Today I attended a CPR & First Aid Class. In this class we learned to do CPR and operate an AED or Defibrillator. When I first saw how long the class would take (four – five hours) I was surprised, but once it started it went by fairly quickly because there was so much to learn. We practiced the steps that you would take if you found an unconscious person and needed to help them.We practiced with dummies to simulate what giving CPR would really be like. I was able to gain a lot of new information that could very well allow me to save a life in the very near future.
The ARC CPR & First Aid Class has been very effective. For example, I talked to a 17-year-old lifeguard who received training at the Red Cross and on his very first day at work he pulled a man out of the pool and gave him CPR and it saved his life. Can you imagine saving someone’s life on your first day of work? There are all these amazing stories and I was so inspired by them. At the end of the class, I got my official CPR certification. It feels good to know that I have learned the skills that could one day save a life.
Here are some other interesting facts about the ARC CPR & First Aid Class:
1. The ARC trains 10,000,000 people in CPR and First Aid per year!
2. Every one of the 722 Red Cross chapters offers training, so if you’re interested in signing up, you can just contact your nearest chapter.
3. They have a number of classes from babysitting to lifeguard training, so no matter what your interests, they probably have something for you.