As we reflect on the tragic events of this past week in Paris, it really drives home the need for obtaining solid medical training and being diligent about carrying some sort of medical kit on your person every, single day. Whether itâs one of our kits, someone elseâs (there a lot of really solid kits out there)â Eleven 10 LLC, North American Rescue, Rescue Essentials, CLEER Medical LLC, Chinook Medical, Phokus Research Groupâ¦.just to name a few or even if you decide to âroll your ownâ. Just carry one and know how to use it!
However, getting the kit doesnât make you ready to treat wounds anymore than buying an airplane makes you a pilot. You need training. We can provide that. Our good friends over at Lone Star Medics can provide that. Getting the training on how to save a life, Iâd argue, is on par or, even more important than buying a kit. Hereâs the rationale: You buy a kit but donât get trained, so youâre essentially a societal liability. Flipside to this is that you get some solid trauma training and something bad happens and you donât have your kit with you. You assess the situation, evaluate the casualties and recognize what you need to treat them. Given the fact that youâve had the training, you can then look around you and, as we say, âexploit your environmentâ for an acceptable substitute for the necessary items to stop the bleeding and start the breathing. You are, because of your training, a force multiplier, a societal asset. You are no longer a bystander. You are now a by-doer. You have now thought outside the med kit by improvising but the most important aspect of that is being able to master what is inside the med kit first. That will give you the insight on how to think outside the med kit.
Next to training and equipment, which we can provide you with, as well as the aforementioned others, is the proper mindset. Running towards the sounds of screams for help may be counterintuitive to some but there are many of us who are intrinsic responders and not a second thought is given when someone cries out for help. Thereâs always the argument for self-preservation and thatâs definitely one I agree with and that plays right in to the proper mindset as well as we will be situationally aware, self-aware and ready to respond should something happen. What if you donât have the right mindset? Train. Train often and train realistically. It will help.
Do you have the right equipment to help? Do you have the right training to help? Thereâs lots of folks out there who are able to assist you with that.
Mindset? Well, thatâs all up to you.
The time chooses you.
Will you be ready?
