Therapy for bystanders
I'm no expert, but this article confirms my husband's and my experience with amateur CPR as practiced locally by our volunteer fire department. On one occasion, a man administered CPR to his fairly young and healthy friend who collapsed right by his side, and who went on to an apparently full recovery. On every other occasion, we were acting out a strange social ritual that had very little to do with the ostensible patient.
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3 comments:
Maybe it's for you, too. You do your best, according to the best teaching we know how to offer, so you don't have to blame yourself for the death of someone close by. That's not a bad thing.
I don't know about volunteer fire departments, but professional responders have protocols from a doctor telling them when and when not to attempt resuscitation. Good protocols are a boon.
Bad protocols result in pointless attempts. Frankly, trying to resuscitate someone you know has no chance is disheartening; it feels like desecration, and the time would be better spent comforting the family and being available in case someone else needs you.
In any case, the role of the law should not be ignored here, as well as the principle of erring on the side of preserving life.
That's exactly the role I choose for myself at a scene of this kind. There's always someone else who really feels obligated to try the CPR or AED. I glom onto a survivor and try to help them get through it, answering questions if they have any, getting them ready for the bureaucratic onslaught that's about to land on them, and acknowledging how shocked and disoriented they are.
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