The Importance of Knowing: How CPR Training Saves Lives – and Smiles

First Response First Aid (FRFA) trainers set a target of teaching 1000 school children how to administer CPR in an emergency. They began fulfilling this promise last Wednesday at St Johns C of E Primary School in Walsall, where the children learned from our very own Dan Pedley, and practiced their new skills on our state-of-the-art first aid mannequins.

Why learning CPR is important for children

Acquiring this valuable knowledge during their formative years will stand these children in good stead to become capable and valuable lifesavers in their years to come. Learning CPR, or any first aid skills at any age, can literally mean the difference between triumph and tragedy in a crisis. It’s impossible to predict when someone might need to use first aid, or who will need your help. It could be a friend, a sibling, a teacher, a parent. Some people may even be lucky enough in life to never have to administer life-saving techniques. However, it’s always better to have that skill set, and never have to use it, than to need it, and not know what to do.

Just this past month, one such incident occurred, in the last environment you’d ever expect to have to think about life and death. 5-year-old Ernesto Tagle and his parents had just boarded a roller coaster at Walt Disney World in Florida. About 20 seconds into the 60mph thrill ride, Ernesto stopped breathing and began to seize. His parents were frantic, forced to wait until the ride was over before they could help their unconscious son.

As soon as the ride came to a halt, Ernesto’s mother sprang into action, administering CPR as best she could. As luck would have it, a passing couple happened to be a nurse and an EMT respectively. They put their training to use on the spot, and assisted – as did a first-aid-trained Disney employee, who brought an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) to restart the boy’s heart before he was airlifted by helicopter to hospital.

Thankfully, Ernesto Tagle survived. It is only because he had the right people around him, trained to know what to do, that he is alive today. In hospital, Ernesto’s father posted on social media that his son was diagnosed with Catecholaminergic Polymorphic Ventricular Tachycardia (CPVT). A condition his parents never knew he had before the incident, CPVT is a very rare heart condition that can be exacerbated by extreme excitement or excessive activity. Ernesto had surgery to place a special device in his chest that will help regulate any future arrythmia.

“We just feel so lucky this didn’t rob us of his smile,” Ernesto’s mother Christine Tagle told the media. This is the power of first aid training. The more people in the world who have the skills and knowledge to help someone like Ernesto, the more smiles this world will retain. Together, we can improve everyone’s chances of survival, as well as living long and happy lives.

Book your First Aid Training Course

Reach out to FRFA today on 01543 372888 to discuss arranging First Aid training for your team. We cover a wide range of skills training, including CPR, Mental Health First Aid, Fire Safety, and more.