You need courage to be a first aider.

My first encounter with a challenge that required first aid happened more than two decades ago when I was still in junior secondary school. I had slapped a male classmate because he read a secret love letter i had kept under my desk. The next thing that happened was a white mucus began to come out of his left ear.

The whole class panicked in frenzy. We all thought his eardrums burst. Frantic, I ran to call a senior student who came and showed me what to do. I applied some palm oil on a little piece of cotton wool and placed it inside his ears. After a while the mucus did not come out anymore. I learnt heavily that day.

But from then on, applying first aid was no big deal for me. It is funny how theory differs so much from practicals. In theory, I know what first aid is, I had been taught several first aid procedures both at school and at home but when I'm confronted with the challenge, it's like the brain goes numb and requires a kick start before the memories of the theoretical teachings comes up.

Truth is, it takes courage to give first aid traeatment to a person in need. Sometimes, fearful thoughts creep into my mind and numbs my muscles, making it difficult to act but courage is what wakes me up, pushing me forward to help out.

I recall an accident that occurred in a private school I was working with about eight years ago. A little girl while running with her peers during break time on the school field fell down and fractured her left arm. Some teachers panicked because they feared the girl's parents retaliation but I and another colleague stepped up to give her first aid treatment by tying up the fractured hand after applying some mentholated cream on the arm. Then we notified her parents who quickly came and took her to the hospital.

So far, I have been privileged to have given several first aid treatments on many of my students. As a teacher, this is unavoidable as I encounter different students with different medical issues and emergencies. But I have not yet given CPR to anyone before.

I have managed heavy bleeding before. This happened a year ago when two male students were playing with a scissors and one of the boys got his palms torn deeply by the scissors because they were dragging it. Before anyone could say Jack!, blood had poured on the ground so much that the other students were shouting.

The shouts attracted me and I quickly carried the boy away from the class to the sick bay. It was there that his wounds were washed, disinfected and bandage. The blood was so much that even the boy was afraid and weak. I allowed him to sleep for a while and by Scholl closing hours, he felt a bit better. His mom came to pick him up and I advised her to give him a tetanus shot which she agreed to do at the hospital.

With the amount of knowledge on first aid that I have ganered over the years both in theory and in practicals, I can say that I am an experienced first aider.

Thank you all for reading.

Images source: Meta Ai.