He's Going to Need First Aid

 

Maybe all we need to heal ourselves is good chocolate. Cocoa pods I took a picture of in Monte Verde last year before this crud happened.

Jim was sick today. He moaned and napped most of the day. Says he's dizzy and feverish. Explained it's usually an ear infection of some sort when that happens, but knew he'd fight going to the doctor.

I've been busy today and this week with doing the twice a year rearrange all the closets and storage. Over the last few days I've been rotating out what's in the heavy duty first aid kit I keep in our car. I don't know what the lifespan is of bandages, gauze and other things in there, but they've been in there over a year now, and the Oxygena Agua (Hydrogen Peroxide) had leaked out over the towels.

One of the things I've learned the hard way here is that when you drive it benefits you to keep one of those giant oversized ziplock bag bulging with first aid supplies. Why? Well most of Costa Rica is largely rural. There aren't as many ambulances and emergency medicine available either. Two years ago when our car first aid kit consisted of a few bandaids and tylenol we witnessed a pretty terrible wreck.

We were driving between Cartagena and Filadelphia, Costa Rica when we saw a motor cycle helmet up and fly past us. Just ahead of us a motorcyclist had missed the emergency blinkers of a pirata (rogue taxi) and had rammed into the back of the car at about 40 miles an hour. I don't know if the helmet wasn't strapped or if the strap broke upon impact but that sucker came flying past us at a rapid clip.

By the time we'd stopped, people behind us stopped and the one guy ahead of us stopped the motorcyclist was laying on the ground bleeding like an oozing blood sponge. Stopped traffic both ways, everyone got out and started to gather around. The American in front of us kept screaming that the guy was dead meat.

I tried to find anyone with a towel or a painters drop cloth or anything to bind this guy's head because he was bleeding so heavily. Going from car to car, asking in Spanish and English if anyone had a towel of some sort. Unsuccessfully. Head wounds, even super minor ones, bleed so profusely.

It took the ambulance a good 45 minutes. People did what they could for the accident victim, but it wasn't much. 

Seeing that, and a large number of car accidents I decided to put together a simple first aid kit for the house and car, something more than bandaids and tylenol. My kit for the car now contains old clean towels, a fleece blanket, a big bottle of water, gauze, bandage tape, hand sanitizer, nitrile gloves, anti biotic ointment, hibiclens, hydrogen peroxide and a few other things. Every year I realize I need to add something to the kit.

Every year when I rotate the supplies Jim gives me a hard time, saying he does not see why I have to carry the whole kitchen sink in that bag. I keep pointing out that with some of the accidents we've seen it's better to be safe. 

Today we had something of one of those discussions you have when you've been married a long time. Replete with Jim scoffing that I didn't know how to use half that stuff, and me primly reminding him I've been Red Cross certified for many years during my work for both first aid and CPR. If you work in medical facilities or treatment centers you're usually required to get both certificates.

Thankfully I've only had to use the training a handful of times. Only once for the CPR at work one day when an older gentleman had a heart attack and I was the only CPR certified person in the building.

I loved freaking Jim out by demonstrating my CPR mad skillz on his leg. He didn't realize how hard you have to push with your locked hands to the same count or beat of "Staying Alive" or "Another One Bites The Dust" You have to exert the kind of pressure that sometimes breaks ribs.

I laughed because I've been the one for thirty plus years bandaging his booboos and bumps. Knitter please! I know first aid. I hate blood, I am squeamish and make a horrible nurse, but when the motorcycle tire rubber meets the road I can do it while cringing away.