'How first aid helped me'
True stories
First aid skills really can make a life-saving difference. Check out these dramatic stories and see for yourself.
‘Eternally grateful’ for training
©InfoI went on a Red Cross first aid for teachers course in 2010: I’ve always valued first aid and wanted to update my skills. I definitely feel that all parents should have some basic first aid training.
I had to put my skills into practice when my daughter stopped breathing following an asthma attack. It was the scariest moment of my life, but soon all my first aid training came flooding back to me – I rang an ambulance and began to give her rescue breaths. Seeing my daughter turning blue was horrifying but I’ll be eternally grateful for the first aid training I received because it saved her life.
I would wholeheartedly recommend a British Red Cross first aid course to all my friends and family. The instructor was informative, engaging and put the training into real-life situations. Victoria Sanders
‘Our baby boy nearly died’
©InfoMy partner and I had to do a first aid course in our hospital before we could bring our premature triplets home and without this I don't think one of them – my little boy, Jacob – would be here today.
My two boys were having a cuddle on the settee one day, when I looked over and saw that Jacob had changed colour. I picked him up to find he was turning a blue-grey colour and was very limp. I opened his mouth to check for milk and nothing was there, so my partner Brett quickly grabbed him, put him on a flat surface and started doing CPR.
Jacob wasn’t responding at all at this point and I was already on the phone to 999. They kept me talking and told us to carry on until the ambulance came. Luckily, Jacob came round and screamed very loudly, but within seconds he had gone again. The emergency operator told us to start again, then the ambulance arrived and quickly rushed him off.
At the hospital, the crash team took over and put him back on an assisted breathing device. We were told he stopped breathing due to reflux and bronchitis, even though he had shown no signs of any problem.
This distressing incident actually happened again on two more occasions – just the same and just as bad – and without the first aid course we would not have known what to do. I'm very grateful and now have a very healthy boy at home. Emma Johnson
‘I saved choking boy’
© InfoI attended a Red Cross first aid course in Oxfordshire in 2011. Recently, I was visiting my nine-year-old son at his mum’s house when his half-brother started choking on a sweet. His mum was understandably frantic when the boy started turning blue, but I quickly remembered my Red Cross first aid training and took action.
I grabbed hold of him, put my hand across his chest and gave him a sharp blow to the back. At first nothing happened, so I repeated the action twice more. Suddenly the sweet came flying out of his mouth and he began breathing normally again. Obviously, his mother and I were extremely relieved – and I was especially happy that my first aid training had possibly saved the boy’s life.
I’m so pleased I took the Red Cross course. The instructors are exceptional – very clear and with a wealth of knowledge. I would highly recommend them to anyone. Trevor Bruce
