Wilderness First Aid Training

What do you think of when you hear these words? I thought of us off way away from the city out in the woods learning first aid. So I was happy to find out that the "wilds" of Stockholm were only a short walk, a short bus ride and another short walk from downtown. So our [all 5 teachers and 2 interns from Think Global School] early morning journey began. As we left the bus, we came across another classmate Paula who together with Brad negotiated our way through the paths to bring us here:

to this lovely unheated cabin where we met Lena and Howie who would be our instructors for the 2 days. We also met our 2 other classmates Pär and Helene. I won't talk about how cold I was for the two days... just know I wore at least 3 layers and also a hat, scarf and gloves or mittens the whole time unless I was expertly (or not) caring for a "patient". As we began the course, it became clear to us that our instructors were not only well versed in this material, but also had first-hand knowledge of its use as they led long trips and expeditions.

We started by learning how to keep ourselves safe by checking out a scene for danger and how the person(s) may have been hurt, putting on gloves, and making sure we were safe first. Next up introducing ourselves to our patient and asking if they wanted help as well as finding the responsiveness of victims Then we could start using our ABCDE to make a quick assessment. [A = airway - checking if anything in the mouth, B = breathing, C = circulation or do they have a pulse & are they bleeding?, D = disability - especially if spine may be involved, and E = environment]

Throughout the process of learning the rest of the pyramid from above, we did lots of scenarios such as this one where Sherry had fallen and hurt her back. We learned how to hold her head in case of spinal cord injury.

As we learned each new skill we practiced it and discussed the outcomes and how it went. After our ABCDEs, we talked about the full head to toe exam - looking, asking and feeling... thankfully in our class we could just ask about the groin area and no actual exam was needed for this area. :) Also important were taking vital signs and getting medical history by asking lots of questions to be clear about the patients situation and background. This is all important when calling the professionals for help. Howie was great at making the victims realistic and it was a bit stressful to take care of someone when you did not know what happened.

Over the rest of day 1, we learned what to do for possible head injuries,

Marta puts my neck in a "collar" made from my extra sweatshirt.

how to move someone with a possible spinal cord injury, how to treat cuts, abrasions and even loss of something like a finger.  Howie was very "accident prone" and was "treated"many times.

Howie "lost" a finger so Lena helped treat him and the little patient.

The evening consisted of CPR with the latest regulations of 1:5 for breaths and 30:2 for chest compressions with breath.  Did you know that "Stayin Alive" was the perfect tempo for chest compressions? Neither did I till then. Check us out:



This fun brought us pretty much to the end of day 1. Day 2 brought more "fun" scenarios including burns and shock as well as splinting fracture and taping. Didn't I do a good job taping Sherry's ankle?

Then poor Andrew "fell" in the water and got a nail through his hand while trying to save Howie. We had to save them both from hypothermia by getting them dry and wrapping them like a human burrito to get them warm.

The last few scenarios included anaphylaxis and the need to use an Epi pen as well as seizures and a need for glucose with unresponsive patients and snakes around as distractions.

All in all, it was a lot of really useful information and tools that make us all feel safer about being out and about with kids. We laughed a lot and even had fun while learning.