First Aid

At any given time, skills learned through first aid training could help someone in need or even save a life! Take for example the recent news story of two Toronto men who spent their flight to Beijing keeping a man alive who was suffering from a cruising-height heart attack; or the story about an EMT volunteer who saved a newborn baby’s life, after being notified of the nearby emergency through his smartphone app.

Five weeks ago I learned a very painful lesson to slow down and focus on the task at hand (no pun intended) when using power tools.

The summer’s sun is what gets me through Canadian winters. When my friend decided to get married in Cuba in July, I embraced the imminent heat with a welcoming ‘bring it on’.  Most days I don’t use my little air conditioner, but when it broke recently and temperatures reached into the 30s, I had to get practical about keeping my cool.

The quick thinking and heroism Jared Nieboer displayed on a crisp Saturday morning in October was recently recognized by the Canadian Red Cross.  The Alberta man was presented with a Red Cross Rescuer Award last month for the actions he took to save a man from a car accident.

Whole Foods grocery stores are a great place to shop if you are focusing on your health. But a team of employees from the Mississauga location took “being healthy” to a whole new level when they saved the life of a co-worker last summer.

Last fall, Brian Andrade and his wife, Chantelle Lavallee, took a first aid training course in preparation for the birth of their baby; and it’s a good thing he paid attention. What Brian couldn’t have known at the time was that a month after taking the training, he’d have to use it to save the life of Chantelle when she collapsed 13 days after delivering their baby. Had it not been for Brian’s immediate response, Chantelle would not have survived.

Their hands are small, but don’t let their size fool you. Kids save lives too, in some cases with the help of technology we use every day. 

Bentley Toone may be just barely out of diapers, but this two-year-olds swift action helped save his mother’s life. 

Clint Eastwood is a force to be reckoned with, known for his acting, directing and now...abdominal thrusting. While the world was recovering from the Super Bowl and preparing for the start of the Sochi Olympics, Clint Eastwood was using his first aid skills to save a life. When the director of a local golf tournament began to choke on a piece of cheese, the film icon sprung into action, performing three textbook-perfect abdominal thrusts to save his friend.