Last week of ground school: Part 2

So, I learned how to start a fire without matches. It’s this flint thing with a little tiny metal bar you scrape together and fire happens. Our survivalist instructor told our class that we probably should gather dry twigs or leaves or anything we could burn for a fire before we activate the flint thing. Everyone laughed. I’m not sure why. I thought that was good information. I probably would have forgotten that step. He demonstrated how one can sustain a small fire with a cotton ball doused with Vaseline. Now you’re thinking, who has cotton balls and Vaseline in the middle of nowhere? Remember that this is survival school for the possibly downed aircraft with a medical crew on board. Assuming we have all of our equipment and supplies or at least some of them, we can put those to use to stay alive while waiting to be rescued. I hope there will be some food when we crash. I really don’t feel like chasing some poor wild animal and eating it for sustenance. How come we learn how to survive on the ground when that is so dependent upon, well, the question of if we make it there in one piece after crashing? I am still perplexed about the “no parachute” thing. I wonder if anyone will notice if I snuck one in the airplane. Hmmmm . . .

After two weeks of being brow-beaten by senior REACH instructors and stuffing our brains with information, it was time to put us to the test. On Friday morning, we were to have our practicals. The skills lab was set up and we had a list of, well, skills to demonstrate. All skills had to be performed on big people (adults), little people (children), and barely people (infants and neonates).

Skill 1: intubation
Just in case you do not understand what intubating means, let me explain. This is necessary when a person is not adequately breathing or is not breathing at all. So, the procedure starts with a metal tool shoved down the throat to get the tongue out of the way, a plastic tube is then shoved into the person’s lungs, and big puffs of oxygen and air can be delivered, and voila! A life is saved!!!!

I had to do that procedure on a person no bigger than my foot. Something is completely wrong with that. I took a deep breath and down the tube went. I did it! I dizzyingly grinned at the instructor as she gave me a ‘good job’ pat on the back. Barely recovering from my panic attack, I needed to do the same procedure on a child. Okay, it was only a manikin, but the damned thing was breathing. Its chest was going up and down and I was mesmerized by the wonder of it. A manikin that breathes. Wow! How is it doing that? Whoa!

The instructor tapped me on the shoulder. He said, “I’ve got it hooked up to the simulator, but now it’s stopped breathing.” Oh, right! Focus! Must do something about that. Again, cold metal down the throat, plastic tube shoved down the lungs, procedure done! Whew!

Skill 2: Femoral line
What is it? Big, long needle shoved into big vessel (artery or vein) in the groin for medications and IV fluids. I smoked that procedure! You should have seen me pop that needle in, no problem. The fake groin didn’t feel a thing and didn’t complain whatsoever. Now, all I have to do is do that on a real person. Yup! That’s all.

Skill 3: Surgical cricothyroidotomy
Yeah, I know. It twists the tongue when you say it. What is it? Cutting a slit in the throat with a very sharp knife (i.e. scalpel) and making a hole into the trachea (i.e. throat) to gain access into the patient’s lungs so we can assist in their breathing. Need for it? When intubation (see above) is not possible. Anybody want to volunteer so I can practice on a real person?

All in all, the last day went quite well. I got my wings at the end of the day. I am officially a part of the flight crew; albeit a neophyte member. Scary, isn’t it?

Here are pictures from our last day of ground school: http://good-times.webshots.com/album/562351242DvxpoQ?vhost=good-times