the Red Cross, and it was still 30+2.

I was told the same thing the two times I did my certification. The instructor basically started by saying, “It ain’t like the movies”.
Pretty much said that they are never going to suddenly wake up because of CPR, that you are just trying to keep blood/02 flowing until paramedics can get there with paddles. And that it rarely works out…

19

Absolutely agree!

20

Yup, my wife just recertified. No breaths and get John Travolta in your mind and compress to “staying alive”.

The only time I did CPR was to take over from another person, in an ambulance. Loooooooong ride, very tiring. Person was pronounced dead as soon as the Doc at the ER saw him. I still remember the stench of beer and kielbasa which the victim threw up. Yuck.

I like that better than Queen “Another One Bites the Dust”.