First Aid

This is an astonishingly low figure when you compare it with our European neighbors, where the percentage is around 70%. There, first aid is practiced regularly at school and at work, which is certainly not the norm here in Germany.

This is not even mainly about road traffic accidents, which only account for around 10%. Working at home, for example, is twice as dangerous as getting into a car. Accidents at work also account for around 20%.

Be honest: when was the last time you took a first aid course? Are you still able to perform the “stable lateral position”? Do you think “chest heart massage” is a wellness treatment? Do you know how to operate a defibrillator?

Many questions for which we had few answers. That’s why the IP² team decided to train together as first aiders. On April 14, the time had come. Under the expert and resolute guidance of the Red Cross course instructor Miriam – my eldest daughter – we first learned how to apply bandages, how to initiate the correct first aid measures in the event of a wide variety of accidents and finally how to remove the helmet of a motorcyclist who had had an accident without breaking his neck and instead put him in a stable position. Finally, it got sweaty when everyone had to complete a 15-minute cardiac massage with ventilation („30 compressions, 2 breaths and a little more rhythm, my dears“) and practice using the defibrillator.

We all learned a lot in these 8 hours, even if everyone hopes never to have to use this knowledge. It has to be said that we also had a lot of fun and such a course is highly recommended as a team-building measure. The snapshots speak for themselves.

(Yes, we look a bit worn out, but you should have seen the others …)