On 15th October, some of the 5th Brunswick Scouts, including myself, went to the Scout Hall and met up with a lady called Mari from Ambulance Victoria and did a two hour session learning how to do CPR.
First we talked about some of our own experiences needing to call 000 for various reasons and listened to a real 000 call which had been made when someone had fallen unconscious at work. Then some of the Scouts got a link in the chain of the steps in restarting a heart. Then some of us had a turn with a CPR practice dummy. Then we went and did CPR practice on a sheet of paper on the floor which was a mock-up of an adult or teenager who had fallen unconscious and wasn’t breathing. The poster had a heart placed on it that squeaked when you pressed hard enough in the right CPR position. It had mock up AED pads that you could place in the correct position.
Then we spit up into groups of 3 or 4 and we rotated through three activities. The activities were using an app that you hold while doing CPR compressions and it tells you if you’re doing it at the right rate and depth. Another one was performing CPR on a practice dummy and administering an AED to it. The third was learning the very first steps you should take when attempting to perform CPR and administering and AED.
Then we each received a pillow case that you can turn into a CPR practice dummy and a heart stress ball for Restart a Heart Day and an inflatable emergency services plane or helicopter.
It was really fun and I learnt loads of stuff. For example how to administer basic CPR, how deep and often compressions should be administered and a refresher on how to use a defibrillator. I think I learnt a valuable life lesson and now know how to successfully administer CPR to a teen or adult. I am really thankful to Marie from Ambulance Victoria and Matt our GroupLeader for organising it and to all the Leaders who came down and gave up their Sunday morning to teach kids how to do basic CPR. It feels really great to know that I could save someone’s life if they ever needed CPR.
Oliver
