Stayin' Alive

It's a quiet afternoon in the office as I put the finishing touches on plans for OIM's first foray into partnering with MOST Ministries on a short-term mission team. There's so much to tell before you'll get to hear about that, though. 

The week before classes begin at the DR seminary is always set aside for "orientation." It's a chance for new and returning students to (re-)acclimate to student life, get to know each other and any new staff, and, oftentimes, benefit from some kind of practical skills enrichment. Pastor Fritzler opened last Monday's First Aid/Basic Life Support Training to the entire school, group home, and missionary community. I went because as someone who's regularly responsible for groups of extranjeros, I wanted to brush up on what to do if, God forbid, the unthinkable were to happen. It's been several years since my last CPH certification, and the recommendations are always changing with the times. I was also hoping we'd learn how to use the DRLM's recently acquired AED machines; one will live at the seminary, the other at the regional office. 

The two trainers came with lists of credentials a mile long and the knowledge to back them up. First, they laid the groundwork: first aid is care that's immediate, temporary (until an ambulance arrives), and necessary. 

There are 4 "vital" signs: pulse, respiration, temperature, and blood pressure. (Photo credit: Jana Inglehart.)

Given the amount of time we spent on introductory material, I thought there was no way we'd get through all 12+ lessons. We did, but only by breezing through a few. 

Deaconess Mella (above, lead caretaker at the group home) and Jesús (below, seminarian) wound up as  víctimas multiple times!

If it doesn't go without saying that the training was in Spanish, the training was in Spanish. New missionary Ross caught a surprising amount. (Photo credit: Jana Inglehart.)

We divided into two groups for the second-to-last session. My group did CPR first, then learned how to transfer someone to a spinal board; the other did the opposite. 

FINALLY, in the last 10 minutes or so, we got an - unsatisfactory, if you ask me - introduction to the AEDs. Immediately I wondered, on behalf of future volunteers staying at the seminary, if there was a way to change the language to English. Neither instructor had a ready answer, so I skimmed through the manual for the one at the office this morning: no (barring a software update that's obviously not viable in an emergency situation). Still, having the units is a huge step, and I have to applaud everyone who was involved in the headache, er, process, of getting them. 

Gory photos notwithstanding, the day was ultimately all about learning to better love our neighbors because Jesus first loved us. 

Until next time, blessings in Christ!