Stop the Bleeding and Keep them Breathing

Sometimes people make mistakes and take the life of another. Other times, people deliberately take the life of others. Thanks to the visual capabilities of the media and the sometimes accurate reporting of News Anchors, we see this behavior in this country and around the world. Will it stop? The answer is that it probably won’t. So what can we do about it? Much has been done but by the appearance and words of the President of the United States of America, everything is being done, but yet we still die.And since there does not appear to be a solution in sight, we must know how to help ourselves. Quite simply, we have to keep our heads down, obey the instructions of a peace officer, stop the bleeding and keep us breathing. One way of these people who take lives is from bullets. A bullet has no name on it. Once it leaves the chamber and is pointing at someone, the projected trajectory and the velocity does not guarantee that it will strike its target or stop once it has reached it. Once it reaches its target orwhoever is in its path, it will produce a piercing wave of internal destruction that will cause pain, bleeding and eventually, stop the heart from beating. There are some procedures that we can employ to treat an attack from a bullet. 1) Direct pressure to stop any external bleeding; 2) start Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), and 3) breathe for the person who was unfortunately struck by this bullet. We must maintain these simple steps to increase the victim’s chance of survivor. However, before initiating all three, we must call for help. We do this by dialing 911 and placing the phone on speaker mode while we simultaneously employee these three life-saving steps. While we are engaged in these life-saving steps, we will be overtaken by grief and emotionally a wreck. However, it is important to maintain our degree of composure somehow. By doing so, we will provide an effective effort to save the life of our loved one, or someone we don’t know. Eventually, the police will arrive first (if not already there), then Emergency Medical Services (EMS) will arrive and once they are there, step back and let them handle the victims condition. Now, very important information is needed for law enforcement and EMS to have an effective investigation as to the events that led up to a bullet fired. The following are some ideas that you can try to remember. If you know who did the shooting, try to remember everything about them, i.e. male, female, height, weight, hair color, facial hair, age, nationality, odors, clothing type, and color. Include the type of gun used, the distance from where the gun was fired, the time the shooting occurred, any arguments, physical fights, or any other person who may have been present. For EMS, some of the above information is needed. However, for you, more is needed, i.e. the age of the victim, allergies, medical problems, what medication he or she may be on(specifically a blood thinner).”Include a phone number, address, names of next of kin, last meal intake, advance directive, and his or her doctor’s name if available. Another important factor in saving the life of a person who is struck by a bullet is to start treating them as quickly as possible. If he or she has a heartbeat and is not breathing, simply breath for them with mouth to mouth, mouth to barrier device, or mouth to mask until EMS arrive. Breathe for them, every six seconds and don’t stop until the victim breathes on his or her, oruntil EMS arrives. Remember to put yourself first, regarding safety. If there is a shooting, don’t help until it is clear to do so. Stay far enough away to avoid any stray bullets and being seen by a person who is doing the shooting. If EMS is not there and the assailant has departed the area, help by stopping the bleeding and keeping them breathing. CPR may be started but only if it is safe. So, to summarize, if you hear shooting, hide and call 911. If you happen to be next to the victim and the shooter has departed the scene, began care. Keep alert in case the shooter returns but the police should be there in minutes. Your life is just as valuable as the person who you are trying to help. Stay safe, learn CPR and First Aid (FA), and stay healthy by eating healthy, not smoking, not doing drugs, and limited alcohol. However, alcohol should be avoided until you are 21 years old. After you are 21 years old, being responsible shows great maturity.

Ennis C. Jackson

Ennis is an Advance Life Support caregiver providing emergency care, training, motivating and educating on a national level for over 35 years with strong concentration and enormous success in business consultation, motivational and safety speaking, minor project management and customer service management. Ennis has been a Supervisor and Associate Supervisor in California, Okinawa Japan, and S. Korea with experience in leading teams and managing large groups of personnel.

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Sometimes people make mistakes and take the life of another. Other times, people deliberately take the life of others. Thanks to the visual capabilities of the media and the sometimes accurate reporting of News Anchors, we see this behavior in this country and around the world. Will it stop? The answer is that it probably won’t. So what can we do about it? Much has been done but by the appearance and words of the President of the United States of America, everything is being done, but yet we still die.And since there does not appear to be a solution in sight, we must know how to help ourselves. Quite simply, we have to keep our heads down, obey the instructions of a peace officer, stop the bleeding and keep us breathing. One way of these people who take lives is from bullets. A bullet has no name on it. Once it leaves the chamber and is pointing at someone, the projected trajectory and the velocity does not guarantee that it will strike its target or stop once it has reached it. Once it reaches its target orwhoever is in its path, it will produce a piercing wave of internal destruction that will cause pain, bleeding and eventually, stop the heart from beating. There are some procedures that we can employ to treat an attack from a bullet. 1) Direct pressure to stop any external bleeding; 2) start Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), and 3) breathe for the person who was unfortunately struck by this bullet. We must maintain these simple steps to increase the victim’s chance of survivor. However, before initiating all three, we must call for help. We do this by dialing 911 and placing the phone on speaker mode while we simultaneously employee these three life-saving steps. While we are engaged in these life-saving steps, we will be overtaken by grief and emotionally a wreck. However, it is important to maintain our degree of composure somehow. By doing so, we will provide an effective effort to save the life of our loved one, or someone we don’t know. Eventually, the police will arrive first (if not already there), then Emergency Medical Services (EMS) will arrive and once they are there, step back and let them handle the victims condition. Now, very important information is needed for law enforcement and EMS to have an effective investigation as to the events that led up to a bullet fired. The following are some ideas that you can try to remember. If you know who did the shooting, try to remember everything about them, i.e. male, female, height, weight, hair color, facial hair, age, nationality, odors, clothing type, and color. Include the type of gun used, the distance from where the gun was fired, the time the shooting occurred, any arguments, physical fights, or any other person who may have been present. For EMS, some of the above information is needed. However, for you, more is needed, i.e. the age of the victim, allergies, medical problems, what medication he or she may be on(specifically a blood thinner).”Include a phone number, address, names of next of kin, last meal intake, advance directive, and his or her doctor’s name if available. Another important factor in saving the life of a person who is struck by a bullet is to start treating them as quickly as possible. If he or she has a heartbeat and is not breathing, simply breath for them with mouth to mouth, mouth to barrier device, or mouth to mask until EMS arrive. Breathe for them, every six seconds and don’t stop until the victim breathes on his or her, oruntil EMS arrives. Remember to put yourself first, regarding safety. If there is a shooting, don’t help until it is clear to do so. Stay far enough away to avoid any stray bullets and being seen by a person who is doing the shooting. If EMS is not there and the assailant has departed the area, help by stopping the bleeding and keeping them breathing. CPR may be started but only if it is safe. So, to summarize, if you hear shooting, hide and call 911. If you happen to be next to the victim and the shooter has departed the scene, began care. Keep alert in case the shooter returns but the police should be there in minutes. Your life is just as valuable as the person who you are trying to help. Stay safe, learn CPR and First Aid (FA), and stay healthy by eating healthy, not smoking, not doing drugs, and limited alcohol. However, alcohol should be avoided until you are 21 years old. After you are 21 years old, being responsible shows great maturity.

Vlad Magdalin

Passionate reader | People person | The one behind All dad jokes